Rob Cell Phones

There are several key factors to weigh before deciding on a smartphone: the mobile operating system, the handset maker, available apps and the way the underlying wireless network theoretically performs in areas where you live, work and travel. But all things being equal — and they rarely are — the display is what’s critically important for many people.

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  Samsung

  The Samsung Infuse 4G smartphone.

Samsung

The Samsung Infuse 4G smartphone.

Last week, ATT unveiled two smartphones that, from the screen-size perspective, couldn’t be more dissimilar. The Samsung Infuse 4G has a mammoth 4.5-inch touch-screen that is the largest I’ve seen on a U.S. smartphone. It’s formidable for watching movies on the go.

By contrast, ATT is going small with the petite Hewlett-Packard Veer 4G, a comfy little cutie with a 2.6-inch multitouch display. Side by side, that difference is ginormous, as if NBA legends Nate “Tiny” Archibald at 6-foot-1 went up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who’s more than a foot taller.

Size is relative, of course. While the overall design of the 4.6-ounce Infuse is much larger than the 3.6-ounce Veer, Samsung’s device is actually thinner. Samsung claims that Infuse — a shade over one-third-inch thick — is the thinnest 4G smartphone on the market.

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Veer is just a little bit chunky, mainly because of the hidden physical keyboard that is revealed when you slide up the touch-screen. You rely on that keyboard a lot, because Veer doesn’t have a virtual keyboard equivalent. Infuse is just the opposite. It has a virtual keyboard but no physical keyboard.

There are other important distinctions. Infuse runs version 2.2 (Froyo) of Google’s Android mobile platform, not the latest Gingerbread version that is coming to the device later. Veer runs the WebOS operating system that HP snapped up last year with its acquisition of Palm.

Infuse arrives in stores Sunday for $200 with a two-year contract. Veer hits the same day for $100 less with a two-year contract. Both can tap into what ATT considers a 4G (fourth-generation) wireless network. Both function as mobile Wi-Fi hot spots (for up to five devices), with a $20 tethering plan on top of a $25 monthly data plan. A closer look:

Infuse. Several smartphones have cracked the 4-inch display barrier but none to the degree Samsung has with the Infuse. That pushes it close to small tablet territory. I’m reminded of the Dell Streak that emerged last summer. With its 5-inch screen, Streak was billed as a tablet, though it also functioned as an oversized smartphone.

Dell’s size didn’t quite measure up in my view, but Samsung’s device feels as if it’s within reasonable bounds. The handsome phone takes advantage of stunning screen technology called Super AMOLED. Infuse is preloaded with a version of the popular Angry Birds game from Rovio. The first 500,000 devices sold will also include a $25 voucher to download movies or TV shows through the Samsung Media Hub store app. And the supplied 2-gigabyte micoSD card is preloaded with summer movie trailers. (The device can accommodate up to a 32-GB microSD card.) I rented The Dilemma from Media Hub and watched it, among other videos. Infuse has a gorgeous screen with vivid colors and a wide viewing angle.

But I received low-battery indications faster than I’d have liked. I also had difficulty making the screen out in direct sunlight, despite Samsung’s claims to the contrary. And good as the screen is for movies, the text on Web pages isn’t at all crisp.

Infuse comes with a 1.2-gigahertz processor, 8-megapixel camera with flash that can shoot HD video, plus a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera.

Veer. As a fan of the original WebOS-based device, the Palm Pre, it’s refreshing to see that elegant software platform live on in the Veer, a prelude to other WebOS devices promised from HP this summer, including an upcoming tablet and new version of the Pre.

As on its predecessors, you engage the WebOS screen interface through finger motions or gestures. Multiple apps can be opened at the same time, through a clever deck-of-cards-like screen metaphor.

The Palm Synergy feature lets you easily collect, coordinate and consolidate all your personal information from many Web sources, including your e-mail, contacts and calendar. I did encounter one snag — apparently because of subsequent software updates since I reviewed earlier WebOS devices — I couldn’t populate Veer with all my information based on a so-called Palm Profile I had previously set up.

With only about 6,000 apps in HP’s App Catalog store, the Veer badly trails Android (200,000-plus) and Apple (around 350,000).

