Will you switch to the Palm Pixi? 79
by Derek Kessler
Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:53 am EDT
Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:53 am EDT 
Now that we know plenty more about the new Palm Pixi (except for the definite release date and price), there are certainly bound to be more than a few people considering the new candybar webOS smartphone. It has some advantages over the Pre (single-piece body, artist series backs, super thin) and shortcomings (smaller screen, no WiFi), but by and large it’s much the same phone. So the question is, does this make a difference for you?
79 Comments
no wifi = kills it
IMO
Agreed
also agree... i would be lost w/ out my wifi I am 90% of the time i'm on my pre I am using the wifi... Could't live w/ out it!
You mean 1.2?
Palm Pre = Man's Greatest Invention
I will be a Palm Pre man for life.
not for me...i like the form factor of the Pre and the wifi. but I would suggest it to my friends who don't wanna drop $150.
I frankly really wanted it to come out on another (GSM?) carrier to broaden the WebOS developer base.
nb
I will not switch. The Pre has a bigger screen, faster processor and has WiFi. However, I can see its appeal to others. The Pixi is more slender, is less money, and has a better keyboard (according to the reviews).
The name does not appeal to guys as well. "Hey, check out my new Palm Pixi". It does have a nice sound to it, but Pixi is associated with little flying people -- I keep picturing Tinkerbell in my mind.
I will never switch from the Pre, unless Pl comes out with more advanced WebOS phone. I am on my 4th pre, I had to exchange one yesterday because it stopped working but I still beleive!
Why would I take a step backwards? I LOVE the Pre. I love having a really large screen, finally have WiFi LOVE that the phone is small! Love the mirror! LOL!!
The only thing that would make me give up my Pre was if they came out with a NEW Pre that would snyc with my computer.
I waited a long time from Palm to update the Treo and I don't want go back to it now that they have FINALLY have something as great as the Pre.
palm pre 4 me, thisphone just kicks bootay! i dig it. I would like to see some of those art battery covers for the pre also. I would even take a solid color (crimson). But regardless I am stupid happy and excited about the pre!
if the pixie had the same specs as the pre i would consider. to many slider issues with the pre. but 2mp camera and no wifi? not for me, but i like the phone. I love sprint, but this phone should have been for at&t
My dad and I are both very, VERY happy with our launch-day Pre purchases. However, my mom has been up for a new phone for months now. I've been trying to get her to upgrade from her horrendous Sanyo flip phone that doesn't even do EVDO to at least a QWERTY-equipped Lotus or Reclaim. With the Pixi likely to be coming in at around the same price point, I think my dad and I might be able to talk her into moving on up! Plus, my little brother is currently on his Centro, but he's been eying my Pre for a while, so when his contract is up, he'll likely get a Pixi as an upgrade.
Yes, I grew up in a very Palm-centric family :D
Keeping my pre :)
I think the new Pixi owners will get it and start looking into webOS and go "crap i should of gotten a pre". All the people here probably don't want a dumb down device. Now if the phone had all the same features as the Pre but in the Pixi form factor then that would make a lot of people switch.
I think you have it right. The Pixi will get people into Sprint stores. Most will be happy with the Pixi feature set and others will upgrade to the Pre in the first 30 days because some feature of the Pre is valuable to them.
I suspect the OP asked the wrong question - I think the number of Pre -> Pixi switches will be very small as many folks who got the Pre wanted the Pre. A better question may have been whether, if the Pre didn't exist, they would have got the Pixi.
I know I would have been VERY tempted.
I think is Pixi is a great new spin on the Centro-style phone. I'm going to keep my Pre, but the way I see it, having another WebOS device out there can't be bad. The faster the webOS install base grows, the more features, apps, and accessories we'll see.
May get one for the finacee when her contract is up with Verizon...
I think, sadly, that Pixi sounds more like it's aimed at 3 to 9 year old girls.
since my name is Pixie, I was totally excited wanting a phone with my name! However it is a lesser PRE and I am still in a major love/hate with my PRE as it is, I certainly wouldnt take a step down!
I already have a Pre, but if I didn't I'd consider the Pixi. The lack of WiFi would make it a hard decision though.
Not without wifi. That kills it for me
I'm very happy with my Pre and am not considering switching to anything, especially to another phone that's considered a lower end model of my current phone (the Pre). If I didn't own a Pre already, I would definitely be debating between the two.
For non-Pre owners, I think choice will come down to these 2 factors... 1) Wi-Fi and 2) aethetics. I did without Wi-Fi for so long and really don't see an absolute need for it. Walking around doing my daily business, I'm often without Wi-Fi so I'm used to not having it. People that depend on this, however, will need to think twice. And some people just flat out don't slider phones or "regular" phones. So the style of phone will also determine what someone goes for.
I think I would still have probably ended up with the Pre. Even though it's a little fatter, when the phone is closed it's tiny and I love how compact and classy it looks. Plus, $50 more isn't that big a deal to me so price isn't a factor. Still though... I think owners of this phone will be just as happy as current Pre owners.
