Palm’s first Android phone has a tiny 3.3-inch display and requires another phone

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Update 10/25: The Palm phone will go on sale November 2nd from Verizon. It will cost $300 with a 2-year contract or $350 outright. You also must have the $10 per month Verizon NumberShare service.

In a rather interesting turn of events, the once highly coveted Palm technology company has just launched a new (yet tiny) Android smartphone. Seemingly called simply the Palm Phone, the device has a 3.3-inch display, is exclusive to Verizon Wireless, and requires you to have another phone. The device is not inspired by PalmOS, or even WebOS, but comes from a company who says they are “reinventing” a Palm ethos rather than bringing it back. That said, its limitations and $350 price tag will be available sometime next month.

Just like so many people have a soft spot in their hearts for HTC because of the quality Android smartphones they sold when the OS was first starting to mature, there are a lot of people who feel the same way about Palm and WebOS. LG acquired the rights to WebOS from HP back around 2013 for TVs, but it was TCL who purchased the Palm brand from HP back in 2014. You may be familiar with the TCL name as they sell smartphones under a number of brand names including BlackBerry and Alcatel.

As TCL has been focusing more on those two brands, they seem to have sold the Palm brand to a startup from San Francisco and the Palm Phone is the company’s first product. Again, you can’t use it on its own and it is currently exclusive for Verizon Wireless customers. It will be available for $350 and the device shares a phone number with another device on your plan. The tiny smartphone runs a full version of Android 8.1 Oreo, has a 3.3-inch screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 435, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and an 800 mAh battery.

It seems the goal of Palm Phone is to have something to bring along with you on the weekend that isn’t as big and bulky as your current device. Think of as a device you would bring with you on a camping trip as its size and limitations will help prevent you from being distracted from the scenery. The startup has even partnered with famous people including Steph Curry (who helped design cases that will let you strap the small phone to your forearm) and Kate Spade (who has created some clutch purses for the device as well.