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TCL set to introduce a Palm-branded smartphone on Verizon this year

The Palm Pre had its fans when it launched, but failed to gain traction. (Source: Palm)
The Palm Pre had its fans when it launched, but failed to gain traction. (Source: Palm)
The Palm Pre could be set to make a comeback to the US market later this year, if a fresh rumor is accurate. The device is expected to be designed and manufactured by Chinese company TCL, which is behind the most recent BlackBerry devices currently on the market like the BlackBerry KEYone.

Palm, like BlackBerry, once dominated the smartphone scene before it, like BlackBerry, got steamrolled by Apple and then the Android juggernauts. TCL, a Chinese company currently making BlackBerry handsets under licence is set to release a Palm handset in US later this year. TCL purchased the Palm brand from HP in 2015 and now looks set to capitalize on the nostalgia helping to drive the success of HMD’s licenced Nokia-branded phones.

If you’re wondering whether the planned Palm-branded handset will run Palm’s fabled webOS, the chances are slim. The current rumors point to the device running Android, which would be the smart decision as it is widely popular and has a ready-made app market that is massive. However, LG, which currently owns webOS recently made an open source variant of its webOS public, opening a tinniest of doors to the possibility.

As for the design of the device, the famous Palm Pre name is being bandied about as a possibility. The original Pre featured pebble-like shape and a combination of physical keyboard with a touchscreen. If you’ve been keeping abreast of TCL’s BlackBerry-branded phones, it will instantly remind you of its BlackBerry KEYOne handset. Whether it takes on a retro design or a more contemporary approach will be seen when it lands on Verizon, the planned US carrier.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2018 03 > TCL set to introduce a Palm-branded smartphone on Verizon this year
Sanjiv Sathiah, 2018-03-30 (Update: 2018-03-30)