Palm adds Pre's little brother, the Pixi

Palm today announced a second phone that will use its webOS operating system. The Pixi is a smaller (and likely cheaper) sibling to the Palm Pre, the first webOS phone, and its promises many of the same noteworthy features.

Available on Sprint "in time for the holidays," no price has been announced for the Pixi, but it's expected to cost less than the Pre—the price of which, in related news, Sprint has just cut by $50, to $150 after a $100 rebate.

The new phone lacks the Pre's Wi-Fi connectivity and is slightly smaller, measuring 2.17 in. x 4.37 in. x 0.43 in. It weighs 3.51 ounces and has a 2.63-in. multi-touch screen, 8GB of internal user storage (same as the Pre), and a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash.

Like the Pre, the Pixi has a proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear, and an accelerometer that automatically reorients web pages and photos when you tilt the phone.

Palm says the Pixi will have a separate Facebook application on its the desktop instead of the Web hotlink Pre users have now. Pre users will be able to upgrade to the new Facebook app when it becomes available. —Mike Gikas