HP Veer 4G (photos)

The smallest of the WebOS devices announced back in February, the HP Veer 4G hits AT&T stores on May 15 at a price of $99.99 with a two-year contract.

The Veer 4G is one of the cutest phones we've ever seen, but its small size does more harm than good. The 2.6-inch display makes it difficult not only to view Web pages and maps, but even to perform simple tasks like reading e-mails and using the onscreen dialer to make a call.

The Veer's slide-out QWERTY keyboard takes some getting used to due to the smaller buttons and cramped layout, but with some practice you can learn to deal with it.

The Veer is so small that HP couldn't fit a headphone jack or Micro-USB port into it, so instead you get a magnetic connector on the side where you can connect a headset adapter (shown here) and the charging cable. We found this didn't work well, since the adapter juts out from the side, making it vulnerable to being ripped off, and it's also so small that we're afraid that it will get lost at some point. The proprietary connector also means you can't use a Micro-USB cable to charge your device.

The left side of the phone features a volume rocker.

The HP Veer 4G is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera, but it lacks a flash and editing tools.

Despite the lack of editing options and flash, we were impressed with the picture quality. Images came out sharp and with bright colors. The camera did have trouble with nighttime shots and video quality was quite murky.

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• Best Buy to offer HP'S Veer 4G for free

Best Buy to offer HP'S Veer 4G for free

For fans of souped up smartphones, HP’s tiny Web OS-equipped Veer 4G may be a tough sell. But Best Buy is trying its best to make the device more compelling to customers.
According to PreCentral, Best Buy is preparing to offer HP’s smallest phone for free with a two-year contract. This doesn’t extend to the black version of the phone, however, as Best Buy will only be selling the device in white.
While the move is sure to be a great one for customers, its rarely a good sign for a phone to be offered for free so early in its life cycle. Is it possible that retailers don’t have much faith in HP’s shrunken device?
The HP Veer will be available on May 15th for $99 via AT&T.
[Via PreCentral]

Read Also:

• HP Veer 4G (photos)

Alienware prepping M14x to round out its gaming laptop lineup

Following up on the success of its smallest gaming notebook, the M11x, Alienware is apparently cooking up a new 14-inch laptop that a Chinese Web site has already reviewed.
The M14x will include an Intel Sandy Bridge quad-core processor (the Core i7-2820QM), 8GB of RAM, a 750MB hard drive, and the new Nvidia GeForce GT 555M graphics card. A 1,920×1,080 resolution screen is an option, and the gaming laptop also features Klipsch premium speakers. While the M14x ships with Windows 7 Ultimate, the review highlights Alienware’s AlienGUIse app, which allows users to customize the interface.
Needless to say, there’s no pricing or availability information available yet, as Alienware hasn’t officially announced the M14x. The M15x starts at $1,199, but that system is still offered with older processor and graphics options, so it will be interesting to see how the M14x, with its fresh parts, will be priced.
[Via PC Magazine]

Alienware officially unveils M11x R3, M14x, M18x gaming laptops

After weeks of leaks, Alienware is finally ready to announce the latest models in its gaming laptop lineup. On the blog of parent company Dell, the freshly updated M11x and the new M14x and M18x notebooks were detailed yesterday.
The M11x — “The Most Powerful 11-inch Laptop in the Universe,” according to Alienware — will now sport new Intel Sandy Bridge processors, either the Core i5-2537M or Core i7-2617M, along with Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics. The gaming netbook also provides the option for AT&T or Verizon 3G Wireless WAN connectivity. While the older version of the M11x is still available on the Dell site starting at under $600, you’re being told to call for pricing of the latest iteration, though Engadget claims it will start at $999.
Engadget is also stating that the M14x will be priced starting at $1,199, though the Dell site again tells potential buyers to call for pricing. Alienware promises dual-core and quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU options, GeForce GT 555M graphics, and optional wireless HD support. Steam is preloaded on the laptop to let you download the latest games, and the Alienware Command Center allows you to tweak keyboard lighting, touchpad, and power management settings.
No pricing is available for the new M18x, but you will have an option for a Core i7 Extreme processor overclocked to 4GHz courtesy of Alienware. The company also claims that the laptop will support dual-graphics technology from ATI and Nvidia — a.k.a. CrossFireX and SLI, respectively — though it appears that a pair of graphics card will be an optional feature. It comes with an 18.4-inch white-LED-backlit 1080p display and probably weighs a bazillion pounds, so start strengthening those back muscles now if you plan to take one on the go regularly.