The Veer battery (unlike Infuse’s) is not removable, but at least it survived a full day of mixed use on a single charge. The qwerty keyboard is usable, but I’m not wild about its tiny keys.

And I can’t imagine spending much time watching movies on the Veer. But the 320-by-400-pixel screen is decent for surfing the Web. The handset comes with 8 GB of internal user storage and a 5-megapixel camera.

WebOS is a big-time mobile operating system that in this case is trapped in a compact capsule of a phone.

THE BOTTOM LINE

ATT HP Veer 4G

www.palm.com/veer

$100 (with two-year contract)

Three stars (out of four)

Pro. Petite phone is small and light. WebOS operating system.

Con. Small screen won’t appeal to all. Ditto for physical keyboard. Weak on apps.

ATT Samsung Infuse 4G

www.samsung.com/mobile

$200 (with two-year contract)

Three and a quarter stars

Pro. Stunningly large display is terrific for movies. Thin handset.

Con. Battery is so-so. Text for Web pages wasn’t crisp.

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In today’s mobile world I see people switching carriers more than before since they can port their number and seem to be more willing to switch to get the device they want. Some carriers provide backup services for phones that are on their network, but services that are cross carrier are more attractive. I have also tried some backup solutions on devices, but none of them are universal. Wirefly revealed their latest Mobile Backup Pro service that works across BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, and Windows Mobile 6.5 devices.

I mentioned that I purchased my HTC ThunderBolt from Wirefly and they have been fantastic in working with me to resolve my WiFi hotspot issues. Back in November they released their Wirefly Mobile Backup basic plan that gives you 2GB of storage for free for life with support to backup contacts, photos, and calendar on up to five phones and one PC.

Their new Pro version gives you the basic version storage and backup capability, but adds more storage and these enhanced features:

• Last Known Location: View the approximate location of your registered phone(s) on an integrated map using the phone’s built-in GPS.
• Lock/Unlock Phone: Remotely lock your phone to prevent unauthorized use and protect your personal information.
• Display Message: Send a message to your phone that locks and displays a message requesting that the good Samaritan holding your phone contact you to return it.
• Set Phone Alarm: Lock your phone and send a loud, audible alert directly to your phone to immediately pinpoint its location.
• Erase Phone: Remotely erase your phone’s content. Since Wirefly Mobile Backup already backs up your contacts, photos and more, you can easily transfer your stored data to your replacement device in minutes.

I have a great service on my Nokia N8 that lets me send a signal to my device if I misplace it with a loud signal eminating from it with the ability to find my phone too. Thus, I really like the phone alarm feature and the lock/unlock phone functions and find them useful even for those times when you misplace your phone.

Wirefly Mobile Backup Pro comes in two versions; an individual account for $2.99 per month that gives you 10GB of storage and support for one phone and one PC and a family account for $5.99 per month that gives you unlimited storage and support for up to five phones and one PC.

You can try out the Pro service for free for 30 days by entering the promo code WMBPRO during checkout. At the end of the 30 day period you can continue to use a free account or pay to have a Pro account.

I remember the day when my Google Nexus One arrived and to this day I still wish I would not have gotten rid of that device. I would have purchased a T-Mobile version of the Nexus S if it had an HSPA+ radio and now Sprint and Google are rolling out the Nexus S 4G with WiMAX radio that has me considering the device. You can check out a few photos of the Nexus S 4G in my image gallery along with a few thoughts on the device below. I plan to spend a bit more time with this pure Google device to find out if the experience is worth a compromise in specs. I imagine we will see these being given out to attendees at the Google I/O conference later today as well.

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Image Gallery: Check out a few photos of the Nexus S 4G for Sprint.

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In the box and first impressions

The Nexus S 4G comes in the white box with primary color highlights that we have come to expect from Google with these pure Android devices. You will find the Nexus S 4G, battery, USB cable and charger, wired stereo headset, and some pamphlets in the box.

This was the first Nexus S device I have had the chance to hold and it is an attractive device. It has high gloss black plastic and is a fingerprint magnet. I am personally not a huge fan of Samsung’s plastic devices, but they make up for this with fantastic displays. The 4 inch WVGA Super AMOLED display is about the perfect size for a smartphone and it does feel good in my hand.

