HP Veer 4G Review - Getting Us Excited for Pre 3
by Brian Klug on June 7, 2011 5:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HP
- AT&T
- Palm
- veer
- webOS
- HSPA+
- Mobile
- HP Veer 4G
So I think it’s time to finally talk about the Veer’s small size and about how that actually works in practice. It’s an incredibly tiny phone, and Zoolander jokes aside, can indeed feel considerably awkward to hold if you’re coming straight from one of innumerable substantially larger phones. The first couple of calls I made on the Veer were slightly challenging because of the phone’s minuscule size.
First up is how the Veer looks side by side with some other devices. The most obvious comparison is the Palm Pixi. The Veer is unfortunately a bit thicker to accommodate the slide out keyboard system, but preserves the same width and also is a fair bit shorter.
Next is how the Veer compares to the Palm Pre Plus and HTC EVO. Here you can get an appreciation for just how small the phone is compared to a growing list of comparatively gargantuan >4” display phones.
I also got an opportunity to take photos of the Veer next to the Pre 3 and a black Veer.
The difference in aspect ratio between the Veer and the Pre 3 is pretty dramatic, which does make me worried that developing good applications that work well on the Pre 3 and Veer using the same binary could be challenging.
Already there are Pixi-specific versions of some applications in the WebOS store, and the difference between the Pre aspect ratio and Pixi isn’t all that great. The difference between Veer and Pre 3 will likely cause even more of this, especially for games. For example, there’s currently a Pixi specific version of Angry Birds that works fine on the Veer as well.
With the keyboard slider closed, it’s understandably a bit unnerving to hold the Veer to one’s head. There’s an impulse to want to have all five fingers on the phone, when realistically your pinky will hang off, otherwise the grip is fatiguing. In reality, that’s not a big problem since the pinky doesn’t add much grip strength at all - the problem is that it hangs out awkwardly, and as a result holding the phone to one’s head is like drinking tea in polite British style.
The solution to this is actually pretty simple, with the keyboard slid out, the Veer is much easier to hold with a normal five finger grip. In addition, since microphone is located right next to the symbol key, there’s a chance you’ll get better voice quality this way. I tested with the phone open and closed and couldn’t detect any appreciable difference, so it’s clear that it’s intended to be used in either state, but all bets are off when talking outside in the wind.
In the palm when in regular use the Veer is also a little bit awkward to hold, but only for the first couple of hours. After that there’s nothing challenging about holding the phone with the slider closed and doing anything normal. With the slider open, it’s easier to get a good perch and firm hold on the phone.
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ClockerXP - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
Dial ##3-836# to get to the menu where you can disable 3G. Works on my Pre+ on Verizon!ClockerXP - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
I mean ##3836# (no dash)dananski - Sunday, June 12, 2011 - link
I agree that the hardware is better than people say. I haven't had any problems with mine and it only has minor scratches from all the times I've dropped it. But the OS is good too. Cards and synergy are two things I couldn't go without, and I like the simple gestures.ioannis - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
Brian, thanks for the comprehensive review, delivered in the usual Anandtech quality.The App Catalogue compatibility seems to be the only major complain I'd have over this phone. My question is, will WebOS 3.0 with the Enyo framework come to the Veer? And assuming that all the apps eventually get ported to it (or at least all apps released from the time 3.0 is out will be based on it), would that solve the 'pixel density'/resolution-dependent apps problem?
softdrinkviking - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
Hi Brian. Great review. I especially liked your explanation of HSPA+, nice work there.I had one question. You again referred to Super LCD as (IPS) in this article, as you did in the article a few days ago (HTC evo 3D). In that article you crossed out the (IPS) and I assumed that meant you were reassessing that. Have you come to any conclusions about Super LCD and what process it is made with?
Brian Klug - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
So I was mistaken earlier about Super LCD being IPS, I went over my notes and have written down that Super LCD is just PVA. I'm going to try and do some more digging to find out why I have that here and what the implications are. Honestly though the SLCD display on the Sensation looks quite good.-Brian
Solidstate89 - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
I haven't owned a WebOS phone because of the flakiness of the hardware, but the OS has always appealed to me. Similarly although the Veer isn't for me, I do like just how much better WebOS 2.0 is looking.I sincerely wish them the best in the market as it is quite simply a brilliantly designed OS. However it's just taken too long to get to market. I wanted to get a Pre 3 on Verizon, but realized it would be too late with Verizon Wireless nixing its Unlimited Data plans before it could be released so I went to sprint and picked up a WP7 device.
Quite happy with it, and although it's a blatant rip-off, I can't wait for the card-style multitasking to arrive with the Mango Update :)
Best of luck to WebOS.
softdrinkviking - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
cool, thanks for the reply & info. i have seen plenty of PVA screens in the store and they look pretty good to me, maybe not as good as the high-end NECs and other professional monitors, but i had a hard time telling the difference between the led backlit LG IPS and the similar sized BenQ with a PVA. (this is in Japan, so i can't say what models you have in the states).As long as they are good quality, and a decent resolution, I can't imagine that PVA would be unacceptable on a cel phone. they are undoubtedly better than TN.
jamawass - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - link
I think the veer makes sense if you take into consideration hp's tablet strategy. A veer with mobile hotspot would be an excellent combo with a 7 in touchpad ( to be released after the 10 in later this yr). I have a 7 in sony reader which fits in all my jacket's pockets. That's my device of choice when I'm waiting at the auto shop, etc and I always receives glances when I whip it out of my jacket. It's light, and much more portable than an ipad.I suspect this is one of hp's strategies with the veer and I wouldn't be surprised if they market them as a combo deal in the future.
I've used webos for a year now and generally like it's efficiency, but Apple and other companies have been cannibalising their innovations. As stated above, hp needs to accelerate the upgrade cycle in both soft and hardware to survive.
marc1000 - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - link
Brian and Anand, I could not find a way to contact you. So I will write this down on the comment section.Microsoft is killing the only thing cool on all older WindowsMobile phones (6.5 & below): the MyPhone service will die in a couple months.
please read this thread at XDA where some users reported receiving the same MS email with the news.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1...