Verizon sells Palm Pre Plus, Pixi Plus for $50, $30

In a move that smacks of desperation, Verizon has lowered the price of the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to just $49.99 and $29.99, respectively, with two-year service contract.

Both phones are also offered in a buy one, get one deal.

It's quite a deal for consumers, who get a top-notch smartphone for relatively little. Verizon typically runs promotions like these -- buy one, get one BlackBerrys come to mind -- and that's also the case here.

To sweeten the deal, Verizon also said that it would give away its Mobile HotSpot application for both phones without requiring a monthly charge. The software allows the Pixi Plus and Pre Plus to act as mobile hotspots.

[Palm Pre Plus on Verizon] [Palm Pixi Plus on Verizon]