AT&T Goes Free on the Palm Pixi Plus

palm pixi plus att free In what has to be the fasted price drop in the history of smartphone pricing promos, AT&T has officially lowered the price of the 4 day old Palm Pixi Plus to free. As of today, the AT&T web store is displaying a big orange FREE price tag on the pixi+ after the usual contractual discounts and rebate. The deal even comes with free shipping and a choice of blue or black back covers.

The Pixi Plus just went on sale at the carrier this past Sunday for $49. While free offers such as this are somewhat common at third party channels, it is quite unprecedented for such a new smartphone to drop to zero after less than a few days on the market.

Thanks to engadget for the tip.

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of course!

Take1 @ 6/10/2010 10:42:35 PM # M Q
Simply dumping stock. HP's convoluted message on the web os looks bad after rhe iphone 4.0 gala.
RE: of course!
Gekko @ 6/11/2010 12:23:13 AM # Q

strap to rocks together and they stiill sink.

when's the last time HP made a deviceyou wanteed?


RE: of course!
Gekko @ 6/11/2010 12:23:35 AM # Q

two
RE: of course!
mikecane @ 6/11/2010 3:00:24 PM # Q
>>>when's the last time HP made a deviceyou wanteed?

The second-gen HP Mini notebook. But you know me. I sometimes wait too long to buy and they become obsolete -- killed by iPad.

RE: of course!
CFreymarc @ 6/11/2010 7:56:28 PM # Q
I feel they are going to take the Japanese consumer electronics old school model with massive shotgunning of crazy web enabled products the valley has seen in years.

I bet you will see something strange and unusual almost monthly from printers to scanners to who knows what else. Cameras? Web Radios? A return to PDAs? Prehaps Mr. Toad himself will be webOS product manager? LOL!

RE: of course!
e_tellurian @ 6/11/2010 8:50:33 PM # M Q
Agree the future is upon us intellectually. It is getting closer to making our thoughts do more.

E-T

RE: of course!
LiveFaith @ 6/11/2010 10:07:11 PM # Q
I still have my purple HP mousepad that they gave me at Comdex (remember that?) in Atlanta in 1991. Pretty impressive folks. Pretty impressive.

If HP absorbs the Palm team into their corporate structure, then Palm in any form that we knew it is as dissolved as one of Jeff Dalmer's playmates. If they let them invent (no pun intended) with freedom then WebOS will impress.

If the 1st scenario occurs then turn out the lights around here. If the 2nd then we have something to discuss.
Pat Horne

RE: of course!
richf @ 6/12/2010 5:43:08 AM # Q
I've asked this before but I would like to know if any of the geniuses at Palm asked HP what was the plan for Palm going forward. Is this a valid question to be asked of the buying company or is getting the shareholders money back to some degree out weigh what will become of the company being absorbed. It appears to me that preserving Palm was a minor consideration in comparison to getting shareholders some portion of their investment back. Also I think it would be interesting to know how the smaller investors fare in comparison to Elevation. Questions, questions but until all these people start to write books I'm afraid Palm will be a small footnote in my scheme of things and the answers will become insignificant except to future mba's on how not to run a company. Jumping off soapbox for now.
Have a nice day!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->Pilot Pro->IIIe->IIIc->M500->M505->M515->TC->T3->T5->Treo 650P->Treo 700P->Droid>Pre
RE: of course!
mikecane @ 6/12/2010 9:36:36 AM # Q
Eh. It's the TABLET that will tell the tale. If they nail THAT, who will really care whether webOS shows up in printers or cameras or whatever -- except, of course, as nice companions to a KILLER TABLET.
RE: of course!
mikecane @ 6/12/2010 9:40:41 AM # Q
And let me add ... what people want is what Apple has -- but WITHOUT the Apple straitjacket. No walled garden app store, no idiot censorship, no Tiffany pricing, no dev muzzling, etc.

The Pandigital Novel is an interesting 7" Android tablet primarily marketed as an eBook reader. Watch the video in this review and see just how *software* can go so wrong:

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2010/06/11/review-pandigital-novel-video

We've already seen that webOS seems to require more HorsePower (ahem) than the CPU in the Pre. Let's hope HP puts a 1GHz CPU or Tegra 2 in its tablet.

