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HP talks up the Veer [Video]

By: , 3/23/2011 10:52 am | 52 comments

HP put out a bit of marketing goodness about the Veer today. SkyTV’s Mark Bunting gives us a rundown on how awesome the little phone is. Take a look.

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About David Baxter

David is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of webOSroundup. When not toiling away at WOR he is usually with his family, at church, building a website of some kind or another, or playing a video game. @davidbbaxter
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  • http://twitter.com/terrillo Terrillo Walls

    HP… I LIKE IT :)

  • http://twitter.com/terrillo Terrillo Walls

    HP… I LIKE IT :)

  • http://twitter.com/terrillo Terrillo Walls

    HP… I LIKE IT :)

  • Eric Bender

    It’s a great start. Keep it going HP.

  • Mike D.

    I still don’t see the appeal in making the world’s tiniest smartphone. Of all the things that we do on a phone, on a mobile device, demands screen real estate while still maintaining portability. This, of course, is the extreme of the extreme. Roughly the size of a credit card. I feel as though they are already cutting their potential customers to A) women, who find it really cute and adorable and B) men and women with small hands. Teenagers want the latest and greatest, they want what’s popular, they want what goes best with their Macbooks and iPods, they still want the iPhone. And the iPhone 3GS at $49 fulfills the price point of parents wanting to keep the costs down while still keeping their kid happy.

    If you’re needing any indication of where things are headed, look no further than the bazillion Android devices that are being unveiled and released with huge, beautiful screens. http://bit.ly/ehmKpt

    Imagine when they are all in active market, if someone is choosing between a device that looks modern and capable compared to something that you could very well lose in your pocket.

    All HP had to do was develop a fantastic, normal-looking slab phone with a big screen running webos. That’s all they had to do, and that’s all current Pre owners were asking for! But they chose to reverse-engineer, choosing the stagnant Pre design qualities that are still stubby, thick, impractical, and hit only a small portion of the general public. And slider? What year is it again? Actual hardware keys?

    Long live the Veer, toddlers will go crazy for this stuff.

    • http://twitter.com/McFly81 Christian Lange

      Ah, most Teenages don’t even know how the iPhone looks. Just the word is the selling argument for them.^^

      I have seen many of them walking into the o2-shop, picking a smartphone (Galaxy, Nexus, Pre, whatever; relatively random), finding it cool. Then they ask an employee, he/she tells them that this was NOT the iPhone and suddenly they don’t find it cool anymore. It puts a smile on my face everytime.

      Edit: By the way, Apple uses the stagnat iPhone design quality every year again. ;) I find the hardware keyboard pretty cool, I actually prefer this over an onscreen keyboard. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

      • Mike D.

        True, iPhone does keep with the same design so far, but why fix it if it ain’t broke? The Pre was a disaster if you want to look at sales. If anything, for the next iteration of your company’s next big thing, you would want to derive from the old design and come up with something revolutionary (that’s what furthering technology is all about, right?). Instead, HP/Palm made the current Pre design smaller (the Veer) and bigger (the Pre3). And they used the same name for the Pre3, just a bigger number (does anyone remember the Pre2? I don’t)

        The iPhone is a symbol, it is not just a phone, and I think that’s why it has that impact on people. They don’t necessarily want the iPhone as much as they want the image of having an iPhone.

    • http://www.arthurthornton.net/ Arthur Thornton

      Actually, I know plenty of men who want the Veer. Their hands aren’t small. They aren’t small people (one is over 6 feet tall).

      So please take your “I’m a man and better than a woman” hat off and realize the Veer has potential.

      • jbrandonf

        Anecdotal evidence…so your example of knowing men does not apply. The market is demanding slab style phones, and HP was stupid to not provide it alongside the Pre3. The question isn’t whether or not the Veer will sell, it’s whether it will better than a slab-style phone would’ve.

        • http://www.pritchmusic.com Jeff Pritchard

          It’ll sell.

          • Mike D.

            It won’t outsell the iPhone, which should be a primary concern of HP if it wants to do anything drastic to the market. But fear not, HP will make twenty different phone models and combined, those will outsell one iPhone model.

      • Mike D.

        I realize there are all kinds of different people who want and need phones (both men and women, big and small hands).

        If you invite 500 people to an event, a smaller number will show up. 500 people will not show up. If you release a phone that’s targeted toward a certain group of people (could be women, could be men with big hands who like small phones to make them feel super big, could be men with small hands), then you will get a smaller response.

