Verizon Wireless has dropped prices on two of their Palm smartphones, the Pre Plus and the Pixi Plus, and is offering free use of an add-on service that turns the device into a 3G Wi-Fi hotspot.In addition to the existing "buy one get one free" promotion, the wireless carrier has cut the prices of the Pre Plus from $150 to $50 and the Pixi Plus from $80 to $30. Although both smartphones still require two-year contracts and monthly data plans, they are now in the same price tier of many feature phones offered by Verizon, making them quite attractive to customers who have their eyes on WebOS phones.
Meanwhile, the Mobile Hotspot service, which originally costs $40 a month with a 5GB download limit, is now free of charge. By downloading a free application from Palm’s App Catalog, you can turn your Plus handset into a mobile Wi-Fi router, which provides mobile Internet access using Verizon’s wireless network to up to five other devices, such as a laptop and an iPad.
Launched just three months ago, the Pre Plus and the Pixi Plus are Verizon’s Wi-Fi-equipped versions of the Sprint originals. Both phones feature a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard and operate on Palm’s WebOS system. The Pre Plus, in particular, represents a major improvement to its predecessor with the storage space and RAM doubled.
Palm has been undergoing tough time fighting back the likes of Apple’s iPhone, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry and Google’s Android devices, and therefore the new prices and free service offer can be interpreted as a strategy of luring bargain-hunting customers. Yet, the network is touting the special offer as a temporary one and plans to see how the market responds before deciding the duration of the promotion.
No comments:
Post a Comment