Veer launch party scheduled for May 2; Update: AT&T confirmed? 153
We’ve been hearing “spring,” “soon,” and most recently “very soon” with regards to when the minuscule HP Veer smartphone is supposed to launch. Of course, all this vagueness means little without a concrete date, and it’s looking like that date might actually be very soon, perhaps as soon as the opening days of May (as in next month).
What might lead us to draw such a conclusion? Perhaps this invitation that’s popped up online from HP, scheduled for the evening of May 2 in Anaheim, California, for the HP Veer Launch Party Event. We’re not sure exactly who this invitation is for, but it’s out there for all to see. The three-hour event (preceded by appetizers) will include “hands-on training, exciting demos and HP giveaways” and, well, that’s about all we know about this. If you were hoping to get your hands on a smartphone so small it can’t fit a micro-USB port or headphone jack, then you might be looking at only a few weeks instead of the indeterminate “soon.”
Update: PreCentral reader Philip writes in that after signing up for the above event, he received an email informing him that he needs to "bring his ID badget or an AT&T/Best Buy Business card" to get in. We were expecting the Veer to land on AT&T, so it's no surprise but still is nice to hear. Thanks Philip!
Source: Cvent; Via: rretsiem (Twitter)
153 Comments
i still dont believe. but i want to.
What year? Does this mean Flash for Pre is soon?
I do have Flash on my Pre Plus. In what year are you living?
I'm a launch week Pre owner, you can call me "sir" you Johnny-come-lately. There is a difference between the devices and at this point in the game, I'm not gonna hand build my o/s for Palm to deliver on their promises when I'm leaving the Palm product line for maker that delivers on Palm's promises and more. In a couple weeks, I'll have everything, plus 4G, and you'll have your hand built Pre Plus running 3G, waiting for a Pre3 running 3G to carry you to late 2013, or pay hundreds in ETF if you dont buy the little POS outright.
What decade are you living in?
1) I could make a normal webOS-Doctor, without any hacking (even if not, the procedure isn't too complicated...)
2) Yes, I'am waiting for my Pre 3 and NO it actually will be marketed as 4G. If HSDPA+ isn't 4G for you, then LTE isn't either. As both haven't been specified as 4G initially by the ITU.
3) I pay no hundreds of ETF for my phones, I always buy them off-contract and choose my carrier (there are actually countries with more than 2 GSM-carriers that even are compatible to each other if you are using a tri- or quad-band mobile like the Pre).
It might sound strange, but I agree BOTH with PreDogs and vito-andolini. I'm happy with my hacked Pre, while at the same time understand it shouldn't be.
Shi **** im a launch day pre-owner...you can call me mr. Sir, lol, and i got a free pre2, its easy to do, and i upgraded last june, (when $129.99 but $220 total bill got ya yearly upgrade via premier now im a silver bs, ) to he evo and flash is a little better on webos,
This suxx i have a feeling sprint isnt gonna pick up webos a 2nd time, theyre getting much success with evo n android, i hope im wrong id drop androd for a better hardware webos device....pray for sprint
they doesn't seem like they are going to release for sprint, but who knows. i am on sprint and i am dieing for a new phone. my is a real pos right now. i am hoping either the GS2 or the Pre3 come to sprint. i am not a big fan of the EVO 3D (its too bulky). if either of those phones comes to sprint i will b getting the first to release.... honestly i prefer the GS2. touchwiz 4.0 took Android to an amazing level of ulrasweet, not to mention its lighter, thinner, better camera, amoled and way more powerful. however, i will miss the **** outta webos and a keyboard. its a tough call
Well Spring ends on June 21st so they have like 2 months to release it.
Exactly! I'm pretty sure, though, it will be released within a month of this event.
It will be here... SOON. Now if we could just get the VEER on VZW. One can hope... RIGHT?
I want a Pre3... Veer is too small for my hands... better hurry though, my 2nd Pre2 is having Wifi issues... similar to the first Pre2 that had 3G radio issues...
Sweet - that's quicker than I expected. Any word on carriers/pricing?
Probably just atnt, i have pre1/evo on sprint but i dont see it coming to sprint
So anyone up to the challenge of taking one apart and re-assembling inside a pixi housing?
exactly, if they wont make me the slab phone of my dreams, i'd take a super beefed up pixi :P
I actually want to have the Pre 3, but the Veer in a Pixi-housing would tempt me.
Nevertheless... I guess I would prefer one with a 3.2" screen and the Pre 3 keyboard with the Pixi-housing. But I guess this is never going to be released :-(
I want one of those too! I was hoping a company the size of HP could over a more diverse set of handset styles since they aren't licensing out webOS
It's still a veer
lol
Can't believe that anyone would actually want this. Another huge fail.
I want it.
I'd take on too. It would be a dream to be able to use a Veer and a Pre3 with the ability to have the same number.
I can't believe some are so close minded they can't believe others may not like the exact same thing you like.