RE: of course!
Gmon750 @ 6/12/2010 11:56:13 AM # Q
@mikecane - Nonsense. This is another clear example of techheads assuming they what's best for the general joe-consumers.

Apple's walled-garden, ecosystem, and "straight jacket" is EXACTLY why the iPhone is so ridiculously popular with the world and (for obvious reasons) why it's not popular for the underground wannabe-anarchists.

You are either ignorant, in denial, or both. The 90+% of users want a gadget that simply works, takes very little thought to use, and provides a quality and enjoyable experience. Accept it. Apple has given users a product that removes the tired and broken PC-paradigm. They don't have to worry about viruses, endless-configurations, way-too-many customizable options. They can simply "use it".

Apple is so borderline-clinical with providing the most pleasant user-experience that the other vendors will simply never "get" it. And you very well know that. Sure, you'd like to be idealistic and think the other companies will give Apple a run for the money, and at times they will, but in the end their inability to work together and realize what makes a product work for everyone that is not a systems-engineer is what will doom them.

It's a great time for consumers and we all have Apple to thank for kick-starting the stillborn wireless community after years of boring offerings.

Palm's future is essentially dead. Just like the executives that originally hosed the company in the early decade, management (like the rats they are) simply jumped-ship, took the money and ran to the hills.

I was a Palm developer for many years and I have ZERO sympathy for that company after the way they botched a rosy future.

Good riddance to Palm. You will be fondly remembered but not missed.

RE: of course!
mikecane @ 6/12/2010 1:29:18 PM # Q
You schmuck! You probably weren't even in your mother's womb when I was using a Mac, back in 1984. Who do you think you're lecturing on Apple, you git?

Apple has left itself open to competitors. And HP/Palm can do it.

RE: of course!
jca666us @ 6/12/2010 2:34:42 PM # Q
You schmuck! You probably weren't even in your mother's womb when I was using a Mac, back in 1984.

Who do you think you're lecturing on Apple, you git?

Name calling Mike? Some things never change, you putz.

Apple has left itself open to competitors. And HP/Palm can do it.

Everyone has competitors, but Apple has become a target simply by being #1.

Of course HP/Palm can compete, but they're a day late and a dollar short.
Compare the Pre, the Pre Plus and Pixie to Apple's current iOS4 lineup - Palm as a competitor is utterly laughable.

As Gmon stated, Apple's reasons for success are often underlooked by their competitors. It's not a specs race; if it were, Apple would have lost years ago.

The only real iphone competitor Apple has right now is Android.

RE: of course!
Gekko @ 6/12/2010 5:30:46 PM # Q
>You are either ignorant, in denial, or both.

i vote the former.

RE: of course!
mikecane @ 6/12/2010 6:06:57 PM # Q
Oh stop, Gekko. We all know you don't vote.
RE: of course!
gmayhak @ 6/12/2010 7:36:10 PM # Q
>>> mikecane @ 6/12/2010 9:40:41 AM #
And let me add ... what people want is what Apple has -- but WITHOUT the Apple straitjacket. No walled garden app store, no idiot censorship, no Tiffany pricing, no dev muzzling, etc.Tech Center Labs
www.talestuff.com
www.iTalentProductions.com
RE: of course!
gmayhak @ 6/12/2010 7:38:35 PM # Q
>>> mikecane @ 6/12/2010 9:40:41 AM #
And let me add ... what people want is what Apple has -- but WITHOUT the Apple straitjacket. No walled garden app store, no idiot censorship, no Tiffany pricing, no dev muzzling, etc.

1 "what people want is what Apple has" Correct!

2 "but WITHOUT the Apple straitjacket" No such thing, hyped media bullshit.

3 "No walled garden app store" More media bullshit, it's the only app store worth a damn.

4 "no idiot censorship" oh, you're pissed that they pulled the baby shaker app?

5 "no Tiffany pricing" What? Their hardware is the best in the industry and worth the cost. The apps? Remember what we had to pay for Palm apps?

6 "no dev muzzling, etc." Probably less than .1% of developers whining to gullible people that their great app got rejected.

