Joshua Topolsky reviews the HP Veer:
The display looks great in daylight and in lower light settings, but the size and resolution leave much to be desired. There were times when I had email that I literally could not read without zooming in. It’s nice to be compact, but the miniaturized screen on the Veer left me wanting more, which is never a good feeling. The experience feels trapping, as if you’re trying to peer around a corner.
After reading his review it appears that most of his complaints stem from the devices size. It’s interesting that the Veer’s biggest selling point is exactly what some users will dislike most about it. I do believe there’s a market for a device this size, though. One of the biggest complaints my girlfriend has about her iPhone is that it’s too big. She just wishes that Apple could shrink the forehead and chin around the display. But, I’m not sure if she’d be willing to use a device with a smaller screen.
Josh’s other big complaint was in the overall performance of the software.
In particular, there is general stuttery and inconsistent feel to the user interface that causes major problems when trying to quickly interact with content. Apps take far too long to load. Scrolling can be laggy. Sometimes when the phone syncs or brings up a notification, the entire device will freeze for a split second — this usually results in missed touches, or touches to sections of content which are unintentional.
Luckily, these are software issues that could be fixed in later versions of the OS. The device certainly isn’t underpowered. With 512MB of RAM and an 800MHz processor, though, you’d expect it to be able to handle simple tasks better than it does.
He was happy with the batter life — being able to make it through a normal day of use without needing to charge mid-day. And, that’s more than you can say for most Android devices.
I have a feeling this device isn’t going to sell very well. It’s overpriced. $99 is just too much for a device this size. But, if HP could manage to bring the price down to $49 or less, they’d really have something. I can see parents with high schoolers being more than happy to purchase something like this for their children. And, I think their children would be more than happy to use a device like this.
