I recently got my hands on the Verizon version of the Palm Pixi Plus from BIG. Being an iPhone use, my first impression was “Wow, this is a very small device!”. But the Pixi Plus actually has a wide range of features packed into it’s small body(only 4.37 inches tall, 2.17 inches wide, and 0.43 inches thick), features such as a full QWERTY keyboard, 2 MP camera with flash, and 2.63 inch multitouch screen. The Pixi Plus runs on Palm webOS, an embedded Linux operating system. The Verizon version is listed at $79.99 while the Sprint version is priced lower at $49.99 if you buy it with a service plan.
Photo by Evan Travers
What’s inside the box
The only thing you will find in the box other than the Pixi Plus is a MicroUSB Cable with AC Phone Charger. According to my personal tests, it takes 3 hours to charge the Pixi Plus with the MicroUSB cable but only takes about 2 hours with the AC Phone Charger.
Photo by Evan Travers
However, I personally think more accessories should be included, such as the $17.99 Touchstone Back Cover which allows connector-free charging with the $44.99 Touchstone Charging Dock.
Media syncing
Photo by Evan Travers
Palm Media Sync is a feature of webOS that synchronizes with iTunes. All you have to do is connect the Pixi Plus to your computer with the MicroUSB cable, select the media sync (Video: how to enable media syncing) and iTunes will launch. However, I was unable to do so and after some help search on the Pixi figured out that Media Sync only works with iTunes version 9.0.1 or earlier(I had version 9.0.3). But fret not because here are 2 alternative options to transfer media files to your Pixi Plus.
- You can simply drag and drop media or data files to your Pixi using USB drive mode.
- Use a third-party application to transfer media files or other data. The applications that Palm recommends are listed here.
Note: You cannot make or receive calls and text messages when your Pixi Plus is connected to your computer in Media Sync mode.
Camera
Photo by Evan Travers
The Pixi Plus sports a 2MP camera with a LED flash that allows recording of VGA quality video at 30 frames per second. The compatible video playback formats are MPEG-4, H.263, H.264. Here are a 2 sample videos showing the quality:
Conclusion
Overall, I had a good overall experience on the Pixi Plus. The only thing I didn’t like was the QWERTY keyboard. Buttons are too small so I made quite a few mistakes while typing. This phone was definitely made for children or people with small hands.
Photo by Evan Travers
You may have realized that I did not mention anything about the phone feature of this device. The reason is that I absolutely had no trouble with the phone reception! I hope this review helped you and be sure to leave comments if you have any questions!
Extra content:
Here are some size comparison photos with the iPhone:
Photo by Evan Travers
Photo by Evan Travers
Photo by Evan Travers
Photographer Evan Travers blog
(Note: I was not compensated by BIG in any way for reviewing this phone. These are my own thoughts and opinion.)
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