Just as we'd
heard earlier this morning, today's the day that Palm and Sprint come clean with their undercover plans for the former's second-ever webOS device. The
Pixi, which we toyed with back on our
first Engadget Show, is slated to hit Sprint stores, Best Buy, RadioShack and select Walmart locations on November 15th for $99.99, but that's after a $50 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate that you'll be waiting ages for. Nothing here is all that surprising -- after all,
we knew it'd be on shelves before the holiday season -- but the $100 price point is downright depressing. The Palm Pre can be had right now for
just $150 (also on contract), and beyond that, both webOS devices are being offered on the exact same network. Throw this thing on Verizon,
AT&T or T-Mobile, and you've got a whole new wave of Palm customers; as it stands, who's really buying this with the Pre just $50 away?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
clamknuckle @ Oct 26th 2009 10:36AM
oh my god can you be positive when mentioning sprint just once? you're complaining that a web os device that's thinner than the 3gs is $99? i think its a fantastic price point, and the only thing the pre has going for it is a bigger screen.
George Williams @ Oct 26th 2009 12:24PM
Right? I mean com'on guy. Blackberry aint exactly offering up the BlackBerry Storm, nor is Apple giving iPhone to anyone, so Sprint has its egg in the basket with Palm...
kenny goo @ Nov 7th 2009 8:31PM
Compared to the HTC Eris ($100), Blackberry Storm ($50), or iPhone 3G 8GB ($100), the Palm Pixi doesn't stand up at all. All three phones have larger and higher resolution displays, the Eris and the Storm have better cameras, and the iPhone and Eris have built in Wi-Fi. Even with the Storm's lack of Wi-Fi, for half the price it's still a much better value then the Palm Pixi.
Honestly, this phone is pointless at that price. Its size and weight don't make up for its inferiority at that price, and with the Palm Pre at $150, if you really need Web OS, you got at such a higher value proposition. If this phone was $60 or $80, then maybe. But for $100? I really don't know who'd renew their contract with Sprint to buy this.
esld@me.com @ Oct 26th 2009 10:40AM
Palm Pre can be had for $125. Why get this no wi-fi device?
Come on Palm, we're pulling for you but you gotta release some killer hardware!!!!
Craig @ Oct 26th 2009 10:45AM
I'd definitely go with the Pixi before the Pre.
matt @ Oct 26th 2009 10:55AM
Yeah the Pre definitely blows. But the PIxi, however, does not have a giant penis in its mouth.
Don @ Oct 26th 2009 11:23AM
man you guys are jaded with phone pricing...$99 for a full featured (sans wifi) smart phone fresh to the market and all you can do is whine... no wonder this website is losing creditibility... try writing facts not your jaded opinion
teknikkle @ Oct 26th 2009 12:44PM
Yea palm should be paying us to take this piece of crap with the best mobile os ever off their hands. I know the apps arent there and I would love some homescreen options but its the cleanest os hands down. Perfect phone for my mom and sis. Maybe you guys forgot how many phones the centro sold. And in SoCal I know more Pre owners than iPhones. So this phone makes since and it will be 70 or 80 bucks prolly by Christmas. I wouldn't be caught dead with a pixi, but Palm isnt my girlfriend I dont mind if they make phones for other people..
JayMonster @ Oct 26th 2009 1:33PM
I understand the general sentiment. Especially when you consider you can actually get the Pre at $99.99 at Amazon (and it was supposedly $79.00 after rebate at Wal-Mart, but they list $199.00 online with the caveat of "store prices may vary").
That being say, the whole "who is going to buy this when the Pre is only $50 away" fails to remember that that money represents a 50% increase in price, and there are plenty of people where that may make all the difference in which phone they get. Heck the Centro (which was beaten mercilessly by reviewers prior to release) was a surprisingly strong seller at $99, and this (for all intents and purposes as far as I am concerned) is the Centro 2.
Throw in the fact (as somebody else mentioned) the sleek, thin size of this, and it may attract an entire crowd of people that still want something that won't bulge in their pocket.