Specifications

Specifications for the Nexus S 4G include the following:

• Android 2.3 Gingerbread
• 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor
• 1xEV-DO CDMA and WiMAX 4G radio
• 4 inch 480×800 pixels Super AMOLED display
• Integrated 16GB flash drive with no expansion card slot
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• VGA front facing camera
• Dedicated, touch-sensitive Back, Menu, Search, and Home keys
• Proximity sensor, light sensor and digital compass
• Integrated A-GPS
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 3.5 mm headset jack
• 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery
• Dimensions: 123.9 x 63 x 11.2 mm and 129 grams

The Nexus S 4G also has an oleophobic front panel so fingerprints aren’t bad on the front while there are quite a few on the back.

Walk around the hardware

The front of the Nexus S 4G is dominated by the curved front 4 inch display that looks fantastic. The hardware buttons are different than I am used to on HTC devices so there is a bit of a learning curve there. A VGA front facing camera is up to the right of the headset speaker with proximity sensor and light sensor to the left of the speaker.

The only thing on the right is the power button while the left side houses the single volume button. A 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port, and microphone are found on the bottom. There is nothing on the top except for the notch to pry off the back panel.

There is a 5 megapixel camera with flash and a speaker on the upper part of the back. The device is pretty basic and simple, which is usually what people want with these pure Google Android devices.

Quick thoughts on the software and performance

The Google Nexus S 4G runs Gingerbread (Android 2.3) and it is very refreshing to find a device with nothing extra loaded on it. Then again, Sprint has some excellent services that are included with your monthly fees (NASCAR, Sprint Football, Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV) and none of these are loaded on the device. However, the great news is that you can download some of these yourself and this is how it should ALWAYS be done on these devices!

The Gingerbread keyboard is found on the device and so far I have gotten it to work quite well. I do like Swype and can always download it myself too. I have yet to try out NFC.

It was nice to see Google or Sprint include a 3G/4G toggle, even though it is hidden in the settings. At least you can manage your battery a bit more easily than you can on the ThunderBolt.

I took a couple of photos and it seems to take very good shots in good lighting. The flash also seems to work quite well in low light conditions.

You will find the WiFi hotspot utility in the wireless network settings area. Sprint does charge you $29.99 to use the hotspot, but the good thing is they still do not have data limits on their service. You also will pay the $10 premium data fee on the plan so you are looking at a minimum of $79.99 before taxes and the hotspot fee.

Pricing and availability

The Nexus S 4G is available now for $199.99 with a minimum voice and data plan with 2-year contract. The full retail price is $549.99.

Final first thoughts

The Nexus S 4G is a solid device and it is refreshing to run a pure Google device with the latest version of Android. With so many other high end Android smartphones hitting the streets it might be tough to choose one with an older processor (not necessarily slower), no expandable memory, and glossy plastic design.

I plan to spend more time with this device so if you want me to try out something let me know in the Talkback section.

With a tide rapidly shifting towards mobile and tablet devices, it should be no surprise that work is well already underway on Windows 8. An early build circulating apparently hints at a more unified OS to combat what Apple is doing with OS X/iOS and what HP is doing with Palm webOS. And some screenshots are starting to leak out. And a few appear to include, what else, an app store.

WinRumors posted the shots this morning while noting that they’re unverified. But actually, the shots in English were previously out there, what’s new are the ones in Chinese that Cnbeta found that seem to verify the design. And what a design it is — I swear this looks familiar…

Last year, we ripped Google for ripping off the design of Apple’s App Store for their Chrome Web Store. This actually might be worse. It looks almost as if Microsoft is ripping off Google ripping off Apple. Again, allegedly — the shots aren’t confirmed.

Let’s hope Microsoft isn’t actually doing such a lame copy job with their actual store. Rushing to release a store baked into the OS months after a competitor is bad enough. At least nail the design or bring something new to the table.

Stop me when these look familiar.

Windows App Store:

Mac App Store:

iOS App Store:

Chrome Web Store:

Android Market:

The H-P Veer 4G fits in the palm of your hand and weighs just 3.6 ounces, making it one of the smallest smart phones on the market. But WSJ’s Katherine Boehret says the size of the phone makes some functions difficult and could be a drawback for some users.