Out of curiosity, if I wanted to switch, what am I looking at price-wise? I have a Pre already on contract (I've had it for 31 days, actually, just outside of the price-match deal), but if I wanted to switch, what would I have to pay?
As I said over at Prethinking's version of this article, I'm really liking the Pixi. In my opinion..........
Here are the advantages the Pixi has over the Pre:
1) Cheaper
2) Bigger keyboard
3) No moving parts
4) Better battery consumption (I'm assuming, based on smaller screen and less power-hungry processor...?)
5) It's got a sexy form factor, but compared to the Palm Pre, it's a wash (again, my opinion).
But there's a few important considerations, here:
1) No wifi... Huge. Would be a "game over" for me.
2) Smaller screen. Whether capacitive touch will even be practical remains to be seen.
3) Smaller screen = fewer pixels, which may mean devs could run into some display issues.
4) Qualcomm processor in Pixi not quite as fast as the Texas Instruments processor in Palm Pre.
5) Target market: younger generation... just look at the video and you'll see what I mean. The background on Palm's website for the Pixi is a college campus. You do the math. It's not necessarily a BAD thing, but I don't fit that demographic.
... THAT SAID, I think the Pixi will far outshine any OTHER phone in Sprint's lineup, including offerings from Blackberry and HTC (with exception of Hero, maybe). Also, it's not meant to compete with the iPhone, so people won't be scrutinizing it based on that. I think this device will do very well, and will be a great way to get more users hooked into this great new webOS system who probably wouldn't have considered the Pre.
Kudos to Palm.
It does seem weird that the phone is called Pixi. Hmmm...from a guys point of view do I want a Hero or a Pixi (just using as an example. I know those phones are in different tiers) I like my Pre anyways.
Names for future phones (you can use these for free Palm)
Palm Princess
Palm Peach
Palm Pretty
Palm Passion
Palm Precious
It does seem weird that the phone is called Pixi. Hmmm...from a guys point of view do I want a Hero or a Pixi (just using as an example. I know those phones are in different tiers) I like my Pre anyways.
Names for future phones (you can use these for free Palm)
Palm Princess
Palm Peach
Palm Pretty
Palm Passion
Palm Precious
Palm Prissy?
Palm Pansy?
Palm Peanut?
NO! I know what comes to mind next - I thought that too! Don't go there! We better stop before this gets too ugly...
I can't wait to hold the Pixie. If its available before my 30 day return policy runs out, i'll likely switch from the Pre provided the processor isn't significantly slower. If not, I may just purchase one from somebody who will want to upgrade to the Pre.
The slider idea is cute. The phone is great closed.
Maybe I'm missing the point but WiFi means nothing to me.
Lastly the flame: if the name of your chosen wireless device bothers you, it sucks to be you!
I really like what I see with the Pixi - I much prefer the candybar form factor over the Pre slider and can even tolerate the reduction in screen size. There is a lot to say about a solid feel to your phone.
That said - no Wifi kills it for me - period.
So I'm loving my Pre, tolerating the fact that the slider is getting a bit more flex, and lusting after my Son's Pre that is not showing this problem [we picked up his Pre when Best Buy was offering Pre's for $99]. I'm just praying that the next phone (the rumored P120) has MORE FLASH MEMORY (are you listening Palm) - 8Mbytes is just not enough for a reasonable set of music and movies to carry with you when you are traveling ...
NO. why would i downgrade. The only phones in the running are an Iphone, Blackberry or a Pre. Plus i got a two year contract. I don't get allowance from daddy so for the next two years this is probably my phone. After that who knows.
Sticking with my Pre until Palm unveils the "Pre 2".
But, with that said, I have four lines with Sprint and I think my son and mom will def be getting a Pixi when it finally surfaces they noe. My way of supporting Palm and all that they stand for. Go Pre-Pixi-PALM!!
Hmm, I agree that the form factor is AWESOME. I use the wifi a lot to sync music and photos using sshfs, and it's very handy to have to play with linux on. However, if I was an average user I think Pixi is more accessible phone (assuming the price point is low enough, I'm guessing $99 or less). It seems like the Pre should get a capacity upgrade to make it more high end once the pixi hits the streets.
DEREK! You left out us saps who haven't got anything yet and are languishing in a webOSless land. (Oh wait... no you didn't.)
Anyhow... I'm torn now. I think I like the Pixi, but want to wait and see if the performance is noticeably impacted. Plus there's that wifi thing. Wifi can come in handy. But that's a nice form factor.
Oh yeah, the other issue will be how many cards it can run at once after it's released, that will be intersting to see. I usually run about 4 cards now (email, browser, prepod, ampache) so if it can only run a couple it may be far less appealing. I am surprised palm didn't use this form factor for their 1st webos device, since it's been pretty classically palm.
Sticking with my Pre until Palm unveils the "Pre 2".
But, with that said, I have four lines with Sprint and I think my son and mom will def be getting a Pixi when it finally surfaces, they now have a BB Curve and Palm Centro so Pixi will be a nice upgrade adding GPS Nav and all that is WebOS goodness. Just my way of supporting Palm and all that they stand for. Go Pre-Pixi-PALM!!
i don't like the Pixi, but also it's STUPID to put this on Sprint. They need web OS on every carrier for a long period of time before apple comes off AT&T cause when it does Iphone will explode in users.