Well, so far, Palm/HP has failed at everything since the Pre. People have already proven that they don't want this type of phone. So, I'm not all that close minded... just going off of history.
What "people" are you referring to? What other phone has been this "type" of phone?
Thanks for your personal opinion.
Even with the (baseless) male/female argument, can you not imagine that there exists a market and niche for a phone that appeals to a women using an OS that her husband uses on his "professional" device (the Pre3) and that they can both access/share info in the cloud between their devices, including their tablet and PC?
No, I guess there are no married businessmen.
If it can miraculously find its way to Sprint, I´ll take two please!
Webos is the best of blackberry and iOS, pre3 needs to include virtual keyboard like htc G2 does, portrait keyboard imo is alot more natural and quicker than landscape
I didnt realize how equal webos is to iOS and better than android(I really like android, well htc android devices) was
my friend had an OG droid n i had pre1 i could play iOS games like assassins creed an gameloft and other "3d" games while the assassins creed on his OG droid was some crappy 2d version, when i tried out the moment and hero on sprint i realized android reminded me of my first smartphone's/(pocket pc/ the htc touch aka vogue on sprint). Which was windowsmobile 6.1, by that i mean its good, does everything ya need, but its not pretty and most people use the bare minimum of features. By this i know people who have android devices, newer ones, and barely know how to use it. Like hitting menu on homescreen and accessing various menu functions besides wifi n bluetooth. IOS is kng for a reason but webOS is a very close second hopefully w/HP the ability to be seen with enthusiasm that android currently has, whch is weird its more a "geek" OS, myself included, but i gave my pre1 to my 50 yr old mum,(verzon commercial comes to life) and she wont get any other hone unless its a newer pre(on sprint, i pay for my parents cells n they keep me on car insurance) and while the catalog has few apps, compared to..., they have most of the main greats of iOS and android, id like some smule apps crossover and homerun batte3d online multiplayer,
I am a so called fanboy geek but i like android, iOS, webOS pretty much equal in the eyes of a geek but in the eyes of a mainstream customer/user iO and webOS are best with webOS giving you that familar blackberry keyboard hat theyve
Continued from my pot)
tHeyve heard and seen about(word play) and bb, its horrible for average user sorry so long winded
Your logic is flawed.
"People have already proven that they don't want this type of phone"
There was no prove of any kind that people don't want this type of phone.
Care to explain? Btw, I was only pointing out that the girl-phone argument still doesn´t make it a failure... I don´t myself see it as a girl phone, nor a teen (tween?) phone. And from your comments below, I don´t think you think it´s a fail either... So... ???
I think @tholap was replying to @mikevillain. Just going by the comment scheme. I could be wrong though.
"I think @tholap was replying to @mikevillain. Just going by the comment scheme. I could be wrong though."
You are 100% correct of course. :-)
Shoots, sorry, minused you accidentally @tholap... how do you undo? Alright, will refresh and + twice then.
I actually like the Pre design and it works perfectly for an enterprise user like myself. If they release the Veer on Sprint I would totally buy that phone over the Pre3. I don't want some brick in my pocket when a phone half the size can do the same thing. A phone is not meant to be used as a laptop.
+1 . This is me too. Remember when tiny technology meant better and more advanced? Look at "mobile" phones from the 80's. The future is wireless and cloud based... this is perfect for me. I personally think it's sad and comical that people would watch a movie on a phone with a kickstand. I can't imagine myself ever being that guy.
They 8 people that down-ranked him are the 8 people that want the Veer. HAHAHAHAHA
I can't believe that someone thinks that relaunching a brand with an undersized form factor and outdated specs is a good idea. WebOS didn't catch on the first time, and the Pre was a much stronger phone at that time then the Veer is now.
You can like it, I'm happy for you if you find a phone that fits your needs. This was not a good way to relaunch WebOS though, and if you're a WebOS fan you need to be pulling for the ecosystem as a whole. Not just you're own personal need to own a phone that fits in your skinny jeans.
agree. Who relaunches a product line with some third tier hardware. Where's the superphone?
Please explain to me the tier 1 and tier 2 in May 2011.
EVO 3D pretty much covers tier 1 and 2.
I think to many people fail to realize specs and how it relates to its category.
Android - Multiple manufacturer
They only compete by basic features and specs everything else is the same.
iOS - Apple - 1 manufacturer
Compete by Simplicity and Apps not Specs (FYI-specs are among the lowest out of any)
WebOS - HP/Palm - 1 Manufacturer
Compete by Simplicity and Openess/Techy, a combination (IMO) only dreamed by others. (Specs for new devices among the best to date)
Why the complaints?
Personally I think the Veer is impressive. It allows some to have the power of webOS who does not want a bigger phone.
A pity the Pre2 was left to languish in the wild like that. Then everybody would not have been looking at the Veer as the relaunch phone.
I want it. On VZW. But I want it bad. Not everybody wants a huge phone, you know. I use mine for email, messaging, calendar - and I want it to fit easily in my pocket. I love my Pre2. I really really really want a Veer. So you don't - big deal. I believe there is a market for it.