For its first out-of-the-gate smartphone since acquiring Palm, Hewlett-Packard Co. is starting small. Really small. The $100 HP Veer 4G , available Sunday, has the surface area of a credit card and the thickness of a deck of playing cards.

Over the past week, I’ve been carrying this pebble of a smartphone with me nearly unnoticed, since it only weighs 3.6 ounces. To borrow from the old saying, some good things come in small packages: The Veer is loaded with the latest version of webOS, Palm’s stylish, fun, delightfully smart operating system. It has a slide-out Qwerty keyboard, a vibrant, albeit small, touch screen and it can work as a wireless hot spot for up to five devices. It comes in black or white, costs $100 with a two-year ATT contract and requires a voice plan (the least expensive of which costs $40 a month) along with a $15 (200-megabyte) or $25 (2-gigabyte) data plan.

But how small is too small? I loved the way the Veer fit perfectly in the palm of my hand in its closed position, and simple gestures let me navigate webOS using only the thumb of the same hand that held the device. Yet, I ran into trouble whenever I had to slide out the Veer’s keyboard to type. Unlike some smartphones that offer both a physical keyboard and a virtual keyboard, the Veer only works with a physical keyboard. To slide it out, one must touch the screen with a thumb and push up, which, on several occasions, accidentally performed another function, like flicking an on-screen application away or selecting one of the five icons at the bottom of the screen. Typing on this little keyboard was surprisingly comfortable.

I like a physical keyboard on smartphones, but the Veer’s keyboard lacks some of the shortcuts found on others, like hitting space twice to display a period or holding down a letter key to create a capitalized letter. Auto correct is on, by default, so typing words like “youre” will automatically be fixed to “you’re.” But tapping the screen to place the cursor at a specific spot in an email is a challenge on this tiny, 2.6-inch touch screen since the Veer lacks a magnifying glass-like effect for pinpointing text.

The HP Veer 4G is a warm-up act for the much-anticipated TouchPad tablet the company plans to bring out this summer. WebOS, with its intuitive gestures and card-stacking organizational system, seems perfectly suited to a tablet. The Pre 3, a more normal-sized webOS smartphone, is also due out this summer.

While the back of the Veer carries the HP logo instead of the Palm name, this device still has reminders of Palm on it, like the first step to using the device: creating or signing into a Palm Profile. I signed in with a pre-HP Palm Profile I already had, and it still worked. Logging into this profile will restore previously set up accounts and apps to the device. H-P’s spokeswoman said that Palm-specific nomenclature would be changed in an update.

HP Veer with slide-out keyboard.

In a few steps, I had my email from two Google Gmail accounts, a Hotmail account and a .Mac account set up on my Veer. I set one Google account to sync contacts and calendar. A feature in webOS called HP Synergy automatically populates the Veer with contact information from Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo account contacts if a user signs into these.

For those unfamiliar with webOS, it uses a system that treats each opened program as a card that appears on the screen, and this latest version of webOS stacks related cards together. One swipe upward from the gesture area below the touch screen displays all opened cards, and a right or left swipe jumps from one opened app or program to another. A setting lets users switch from one app directly to the next by swiping all the way across the gesture area.

Unlike iOS, Apple Inc.’s mobile operating system, webOS handles Adobe Flash with ease. I opened the “Charlie Rose” website, which runs in Flash, and watched a video of a reporter in Libya.

The HP App Catalog virtual store offers only 6,000 apps (Apple offers some 350,000 apps), and it’s still working out a few kinks. My search for Angry Birds returned Angry Birds Lite for Pixi (an older, small smartphone from Palm). A spokeswoman said that since the Pixi and Veer share the same screen size, any Pixi app is also available for Veer, hence the Pixi name showing up in an app title in the App Catalog for Veer. Still, people clueless about what the Pixi is will be confused by this.

Some apps come pre-installed on the Veer, but these don’t include apps for Facebook and Twitter. The self-described premier Twitter app for webOS isn’t free: It’s a $2.99 app called Twee. The Facebook app is free.

I found the Veer’s battery life suitable for a full day’s use, including Web browsing, watching videos, emailing, texting, playing games like Endless TriPeaks Solitaire and running apps like Twee and Facebook. HP’s battery life claim is up to five hours of talk time and 300 hours standby time. Veer uses a speedy Qualcomm Inc. Snapdragon processor that the spokeswoman said is designed for efficiency and substantial talk time.

