At one point, Palm was “the” name in the handheld market, and while it wasn’t strictly a phone, it could sync up with your desktop computer to receive and place emails, although phone calls were out of the question, but That has changed now that Palm has joined the ranks of those offering AT&T WiFi GSM phone service.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, the Palm name and operating system were the drivers of the handheld market. With the right port attached to your desktop and the right software, one could send and receive email, as well as text messages. You can also create documents, and if your PC has a mail system and can use the Microsoft Mail Exchange server, you can send those documents to another user who can then synchronize your Palm device and take the document to your Palm handheld.
Now, Palm has entered the Internet telephony market with its Pixi Plus, a very reasonably sized and priced Internet-based phone that provides access to the entire AT&T GSM/EDGE/GPRS quad-band phone spectrum at 850, 900 , 1800 and 1900 MHz. and its dual-band UMTS/HSDPA service on 850 and 1900 MHz. This spectrum will not work with CDMA-based networks offered by Verizon, Sprint or Alltel.
Like Blackberrys, one of the features that users who like real keyboards will find attractive is its front-mounted full QWERTY-style keyboard. With this backlit keyboard, one can easily send text messages or email messages quite quickly, while touchscreen keyboards can be very slow if you have to use a stylus to generate the message. The keyboard is also compatible with the social networking sites Facebook, Google and Linked-In
The Pixi is a surprisingly good phone at an attractive price. It has an average size of 4.37 by 0.43 by 2.17 inches, with a total weight of 3.2 ounces. Don’t let its size and weight fool you, the Pixi gives you a talk time of around five and a half hours before you need a trip to the charging cable.
Its high-contrast color screen measures about two and a half inches and can act as a touch screen, if necessary, just like all small phones. That screen opens up the world of AT&T’s 20,000+ domestic hotspots because it’s an 802.11 WiFi phone. This makes the Pixi compatible with AT&T’s GPS Navigator system that gives you turn-by-turn directions.
The Pixi can be equipped with up to 8 GB of internal memory and features a 2 MP camera/camcorder. Given the number of apps built into the Pixi, you’ll find that you have more internal memory available for video or images than you might think. Remember, though, that the 2 MP camera is good for home snapshots or quick shots. It’s not designed for high-resolution video (a 3.2 MP camera is generally better for home photography, since it’s about 640 by 480, VGA standard, and looks better on other cameras or computer systems). Still, a 2MP auto camera/camcorder, a device that lets you take videos, is a nice addition, especially when you can use the entire screen as a viewfinder for the Pixi.
Finally, the Palm Pixi shows that Bluetooth is for more than just answering a headset/phone or pairing with your vehicle’s phone system, you can use it to stream audio. Bluetooth operates on a specific range of frequencies and since it’s an RF-based system, it can take whatever audio source you’re listening to, such as an audio service, and then allows you to stream the audio through another, remote Bluetooth device. It’s a nice feature that rounds out a very good deal at a price that won’t break the bank but still performs well.