In its attempt to gain from the thrust provided by its June-released Pre smartphone, Palm has unveiled another addition to the webOS lineage – a smaller, more affordable smartphone called the ‘Pixi’!

Going by Palm’s official blog post, the slim and sleek Pixi will follow its predecessor, the Pre, on the Sprint Network. Palm said that the new smartphone, priced at $150 with a two-year contract, will essentially target the younger customers, and will be available “in time for the holiday shopping season.”

Sporting a comparatively smaller multi-touchscreen than its senior sibling, the Pixi will feature a full QWERTY keyboard; a 2-megapixel camera; 8GB storage capacity; and GPS capabilities. In addition, the Pixi boasts a new Facebook application, as well as Palm’s Synergy feature to enable integration with LinkedIn and Yahoo contacts, calendar, and IM in a single view.

As per a hands-on report from Gizmodo, the Wi-Fi-less Pixi is even more ‘pocketable’ than the Pre, and its somewhat smaller keyboard is much easier to use than the Pre keyboard.

Talking about the Pixi, Palm’s Chairman and CEO Jon Rubinstein said: “With Palm WebOS, we're creating a new, more intuitive smartphone experience defined by unmatched simplicity and usefulness. Palm Pixi brings this unique experience to a broader range of people who want enhanced messaging and social networking in a design that lets them express their personal style.”