        After the event on February, it was clear, even on the webos blogs, that people were flabbergasted. Wait, what? Disappointed even. BUT they were happy because they got anything at all. They made the best of it.

        At some point HP will need to develop and further develop their virtual keyboard technology; why not start now? Take a look at your neighbor’s smartphone, it’s probably a slab.

    • http://twitter.com/CurlyCreatures Curly Creatures

      I actually think that men are a great market for this because… we don’t have purses. Frankly, I want a phone I can drop into my jeans pocket and take with me anywhere without worrying it will split in half every time I sit down. Right now, this looks like the only smartphone that fits that bill.

      Sadly, the “only on AT&T” part is probably a deal-breaker for me unless Sprint doesn’t get any HP phones, in which case the Veer will be getting a solid look from me…

      • jbrandonf

        Sorry, I’ve had an iPhone 2G/3G/3GS, a Pre, an HD7 and now a G2 and not once has any of them “split in half” because of pressure being put on them by me sitting down. Neither have I read any widespread problems about this happening with slab-styled phones. That’s FUD.

        • rumz

          Eh, it’s called hyperbole. The point is that those phones take up more pocket space than a Veer. Sure, all the hype these days is around slab phones. But you have to remember: someone convinced the masses that they wanted slab phones (Apple). Before the iPhone existed, there was no clamoring for slab phones.

          Whether HP is able to generate demand for “smallest smartphone” remains to be seen, of course. But current demand isn’t the only demand that will ever exist.

        • rumz

          Eh, it’s called hyperbole. The point is that those phones take up more pocket space than a Veer. Sure, all the hype these days is around slab phones. But you have to remember: someone convinced the masses that they wanted slab phones (Apple). Before the iPhone existed, there was no clamoring for slab phones.

          Whether HP is able to generate demand for “smallest smartphone” remains to be seen, of course. But current demand isn’t the only demand that will ever exist.

          • Mike D.

            Doesn’t matter who told everyone what to use. Actually it does. It’s called market influence and Apple is able to make other companies change their plans because of it. Who cares if it’s Apple, the fact is it’s not HP.

            If future demand is more important than current demand, then HP’s next smartphone should be smaller than a penny, but with the form factor of the Veer. It will be called…Veer2.

      • jbrandonf

        Sorry, I’ve had an iPhone 2G/3G/3GS, a Pre, an HD7 and now a G2 and not once has any of them “split in half” because of pressure being put on them by me sitting down. Neither have I read any widespread problems about this happening with slab-styled phones. That’s FUD.

      • Mike D.

        Geez, do you spend THAT much time walking around with a phone in your pocket? At some point you will actually use the smartphone right?

    • Raun

      I really like this form factor, and I imagine power consumption is low. This is the only thing we have seen in some time to get excited about. Only, it’s gsm.

      • Mike D.

        We still don’t have information on how long any of the HP products last. That’s bad. If it was good, it would be something to brag about. Imagine how much battery life you will get with this if you are tethering off of it. You will need this thing on Touchstone life support.

    • eid

      I think the Veer’s size is a gamble but may attract enough people. The android devices are getting too large and the veer is going to stand out. As long as it feels like premium product and works well (fast, ease of use, good screen) then it may succeed. I do think HP should release a slate phone too even though I strongly prefer a real qwerty keyboard. I can type faster with my Pre + than my iphone 4. Maybe all the kids aren’t touch typists and just hunt and peck ad nauseum.

      • jbrandonf

        What makes you think they’re getting too large? Isn’t that telling you that that is what the market is asking for?

      • jbrandonf

        What makes you think they’re getting too large? Isn’t that telling you that that is what the market is asking for?

      • jbrandonf

        What makes you think they’re getting too large? Isn’t that telling you that that is what the market is asking for?

  • http://twitter.com/confusedgeek Felipe Garcia

    coming soon.

    booo!!!!!!

  • Steele_paladin

    @Mike D.
    I like the idea of a pocketable smartphone instead of wearing a ginormous holster on my hip like Matt Dillon. Also stop being sexist. I am 6’3″ and have gigantic hands and I am still interested in a smaller phone than even my Pre. If you don’t care for it that is valid, but do not pretend to speak for others. The vast majority of my friends want a physical keyboard and that is what kept them from the Evo (Thank goodness for the Shift?). Most of my friends do not use a WebOS phone, but they aren’t tied to iOS, they actually prefer Android due to carrier choice more than anything. I work in the healthcare field and I hope HP will stay in the game and really push forward the Enterprise sector as there are a lot of doctors who love the WebOS platform too.

