HP Veer hands-on 36
Wed, 09 Feb 2011 6:10 pm EST
Ready for the smallest smartphone ever? We don't think you really are, but here it is. This little webOS 2.1 phone is the first of the new devices due, set for a spring 2011 release. It's purely a GSM/HSDPA phone for now (no CDMA announced), packing a little 2.6-inch 320x400 screen. And unlike its tiny predecessor, the Palm Pixi, the HP Veer is a slider phone, resulting in a positively minuscule closed size. It reminds us of the Microsoft Kin One, a bit... in a good way we swear.
Around back you'll find a 5 MP camera with the extended depth-of-field tech we've come to know in the current crop of webOS devices, along with video capture. There is not an LED flash, but then again, the Veer also doesn't have the communication coil of the Pre 3, meaning you won't be able to touch-to-share with the TouchPad as you might want. Sorry.
The Veer does have a 910 mAh user non-replaceable battery, though HP claims that the 800MHz Qualcomm 7230 Snapdragon processor is more power efficient than than the old TI OMAP processors, so the Veer should have battery life similar to the Palm Pre Plus. To charge up that little battery, the Veer connects exclusively via a tiny magnetic connector adapter that mates up to micro-USB. That same magnetic connector also hooks up to an adapter to a 3.5mm headphone jack. No, the Veer has neither a micro-USB port or a headphone jack. Palm claims that such was a compromise to make the Veer so small, and given the thin profile of the two sliding halves, we can see where they're coming from, though we're still divided as to whether or not that's a good idea. At least it has mobile hotspot. Our hands-on gallery with the Veer is after the break.
36 Comments
veer sucks, even a smaller battery than pixi.
get a pic of it in your hand or next to something. You really can't tell the size of the thing...
Yeah. A comparison to a pre(/plus/2) would be nice. (same with pre3)
Edit: looks like it's width is less than the touchstone though
ironically i feel like its the size of an oreo =P
just bring the pre3 to sprint in spring... thats all i ask.. is that too much? wtf am i supposed to do with my pre - that is basically 18 mos old and falling apart? :sigh:
Honestly, which do you think would have sold better; the Veer or a 4+inch slab?
HP and Palm must have lost it. Don't they understand the current trend is LARGE screen phones. Total fail.
I'm wondering if HP sees the Veer as a cheap GSM phone for countries like India or China. Or, people who can't/don't want to pay for a high-end smart phone. In that case, Veer could become the gateway to introduce those customers to the WebOS eco-system. In other words, such a strategy might echo Google's offerings of Android on all types of phones, low to high-end.
i had the same thought when the pixi came out. but then when it finally did, i started noticing all these tweens/teens brandishing their little pixies :). so maybe size-envy doesn't really set in until way past puberty?
tiny
the veer will never replace my beloved pixi
Amen!
Boo! Hiss! Why does HP release a tiny phone? (and a bigger phone on the same day!) Why do they stick with their vertical sliders when they're basically alone in using them?
Cut to May, when HP releases the Pre 3 and announces a 4.3" slab and people will boo and hiss because it's just another uninspired me-too slab (and Android will catch up with the specs soon too)
Not having a headphone jack will be bad on a teen phone (if that is what they intend this phone to be). They should throw in a stereo bluetooth headset
was interested till i heard 'no headphone jack'. and why so much non-screen space on the front? that screen should go from end to end.
HP has their head stuck so far up their ass they couldn't see that NOBODY wants this small POS....
the pre2 is coming out on verizon and if the rumors of it being priced at $100 are true then that should be enough to lure in the target market for this POS....
it would've been a lot better if they'd had just announced the pre3 and a 4" slab. that way everyone would've been happy.
Yep this is so stupid. It had a stupid name, looks almost identical to the kin and it will surely fail like it. I have a feeling this is it for them.
HPalm is now trying to destroy Palm. Seriously HP? Can you make a phone any smaller? How silly is this thing? Have you seen zoolander?
but zoolander was sooooo awsome lol, they should do the comercial with ben stiller and owen wilson lol
it has possibilitiess as far as the magnetic adapters go, this eliminates the headset malfunction that troubled us pre owners for soooo long. And the usb port being gone is a blessing, no more fiddling with impossible ports especially while in the car. But the only way I can see this as a "teen phone" is, if it comes with some serious free accesories like stereo bluetooth, color cases and maybee a free preloaded movie/album(whoever the devil those blasted kids like.....morgan freedman, justin bieber idk idc)
you want to watch a movie on something that small . . . . . really?
how in the fuck do you make a teen phone and give your kids full acceess to the internet without offering or having builtin parental controls. As a parent, I would buy the phone if I knew my teen wasn't able to see everything the internet has to offer an impressionable,stupid, and cavalier teen ager!! Welp, my fellow webOS faithful, I think we got it up the wazoo with no grease!!!