If you would live in Europe you wouldn't care on which carrier it is "official" you would just buy it off-contract for probably $ 550 (already including VAT) and get some prepaid data-plan ($ 17 for 1 GB of traffic, then cap to the speed of EDGE) and cheap calling prices (22 Cent per minute, including 50 SMS and each other SMS for another 22 Cents) with no minimum contract length and nobody telling you how to use your data-plan (tethering, Skype, whatever).
but alas alot of us are in the USA :/ and that kind of flexibility isn't offered to us.
Then you haven't read on this forum much.
There's tons of people who like the Veer and/or small form factor in general.
You make the common mistake of assuming that your own preferences are universal.
It was the same with the Pixi. When it was announced people made silly comments - but plenty of people like it.
the only reason I chose a pre plus over a pixi plus was the different hardware; even a year ago when I got my Pre Plus, it was clear that the Pre Plus was the 'real' webos phone, whereas the Pixi Plus was gimped in various ways (though some aspects were improved on later).
If Palm had made the pixi plus with the same underlying hardware as the Pre plus, then I'd have one now.
That said, I think the Veer is too small for ME.
Why couldn't you believe that? it seems perfectly sensible to me that not everybody wants a 4 inch slab smartphone.
My money is on Apple responding to this with a smaller form factor iPhone (they do the Nano with a touchscreen remember) and also release a 7 inch iPad at some point as well. The seven inch Playbook seems to be going down well size wise (even if the software is not).
I think some were hoping April and something CDMA...
CDMA needs to die imho. GSM is better in in everything I care about. Your phone broke down? Just put the SIM into the next best phone available. If you ask me, CDMA has advantages only for the telcos.
CDMA is so vastly superior to GSM as a 2.5G and 3G technology, it's not even close.
Have a dropped call in a major metro area? In an area with stuttery sound? In a suburb without signal that is fairly close to a major city?
Chances are you've got GSM -- AT&T or T-Mobile.
CDMA is ultra-reliable, offers better coverage at a lower cost, and blankets the entire country with a rock-solid, reliable 3G signal.
Meanwhile, that "SIM flexibility" you boast of doesn't do one much good outside of the major cities, where GSM signal offers constant dropped calls, "call failed" messages, and limited 3G.
Further, the "flexibility" is overrated at best. Got a normal SIM phone? Good luck with a microSIM phone -- your card will NEVER work on it. Whereas switching a CDMA phone is as easy as logging into your web account and typing the new DEC/HEX code into your access. BAM -- phone transfers over with full service, and no annoying incompatible 2.5G/3G/microSIM compatibility issues. It just works.
i cant wait to see it come out and the marketing that there goin to do for it plus it looks fast i'd like to play it once it hits stores . the pre3 is still my device of choice.
I'm betting that most of the sales will be on the pre 3 when it DOES come out despite coming out months after the veer.
I agree that the Pre3 will likely be the most popular.
But if you can get 60% of the market with one model and 25% with a second one - why would you settle for 60 when you can get 85?
With Veer, Pre2 and Pre3 HP will cover a lot of ground when it comes to various preferences. Add a slab model and you cover close enough to 100%.
Don't make the silly mistake of assuming that your personal taste is universal. It is not. Neither is mine - nor anybody elses.
I still cannot believe how many people around here have declared the Veer a total failure without ever actually seeing/holding/using one. Maybe the Veer is not the phone for you, but is it so hard to imagine that not all smartphone users want the same exact phone?
i hope it dont fail, but they really need to come up with another form factor.
Yeah - because IPhone has proven that you need a a zillion form factors to be successful. ;-)
HPalm will already have thrice as many options as Apple is offering. And that's before the fabled 4th Slab option.
And IPhone being successful HPalm should go and copy everything 1:1 and not differentiate at all, because people will then buy the copy instead of the original.
That's brilliant.
iPhone only needs one form factor because the nailed it right off the bat. Palm is still flailing and searching and will eventually end up falling in line or failing altogether.
Yeah - right.
Only they are beaten by a variety of Android phones. With or without keyboard, candybars and sliders, medium and large sized, cheap and expensive.
Your logic flawed as we don't know how popular alternative form factors would have been. We only know that this particular one is successful. Alternatives might have been just as successful or even more successful. And offering a range of choices might have kept Apple ahead of the Android wave.
I have no idea whether HP will succeed with webos.
Where do you get your prophetic powers from?
Comparing the HP situation to the iPhone is silly. Not everyone can be Apple. People who want a limited capability smartphone at a high price are all Apple converts already -- there isn't going to be a lot of room for cannibalization.
Do you think the Veer will be a failure because of its size and poor hardware? The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini – which we can say is the Android version of the Veer – is a huge success in my country despite the few marketing SE has made of this phone. Believe it or not, not everyone wants a big, huge phone with the best hardware. The economic smartphone market can be as lucrative as the high end smartphone market.
