It’s been over three years since Alcatel was rumored to be resurrecting Palm for new markets. It wasn’t Alcatel who actually did finalize the acquisition but TCL—the same name that carries Alcatel so it’s close. And last year, we learned Palm OS phones would be released this 2018. Verizon and TCL were reported to release a new Android-powered Palm smartphone and the time has come. We’ve seen a preview of the Palm Android phone back in August with an image surfacing online last month.
That Palm Android phone image matches the previous render we saw. TCL and Verizon teamed up to work on this phone to bring back Palm’s glory.
For those who don’t know what Palm is, it’s one of the brands that pioneered the smartphone industry. It specialized in making PDAs (personal digital assistants) which then paved the way for smartphones we have now. It has since jumped from different owners. In 2011, it was even rumored to be purchased by Amazon. It didn’t happen as HP remained to own its rights and mobile patent portfolio for a while.
Fast forward to 2018, the Palm Android phone is ready. It’s not much in specs and features but we like the idea of an old brand having a new lease in life. It reminds us of Nokia that was given a second chance by HMD Global.
The new Palm Android phone has been “designed for action”. It comes in a small form, the size of a credit card, so it’s more portable than most smartphones that are getting bigger. The device offers basic smartphone functions without drawing much attention when you really want to be discreet.
You can use the Palm phone on its own as a second device. Sync it with your bigger smartphone if you want to be accessible all the time. It only features a small 3.3-inch display but it’s already in HD. The phone is water and dust-resistant with its IP68 rating so you can use it during a workout, a run, or even by the pool.
Other features of the Palm Android phone include a 12MP rear camera, 8MP selfie shooter, Life Mode to reduce distraction, Google Assistant, facial recognition, and gesture pad. The remaining specs are as follows: 3.3-inch HD Display, Qualcomm 435 processor, Corning Gorilla Glass, 3GB RAM, 32GB built-in storage, dual-purpose speaker, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2 low energy, and an 800mAh non-removable battery. You can choose from either the Gold or Titanium Palm Android smartphone. The device runs on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.
Verizon will sell Palm for $349 starting next month November. It’s $299 with a monthly fee of $14.58 for two years.
SOURCE: Palm
