Palm's New Smartphone: A Deep Dive into Ultra-Compact Design

Image Credit: Palm

Computing power usually brags about getting smaller — that's the basis of Moore's law, and it's why laptops have been getting slimmer and lighter for decades. Mobile phones, on the other hand, are sometimes all over the place. Some are a standard index card-ish size (notably, the same comfortable dimensions ancient Mesopotamians used for cuneiform tablets); some are so big they're practically tablets on their own.

OG cellphone maker Palm is taking things in its own Ant-Man-sized direction. Its signature tiny smartphone has a truly pocket-sized display of 3.2 inches; you can even get a lanyard to keep it close without losing it in your bag. If you've been coveting a second screen to supplement your main mobile device, you're in luck: The Android-running Palm is now available in an unlocked version. Previous iterations of the product were only available on Verizon; now you can hook it up to major carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and Metro, the prepaid model.

The tiny Palm is still in the preorder stage, but you can nab one now for $350. It's part of an ongoing trend of decluttering your tech: We're all pretty overwhelmed with notifications, FOMO, and nonstop workdays, and any device that can help us refocus on the essentials might be worth it to us. Do consider that Android devices have some known privacy issues, although iPhones aren't totally issue-free themselves.

If you're enchanted with the tiny Palm, the company estimates that it'll ship by the end of the summer. It may be little, but its effect on your day could be mighty.