I'm curious to know which country you live in, and also if there are significantly more women present there. Also, are you a woman? Most women gravitate towards small, cute phones like this. This is because they don't really use their smartphones as a utilitarian devices, but mostly for texting, checking email, etc. People who desire a bigger screen usually want to do more than that, as it is easier on the eyes.
I think you're confused about the word utilitarian. You stated women use their devices for mostly e-mail and texting. Those are both useful features, meaning having utility. If you had said that women use their phones only as decoration or as personal accessories then you could argue that they have no utility.
Additionally your statements are sexist because it assumes that women only buy things for looks whereas men only buy things for utility. The reality is more complex.
The veer can be both cute and considered utilitarian, both related to it's size and form factor. The two need not be contradictory to one another.
Yeah, but would a man ever want a phone that's considered "cute."
I think you mean boys not men. Men don't care if something is cute or not if it serves them for what they need it for. It's boys that care because they are trying to show off and don't want to look less impressive in front of other boys or girls.
lol what? I'm a 17 years old BOY and would not care if I have a "cute" phone. Don't forget.. It's a phone!! And physically it's just a small Pre
yeah, because it probably has cooties too right?
Yes a man would.
I suppose you also ask yourself
Would a woman ever want a non cute phone?
again answer is yes.
Believe it or not, some do enjoy the smaller size phone.
i'm sure market researchers would agree that women are more likely to gravitate towards 'cute' devices, but the idea that they don't use there phones for the same things men do it pretty sexist.
a woman is just as likely to be carrying around an iphone, blackberry or an android device as the next guy and for the same reasons.
I have several friends (men) who chose the Pixi & Pixi Plus over the Pre & Pre+ specifically because of the form factor. While my needs call for a larger screen, I certainly respect their decision. If the Pixi had a screen resolution equal to the Pre and a slightly larger screen I would never have seriously considered the Pre over it because I actually prefer the Pixi's FF over the Pre. I'd imagine that there are many people out there who feel the same way that I do since the Nokia E series phones, WinMo 6.x & Blackberries sold as well as they did for years. HP has the right idea with the Veer, especially now that they have a K.O. punch of specs to and versatility to accompany such a small device. I see this phone in the hands of executives and kids and everyone in between.
Exactly, I also would prefer a 3.2" device with better specs (like the Veer) and the Pixi-Formfactor. I guess that some of us guys (other than most) just pretend to need the bigger screen, but instead need to compensate for other things :-P
LOL...good one...
You've got friends who prefer Pixi to Pre, but how many Pixis actually sold? I'd guess not that many -- it probably underperformed even the original Sprint Pre Minus in total sales.
I live in Mexico, I'm a man. And from the 8 people I know with a X10 mini, 6 are men.
My brother-in-law is slightly about 6 feet and works in construction.
For a decade he always went for the smallest available phone. You would not mistake him for a woman.
You sound small minded and assume that your own preferences are universal. Always a mistake.
the argument that i sound small-minded while you have just pulled an example of one 'man' who likes tiny phones shows where the discrepancy lives. i'm sure every one of us could come up with a strange example of knowing someone who is an eight-foot tall man that likes phones that are the size of a thimble. this case probably exists more than we think. but it's better to look at the big picture, you know, social trends, demographics, emerging likes and dislikes of the general public, screen size surveys, etc.
i don't think either of us would argue that the color pink is more favored by women than by men. why is this? i don't know...explain to me color preferences and gender. explain to me social influences. explain to me why most women like smaller phones because they fit in their clutch better than an EVO or similarly-sized phone. The Veer might sell, but it won't sell well because it doesn't address the larrrrge, uniiverssalll consumer. it sells to those who like really small phones. and yes, we can argue that we all know one person or a few people that will buy the Veer when it is finally released, but it is not a mainstream winner. The iphone appeals to everyone because it is neither here nor there. instead of HP releasing one killer, awesome superphone, they will plan on releasing three or four different models that suck up manufacturing costs, r&d, man-hours of design (or lack thereof), and they will still not outsell apple who comes out with one new phone model a year. I'm surprised HP didn't copy this mantra when they've managed to copy almost everything else on the software side of things.
I don't have to show that the Veer will appeal to most man or more men than women because I never made that argument.
I would agree that offering the Veer as the *only* size option would be a bad idea. Another size would be more likely to attract a larger percentage of the market (IMHO, not much scientific data available to either of us).
But it's going to be sold as part of a range of sizes. And then this size helps to overall cover a greater percentage of potential customers tastes (for webos devices).
This forum alone already had a number of members stating that they like the form factor - many of which appear to be male.
And why should we care or worry about whether that part of the market that likes smaller phones is more likely to be female and/or young - or not? Or guys who just want a compact companion for the TouchPad (the reason most often given by forum members here).
I'm pretty sure that nobody at HPalm expects any combination of webos devices to have a snowballs chance in **** to outsell the IPhone in 2011.
If things go extremely well, beyond all reasonable expectation, then a a webos device might outsell the IPhone 7 in 2013.