If you’re a fan of webOS and you prefer carrying a smaller, lighter device, the HP Veer 4G is fast and fun to use—though sliding out its keyboard isn’t as easy as it should be.

Write to Katherine Boehret at katherine.boehret@wsj.com

Available exclusively from ATT, the HP Veer is the first 4G phone to run webOS. It’s also one of the first webOS phones to come out since HP took over Palm’s smartphones. That said, the HP Veer 4G is kind of the like the Palm Pre’s younger and cuter little sister. While other smartphones are getting bigger and badder, the HP Veer is the most petite webOS phone yet and it can even be compared to a credit card in terms of size.

Design

The HP Veer measures 2.15 x 3.31x.59  and weighs just 3.63. Product shots really don’t do this phone justice because it’s a marvel to hold it in your hands and see how darn right petite and adorable it is, especially for a serious smartphone. We actually had one person mistake it for a Kin – Which is amazing in itself that someone remembers what a Kin looks like! The build quality of the Veer is also very solid and feels much superior to the original Palm Pre. Likewise, the keyboard sliding mechanism is solid, and it would take a lot of determined energy to break it apart. Between the Veer’s diminutive size and weight, you can easily slip it into your pocket and almost forget that it’s there. The Veer is available in black or a matte white, or as we like to call it – a “tuxedo finish”. We’re really digging the white version since it gives the device a retro look and feel. The device also sports a powerful speaker, especially considering its diminutive size. A proprietary USB cable and AC adapter are also include with the Veer. But one of the biggest pitfalls of the Veer’s design, is the fact that there is no built-in headphone jack. You’ll need to use the included small magnetic headphone adapter if you want to use headphones. That is a total  bummer, especially since the piece can be easily lost.

Display

The Veer’s 2.6-inch 18-bit multitouch display sports a resolution of 320×400. This size display is whole lot smaller than most of the other touchscreen smartphones that are coming to market now, but webOS does do a good job of maximizing the real estate available to it on this device. The display itself is sharp and colorful, and it gets adequately quite bright too. That said, it’s no Super AMOLED Plus display and colors aren’t especially vivid, but it’s still a good display offering. Unfortunately, 2.6-inch inches is on the small size and it’s not going to be for everyone, especially those who are farsighted.

Keyboard

Initially we were hesitant about the keyboard on the HP Veer because it looked so cramp. But the truth is you can learn to adjust to its small size keys and small typing area pretty quickly. The keyboard itself has great tactile feedback with little resistance, and once you’ve adjusted, it’s pretty comfortable to use and you can type pretty fast on it. That said, people with larger fingers will almost certainly have difficulty using it.

User Interface Apps

We do really like the latest version webOS 2.1.2. You wont want to skip the system’s initial tutorial, but once you’ve gone through it, it’s really easy to get a hang of the operating system. WebOS is quite polished and will let you multitask with ease. Messaging integration is also very strong. The built-in messaging client has support for AIM, Google and Yahoo. We especially love notifications on webOS and on the Veer and we actually consider it sport the best implementation of notifications on any smartphone yet.

The phone comes with everything you’d expect from a solid smartphone, like support for Exchange and Gmail, a video and music player, a calendar, a calculator, etc. Other preloaded apps included ATT Navigator, YPMobile, Amazon MP3, YouTube, Google Maps, Quickoffice, PDF View, and a Mobile Hotspot app. Unfortunately webOS is currently let down by a somewhat poor selection of apps, although many of the big ones are there such as Facebook, Pandora, Yelp, Slacker, Angry Birds and Foursquare. In total there are over 6,000 apps available in HP’s App Catalog. Unfortunately many of the apps aren’t compatible with the Veer because of its resolution.

Web Browser

The web browser on the Veer renders web sites quite nicely – if you can handle it’s small screen real estate. The browser supports everything you’d expect like pinch to zoom and support for multiple open “windows”, as well as even Flash support. Unfortunately zooming in and out on web pages is not as responsive as on competing smartphones like the iPhone. That said, switching the Veer to landscape view makes web surfing and videos a bit more pleasant on its 2.6″ display.