Well, at least you got the first one right ;-)


The proof's in the facts, webOS and Google have a long way to go...
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include Macintosh computers, the iPod, theiPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the iWorksuite of productivity software; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products; and Logic Studio, a suite of audio tools. As of January 2010 the company operates 284 retail stores[2] in ten countries,[6] and an online store where hardware and software products are sold.
Established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated January 3, 1977,[7]the company was called Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years, but removed the word "Computer" on January 9, 2007,[8] to reflect the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers.[9] As of September 26, 2009, Apple had 34,300 full time employees and 2,500 temporary full time employees worldwide[10] and had worldwide annual sales of $42.91 billion in its fiscal year ending September 26, 2009.[3] For reasons as various as its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its distinctive advertising campaigns, Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States.[11] Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world in 2008, 2009, and 2010.[12][13][14] In May 2010, Apple's market cap exceeded that of Microsoft for the first time since 1989.[15]
Tech Center Labs
www.talestuff.com
www.iTalentProductions.com

RE: of course!
mikecane @ 6/13/2010 9:59:32 AM # Q
It really is amazing how eejits with no depth of knowledge behind their points have the nerve to say that *I* am ignorant in what I say. Christ, you're like the old Soviets or current North Koreans in the BS you accept and swallow.
RE: of course!
Gekko @ 6/13/2010 10:53:13 AM # Q

>Christ, you're like the old Soviets or current North Koreans in the BS you accept and swallow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

RE: of course!
e_tellurian @ 6/13/2010 11:09:11 AM # M Q
RE: of course!
jca666us @ 6/13/2010 3:56:29 PM # M Q
It really is amazing how eejits with no depth of knowledge behind their points...

You really shouldn't speak so badly of yourself Mike.

RE: of course!
Scotland @ 6/13/2010 5:08:16 PM # Q
Well, I'm with Mike on this one. Though Apple may have an early lead in both tablets and smartphones (since they reset the market with the iPhone), they're ultimately going to give all that market-share back. They've already made the same mistake they made when they battled it out with Microsoft on PCs in the 80's and early 90's - they didn't (and don't plan to) license their OS. If they had licensed the iPhone OS 1-2 years ago, Google never would have had an opening for Android. And, just like MacOS didn't fade away, iOS products will continue to stay relevant but only to a niche market - the mass market will belong increasingly to Google and Android just as PC marketshare went to Microsoft Windows.

In the mobile (non-PC) market it's not clear to me whether standalone OSes can continue to survive. Google and Apple both have business plans that can make it through the upcoming mobile OS shakeout (Google doesn't make money on the OS but makes money on their services; Apple makes niche, premium price high-end devices which emphasize industrial design and customer experience). Microsoft, Nokia, and Rimm are all getting (or may get) squeezed and HP's strategy for webOS isn't really clear yet but appears to be somewhat based on tying their smartphones and tablets to their very successful printer and enterprise businesses.

P.S. Good discussion but wish you guys could tone down the insults...

RE: of course!
e_tellurian @ 6/13/2010 5:25:58 PM # M Q
With pioneers like Palm stuck in a printer time will tell what the future holds. Will HP allow Palm to function independently or will Palm's place in history be a printer?

E-T

RE: of course!
jca666us @ 6/13/2010 6:43:55 PM # M Q
In the mobile (non-PC) market it's not clear to me whether standalone OSes can continue to survive.

So far, in the mobile market user experience and ecosystem are what seems to matter. Seems as though Apple still has a substantial advantage.

RE: of course!
nastebu @ 6/13/2010 10:22:58 PM # Q
It's certainly true that Android has encroached on Apple's market share. It's much less clear to me that Android has encroached on Apple's profits. There are plenty of things Apple could do right away that would boost market share--additional lower priced models, additional carriers--but they haven't done those things. I assume that's because right now they are happy with their business model and bottom line. If the market changes, there's no reason to think that Apple won't adjust.

I love my iPhone, walled garden and all, but Cane does have a point. Apple needs to both keep out the rif-raf, and yet not start letting their restrictions stifle interesting content and innovation. That's not easy to do, and does risk pissing off their customers.

Case in point: I am very happy that Apple de-listed all the stupid titty-applications that used to come up whenever I searched for just about everything. I would search for "kanji," for example, which is a term for a Japanese character set, and half the results would be soft-core porn. Sweeping those applications out was certainly an opinionated and perhaps slightly patronizing decision, but it made the experience of using the iPhone much better.

