A “reliable tipster” has informed Pre Central that Palm is planning a new handset for an unknown release window, about which little seems to be known except that it’s got an 800×480 screen and no physical keyboard. That’s not it in the picture, by the way.
This seems a little odd considering how webOS was originally optimized for a handset with a keyboard (interface clearances, layouts, etc), but it also makes sense: shouldn’t all the work they’re putting into the Slate form factor trickle down to the handset level in some way or another?
The “Mansion” codename is likely just an internal convention; the Pre was called “Castle,” and probably we’ll see “Villa” and “Townhouse” or the like some time soon.
Personally, I like the idea. You need to make some sacrifices either way to accommodate the keyboard or lack thereof, but a proper mobile OS should probably work with both, something Android occasionally struggles with. Whether the new lineup of phones will include slate, slider, landscape slider, and candybar form factors, or some combination of those, is anyone’s guess for now.