The realistic mission for 2011 will be to relaunch the platform and get the market share back on an upward trend. In several markets and multiple carriers. While getting devs re-enagaged on the 2.x/3.x webos platform.
If HP manages - overall with a range of devices - to get to 5% market share by the end of the year - it will be considered a great success. Any upward trend will be considered a success.
Even just halting the decline would have to be seen as a qualified success.
Have some realistic expectations.
there will be no 2013 if they don't go all out for this year. can you imagine how hard it would be to attract developers in 2011-2013 after Android and iOS practically steer the whole market? webos will be gone by 2012. Android is a freight train with more devices than you could imagine, iOS has developers by the balls because they make money, HP has...the Veer. The Pre3. Oh, and their savior, the TouchPad.
'Realistic' is for companies with low expectations. 5% is a paltry slice of the pie, and that's probably all they deserve.
Let's see if the TouchPad can launch with more than 100 apps while the iPad continues on its way over 65,000. And how did the overhyped Xoom do? Not well. The Playbook, same. You really have to give it to HP for at least trying.
And right there you explain why HP doesn't need a huge variety of devices. All the Android devices only have specs to compete amongst themselves with. And that's what their manufacturers are doing.
HP doesn't have to compete with their specs, they have webOS.
Sigh. Bother to check some facts before you make wild claims.
Once upon a time in a bygone age (roughly 2 years ago) the first Android phone appeared. There were only a handful of apps and Apple was already in it's second generation and had 10s of thousands of apps. Many (most IIRC) reviewers at that time were sceptic. Some considered Android doomed from the start. Obviously Android was about to fail without cool Apple branding and hardly any apps.
Computer history if littered with silly predictions.
It's *all* about trying - and perseverance. Having the resources and the will to push through.
I have a lot of bad things to say about MS for example - *but* there is one thing I have admired for a long time. Unlike many other companies MS doesn't easily give up. They keep at it.
All the markets they no dominate were once dominated by other players. I remember a time when the majority of commercial C/C++ compilers were from Borland and Symantec. There was a time when MS office products struggled against Word Perfect and half a dozen other major office applications (one of them - "Star Writer" survived as OpenOffice/StarOffice).
The first version of windows was useless. The second a half useless. The 3rd conuered the desktop.
First browser was bought, second couldn't compete, 3rd was half-way decent, the 4th began killing Netscape.
Word started as useless **** Version after version MS improved, added features and just kept hammering until they all the commercial competition died off.
The sometimes cheated and they could cross-subsidize. But still I give them credit for never giving up.
Same with Windows Mobile, WP7 - MS just does not give up. It can take years and occasionally will cost a sh*tload of upfront investments. But in the end they conquered several strategic and profitable markets that made it all worth it.
There is ZERO chance of outselling IPhone or the most popular Android devices this year. It can't be done. Not enough apps, not enough accesories and other 3rd party support.
But they can lay in foundations for growth. Which can lead to renewed dev interest - which in turn make the platform more viable and sell more stuff next year.
The first Android phone was hardly a blip against the 2nd IPhone - but it got things started.
Empty hyperbole doesn't win platform battles like these. You need resources and will to see this through over several years. That's why Palm sold itself to HP. They weren't broke at the time. But they didn't have the resources to fight long enough vs the Apple Juggernaut and the Android Swarm.
And that's how Google and their mobile partners beat the almighty IPhone a few months ago.
MS already said they are in for a marathon.
If HP isn't prepared to fight this for 2-3 mediocre years - then there would be no point in even trying.
great commentary, thanks
This is the perfect phone for hipsters with skinny jeans and Keds
I agree but hipsters are unoriginal, so they have to be convinced it's cool first. I hope that happens.
its not a release they will announce carrier(att) then say coming soon
I can't believe it's in Anaheim! I wonder how I can get an invite.
It isn't a bad idea, but just damn stupid in execution. The lack of using standards (3.5mm jack and micro usb) makes this a HUGE damn fail. When you own such a small piece of the market, you just cannot get away with being stupid asses.
Geek males might find the 'uniqueness' of the shortcomings cool, though doubtful. But, women and children will not.
Do your part in supporting sloppy engineering. Buy a Veer today.
I don't understand why a lot of people make the so much fuss about the 3.5mm headphone jack. It comes with an adapter so just let the adapter stuck to your headphone end and whenever you want to use them just snapped them together as if the adapter is part of your headphone. What is the big deal?
There is no need for micro USB since you'll charging with the touchstone anyway and i presume the charger has a magnetic connection if you don't prefer the touchstone.
I agree with you.
Plus for the fact that I don't typically see people carrying around their headphones in their pocket. They usually have them in their laptop bag, purse or backpack. Which means they have plenty of room for the odd adapter, especially if they just leave it attached to the end of the headphones, making it easy to keep track of.
Plus I think that Bluetooth audio is becoming more and more prevalent.
Ultimately I'd love to have a device that didn't have any ports at all. Everything wireless or via induction.
