In a surprise move, Palm announced a new WebOS device. Called Pixi, it’s smaller, lighter device than the Pre with a candybar form factor. Like the Pre, it runs WebOS and comes with 8GB of storage space. It differs from the Pre with a smaller form factor and smaller screen and a slightly slower processor. With the Pre slated to drop to $149, that would likely put the Pixi in the $99 price range, making it more affordable to the target demographic. Also like the Pre, the Pixi is a Sprint exclusive for now. All WeBOS features are there along with new Synergy links to Yahoo and LinkedIn, making the Pre one of the most socially connected of devices.
I had a chance to spend a few moments with newest addition to the WebOS family and this feels like it’s the Centro of a new generation. It has great hand feel and is likely to appeal to a younger demographic more concerned with the text an social media features of the Pixi and what’s likely to be a lower and more affordable price point. Palm continues to execute well in the narrow straits it finds itself in. It has continued to hit every mark in needed to since the introduction of the Pre and Web OS in January. With today’s news, Palm has delivered on their second in a promised family of devices. We’ve seen in our research how Palm has been able to gain significant mindshare, and mindshare is something we know translates into market share over time. A new lower priced device also maps very well into the research we’ve done on consumer price expectations for smartphones. Overall, we expect the Pixi to be a hit device and while Sprint does not offer the iPhone, the diverse catalog of device offerings it is showcasing for fourth quarter is likely to draw in users who might be looking for a different phone experience.
September 9, 2009 at 12:33 am |
Mindshare -> market share isn’t very useful.
Mindshare -> profit share may be.
To give just one example, TiVo had plenty of mindshare, but very little market or profit share.
September 9, 2009 at 7:25 am |
good point, Kontra. even Apple has quite small market share, but significant profit share to go with their almost laughable level of mind share (particularly among mobile OS vendors and handset manufacturers).
September 9, 2009 at 9:36 am |
The “younger demographic” is interested in LinkedIn? Wouldn’t they be more interested in FaceBook and MySpace? LinkedIn is more for professionals.
Of course that may change.
September 9, 2009 at 2:15 pm |
If it has a different size screen than the Pre (you mentioned), won’t that add complexity for app developers and website folks trying to make sites/apps works consistantly between devices. One of the nice things about the iPhone/iPod touch is they all have exactly the same rez. One app, one design.
Secondly, am I the only one who HUGELY misses the 5 way nav ability of the old Treos? I tried to use a Pre in the store for 20 minutes and found it maddening that I couldn’t skip by character, word, line when editing text. Trying to place the cursor with my finger (especially on older screen types) would be maddening.
October 2, 2009 at 7:41 pm |
In response to Brandon M:
I just read that you can move the cursor in a text field by holding the orange key and swiping anywhere on the screen. I had a Pre for 2 weeks and did not find that feature :) .. but it sounds like once you know about it that it should be very workable. I returned my Pre because I had hardware concerns as cracks and scratches seemed to appear out of nowhere. But I would try the Pixi form factor since it seems more traditional – my Centro (which I also had initial concerns with the hardware) has held up like a champ – and I really liked the WebOS.