The stock dropped because of an analyst downgrade of Palm based on the fact that the Pixi is exclusively Sprint's. I think it's rather short-sighted given Palm webOS phones will be on other carriers in about 4 months or maybe less.
We know Sprint has another Palm in its price database and we know Verizon has two Palm's in theirs. People seemed to have forgotten this.
Anyway, I was waiting to become re-employed before purchasing the Pre, but the Pixi is giving me serious pause especially if it comes in at a price point where I don't need to wait for that new job. $99 without a $100 mail-in rebate would be great. I might even consider $99 with a $50 mail-in rebate.
The wifi doesn't bother me given you can now download over WAN. That is HUGE! The camera bugs me though. Everything else about it I love. Yup, I've got to give this baby some serious consideration.
I won't be switching from the Pre, but my wife will almost definitely be grabbing a Pixi, to replace her Treo 800w.
That's the exact situation that I'm in. I'm happy enough with my Pre, but I may upgrade my wife to a Pixi.
Why?
* Wifi doesn't matter
* Access to shared calendars does matter
* Access to shared contacts does matter
* Ease of use does matter
If I didn't have a Pre I'd almost certainly be interested in the Pixi.
the Pixi is a low-end WebOS phone, great for palm since android nor apple have a low-end phone for users who dont want a true SMART phone
I could see the Pre for my daughter who is in High School.
I wonder if the Pixi will be able to work on my touchstone?
I also don't understand the benefits on the Wifi. I have never turned my on. Can someone tell me why? Is it a speed issue when brosing the web?
The way I see it is.
If I am at home I dont bother using my pre to browse teh internet I HAVE MY LAPTOP OR DESKTOP.
If I am on the road I utilize what i pay for (mobile broadband)
Is nice to have wi-fi i guess so that the phone does not feel like is missing such a simple feature.
But like floridadomer I never turn it on. Really makes no sense to me. I know the uses one can have with wifi (ssh,remote music etc) but is it really that necessary?
I can't wait to hold the Pixie. If its available before my 30 day return policy runs out, i'll likely switch from the Pre provided the processor isn't significantly slower. If not, I may just purchase one from somebody who will want to upgrade to the Pre.
The slider idea is cute. The phone is great closed.
Maybe I'm missing the point but WiFi means nothing to me.
Lastly the flame: if the name of your chosen wireless device bothers you, it sucks to be you!
I can't wait to hold the Pixie. If its available before my 30 day return policy runs out, i'll likely switch from the Pre provided the processor isn't significantly slower. If not, I may just purchase one from somebody who will want to upgrade to the Pre.
The slider idea is cute. The phone is great closed.
Maybe I'm missing the point but WiFi means nothing to me.
Lastly the flame: if the name of your chosen wireless device bothers you, it sucks to be you!
Sadly, no choice in the poll for "If I didn't already have a Pre I'd get a Pixi" folks.
I prefer the simpler (and possibly more rugged) non-articulated design, and feel that the Pre I already have may be a little bit too delicate and fragile.
If both had been out at the start, I would likely have gone toward the Pixi for that reason alone.
BUT, considering I already have the Pre, I'll keep it 'til it breaks, then see what is on the market at that time.
Tomas
Since the "Pixi" has 8GB storage rather than the rumored 4GB, it smells to me like we will see the Pre move to 16GB (when it really should be 32GB minimum). Any 8GB flash inventory will be used in the Pixi so there is no loss to upgrade the Pre (or Pre2) to higher capacity flash chips.
So, here is what you get for being an early adopter: You pay more ($50 Sprint price reduction), you have a "Beta" App Catalog, you have an unreleased SDK, you live without promised functionality, and you potentially have less storage.
All of this as a reward for helping Palm stay in business.
I sense that too. I expect a 16GB Pre to fill the $199 price point soon. This is torture! The price drop made me think that I'd finally spring for a Pre (from my current Treo 755), but felling a better model just over the horizon is making me a bit twitchy. I know we can wait forever for the next best thing, but I would really like the .1 release.
never i love my palm pre i have had a lot of smartphones in the past and the pre has been my favorite. you would have to pry it from cold dead hands before i would give it up. thats just me though.
wheres the NO im going to the HTC Hero option?
Guess I'm not as much of a fad rider as I thought. My Pre is just fine, thank you. The only advantage that I see to the Pixi is that the screen cover and case will fit a little better.
If I didn't have a Pre I would be strongly considering the Pixi. I was also considering the Hero, but I like buttons and switches. I've never been a fan of anything but one-piece phones... slvr, upstage (backup battery case a la upstage would be nice... could be touchstone even?), centro... I was worried about the slide on the pre but its surprisingly strong yet, if necessary, it flexes pretty far.
Wifi isnt that big of a deal to me. 700kbps on sprints 3G is pretty fast, especially considering it's an hour drive to the nearest sprint store. And I seldom find wifi available when I'm out of coverage.
The name is a huge turn-off though.
hell nah pre is the best =D
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