Smart phone and portable device manufacturer Palm is sinking deep and they have placed the company and its assets up for bidding. While it has been confirmed that Taiwanese manufacturer HTC and electronics company Lenovo have been getting ready to take part of the bidding process, no word has been given regarding Microsoft, Apple and other big players in the mobile phone industry.

The lack of activity from other manufacturers is not only surprising, but unexpected. Palm not only holds a significant segment of the business market but also in the general smart phone market as well, they also own plenty of impressive technology patents (somehow, it is surprising that Apple is not snapping these up).

In any case, Palm is practically waving the big white flag of defeat as it failed to keep up with the financial needs of the company. Many believe that Palm’s biggest failure is to market their products as effectively as RIM’s BlackBerry. Both companies shared very similar target markets and the Palm smart phones and the impressive webOS has proven to be quite excellent products, it all boiled down to proper marketing.

The European market is one of Palm’s weakest links, had more Palm devices been released locally and if people were made more aware of the brand, then Palm might have easily survived. Simply put, Palm failed to maintain its hold against BlackBerry in its home turf and outside of the US.

Despite the lack of attention to the sale, it is unlikely that Palm will go down without a buyer. Considering its popularity in the tech industry with portable electronic devices and the impressive track record of Palm’s custom webOS mobile platform, it is too early to completely write off the one leading smart phone developer.

Read more about Palm being put up for bids at GSM Arena.

The Pixi will be heading for the UK, though it has yet to be confirmed exactly when the second WebOS will arrive, but O2 has already expressed that they are “interested” in the device. For now, fans of this upcoming device will have to wait for further announcements.

Attention is stirring up for the Palm Pixi as this second Palm device promises users not only an enjoyable messaging experience, but also a device that is exceptionally small.

Size is truly the key factor with the Pixi considering its dimensions. The phone is only 55 x 111 x 10.85 mm. It may sound a little thick, but it is actually thinner than the iPhone, and this phone has a keyboard (not to mention a removable battery).

Aside from the small size, Palm has made it a point to bless this phone with an amazing external finish. The front of the device is a sleek black gloss with raised buttons while the back of the Pixi sports that familiar soft plastic texture.



Features and Hardware

This phone brings a lot of features in such a small space, and it does it well. The most notable feature is the QWERTY keyboard that is not only functional, but also very easy and quite fun to use.

It also has a 2 mega pixel camera which comes equipped with LED flash, making it very useful when taking quick images and casual photos. Do not expect to do high resolution photography with the Pixi though.

The WebOS, just like with the Pre, is an impressive platform. It has not been announced which version of the WebOS will be present in the Pixi when it is released in the UK, but hopefully it will have the latest, updated firmware.



Pixi Availability

At the moment, there are no Palm Pixi deals in the UK. Carrier O2 stated last September that they are interested in the device but have not said anything further.