The Palm phone isn't a webOS-powered smartphone, no matter how much some of us out here would like it to be. The Palm phone isn't even meant to be your primary daily driver. It's a tiny phone that Palm believes is the perfect option for folks who need a secondary device. For the moments that might not call for the bigger smartphone they carry around every day.
In the brief time I spent with the Palm phone, I couldn't quite figure out a reason to justify its existence. Don't get me wrong, a secondary phone that lets you focus on other things rather than your primary smartphone isn't a bad thing by default, but in practice it felt like an expensive accessory that didn't quite fit the bill.
And the price tag definitely plays a big role.
The cost of a phone, or anything for that matter, is one of the biggest factors when it comes to buying that thing or not. First we need to find the reason or reasons we want or need it, and then can we afford it? At $350 the Palm phone isn't "expensive", but that's only in comparison to other, more expensive and better equipped smartphones out there.
Honestly, even if phones like the Google Pixel 3a didn't exist already, the $350 price tag just seems egregious. The Palm phone is meant to be a device that makes you want to not use it, and especially not rely so much on your primary device. And more than that, for the price tag that it does have, the Palm phone's camera, display, and processor just aren't good enough.
But we can't completely ignore the Pixel 3a or other mid-range smartphones that are priced within the same range as the Palm phone. It just doesn't feel like Palm's tiny secondary phone can justify that price tag, especiallysince it's meant to be a device that reduces your desire to look at a screen.
The exclusive period with Verizon is ending, as we just heard that the Palm phone is getting an unlocked model that will work with AT&T, T-Mobile, and some other carriers. Which is great on paper, but the fact that you actually need to swap your SIM card out of your primary device and into the Palm phone? That seems like extra work to basically make the Palm phone your primary device. Phones aren't that heavy or big in 2019 to be unbearable in a pocket or bag, which makes it feel like the Palm secondary phone is just a few years too late to actually be worthwhile. Even if one could justify the price.
But, how do you feel about the Palm phone? Do you think the price is worth it? Would you consider buying the secondary phone if it were less expensive? Let me know!
