HP Veer Impressions
I think many people know about the phones from HP (former Palm) with WebOS OS, but almost all the tests and impressions are based on the top model Pre, but the small Veer
handset is undeservedly bypassed :) After using it as the main phone for 3 weeks, I want to share this experience with the public.
I bought HP Veer on eBay, locked under AT&T for a girl, because he is small and very female in appearance :)
He cost $ 99 and $ 35 express delivery to Ukraine (reached exactly 7 days), as well as $ 30 for unlock. But after using 3 weeks, I don’t really want to give it back :) I replaced the iPhone with them and I will compare with it.
The device is made in the slider form factor, small enough in thickness a little thicker than an iPhone.
The slider mechanism does not hang out, it opens calmly with one hand, but at the same time it keeps well, there is auto-feed.
The keyboard is full qwerty, very small but comfortable keys, with my male hands I calmly hit the keys and type the text with one or two hands (thumbs).
The back cover, according to the manufacturer, is made of metal, I feel like I believe it :) For 3 weeks it fell on the tile several times from about a meter and a half (small for a man’s hand, sometimes it falls out), did not find any scratches or any damage.
The screen is small, but with sufficient resolution. Clear, the text reads well enough in the sun.
The device has a volume rocker, vibro / sound, a power button and the main control.
Here the control button is made very interesting, it is highlighted with any notifications, and also serves as a means of control and navigation around the system. Because the touch button (a thin click with a running light wave / line), then it understands the gestures:
- the main gesture, with a finger from right to left and we go to the previous menu
- from left to right
- pressing (returns to the main menu)
The SIM card compartment is at the top and is covered a rubber plug, unfortunately it is not intended for frequent replacement of SIM cards (it is very difficult to pull out a SIM card)
WebOS 2.1 and updates to version 3 are installed on the device, in the light of recent events, I can hardly wait ...
WebOS is a very pleasant system, moderately beautiful, fast, with its own characteristics. Unfortunately, there is no Russian interface, but contacts, SMS, mail in Russian are normally displayed, there is also a patch on the keyboard to write.
Among the chips that I really liked, one can single out a notification system (I had never seen it better in iOS or in Android). All notifications, as well as daemons (for managing background programs) leave an icon in the bottom line of the screen, and when you click on it, a notification or a control menu is displayed.
Very pleasantly done work with multitasking. All applications open side by side with each other (even the browser opens a new window when you open a new tab) with a screenshot of the last state of the application. To close the program, it must be "thrown" up the screen.
The OS supports a Google account out of the box and allows you to synchronize your contacts and calendar yourself with it. Also, at the OS level, you can add various other services (twitter, facebook, vkontakte) through the Synergy system. Unfortunately, because I do not use social networks, I did not install this patch :)
A few screenshots of the OS:
There are no problems with work on GPRS, there are Ukrainian operators in the database (pay, Kyivstar earned immediately).
GPS is also fast, google maps are installed, location is shown.
WiFi work sometimes with problems, about 2 times the phone connected to the network (familiar), but there was no Internet, maybe the routes didn’t pick up :(
But I often use bluetooth and it’s not happy with the work. The paired Sony DR-BT21G headset sometimes connects right away, and sometimes 2 minutes. Also, 1 time out of three, the sound does not switch to the headset and does not play at all, this problem is solved only by rebooting the device :(
Software is installed in several ways.
To install method 2 and 3, no hacking of the phone is required, except for entering the phone in the developer mode (key combination in the phone book). Also, in addition to software in the .ipk format, system patches are very common, which can change the behavior of the system very much.
The battery is not removable, as on the iPhone. The phone lives on average for 2 days, with 10-15 minutes of conversation per day, 15 minutes of WiFi and 2 hours of listening to music through a BT headset. Sometimes there are incomprehensible “devouring” batteries; it can drain completely in 8-12 hours, even without load.
HP Veer is a very solid female device with a pleasant and understandable OS that both girls and guys like (all the girls who gave the phone in their hands really wanted to keep it for themselves, barely selected it). The OS itself leaves only a good impression of the work and liked more than Android and iOS. If HP does not bury WebOS, then my next device will be some top-end Pre.
UPD: The Russian patch is called Russian Layout for Hardware Keyboard. A good web-forum in Russian
UPD2: It is still plastic at the back, today it fell again - crack :(
handset is undeservedly bypassed :) After using it as the main phone for 3 weeks, I want to share this experience with the public.