"We didn't buy Palm to get into the Smart Phone Business" - HP CEO
-Truer words were never spoken.
SMALL HANDS DONT LIKE BIG PHONES! =) during my hands on with this device, i fell in love =) .
hp and palm are so out of touch is not even funny. Sticking with a failed form factor for 3 generations? Really? Oh, and now this? They only people here that are getting impressed or excited are the hardcore palm loyalist. Being on I am a little happe to see some new hardware, but how do you expect to gain market share with the same type of failed deviced with better specs? SMH.......................
Sprint has no information on upcoming HP/Palm devices.... F**K!!!!
I might go for the Veer if it had a front facing camera and the touch to share that the Pre3 has.
I'll play contrarian. I love my Pixi because it is small. So much power in a small form factor that is more pocketable than the competition. The Veer does the Pixi even better with easy to pocket design and features lacking on the Pixi (like speed and wi-fi). I'm drawn to the little Veer over the bigger Pre3, especially with the TouchPad. If I want a big screen I'd Tap-to-Share to the TouchPad. I'd like to see this on Sprint rather than AT&T given data plan costs, but now there's a reason for me to actually consider switching to AT&T. I love all the power in such a tiny package and the one finger ease of webOS works well on the small screen. Glad HP kept the Palm style keyboard. I far prefer the slightly rubbery keys to the hard plastic norm. I'm planning to upgrade to a Veer and a TouchPad.
Sorry to burst your bubble... the Veer doesn't have Tap-to-Share capabilities... Yes sad, but true.
I have to agree with everybody that hates this phone.Its really a pre 1 but smaller.What will it be good for? You can't even use tap to share.No front facing camera.It wouldn't have hurt to make a pixi like or a lil bigger slab phone.If they are going to take a chance with the veer.I'm sure they could have taken the same chance with a slab phone and had better results. Big fail.
I've used Android and iOS. Yes, lots of apps most of which are useless to me. Lots of virtual buttons to push. But the little Pixi -- and now Veer will do the core functions of a smart phone, one-handed with the intuitive webOS gestures, more easily and fit unobtrusively in a shirt or pants pocket. Especially paired with a TouchPad, the small smartphone form factor makes a huge amount of sense to me.
Same screen as pixi. I dont know about yall but to me that sucks. Same resolution and size.
I loved playing with this phone. I'm 6'2" and have big hands. It was really nice to hold. It felt great to use one handed. The entire screen was easily reached with my thumb. It is super solid. Feels nothing like the Pre. The keyboard is tiny but the feel good and keys have a nice click. Not mushy like the Pre. If it is priced right. I think it will do well. There are a lot of people that would love to get rid of the big slab. (I'd like a big slab for myself though). I would love to have this as a second handset. It felt faster than my overclocked Pre-.
what carrier and how much!?
Sign me up!
Seriously, guys...do you think that the whole world wants big phones just because you do? All the innovation in smartphones for the last year has been in one direction: make them larger. There is a practical limit as to how big you can make a phone. If that's all you know to do, then where do you go to innovate once that limit is reached? I have friends in wireless retail who tell me some customers are beginning to return the largest phones because they are just too awkward.
I guess we won't know 'til we see how it's received, but I, for one, would carry the Veer, provided the performance and battery life are on par. I don't like having to use a belt clip for a phone, and I sure as heck don't want a "super-sized" phone in my pocket. Slim and light is a big plus for me.
To those posting some serious negative comments about both the Veer and HP's current strategies in general should not speak of things they have no experience in. I highly doubt anyone posting here has had any hands-on experience with the Veer nor experience trying to produce multiple product variants to meet the myriad of current and possible future users that exists in the fast paced market smartphones is becoming. There is no single product that will meet everyones needs. That's a fact. I don't like the car you drive, does that mean it's a fail? Does that mean that the company that produced it is going to fail as a whole?
Most people posting here should adhere to the saying "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."