Palm is back. Kind of. The once iconic PDA brand is now owned by TCL - Alcatel's business daddy and the company responsible for BlackBerry's resurrection - and ready to take your nostalgia dollars.
The first device born out of this revival is simply (albeit confusingly) just called Palm. The Palm was originally released internationally in October last year, and now it's finally made its way to Australia.
The Palm is small Android-powered smartphone touting a tiny 3.3-inch screen like it's still 2008 or something. It's being pitched as a "minimalist" smartphone for people who want to use their devices less, and even has a "Life Mode" that silences all calls and notifications when you've got the screen off. It's a phone that wants to save you from yourself.
However, the most interesting part of the Palm experience is missing in Australia. When the Palm launched in the US, it was very much designed to be a secondary device, bound to your primary phone number via an eSIM connection (similar to how an Apple Watch syncs with an iPhone). This meant that you didn't need a second phone plan for the Palm, and that you still received text messages and phone calls without the need to swap your SIM. A sort of "weekend" phone. Sadly, this functionality isn't available locally.
Key specifications for the Palm include a 3.3-inch 720p display, a Snapdragon 435 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, a 12MP rear-facing camera, and an 800mAh battery. The Palm runs Android 8.1.
The Palm is available exclusively through JB Hi-Fi for $699, which is pretty pricey given the low-end specs. The god-tier camera touting Pixel 3a retails for $649, and the also excellent OPPO Reno Z can be had for $499 outright. Both phones have at least twice the out of the box storage, more RAM, and faster processors.
Alex Choros
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