We tested the browser in New York City and found that sites load up pretty fast on the Veer.

Performance

The HP veer is running on a 800mhz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor with 8GB of built-in memory. Although not quite a speed demon, the Qualcomm MSM7230 processor isn’t a slow processor either. Yet despite the device having a pretty capable processor inside, performance on the device is its biggest let down. It’s likely that performance must be being held-back by webOS. We’re hoping that system updates will improve the device’s overall responsiveness. The system isn’t quite slow, but often we experienced lag when loading apps, switching screen orientation, and  some occasional lag between gestures and swipes. Weirdly this occurred when there weren’t even many apps running. The device is still very usable but it’s just not as responsive as most of the smartphones coming out right now. That said, the Veer is still perfectly usable, and somewhat acceptably so for a mid-range $99 smartphone. However it just can’t compete with the likes of the 1ghz+ Android smartphones that are showing up everywhere.

Camera

The Veer sports a 5 megapixel camera with support for geotagging. Unfortunately there is no built-in flash, Auto-focus or front-facing camera on the Veer – not that we would expect to see a front-facing camera on a $99 smartphone. Unfortunately the phone also lacks a dedicated camera button. Photos, especially those taken indoors tend to be washed out, often blurry and full of noise. And if there isn’t ample amounts of sunlight or light surrounding you, the photos also tend to come out dark. The camera also can’t record in HD. And the camera’s app itself is just barebones. Videos are also mediocre. You also have the option of uploading directly to Facebook and YouTube. Also, it is pretty neat that you can trim clips right on the device – just like you can on the iPhone.

Call Quality

Callers sounded clear during conversations and the earpiece gets adequately loud. However, callers on the other end told me that they could hear ambient noise from my side while I walked through the street. The speakerphone quality is also average.

Battery Life

With moderate use, the Veer is able to get through almost a whole day on a full charge. That is actually significantly better than most of the other smartphones we’ve been using and testing.

Conclusion

Despite all of its pitfalls, we cant help but be charmed by the HP veer. We also do like webOS a lot, even though it can use some performance improvements. Maybe it’s a “girl thing”, but we showed the HP Veer off to both males and females, and while the dudes liked the phone, they all said that they preferred phones with larger displays. On the other hand, many younger women fell in love with the Veer and told us that they loved the size of the device. Some said that they could see throwing it into an evening bag, for a night out on the town. If you can get passed the small display, and the so-so performance, the Veer is really quite a unique and capable phone.  The HP Veer goes on sale on May 15th for $99 with a two year contract..

The Good: Adorable compact design, solid build quality, webOS is easy and fun to use, 4G, good keyboard, good battery life, keyboard is comfy to type on despite being cramped

The Bad: Display is rather small, performance isn’t so great, camera is mediocre, no built-in headphone jack, No HD video recording

HP and ATT just announced the Veer 4G – a new webOS device with a compact form factor and a budget price point to boot. It’s very Palm Pre-esque, taking its design cues from the two-year-old smartphone after its acquisition of Palm, and it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which should appease those who hate typing on touchscreen devices.

Here are all the dirty details and specs as laid out by ATT:

• HP webOS 2.1
• 3.63 ounces
• Tri-band UMTS: 850/1900/2100; HSDPA Cat 10/HSUPA Cat 6
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE
• 800Mhz processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230)
• 2.6-inch multitouch display screen with a vibrant 18-bit color, 320×400 resolution
• Slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard
• Email and integrated IM, SMS and MMS
• Facebook integration, YouTube
• Wi-Fi/aGPS capable
• 5-megapixel camera with extended depth of field, geotagging, and video capture
• Stereo Bluetooth (2.1)
• 8GB internal storage(~6.1GB available)
• 910 mAh battery; up to 5.0 hours of talk time or up to 300 hours of standby time.
• webOS WebKit browser with Flash support
• HP Touchstone compatible (sold separately)

That is one tiny screen by today’s smartphone standards, but HP says on its blog, “Don’t let Veer’s small size fool you [. . .]” Yeah, well don’t let the 4G name fool you, either. Like the Motorola Atrix 4G, it’s just a label that isn’t really going to bring you speeds anywhere remotely comparable to Sprint’s WiMax service, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network or Verizon’s incredibly fast LTE network. Slow and steady does not win this race.