On the other hand, the NYT ran a story recently about a comic version of James Joyce's Ulysses that had images edited because of Apple's restrictions. Ugh. That's not so smart, and makes me nervous. There's no room for art on the iPhone?

So I do agree with Cane. Apple's model leaves plenty of room for others.

RE: of course!
mikecane @ 6/14/2010 6:12:39 AM # Q
I am through kicking the shins of the blind. You morons learn eventually, but ALWAYS manage to forget who the hell tried to TEACH you in the first place.
RE: of course!
Scotland @ 6/14/2010 7:29:30 PM # Q
>>So far, in the mobile market user experience and ecosystem are what seems to matter. Seems as though Apple still has a substantial advantage.

True, for right now, but it won't last. History shows that open, commodity priced systems outsell closed systems. Apple has chosen to remain vertically integrated (as has RIMM) which means that ultimately, Google will outsell them. Google has the advantage right now versus other licensed OSes because they have:
1. Momentum
2. Price (the OS itself is free because they make money on the back-end services - in fact, rumor has it that they are paying carriers and handset vendors to carry Android)
3. Deep pockets to keep innovating at a breakneck pace (everyone complains about fragmentation on Android but this means they have rapidly gone from zero to parity with iPhone OS).

Microsoft - MS doesn't see WinMo as a way to make money off services as Google does... For now, they still see WinMo as a way to cross-sell X-Box, leverage their strength in development tools (Visual Studio), or prevent future competition to Windows on PCs - either way, it's a tough go. Given Google's business model, WinMo will never make any money for Microsoft - it's unclear on how long the shareholders will tolerate this. And instead of spreading WinMo further, they seem to be adopting Apple's more restrictive model instead (less multitasking, less variation, etc) and at exactly the wrong time. Given Microsoft has been ruled a monopoly on Windows, they can't just pay carriers and handset vendors to use Windows Phone without risking regulatory action against them.

Symbian - Nokia is doing fine outside the US but is still lagging in coolness factor versus Apple (and Google). The smartphone market is becoming tougher for them. Despite being open-sourced, Symbian still equals Nokia. Nokia's strategy with Maemo (now Meego) only confuses the situation. I think they would be smarter to focus on one OS - for example, they could move the Symbian app frameworks to Meego, drop Symbian as an OS, and be done with it.

RIMM - we still don't know what their strategy is outside of smartphones. Their channel strength is good worldwide, their OS improving (but behind the leaders technically speaking) - right now is a crucial time for them. They will either make the right decisions that keep them alive as a stand-alone player (expanding into other devices like tablets) or they will end up as an acquisition target eventually.

Palm - has a great OS and, once the acquisition is completed, deep pockets from their new parent. Unclear whether they will use the fully integrated model (webOS on only HP devices), license their OS, or take a hybrid strategy (HP devices + license the OS in other non-core markets). We'll need to watch this space. Either way, the acquisition means webOS lives on and the future is filled with lots of possibilities - though it is unclear if/what HP will deliver, when, and for how long. (A Palm designed webOS tablet would be amazing imho and be able to exploit a lot of the gaps that iPad has left open).

If Google/Android becomes too strong, watch for their mobile competitors to ratchet up the pressure on them by starting the process of regulatory complaints against them.

Just my $.02.

RE: of course!
nastebu @ 6/14/2010 10:12:40 PM # Q
Scotland wrote:
History shows that open, commodity priced systems outsell closed systems.

Of course, it depends which history you look at. The iPod has a different history and is directly comparable.

Scotland wrote:Google has the advantage right now versus other licensed OSes because they have:
1. Momentum
2. Price (the OS itself is free because they make money on the back-end services - in fact, rumor has it that they are paying carriers and handset vendors to carry Android)
3. Deep pockets to keep innovating at a breakneck pace (everyone complains about fragmentation on Android but this means they have rapidly gone from zero to parity with iPhone OS).

Apple has all three of those too. And they probably have the other advantage of being highly profitable in this area. How on earth is Google making money from Android? (That is a real question, not meant to imply Google is *not* making money on Android. I really don't know how it works for them.)

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