Mobile Roundup: Palm, RIM, Samsung, HTC

The Palm Pre Plus is now available via AT&T, and Verizon Wireless has dropped the price of the Pixi to $0.00. A new BlackBerry was sighted over the weekend. Samsung has some plans for the enterprise. And HTC dropped yet another Android handset.Palm

The Palm Pre Plus went on sale through AT&T Wireless over the weekend. It costs $150 with a new contract after rebates. You might want to wait a week or two before buying, however. Given the price of the Pre Plus on competing networks (Verizon and Sprint), $150 is no bargain. I wouldn't be too surprised if the price drops precipitously soon.

Speaking of precipitous drops, the Pixi Plus is now available for free from Verizon Wireless. Keep in mind, entry-level flip phones cost more than that, and the Pixi Plus carries Palm's solid webOS platform.

RIM

New spy shots of the BlackBerry 9800 slider have emerged. Based on the latest photographic evidence, the atypical BlackBerry is headed to AT&T as early as mid-June. June is an odd month for AT&T to announce any new smartphones other than the iPhone, which is highly expected.

Beyond the timing, the 9800 is an odd duck of a device for RIM. RIM has never done a slider before. The 9800 combines a slide-up touch screen that reveals a standard QWERTY keyboard for messaging.

Samsung

It looks like Samsung is getting more serious about becoming a player in the North American business market. Today it announced a new partnership with InfoLogix. The two will offer Samsung devices with InfoLogix's enterprise mobility management software. It does all that busy IT department needs when it comes to managing fleets of mobile devices.

HTC

HTC announced today the Wildfire, a new Android handset that is aimed at Asian and European markets. At first glance, it appears to be a slimmed down version of the HTC Desire. It looks sharp, has the newest SenseUI, but has a reduced screen size and slower processor when compared to its more desirable cousin.