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I replaced my aging Motorola Q with the Palm Pixi. Although the Pixi is a much more modern and user-friendly device with more "gadget" appeal to it, it cannot match the Q's functionality. Pixi shortcomings: No Wi-Fi (my Q didn't have it either, but still) No voice dialing No syncing via USB cable (without expensive 3rd-party software) No Outlook sync (Exchange, yes, but standalone Outlook, no, not without 3rd-party software) No using the LED flash as a flashlight No automatic profile switching (sets ringer to silent during "busy" calendar appointment) Ringer is not loud enough, regardless of tone And no SD card expandability. Aside from the lack of voice dialing and using the LED as a flashlight, I knew about all of these limitations before I made my purchase. I expect that an update will eventually add voice dialing, and someone will eventually figure out how to access the Pixi's LED function and write a flashlight app for it. The biggest sacrifice to me is the lack of an ability to sync directly with an Outlook client. With the Q, everything I put in the Q--tasks, contacts, meetings, etc.--would automatically appear in my Outlook (and vice versa) when connecting to my PC via the USB cable. With the Pixi, the only built-in sync capability is with Internet-based services such as Google or Yahoo. Eventually I will have it set up to where both the Pixi and my Outlook syncs with my Google account, but since I am using a Google Apps account, that will require me to pay Google $50 a year for Google Apps Premium and use of their Google Apps Outlook Connector. Again, I knew about this from the start, but if the Pixi would just sync to Outlook automatically, I wouldn't have to do this. The next biggest sacrifice was the lack of automatic profile switching. On the Q, if I put an appointment on the calendar and set that appointment's status to "busy," the Q would automatically switch the ringer profile to meeting mode (vibrate only) at the beginning of the meeting, and switch it back to regular mode at the end of the meeting. The Pixi has a switch on the side that I can flip to turn off the ringer manually, but no automatic switching. I know I am going to forget to flip that switch one day. Perhaps an update or an app will add this functionality. The lack of SD card storage was at first a concern, but the Pixi comes with 8GB storage built in, and that is plenty for me. If you have a large music collection, it may be a problem, but I don't use my Pixi for music anyway. However I did try it out, and if you wanted to use it for music, the music capabilities of the phone seem to be quite good. I loaded a few songs on it and it automatically sorted them, displayed album art, etc. However it does not support Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WMA, or probably any form of DRM. The ringer never seems to be quite loud enough, but this can be worked around by editing whatever MP3 you are using as a ringer and increasing the gain. Despite its limitations, I am happy with the Pixi. Once I get the whole Outlook/Google sync situation straightened out, the only major limitation will be the lack of automatic profile switching. I have run out of characters describing the limitations, but everything else about the phone is superb. The UI, the built-in apps (SMS, web), the app store, the TouchStone charger (buy it!), the build quality, the usability, the smoothness of the OS, the finish... The Pixi is only slightly short of perfect.Read full review
I bought the Palm Pixi because I've been a Palm fan for years. I love my old Palm Zire 72, and I was very excited when they came out with their next-gen operating system, WebOS. The best thing about WebOS is the multitasking. It is hands down the best multitasking method of any smartphone on the market. When you want to switch apps, you swipe up, and your open applications appear as "cards" exactly where you left them. You can pause an app doing nearly anything, and come back to it and pick up exactly where you left off. WebOS has all the standard features expected in a smartphone: support for a myriad of email providers, including full Exchange (and Zimbra) support and great Gmail integration. The email client could use a few features, such as the ability to manipulate many messages at once like you can in iOS. Messaging in great, with the ability to message a person via SMS and IM in the same conversation. The application menu isn't as flexible as the iOS or Android menu, and feels cluttered. There also isn't any way to add applications to your home screen, though there is a dock. There are over 10,000 applications in the store, but not enough that you won't miss a few if you already own an Android or iPhone. The battery life isn't very good, and I've had difficulty getting through the day if I use my phone more than a little. I've bought a new battery (they're very cheap) to see if my battery is just old or worn out. The phone is discontinued, so accessories are absurdly cheap. You can get a touchstone (wireless) charger and touchstone cover for ~$7, and cases and batteries (OEM, mind you) for ~$3. The camera is fine, but at 2MP its nothing spectacular. Bluetooth only supports audio devices, no file transfers. There is no expandable memory, but you can plug the phone up with a USB cable and use it as a removable drive. It's also slow to startup, but that isn't a frequent occurrence. No complaints about the web browser, although many sites don't recognize I'm using a mobile device. One thing to watch out for is the Maps application. It came with a Google Maps app, but this no longer works and you are instructed to upgrade to the new Bing Maps program. However, all the reviews say that Bing Maps just does not work at all, and hence I haven't bothered downloading it. Seeing as it's a Sprint phone though, you can use the free Sprint Navigation app, which is a fine substitute for Google Maps.Read full review
