HP Veer
| Company type | Smartphone |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
| Predecessor | Palm Pixi, Palm Centro |
| Founded | February 9, 2011 |
| Fate | Discontinued |
| Successor | None |
Area served | United States |
| Products | HP Veer smartphone |
HP Veer is a slider smartphone introduced by HP on February 9, 2011. It operates on the HP webOS platform and is driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The device is equipped with a 2.6-inch display and is distinguished by its compact size, roughly the thickness of a deck of cards and comparable in dimensions to a credit card. Serving as the next model in the Palm series, the Veer succeeded the Pixi and earlier Centro devices.
History
On February 9, 2011, HP revealed the Veer alongside the HP Pre 3 and HP TouchPad. It became available in the United States on May 15, 2011, through AT&T, marketed as the HP Veer 4G. The handset was designed to eventually support Touch-to-Share functionality via an update; however, no official firmware update was issued. Despite this, some units featuring complete Touch-to-Share and SMS sharing capabilities have surfaced in secondary markets.
Following HP's announcement on August 18, 2011, halting WebOS hardware production, the Veer was discontinued. Similar to the TouchPad, it experienced substantial price reductions during clearance sales.
Processors
The HP Veer utilizes a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 system-on-chip fabricated with a 45 nm CMOS process. It incorporates an 800 MHz Scorpion CPU core based on ARMv7 architecture with ARM NEON and VFPv3 extensions (referred to as the “VeNum” media engine), which improve multimedia processing and energy efficiency. The chipset includes an Adreno 205 GPU compatible with OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1, OpenVG 1.1, EGL 1.3, Direct3D Mobile, SVGT 1.2, and DirectDraw standards. Additionally, it integrates a digital signal processor for cellular operations and a gpsOne GPS module.
Screen and input
The device sports a 66 mm (2.6 inch) capacitive touchscreen presenting a resolution of 320 x 400 pixels with multi-touch support. An accelerometer automatically adjusts the display orientation between portrait and landscape modes. A proximity sensor disables both screen and touch input during phone calls.
A slide-out QWERTY keyboard with four rows is included; the microphone is embedded within this keyboard assembly.
Buttons
Controls consist of a volume rocker positioned on the left side, a power button located at the upper right corner, and a ringer switch on top that toggles vibration mode.
Audio and USB connectivity
Both USB and 3.5 mm audio ports connect through a proprietary magnetic interface.
Battery and SIM
The handset contains a built-in non-removable battery rated at 910 mAh, with HP citing up to five hours of talk time or approximately 300 hours on standby.
Storage
With 8 GB of internal storage available, users have access to around 6.5 GB; there is no option for microSD card expansion.
Software
The Veer was released running either webOS version 2.1.1 or 2.1.2 depending on the market region, without receiving any further official updates. The device came preloaded with several applications:
| Application Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Web | A web browser powered by the WebKit engine. |
| The default email client. | |
| Messaging | SMS/MMS application integrated with AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Google Chat, and Skype. |
| App Catalog | Portal for accessing HP’s App Catalog. |
| Memos | Application for note-taking. |
| Quickoffice | Office suite enabling viewing of spreadsheets, presentations, and documents. |
| PDF View | PDF document reader. |
| Maps | Provides location search, directions, and traffic information. |
| Contacts | Digital address book. |
| Music | Media player for stored audio files. |
| Phone | Standard dialer for making calls. |
| Photos | Image viewer application. |
| Videos | Video playback software. |
| Camera | Tool for capturing photos. |
| Calculator | Basic calculator app. |
| Clock | Alarm clock and timekeeping features. |
| YouTube | Interface for browsing YouTube videos. |
An unofficial port of Android is also accessible for this device.