HP indeed managed to turn some heads in the industry during their “Think Beyond” event back 
in February, where they unveiled their treasure trove of new webOS devices ranging from small, medium, and large offerings. Starting with their smallest bundle, the HP Veer 4G is headed to AT&T’s lineup bringing along its cute form factor, while still paying homage to some of the Palm Pre’s legacy with its miniaturized appearance. For a smartphone, the HP Veer 4G definitely comes off as being approachable thanks to its diminutive size, but let’s hope that its size doesn’t hinder it from making it usable with most operations.
HP's Jon Rubenstein told us that his company wanted to veer in a new direction, and veer it surely did -- the HP Veer 4G will arguably be the smallest fully-functional smartphone on the market when it goes on sale May 15th. In a nutshell, it's a Palm Pixi Plus in the guise of a Pre, only in a delightfully downsized package with webOS 2.1 and thoroughly modern functionality. What does it feel like to Just Type on its tiny keyboard or throw app cards across its itsy-bitsy 2.6-inch screen? How is it as a pocketable HSPA+ hotspot, and will that extra G decimate its miniscule 910mAh battery? These are the questions that drove us when playing with the Veer 4G this week, and you'll find the answers shortly after the break.it was a miniature Pre 2 in most every appreciable way -- deep black coatings, soft-touch plastics and buttons in all the same places. AT&T's new white version, however, looks and feels like a jumbo chicken egg. It's still cute as a button and that hinge still slides shut with a superbly satisfying snap, but the ultra thin, lightly textured white plastic shell is a little bit creaky and cheap. (Note: the soft-touch black model will also be available.) We found it a little uncomfortable to hold flat against our palms for this very reason, actually, but the fingertip grip is risky too -- like the aforementioned egg, the Veer is relatively easy to drop, and we don't suspect that Humpty will take kindly to many falls. At the same time, we're not at all worried about the screen -- it's covered with a nice big piece of curved Gorilla Glass, and it takes a substantial, weighty press between thumb and forefinger to make any kind of impression on the liquid crystals underneath. There's a little speaker on top, and Palm's gesture area (with LED landing strip indicator) on the bottom.
in February, where they unveiled their treasure trove of new webOS devices ranging from small, medium, and large offerings. Starting with their smallest bundle, the HP Veer 4G is headed to AT&T’s lineup bringing along its cute form factor, while still paying homage to some of the Palm Pre’s legacy with its miniaturized appearance. For a smartphone, the HP Veer 4G definitely comes off as being approachable thanks to its diminutive size, but let’s hope that its size doesn’t hinder it from making it usable with most operations.
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