Adapters are horribly cludgy. In a way, it's a return to the bad old days of proprietary power jacks. If you leave your ONE adapter at home (or lose it in transit), you won't be able to charge your phone nor use the headphone jack.
The market where the Veer will most likely be focused (people new to the smartphones), use dumbphones, and as far as I know most of the dumbphones don't use standards neither for charging nor jack. And since the ~80% of the people use dumbphones plus the iPhone (who is the most popular smartphone) don't use the standard MicroUSB for charging, I conclude that normal people give a $hit about standards.
sigh.
OK - I'll explain again.
Here's 2 alternatives - and you get to decide the more likely one:
1: HP could have easily made the worlds smallest smartphone and still put in Micro USB and audio sockets.
2: Putting those sockets into a cool magnetic adapter was a necessary compromise to get the phone that small and be able to market it as the worlds smallest smartphone.
Your choice is ...?
[ ] 1
[ ] 2
I have a Sprint Pre. This particular phone is my third. It has been repaired twice. Both replacements and one of the repairs were because of the headphone jack crapping out.
Now, I don't expect HP's build quality to be anywhere near as poor as late-day Palm, but why is it a BAD thing that the most troublesome part of the Pre is completely modular on the Veer?
Au contraire mon frère. Using a magnetic connector is great from an engineering pov. Imagine holding your phone in your hand and your headphone cable gets stuck somewhere. Usually it would rip the phone out of your hand and if you're lucky the cable prevents it from falling down. The magnetic connector just disconnects. However, a different scenario is possible as well: the phone falls out of your hand and is prevented from falling to the ground by the cable.
Overall I'd say not many people need micro USB or the headphone jack on a daily basis, actually I barely use them at all. I use a Touchstone to charge and for the patches etc. I use Preware. For my music I got a cheap MP3-player (Sansa Fuze) that lasts days playing music instead of hours. I prefer using my phone to make calls, Mail and Twitter and don't want to fear to run out of juice because I listened to music too much.
I for one hope to see more phones with such magnetic connectors. Kudos to HP/Palm to implement them.
Who wants to bet that the May 2 event will include an announcement that the Veer will be available "in the coming weeks?"
Betting two sixpacks of good beer (Belgian, Czech, German, Dutch, you choose) against it!
I say: In the coming days and preorder in two to three days! :)
Europeans aren't the only ones who make good beer.
Seeing Telefonica O2 Germany already confirmed the Veer to be released in May in their network, I at least expect HP/Palm to confirm this to say: "Look, we're bringing a new phone to the market. We ain't dead!"
I may want this, i dont know just yet. i want to see what the battery life is first. Then wait till the TouchPad comes out to make my decision. i want/need a tablet and if i get the Tablet i wont really need a Pre3 since the TouchPad will do everything it will do. i would just need a phone to make phone calls from and a few other minor things, which this phone would more then handle.
there are some good things about it and some not so good, i will have to see how it pans out in the end. coming from a 4" touch screen will be tough going to this.
That can't be true.
According to experts on this forum nobody - least of all males - could like the Veer.
You are obviously confused and don't know that you want a 4"+ slab phone - like *everybody* else.
oh right, battery life. that's kind of important.
i wonder why they haven't announced it for any of the three devices.
We will see!
well I can tell y'all one thing believe it or not this phone will be a big hit ! Take that to the bank ! Maybe not to the iphone users or the I gotta have the biggest screen users but it will be a hit to everyone else. Watch and see. Lol
Doubtful..
they will be lucky if they sell 1,000 of these.
chap...you got a lot of hate in you...you need to ease up...life is too short for you to raise your blood pressure like this...
lighten up...have some fun...go troll somewhere else...
This will come in just in time for my son's birthday. Let's see, a smartphone of perfect proportions for the huge demographic of today's kids and this is a fail. These customers could become lifelong webOS customers but who'd want them as customers? It's got to be the fanboys first otherwise you pay the price on the web for your stupidity. Etc, etc, etc.
I wonder how many people are in the market for a tiny phone with a tiny keypad that will be a pain to use?
oh say 10 to 20 million world wide Veer users ... HP likes the odds, and 100 million for TouchPad and Pre3 again worldwide... not bad for a crappy small phone for sloppy engineers like David.m..... and crappy web0s3 devices....
the veer will have practically no direct competition. pure business genius on palm's part
You're right. Everyone else is getting huge and heavy esp android phones. This Veer will catch some people's eyes. Remember Centro and palm OS era phones were low resolution and couldn't zoom in and out dynamically which the veer can. So it can still be very functional esp for the younger eyes.
there's a reason why there's no direct competition...
I'm not aware of many other smartphones being this compact.
If it hasn't been tried in the market - how is anyone of us to know whether that's a good concept or not.
Plus - I find it hard to believe that HP is doing this entirely without or even against market research data.
Very likely somebody managed to make a case for this size based on some analyzes.
Or it could be simpler. HPalm has the resources to try various form factors and wants to find out what works and what not.
