Wow, wow, wow. You can now get a brand new Palm Pre Plus on Verizon for only $50 and we even saw it on Amazon.com for $29.99!
Verizon and Palm are mum on what this really means, even though Palm is saying that the Pre and Pixi will appear on AT&T soon.
Oh, you’ll also get the Mobile Hotspot (turn your phone into a WiFi router) app for the Palm thrown in for free.
One analyst (Peter Misek) has some bold predictions on what Steve Jobs will announce next week (in addition to the much anticipated Apple Tablet, supposedly called the iTablet – no surprise there).
Rumor #1: he’ll announce and show off the latest version of the iPhone OS: v4.0.
Rumor #2: he’ll announce that Verizon will start selling the iPhone 4G in summer. This will be big news as it will suddenly expose the iPhone to the largest single carrier market, and it may also impact Palm’s latest decision to launch their Pre and Pixi on Verizon.
Palm is getting their new webOS handsets onto other networks. First up is Verizon which is getting updated versions of both the Pre and the Pixi.
The Pre Plus is pretty much like the original Pre, but will have twice the memory for a faster experience, and 16GB of storage. It also drops the physical center button.
The Pixi Plus will add Wi-Fi to its feature list. Pricing will probably be similar to what’s on Sprint and will be available Jan 25.
One of the more unique and compelling reasons to get one of these Palm devices on Verizon is the ability to create a mobile hotspot out of your Pre or Pixi that can connect up to 5 other WiFi devices. Unfortunately, it’s only via EV-DO. Perhaps Sprint should lobby for these phones and get Internet connections over WiMax.
Finally. Palm is starting to get its app submission process for its developers right. Software developers of WebOS Palm apps (for the Pre and Pixi handsets) can now submit their apps to Palm for review and possible inclusion in the Palm App Catalog OR they can distribute them immediately via a 3rd-party site.
This new system will start in December. Late, considering when the Pre was first released, but at least it will happen. Unknown is whether Palm can hope to catch up with the Android and iPhone application inventory already in place and growing.
Palm has just announced the next phone with their new webOS, the Palm Pixi. The most noticeable difference is that the Pixi is a candybar phone with its full QWERTY keyboard fully visible, unlike the Pre’s slide out keyboard.
The Pixi is amazingly thin (0.43 inches) with a slightly smaller touchscreen (320 x 400) than the Pre. One of the things being touted with the Pixi is the ability to replace the backplate with customized designs. Expect the Pixi around the holidays probably in the $100 region, and again on the Sprint network.