    • Mike D.

      First off, are you male or female, Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Steele Paladin, because you didn’t state it. You just said you are tall and have big hands. If you think there’s some kind of implication to be had just because you are 6’3″ (can women even grow that tall, geez!), then I would question who is being sexist…

      Pause the above video at 16 seconds and tell me that doesn’t look ridiculously uncomfortable. Of course SkyTV is going to praise the Veer, they’re reviewing it!

      Moving forward, most people who say they prefer a physical keyboard compared to a virtual one is because they are afraid of the technology, they are used to physically pushing down buttons. Why have we been using computer keyboards for so long? Because we’ve become accustomed to the tactile feel of it, have adapted to the alphanumeric layout, and technology wasn’t there to usher us into the next piece of history. Imagine gas pumps that used to have physical buttons moving to touchscreens, grocery self-check outs, inventory input, touch touch touch, etc.

      The Touchpad doesn’t have a physical keyboard, is it safe to say you are not interested in that as well?

      • Steele_paladin

        Remind me again why my gender matters? You said it was marketed to women or men with small hands. I intentionally left out my gender because it is immaterial as to why I select a phone. I intended no implication to be made as to my gender based on anything I said. The fact that you are still fixated on reading into what I said to tell whether I have a full complement of X chromosomes tells me you want a date. Not today, I’m married. ;-) (Did I read too much into what you wrote?)
        I have used several phones/devices with and without the physical keyboard. Samsung Moment, HTC Touch Pro II, HTC Hero, Evo, iPhone, iPod, Zune HD, Palm Pre, Motorola Q and Droid. I still prefer a keyboard. Just because touchscreens came into vogue you don’t see everyone throwing out the keyboard and mouse do you? Is everyone scared of shiny onscreen keyboards or has the new technology just not proven itself to be more reliable and quicker to the cave dwelling keyboard users? I have an HP business tablet with an onscreen keyboard and I almost never use the pen input over the keyboard to type despite the ease of write to text. I can write with a pen faster than type, but the recognition and conversion to text is not as reliable as I would like.
        Maybe I am just terrified of technology and would drive all over town to find a gas pump with a huge lever instead of those frightening electronic doo-hickeys! Perhaps I have a preference that works for me, not for you and that doesn’t mean I am a troglodyte.
        This discussion is about the Veer, a phone. I am not in the market for a tablet at all right now. I would like a replacement for my Pre.

        • Mike D.

          I am married as well, thanks though, that’s flattering!

      • Harry

        “Pause the above video at 16 seconds and tell me that doesn’t look ridiculously uncomfortable.”

        You have never had an Palm Pre in your hand’s, right?

        • Mike D.

          I own two of them actually, and to be fair the Veer is not the same size as the Pre.

      • falconrap

        I paused it…doesn’t look uncomfortable too me. I have a Pre+ and a Pixi+ and the Veer is basically a Pixi+ turned into a slider with much more powerful CPU and a more curved keyboard. I’m 6′ 2″ (a man if you must know), with fairly big hands and have no problems typing on the excellent Pixi keyboard. My Pre+ keyboard’s only issue was with the repeating/missing keys issue that a large batch of Verizon Pre+’s suffered from (fixed that by cleaning the contamination off the keyboard’s contact assembly – a flex pcb where the key domes make contact to register the key press).

        I don’t see the problem with the Veer, and surely wouldn’t mind having one if it was on Verizon. I may still get the Pre 2 which appears to actually be an excellent phone (according to actual users). Or I may get the Pre 3 (haven’t decided yet as there are pros and cons to all 3 devices). I will not, however, get a slab phone should HP come out with one.

        The Veer has really managed to win over a lot of people when they actually get a chance to use it, and a lot of woman really seem to like it. The phone has a good chance at doing quite well, despite what you think.

      • John

        “Moving forward, most people who say they prefer a physical keyboard compared to a virtual one is because they are afraid of the technology…”

        Yeah, that’s totally it. Someone could not possibly have a preference that differs from yours unless they are “afraid of progress.”

        This is fun. How about I throw around my own unsubstantiated claims about the motivations of other peoples’ preferences:

        Moving forward, most people who way they prefer a large slab screen to a convenient portable one is [sic] because they are afraid of the technology, they [sic] are used to feeling that gigantic lump in their pocket.

  • http://twitter.com/SL_Breeze Scott

    need more hp

  • http://twitter.com/TreoRock Alberto Cajigas Jr.