Perhaps they simply decided to cover all sizes - perhaps add a slab phone later in the year and cull down the models next year when they know what sells best.
One advantage is this: If you like IOS and/or the large app market is of the highest priority to you - then you have no choice at all but have to go with 1-size-has-to-fit-all no physical keyboard slab design. We dunno how successful a compact IPhone would be - or one with a keyboard - because there are none. We have some limited idea based on Android - but that is clouded by various other factors like availability on carriers and other features that could sway customers to buy a particular model.
Webos will offer that choice. You can like the platform and then have some choice about what kind of phone to have it on. If HPalm adds a 4" slab without keyboard later in the year, then anybody interested in the webos platform is also very likely to get it on a preferred form factor.
That's a strong point.
please make this available unlocked in euroland (germany or uk) directly. I sooo want one.
veer + touchpad (when it lands in europe) will be an unbeatable combination
It's already announced to come to O2-Germany in May. Probably will also come to O2 in the UK too ;)
O2 Germany never locks their phones \m/ q(o.o)p \m/
One of the reasons they are my carrier of choice.
Bah, I bet the world is going to end on May 2nd just to spite me. Taxes, Election, and now this all on the 2nd of May.
im waiting for the pre3, but would get this if its the only choice, or att&tm are the only ones who get a touchpad.
im looking for a bundle (phone/tablet).
So, how does this work connected to a computer when it doesn't have mini USB? With the Touchstone? I thought you couldn't do that.
It has a special adapter... pretty awkward BTW
I'm so sorry, but I don't care anymore, I'm already "studying android" to get the GalaxySII when it comes out, here in Europe. (I'm going to miss "just type" and the multitasking cards, but I'm going to have snappiness!! and apps!! yeah!!)
It took Android 4 to 5 years to dominate the world, so HP is not going to do that in less time, even more when there are almost no active developers at this moment... which is the most concerning thing of all
Only homebrewers are doing something right now... pretty amazing stuff, I have to admit... and fairly enough for me, if there was a decent phone to have...
BTW, Android sucks when it comes to "hacking"!! Who said it was the most open platform??? Even iOS is easier to jailbreak!! I just LOVE webOS so much... I'll come back when it's a baby OS no more, you can bet!! ;-) (I hope homebrewers are still around when that happens)
- The company was founded in fall 2003
- It was bought by Google in Summer 2005
- The Open Handset Alliance was anounced in November 2007 together with the OS Android
- Since Octobre 2008 the first Android-OS is available (HTC Dream)
And it took them just a few months to conquer the market, because basically... Apple was only available at AT&T and Palm only at Sprint (even worse!).
While Android was available at all carriers and with dozens of phone manufacturers that had nothing else to choose from (Win Mobile 6.5 was already dying).
So we can learn that availability is the key-point for webOS. It has to be available literally EVERWHERE and on multiple form-factors and for different tastes (slab, vertical-slider, portrait-slider, old palm-treo-style and... yes even something like the Motorola Flipout would be nice, I hate it, my girlfriend wants it!).
I'd buy an unlocked Veer in a heart beat.
This is not a bad phone. This is a bad phone to relaunch WebOS with though. Make a splash with the big gun first, than release the small form factor, mid range hardware/ low price point phone. HP is doing it backwards.
> This is not a bad phone.
> This is a bad phone to relaunch WebOS with though.
This is 100% accurate. *THIS* is why it will fail, and turn the lamp away from webOS. HP isn't picking up Palm's dropped ball if this is their "flagship" device. "Super Device"? Hardly.
M.
i hope this is available unlocked
Does anyone on PreCentral really even care for the veer?
strange that they would start with this phone and not a flagship competitor to the big boys. Doesn't really make sense to me.
Perhaps they want to invest more time in the flagship device (Pre3).
With it's small screen the Veer will appeal to the subsection of the market who mostly want nice integration, reading some short SMS/EMails.
It's for people who are still using a classic dumbphone, but on the edge of wanting a smartphone - for a little bit more functionality and the occasional cool game. Perhaps watch the occasional YouTube clip. All the stuff for which the compact Veer is big enough.
Amongst those people and given the compact screen size there will be less expectations about business use like editing spreadsheets.
From that angle it makes sense to get the easier phone out first. Why not get the extra 3 months of sales?
It's also less features that they have to implement and make sure it works good on the Veer. No Skype, Document editing doesn't have to be completely finished yet, no TTS as there is no Touchpad yet and also they can use some of the Apps that they already used for the Pixi instead of completely rewriting them (also all the Pixi-Apps will run from the start, while the Pre 3 gets some time for the 3rd-Party Apps) etc...
I'd had dedicated all my time to making the best flagship phone. If i was 3 months behind i'd have taken enough people away from the veer to get the Pre 3 on time.
to me this is like having an event for the Motorola Cliq when you know the market is looking for the Droid.
