Palm Pixi Plus Verizon Mobile Phone Review

Palm Pixi Plus Verizon Mobile Phone

Palm Pixi Plus Verizon Mobile Phone. 3G-enabled smartphone with intuitive Palm webOS platform, touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard; easy integration with Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and more GPS-enabled for turn-by-turn directions; can be used as a 3G Mobile Hotspot for up to five Wi-Fi connected devices 8 GB internal memory. I was about to return this phone because Verizon wanted a $45 data plan just to activate it; then I read the brilliant comments by Chuck Homic. Opening the package, I saw the ESN/MEID HEX printed on the box. I held down the power button until the PALM light lit up on-screen. It took a while for it to boot up. The phone tried twice to call Verizon and activate itself, to no avail.

On another phone, I called the Page Plus Cellular toll-free number and gave them the Pixi's MEID and the phone number that I wanted ported from my active, prepaid Verizon phone. They gave me a 'Premier Package' 6-digit activation code to dial from Pixi, and said that Verizon is usually quick to release your old number and to call back when they have done so.

It took about an hour or so that the old cell number stopped ringing the old phone, indicating that it had been ported.

In order to dial the activation code on the Pixi, you first press the little phone symbol on the screen and press Emergency Call. When the dialpad shows, hit the backspace three times to erase the 911 off the screen. Enter the six-digit code and hit the Call button. The phone will take a while to activate and will need to be rebooted when it's finished.

After you reboot the phone, you'll have to do the Phone Symbol- Emergency Call- erase 911- thing again. Now on the dialpad, try to call a phone number near you to test, like a home number or something. When the phone near you rings, hang up and listen for the confirmation on the phone that it's working.

IMPORTANT: Page Plus Cellular gives your account about $2 worth of phone/ text/ data to start your service. Because the Palm Pixi Plus requires a data connection to set up the Palm Profile and activate FIRST, you cannot use WiFi yet to do this. The $2 credit should be plenty to just set up your profile; if not, then call them from another phone and make sure you get the full-on Premier activation code.

When I was told this, and since I only use the Voice feature for rare 'emergency' and 'notice' calls, then I opted for the Standard Plan of $10 for 100 minutes that expire after 120 days ($30/year).

After the Palm Profile was set up, a brief video tutorial ensued. I then immediately tapped on the Signal Bars symbols to turn on the WiFi, and entered my router's WPA security code for access to my home WiFi network.

Now using my own WiFi, I felt FREE to import/ associate the Pixi with my Google contacts, emails, and calendar. Sweet.

Here are my notes on this -

• I've put 380+ songs on it, plus the Pandora App, and I still have 5gb of space.The 'Amazon MP3' app is already built in. The music sounds so good that I ordered the Palm headset as well. I also like the AccuWeather app and about 16 others.
• I got the dedicated Palm stereo headset for about $3 and discovered that double-clicking the Mic Mute button will advance to the next song (FF) - see review: Palm Stereo Headset for Palm Pixi and Palm Pre . At that price, I try to keep a pair in the car, work,
• I got a deal on the Belkin Bluetooth dongle for Home Stereo - NEW Version Belkin F8Z492-P Bluetooth Music Receiver and so that I could play my music on the Pixi over my full system; I really like that.
• plugging and unplugging the charge cord was starting to be a chore, so I bought the TouchStone inductive charger from Palm where you just lay the phone on top of the thing - Palm Touchstone Charging Dock for Palm Pre and Palm Pixi. You have to use a special jacket w/ the TouchStone, and I chose one in bright orange - Palm Pixi Touchstone Cover (orange)

Manufacturer	Palm
Compatible networks	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 HSDPA 850 / 1900 - for AT&T
Availability	Available. Released 2010, June
Form factor	Bar, QWERTY
Dimensions	111 x 55 x 10.9 mm
Weight	92.5 g
Operating system	Palm webOS
CPU	600 MHz ARM 11 processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7627 chipset
Memory	8 GB Internal storage
Data inputs	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto rotate
Display	320 x 400 pixels, 2.63 inches
Rear camera	2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, LED flash
GPRS	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE	Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G	HSDPA, 7.2Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76Mbps
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth	Yes v2.0 with A2DP
USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0
Others	- SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM - WAP 2.0 / HTML, - with A-GPS support, AT&T Navigator - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - Organizer - Document viewer - Voice memo/dial- Standard battery, Li-Ion 1150 mAh

Technical Details

• Fast 3G connectivity thanks to the reliable Verizon Wireless EV-DO, Rev A network
• Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go.
• Comes as travel-ready with a built-in 3G Mobile Hotspot--a Wi-Fi hotspot that can be shared among five Wi-Fi-capable devices
• GPS navigation capabilities via VZ Navigator service
• 8 GB internal memory (non-expandable) with the ability to work as a USB drive when plugged into a PC