    The Veer is the ultimate portable smartphone. It is like a swiss army knife for people who care about getting things done fast and move on with their lives. The Veer is not for people who want to spend hours looking at a small screen. If you want to spend hours in front of a screen it better be at least a 7″ screen. Anything smaller is just for portable usage, meaning get in check and go.

    • jbrandonf

      Nobody really spends hours looking at their phones screen. Why don’t you try a 4+ in screen for a week then go back to the Pre, or even the Veer. Once you adjust to the extra screen real estate its much easier for your eyes to read webpages/emails/texts and such. Its roomier for your fingers too. I hope the Veer flops so HP can get its @$$ in gear and give the market what it wants.

    • Mike D.

      If the Veer is not for people who want to spend hours looking at a small screen, then it is not for the general public. Get with the times man!

  • macnlkc

    The three most important words in this market are When, When and When?! As one of those original Sprint Pre fans, I have a Pre that is on its last legs. I can’t get it replaced since I didn’t buy an insurance plan and don’t want to go out and buy a replacement on eBay either. I read that the original fans would hear something from HP soon about our loyalty. I also listened to Leo note that HP would deliver products shortly after there announcement. My assumption was that meant like within weeks like Apple has done with its product. Obviously for HP that means within the next six to nine months. All I can say is, Disappointing, Disappointing, Disappointing!

  • http://www.webosroundup.com wusaint

    I’m a man and I want a Veer! I have always been fascinated with small phones and gadgets. The Veer is perfect! Small and packing a huge punch!

  • Anonymous

    There are some Android phones with the same size screen; imagine using a virtual keyboard on some of those!

    Acer beTouch E140
    Vodafone 845
    Dell Smoke
    Samsung Galaxy Pro

    3-inch
    Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

    Looks like compact smartphones are catching on!

    I don’t mind the size of the Veer, it just shouldn’t be handicapped in anyway compared to the Pre3.

    • Mike D.

      All of the phone models you just listed, how many of them have they sold?

      There’s a reason why nobody has heard of them.

      Mike D.

  • http://www.shop-pc.co.uk Rob Woods

    Just a note on slabs, one of the biggest issues is screen crack from pocket crunch, almost every kid in my lads school has a cracked or replaced screen – it happens! And whilst noboday would deny that bigger screens have benefits, youd be right in saying every manugacturer has one except Hp, however nobodt makes as cool a small smart phone, so HP will succeed due to lack of competition, you wait in a matter of weeks after veer is on sale, there will be a new Google mini phone, all the power half the size!

  • Juggalette

    Well I have to say it looks awesome I know the size can be intimidating like my pixi plus was at first for me but turned out just right the full real qwerty rocks the screen size is large enough and it’s nice to have a phone that comfortably fits in my pocket the multi tasking is my favorite feature and the droids have larger screens but the video quality lags and the magnetic charger seems ingenius easy to connect without connector cracking problems hopefully I’m excited it’s gettn closer though not close enough yet and the if it’s not broke don’t fix it theory doesn’t work I think that is something that held palm back people like change keep it fresh and hot too cool to get it too hot to not have it lol n e ways looks good so far but true judgement will come when we can hold one and use it

  • TreoRies (Netherlands)

    Anyone noticed the Palm branded Touchstone?

  • TreoRies (Netherlands)

    Anyone noticed the Palm branded Touchstone?

  • http://twitter.com/Dd3m Chris Flores

    I don’t get why so many people are so against the small screen. Maybe they should also plan a newer bigger screen phone. Oh wait they have, it’s called the Pre 3!

    Choice is GOOD

    • soydeedo

      I don’t think people would be that grumpy over the Veer if they had released a 4+ inch slab style phone. Nobody would blame them for trying to tap a new market or push limits if it didn’t interfere with their own choice – exactly what you laud this device for bringing.

      There is a growing portion of the consumer populace that doesn’t want the added bulk of a physical keyboard or that prefers the flexibility of software keyboards that aren’t bound by orientation. If HP offered that choice in addition to the Veer and Pre 3, there would be much less uproar.

  • Joseph

    Very nice. Seriously. I know I monkey about on this site a lot and probably pi$$ a bunch of people off, but this is a very good ad for what looks like a very nice compact powerful device. With Flash he said. Ooooo, actually, I really do like it, I could definitely let this one fill my jeans.

  • Chris

    I like the Veer in all, but i m just sick of small screened phones!! I want to look at a movie on the go and I can’t watch a movie on a tiny, pebble sized screen!! 4 inch screen phones are better when it comes to videos and entertainment. Instead of having to squint your damn eyes to look at the Veers screen.