That there may or may not be a market for the phone isn't my point. It's that it's not the market i'd have addressed first. There's a market for the ipod shuffle. They didn't do it first though. I just think it's poor planning. But HP is slow to market and hasn't been the best at planning things so it doesn't surprise me. That there is less stuff to do for the veer doesn't sway me. Had they planned better they'd have address any issues with the other pre and launched it first.
You don't understand ho these development projects work.
You can't just subtract resources from the Veer and make the Pre3 come out months earlier.
The Veer has *less* requirements. Moving designers and devs from Veer to Pre3 has no effect on certifications, negotiations with carriers, talks with enterprise partners, additional Office/VPN/Remote Desktop softare and integration with other products (hard and soft).
You assume a false choice that does not exist.
There is no either have Veer in May or Pre3 in May option.
There's only a get Veer out now or after Pre3 in (say) August. The Pre3 would still need until August even of they had scrapped the Veer months ago.
And given the option of selling 50k Veers - or not - they decide to sell the stuff. Seems like a sane decision to me.
Plus the Veer will have a marketing effect even on people ho don't buy it.
"Hey see here - smallest Smartphone in the World. The power of an IPhone or Droid in such a small package."
"It's very very nice - but slightly too small for my taste - love what I saw about the OS though".
"Well if size is the only concern - no problem - here - have a look at the next bigger phone - the Pre2. Or - wait til August then you can get the even bigger Pre3."
i know very much how development projects work and i know very much how to move product. I didn't say it was either or. you said why not get three months of sales. I'm saying it shouldn't be 3 months ahead ever. i said which one should have priority. I'm saying deliver your flagship phone first not this. That said all companies have limited resources so it is an either or.
You don't relaunch a product line putting your worst foot forward. It makes all you're products look weak and it's makes you're already damaged brand look worse destroying confidence in following products. That's the point. The other stuff is not relevant. You either deliver or whine and make excuses when your products fail.
There's no way that the battery life can be any good. There is only so much that is physically possible in terms of juice vs battery size. In fact, this device could have the worst battery life of any smartphone ever since it has all of the processing and screen of a regular smartphone without the battery compartment to support it.
i agree with you. i don't think HP is expecting to tote amazing battery life. since they are pushing touchstone technology so much, they are anticipating for all of their devices to be on touchstone life support, i.e. battery life doesn't matter as much.
i dont know, i still want a battery life figure. if this launches in a couple of weeks, how could they not include this??
It has a much newer and power efficient processor, newer wireless-chipsets and a much smaller screen with a newer technology. Of course it should last at least as long as the old Pixi, if not even longer.
I think the Veer is very appealing. I don't get the negative comments about its size or form factor. Those are probably the biggest selling points, not to mention that it lacks any decent competition in that space. So, it really is a great business move. The number one big issue with the Veer will be battery life. If it can provide long battery life, it would be an incredible phone paired with the TouchPad.
That being said, I wish it were available on more than one network. I also wish the Pre 3 was arriving equally soon.
All in all, I like where HP is going. I just hope they can get the devices on as many networks as possible and bring in the developers on the largest, most popular apps.
The only reason I wouldn't buy it is because of lack of LED flash...if only...
def will switch my phone before i switch my carrier... so, pre3 and touchpad on sprint or the unfortunate loss of a minute, singular sale... and another developer blowing in the wind... sorry hp. get it together.
Pretty upset that HP will be going with one of the large carriers and not Sprint. What are they thinking? Sell more phones? I call BS. Almost like they want these products to be successful.
were you not there the last two years when they launched the Pre on Sprint and then it didnt sell anything?
Yeah...
Ummmm...I think that was the point he was making. :)
That's pretty lax security. Is there anyone here who couldn't, in minutes, create a fake ID badge or AT&T/Best Buy Business card from images off the net??
Yes, why do a relaunch with a unique device instead of starting off with yet another 4" slab that will blend into the background? Don't be distinctive, follow the crowd! Baaaa!
Badgets? We don't need no stinking badgets!
I'd love to be able to recommend this phone to my wife, but it doesn't have a flash for the camera. That was one of the things I thought was really good about the Pre, that it had a flash to help in low light situations. Palm always seemed to have a fascination for removing features on newer devices.
That one feature is going to kill the next generation of Palms for her. She likes the size of the Pre but would NOT want anything bigger. Smaller would be great, but not if features are missing.
And THAT's the reason my wife would not get it.
I hope Sprint gets in on this. I am waiting, saving my money for the Pre3 and Touchpad.
I've used a Pixi. it's not bad for what it is. But it's a device that failed. (Hence it being one of the few smartphones you can find in America for $30-60 new off-contract) I'm curious as to what the plan is to make the Veer succeed where the Pixi and Pixi Plus did not.
It can't be the faster processor supposedly eliminating lag or WebOS 2.0. Those things did nothing to help the Pre 2 succeed either abroad or on Verizon.
So what's going to be different? A marketing campaign? I recall Palm have a rather hipster-oriented one for the original Pixi. To no avail.
The goofy name, slower hardware, and crippled WiFi on Sprint sure didn't help the Pixi.