Palm Phone

Palm Phone. © The Verge.

A startup in San Francisco purchased the rights for the Palm trademark from TCL last year to launch a mini Android phone named Palm Phone, which bears no relation to the old products associated with the brand that went under in 2010. The device is only available through Verizon as an add-on to a current phone, sharing the same number as the main phone. This gadget proves useful when you don’t want to haul a heavy, bulky phone--when you’re out playing sports, for example. Though it really is tiny (50 x 97 millimeters, and 7.4 mm thin), it runs a full version of Android 8.1 and all the apps from the Google Play Store. Obviously, it has a very small 3.3-inch LCD display. With a Snapdragon 435 processor paired to 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, the device’s performance is on the low end. It was never meant for intensive use. Early market tests seem to point to battery life issues. Reviews are mixed. The Verge finds it clever and entertaining, while Ars Technica calls it utterly sub-par.

⇨ The Verge, “The new Palm is a tiny phone to keep you away from your phone.”

⇨ Ars Technica, “Palm Phone Review: Fun, endearing, and bad at everything.”