AT&T Palm Pre Plus, Pixi Plus (photos)

At CTIA 2010, AT&T announced the upcoming availability of the Palm Pixi Plus and the Palm Pre Plus. The Palm Pixi Plus pictured here will cost $49.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

AT&T will offer the Palm Pixi Plus in two colors: black or blue. You will also still be able to purchase additional backplate covers in a variety of colors, including pink, orange, and green, or one of the artist design series covers.

Physically, the Pixi Plus for AT&T doesn't differ from the version that is available from Verizon Wireless, so you get the same keyboard. The buttons are small, but it's actually pretty easy to use and offers a nice tactile feedback.

The Pixi name is quite appropriate as the device is quite compact and cute. The smartphone measures 4.37 inches tall by 2.17 inches wide by 0.43 inch thick and weighs 3.26 ounces.

Both the Pixi Plus and the Pre Plus will offer support for a number of AT&T services, including AT&T Navigator and Yellow Pages Mobile.

AT&T will offer the Palm Pre Plus for $149.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. It will ship with WebOS 1.4 out of the box (as will the Pixi Plus) and provides access to the carrier's more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots around the country as part of the unlimited data plan.

Like the Verizon Pre Plus, the AT&T model will ship with the inductive back cover in the box so you can use it with a Touchstone dock (which you will have to buy separately for $45).

Thankfully, Palm improved the keyboard from the original Pre by increasing the key travel space and making the buttons feel less gummy.

A side profile of the Pre Plus in its open state.