With all the hype that surrounded the June release of the Palm Pre, the idea of further phones using the webOS system was widely disregarded. Many assumed the the success of the Pre would dictate the release of any further phones, and the Palm’s very existence was reliant on the flagship webOS handset being a smash. The small rumor of another phone name ‘Eos’ or ‘Pixie’ seemed little more than a figment of an over zealous fan wanting to contribute to the growing hysteria that surrounded Palm’s re-boot as a company.

However today’s announcement proves that there has always been a plan to release two webOS phones this year (and that Palm do a pretty good job of keeping things under wraps), independent of the Pre’s success, and that Palm are targeting particular customers with each phone, that webOS will be no one trick pony, and that Palm is planning for the long run.

So the Pixi was announced today, to less hype than the much anticipated Pre, but to seemingly positive reviews that suggest the phone will more than hold it’s own when release on Sprint, sometime before the holiday period. However looking at the phone one might ask whether, while the Pre was meant to be the impact phone, the Centro-like Pixi, might be the phone Palm expects to change people’s perceptions of the company, and move users over to their handsets.

Speaking from a personal point of view, while i own a lovely Palm Pre, that makes me very happy, i have issues with the aesthetics and practicalities of the form factor. I realised the Pre would be first generation hardware and software, and was willing to accept the possibility of better looking and functioning phones in the future. However now that i have seen the fully functioning Pixi, there is a pang of jealousy that will accompany its release into the world.

Yes, i will be happy that i can use my WIFI connection etc, but does that make a huge difference anyway. And the small screen on the Pixi might inhibit me a little but more than the screen on a Blackberry which i find perfectly able. Hells no. What the Pixi offers is sexy, slick, slim form factor, built for use on the move. And with the ever developing webOS, the Pixi offers a phone that will be at the forefront of people’s minds when they are looking for the middle ground between the bidniss styles of the Blackberry, the user-friendliness of the iPhone, and the app development available on Android phones.

This has all been said before for the Palm Pre, however, there is a certain trickiness to using the Pre because of the way it is built which is think has been keeping people away from switching away from their iPhones and Blackberrys. The Pixi offers that middle ground that Palm always spoke of trying to obtain and for this reason i can see the Pixi being the breakaway phone. While it won’t be the phone that everyone is writing about, it will be the phone that, when seen by the average consumer, will be the one they pick.