Review: Palm Phone for Verizon Wireless
I don't know why the hell anyone would buy this phone. The value proposition just isn't there. Verizon sells the device for $350 (!!!) and requires you to add $10 per month to your existing smartphone plan. (It's billed like a smartwatch.) Palm and Verizon are essentially asking you to pay even more for what ends up doing much less.
The Palm phone does serve as a cute alternate device that's probably easier to carry around than your main phone. If you adhere to the idea of Life Mode — wherein the phone is basically dead unless you actively need to make a call — then it's possible you can find solace and serenity. You can achieve much the same thing (without spending another $350) by taking a more aggressive stance with your existing phone's Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing tools.
The Palm phone is diminutive and has a great screen. It's fairly tough and waterproof.
But battery life is absolutely horrific, call quality is mediocre, and the network connection doesn't give me the confidence I want. The camera is slow and takes hazy pictures.
I do like what Palm did with the home screen and its app carousel, but that's no reason to spend $350 on a phone for your phone. At Verizon, $350 buys you a new iPhone 6s, while $240 buys you the very good Moto G6. The point is, you can get a lot more for $350 if you look elsewhere. And you should.
Our Ratings
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Palm