I recently upgraded my children’s phone through Sprint and got them both the Palm Pixi, I thought they were cool phones and decided to buy one for myself and my husband off Ebay. At first glance they are ok, but I have had better phones. First, the camera’s suck…I had an Instinct and it took sharp pictures, the Palm Pixi pictures come out looking a bit grainy and you need VERY GOOD LIGHTING. I’m a huge picture taker and this is really a bummer for me . Secondly, it does this blinking thing when you are on a call which is very annoying. The screen keeps blinking in and out and if you need to make a selection on the screen it can become very frustrating. Thirdly, I’m worried about the life of the buttons on the phone…especially the way my daughter text! Enough with the bad, the phone itself does have a lot to offer…in regards to apps, word, internet, and so forth…this is great for me because I’m a student and I use my phone as a portable computer. I guess the sound quality is good. 3 out of the 4 phones I purchased were new. I have the phone that was slightly used and I’m not sure it the phone has some type of defect, but every time I turn around it has turned itself off…this is sooo frustrating. I haven’t heard the kids or my husband complain about this so it may be an isolated situation. Oh, well…I suggest that you do a little research before you make that big purchase on a phone. Make sure the phone offers EVERYTHING you are looking for!Read full review
Very good little phone. The keypad has a great feel to it, nice tactile keys that are easy to type on even though they seem small and cramped... they are actually quite nice. They're rounded enough to feel the keys very well with your thumbs. The software works very well and is above and beyond better than most smartphones in its class. You're getting a great experience for your dollar. Battery life seems to hold it's own for a solid day of texting/facebook/web browsing, although I highly recommend a Touchstone charging dock and Touchstone back cover for super easy charging while not in use, especially because the micro-USB flap is quite difficult to get open, especially if you have no fingernails... forget it. The only con for this particular phone is that while it does work very well, it is quite slow at times and you need to learn to be patient with it. Don't work too quickly or try to multitask with more than a couple of cards open. You will get some lag... but over time, I've gotten used to it and if you're a little patient, the phone works just fine. I have absolutely no regret for the amount of money I paid for it (Just $32 shipped). Also, no WiFi on this model, but as long as you have good Sprint coverage you should be okay on their 3G network. If you have spotty coverage or rely on WiFi then I would not recommend this phone.Read full review
We bought this phone as an inexpensive replacement for my wife's Sanyo Zio Android phone which was just an absolutely terrible device. We were still on contract and had already had her phone replaced once so they weren't helping us much. The Palm was cheap and I knew the name so I went for it. I knew I used to really like the Palm software environment but I also knew Palm/HP gave up on phones, tablets, and their WebOS so I was concerned about support. Turns out you can pick up a Palm device and pretty much not even worry about it because it works . You could think of it more as a feature phone nowadays. No, it's certainly not the fastest device out there (especially if you're used to more modern ones with specs that look like a laptop from a few years back) but it works well, has good battery life, takes decent pictures, great contact management, great email management, great backup, and most importantly...functions very well as a phone and messaging device which something a lot of smart"phones" fail to accomplish it seams. When it comes to internet use, facebook, et al...this is where the phone falls off a bit. There is an app available, but it's much slower and less featured than anything brand new or even a couple years old; think Blackberry Curve here. If you absolutley have to use Facebook on your phones than you're going to want to always go with the newer phones because the software is just not going to function on older hardware. My wife gripes about the lack of Facebook but then remembers she doesn't need to be socially connected 24/7/365 (does anyone really?). I wouldn't go into a contract to get one of these phones or anything, but as an off contract or spare/backup phone you could do much, much worse than a Palm Pixi. I really wish they wouldv'e kept developing Palm devices because I would take it hands down over Blackberry and probably even over Android any day and twice on Sunday.Read full review
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