Foreword
I bought HP Veer on eBay, locked under AT&T for a girl, because he is small and very female in appearance :)
He cost $ 99 and $ 35 express delivery to Ukraine (reached exactly 7 days), as well as $ 30 for unlock. But after using 3 weeks, I don’t really want to give it back :) I replaced the iPhone with them and I will compare with it.
Iron
The device is made in the slider form factor, small enough in thickness a little thicker than an iPhone.
The slider mechanism does not hang out, it opens calmly with one hand, but at the same time it keeps well, there is auto-feed.
The keyboard is full qwerty, very small but comfortable keys, with my male hands I calmly hit the keys and type the text with one or two hands (thumbs).
The back cover, according to the manufacturer, is made of metal, I feel like I believe it :) For 3 weeks it fell on the tile several times from about a meter and a half (small for a man’s hand, sometimes it falls out), did not find any scratches or any damage.
The screen is small, but with sufficient resolution. Clear, the text reads well enough in the sun.
The device has a volume rocker, vibro / sound, a power button and the main control.
Here the control button is made very interesting, it is highlighted with any notifications, and also serves as a means of control and navigation around the system. Because the touch button (a thin click with a running light wave / line), then it understands the gestures:
- the main gesture, with a finger from right to left and we go to the previous menu
- from left to right
- pressing (returns to the main menu)
The SIM card compartment is at the top and is covered a rubber plug, unfortunately it is not intended for frequent replacement of SIM cards (it is very difficult to pull out a SIM card)
operating system
WebOS 2.1 and updates to version 3 are installed on the device, in the light of recent events, I can hardly wait ...
WebOS is a very pleasant system, moderately beautiful, fast, with its own characteristics. Unfortunately, there is no Russian interface, but contacts, SMS, mail in Russian are normally displayed, there is also a patch on the keyboard to write.
Among the chips that I really liked, one can single out a notification system (I had never seen it better in iOS or in Android). All notifications, as well as daemons (for managing background programs) leave an icon in the bottom line of the screen, and when you click on it, a notification or a control menu is displayed.
Very pleasantly done work with multitasking. All applications open side by side with each other (even the browser opens a new window when you open a new tab) with a screenshot of the last state of the application. To close the program, it must be "thrown" up the screen.
The OS supports a Google account out of the box and allows you to synchronize your contacts and calendar yourself with it. Also, at the OS level, you can add various other services (twitter, facebook, vkontakte) through the Synergy system. Unfortunately, because I do not use social networks, I did not install this patch :)
A few screenshots of the OS:
Networking
There are no problems with work on GPRS, there are Ukrainian operators in the database (pay, Kyivstar earned immediately).
GPS is also fast, google maps are installed, location is shown.
WiFi work sometimes with problems, about 2 times the phone connected to the network (familiar), but there was no Internet, maybe the routes didn’t pick up :(
But I often use bluetooth and it’s not happy with the work. The paired Sony DR-BT21G headset sometimes connects right away, and sometimes 2 minutes. Also, 1 time out of three, the sound does not switch to the headset and does not play at all, this problem is solved only by rebooting the device :(
Software installation
Software is installed in several ways.
- From the store directly on the phone (only free programs are available in my region)
- Through the likeness of Cydia
- Via WebOSQuickInstall from a computer
To install method 2 and 3, no hacking of the phone is required, except for entering the phone in the developer mode (key combination in the phone book). Also, in addition to software in the .ipk format, system patches are very common, which can change the behavior of the system very much.
Battery
The battery is not removable, as on the iPhone. The phone lives on average for 2 days, with 10-15 minutes of conversation per day, 15 minutes of WiFi and 2 hours of listening to music through a BT headset. Sometimes there are incomprehensible “devouring” batteries; it can drain completely in 8-12 hours, even without load.
conclusions
HP Veer is a very solid female device with a pleasant and understandable OS that both girls and guys like (all the girls who gave the phone in their hands really wanted to keep it for themselves, barely selected it). The OS itself leaves only a good impression of the work and liked more than Android and iOS. If HP does not bury WebOS, then my next device will be some top-end Pre.
UPD: The Russian patch is called Russian Layout for Hardware Keyboard. A good web-forum in Russian
UPD2: It is still plastic at the back, today it fell again - crack :(