But if you’re looking for a capable smartphone in a tiny package at a budget price, the HP Veer wouldn’t be a bad choice. It’s only $99.99 with a two-year contract for ATT and it’s launching next week on May 15. For additional details, see the press release on the following page.

[Via: HP]

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Microsoft (#5 overall)

The Windows-maker is having success with Windows 7 recently boasting 350 million licenses sold, and hype is already building around Windows 8, expected in 2012.

Microsoft also has a critical success with Windows Phone 7, but consumers have yet to buy into Microsoft’s mobile vision. Microsoft is a dominant force in gaming with the Xbox 360, perhaps more so after the recent and badly mismanaged Sony hack.

But all is not rosy for the world’s fifth most valuable company. A recent blog post in Forbes points out that Microsoft is stalling financially with little year-over-year growth, its spending a ton of money to keep Bing afloat and the growing popularity of non-Microsoft mobile devices such as the iPad and Android smartphones may eventually threaten Microsoft’s crown jewel: Windows. Microsoft’s brand is worth $78 billion, according to the BrandZ 100.

Amazon (#14 overall)

Millward Brown doesn’t categorize Amazon as a technology company in its report, but considering the popularity of the Kindle e-reader platform, the retailer’s recently released Appstore for Android, its online music and video retail business and rumors of an Amazon-branded Android tablet, it’s pretty safe to consider Amazon a technology company.

Amazon is also the top retail brand in the world, beating out Top 100 competitors such as Wal-Mart and Target. Amazon’s brand value grew by 37 percent compared to 2010 to hit more than $37 billion.

Hewlett-Packard (#18 overall)

HP has a popular line of desktop and laptop computers, which accounts for its place in the Top 100. But the company’s brand value also dropped by 11 percent compared to 2010.

HP made a big bet in 2010 by purchasing the ailing Palm, and the company hopes to enter the mobile device market with a revitalized lineup of WebOS tablets and smartphones. WebOS now has a company large enough to bankroll device development.

But the best WebOS can hope for right now is to battle out for third place in the smartphone world against Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 and/or Research In Motion’s Blackberry. The top two spots in mobile platforms will go to Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS for the foreseeable future.

Blackberry (#25 overall)

Research In Motion’s Blackberry brand lost 20 percent of its value in 2011 compared to the previous year.

Blackberry is still a force to be reckoned with in the enterprise, but its PlayBook tablet is getting mixed reviews.

Baidu (#29 overall)

Google’s Chinese language archrival in search may not have a presence in the English-speaking world, but with nearly 500 million potential customers in China alone, who needs the West?

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The 4G Veer will undoubtedly sell in the dozens. Photo Jon Snyder / Wired.com

HP’s webOS-based Veer 4G cellphone is coming to ATT on May 15th. The tiny Palm phone — small enough to be hidden in your own palm — will be an ATT exclusive. This seems to us to be better than the suicide-by-carrier that Palm committed by giving Sprint the exclusive deal on the original Palm.

The diminutive phones manages to pack in a pull out keyboard. A good thing, too, as trying to type on the tiny 2.6-inch screen would drive you crazy. Other specs include a 5MP camera, 8GB storage and an 800MHz Snapdragon processor. The whole package weighs in at 3.63 ounces.

Don’t let the “4G” part of the name get you too excited. First, it doesn’t support HSPA+, which is widely considered just 3.5G. Instead, it has HSDPA, or enhanced 3G. Calling this a 4G phone is a stretch.

Not that it really matters. Having a 4G phone today is like owning an 802.11n-compatible Wi-Fi device a few years back. It was nice to see on the spec sheet, but as most Wi-Fi networks were still 802.11g, you could never get the extra speed anyway.

The Veer “4G” will be out on May 15th, as I said, and cost $100.

Veer “4G” press release [ATT via HP Palm blog]

See Also:

• Hands-On With HP’s Tiny Veer Smartphone
• WebOS
• HP Launches WebOS-Powered Tablet, Phones
• Wired Explains: What U.S. Carriers Mean by ’4G’
• Carriers Bet Big on 4G Phones Despite Network Immaturity

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May 9th, 2011, 08:51 GMT| By Cosmin Vasile