The Verizon-bound “Plus” versions of Palm’s Pre and Pixi smartphones are more or less similar to their predecessors, but for only ‘a few’ changes. While the “Plus” in the Pre basically implies a two-fold increase in the phone’s RAM to 512MB, the addition in Pixi primarily includes Wi-Fi connectivity.

In the opinion of Dieter Bohn, of PreCentral. net, the increased RAM of Pre Plus, vis-à-vis its predecessor’s 256MB RAM, will essentially help the Verizon version of the Pre to outperform the earlier version on the basis of its ‘multitasking’ capability – the new version can run at least 50 apps simultaneously.

Wile ‘multitasking’ potential is the key attraction in the Pre Plus, the addition of Wi-Fi shores up the abilities of the solid and economically-priced Pixi Plus, which will be available from Verizon at $100 with a two-year contract.

Though the Pixi Plus has not been given a storage boost - it still has 8GB of internal memory like its predecessor – like its Pre Plus sibling, the super-pocketable Pixi Plus boasts a narrower, yet easier to use, keyboard than the Pre Plus.

Initially to run WebOS 1.3, the Pixi Plus will upgrade to WebOS1.4 through an over-the-air update in February; thereby getting the video-capturing ability. However, presently, the Pixi Plus will not be able to download Adobe Flash Player 10.1 because of some undisclosed hardware issues.