Not even three full days after the launch of the HP Veer 4G, AT&T is currently offering customers a $50 discount on the total cost of the credit card sized smartphone with new 2 year agreement and activation when purchased online, bringing the total to $49.99 with free shipping.
This makes the Veer 4G the least expensive “4G†smartphone in AT&T’s nascent stable of 4G phones and devices. The Veer 4G features webOS 2.1 which features Just Type universal search, HSPA+ support, a 2.6 inch capacitive touch display, Wi-Fi N/Bluetooth and GPS support, 8GB of memory, Qualcomm Scorpion processor, WebKit browser with Flash support and a 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and HD video capture.
Sidebar: Due to AT&T’s genius marketing people completely missing the point of the term 4G, I am forced to add asterisks to all current AT&T 4G phones ahead of the carrier’s launch of LTE this summer, which is the actual 4G network.What is being currently sold as “4G†is HSPA+ access, which is better known as “3.5Gâ€. I apologize for any confusion, but AT&T dug themselves into a marketing hole they won’t be able to dig out of anytime soon.Â
They are free at Best Buy
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Veer+4G+Mobile+Phone+-+Black/2428237.p?id=1218326027909&skuId=2428237
I think $99 is the full price, so not exactly shocking that they go on sale.
I think the criticism is a valid. HP is aiming to compete head-on with Apple via their new webOS portfolio.
If you immediately drop the price after launch, you’re going about as far in the opposite direction from Apple as possible.
Granted, nobody may be buying the device. After all, webOS has had a major fall from grace, and there won’t be clarity in the platform until TouchPad and Pre 3 ship (even then, there’s no LTE or WiMAX webOS yet).
People simply see those price drops as a vote of no confidence from HP. Nobody seems to be able to gain as stringent pricing controls as Apple has on devices, however, HP certainly can ask AT&T to not cut the price on their end, from their first-party channels.