Finally pricing this at $99 to start, gives it room to drop down later and make some people feel like they are getting a deal when it is offered at $79 (or less) right after Xmas.
It is unfortunate that lackluster sales of the Pre, thanks to it being on Sprint (love or hate Sprint, you can't deny the lousy position they currently find themselves in) have caused it to go into the discount bin quite so quickly, but you can't measure every phone by that barometer. Unlike the Pre, I would expect the exclusivity period for this phone to be somewhat shorter than the Pre.
rkguy @ Oct 26th 2009 2:02PM
Yah but this should be ALL instant rebate....especially Because those who would be turned off by the $50 increase in price for the pre may be entirely driven out of the market by the $200 up front cost.
Quit your monkeybusiness with rebates
Ryan @ Oct 26th 2009 2:01PM
Before I got my Pre I thought I needed wifi. After having it for almost a month I've used it like 2 times when I wanted to watch a youtube video really fast. It's nice to have as a backup. But it's no deal breaker.
Dante @ Oct 26th 2009 2:19PM
This is the perfect phone for a lot of people, myself included. Relatively inexpensive, a real exposed Blackberry-style QWERTY keyboard (I hate typing on touchscreens or always opening/closing sliders!). And webOS is arguably the best mobile OS out there, except for the gaming situation. Hope they open up the SDK..
As far as Sprint - anything is better than Verizon (great network, crap phones) or ATT (crap network, great phones). I wish this was on T-Mobile...
Mike Parsons @ Oct 26th 2009 2:30PM
Good grief people are greedy punks. People on here want this and that and more this and more that, but they get all pissed when someone tries to point out that there is a cost associated with this and that. Take the Sholes for example. The same people who are raving about the awesome feature set turn around and say "But it better not cost more than $200."
This phone for $100 is a fine deal by any measure. Think about other phones you have paid $100 for in the past. The last phone I paid for was an LG VX8700 that could not do a quarter of what the Pixi can do, and it was $180.
Quit whining people, you sound like a bunch of little babies.
Josta @ Oct 26th 2009 2:47PM
Ill take this ANYDAY on Sprint with my current plan:
500 Anytime Minutes
UNLIMITED calling TO ANY CELL PHONE regardless of carrier (yes its true!)
Unlimited nights @ 7pm
Unlimited Weekends
Unlimited Text Messages
Unlimited Blackberry
Unlimited Internet
Unlimited Pic Mail
Unlimited GPS Navigation
Unlimited TV
27% Wells Fargo Employee Discount
Only $51 a month!!! Gotta LOVE Sprint! FASTEST 3G network and best call quality hands down!
Rent @ Oct 26th 2009 8:25PM
If you think that's nice, you should see what Best Buy Mobile get for their employee plans. But then again, the drawback is you have to work at Best Buy :)
tront @ Oct 26th 2009 5:43PM
Style is important! I have owned a Blackberry 8130 for years, and have been looking for a similarly-sized (i.e. tiny) candybar phone since then. For those of us who must love the size and shape of a device we carry all the time - and for whom a cell phone will never be a full-fledged computer - this seems like the perfect marriage. Especially if we're already on Sprint.
Doax @ Oct 27th 2009 12:39AM
I like the phone but the name is too feminine for me, I would never buy it.
FK @ Oct 27th 2009 5:39AM
Looking forward for the Pixi to hit Europe, I like my Pre but I prefer the front facing keyboard. Don't care about the name thing!
Deathwish238 @ Oct 28th 2009 4:05PM
The Pixi is a fail. Come on...no wifi in this day and age? And I'll take a bigger screen + sliding keyboard anytime.
WebOS is great, but it's not going to take off. Android is the future...it is more or less impossible for Palm to get anywhere near the explosive growth Android is seeing now and will see in the next several years.
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Kilari @ Nov 6th 2009 1:24PM
sadly with my rants about the gay name I might still be getting one. something about lack of options that i like.
Dee jay @ Nov 6th 2009 2:56PM
I was jus in the sprint store and I caught a glimpse of the Pixi and it looks pretty good....I'm thinkin that November 15th street date is looking good of course the rep couldn't tell me a release date however.