What do you get when you have WebOS without a Pre or Pixi? The Veer, HP’s first original smartphone powered by the platform the company acquired when it bought Palm, Inc.
Like the flagship Pre, this handset features a sliding hardware QWERTY keyboard. But according to the press release, it’s “the smallest webOS phone to date — the size of a credit card and no thicker than a deck of cards.” So while the trend may be mammoth displays (ahem! Infuse), this one goes the opposite way and crams a full-fledged smartphone into a tiny package, with “4G” no less. (It actually supports HSDPA Cat 10, HSUPA Cat 6.)
Available on May 15 for $99 (with two-year contract), the Veer offers features that include the following:
- 800-MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 processor
- 2.57-inch multitouch glass screen with 18-bit color (320 x 400 res)
- Gesture area
- Full slide-out hardware QWERTY keyboard
- Support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, integrated GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support, hotspot functionality
- 5MP camera
- Rechargeable 910 mAh non removable battery (for up to 5 hrs talk time)
- 8GB built-in storage
- Compatible with Touchstone charger (available separately)
- Tri-band UMTS, quad-band GSM/EDGE world phone
- Measures 54.5 x 84 x 15.1 mm (2.1 x 3.3 x 0.6 inches)
- Weighs 103 grams (3.6 ounces)
- Available in white or black
So what do you think? Is there a market for this? Are you a WebOS fan choosing between the Veer this month or waiting until the summer for the Pre3? Or an AT&T user looking at 4G options? If it helps to see what you get in the package, check out the HP Veer unboxing video by hitting the play button above. Then tell us what you think below.