Will the Palm PVG100 Smartphone Be a Disappointment?

Remember when the Palm Pre was being touted as the iPhone killer? I was at the CES in Las Vegas when this new smartphone had everyone in a tizzy and, truth be told, the Palm Pre really was ahead of its time. The swipe-away “cards” for multitasking, the gesture controls, the wireless charging… it was nifty. But it couldn’t pull it off. Now, we’re on the eve of a brand resurgence as the Palm PVG100 has made its way through the FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance.

As you may recall, TCL bought Palm back in 2015. TCL is the same China-based company that has been responsible for the newer BlackBerry phones, like the Motion and KEY2. And they’re hoping to do the same (or better) with Palm too. The road has just been longer.

Last summer, we were told that new Palm smartphones would be coming this year. This was further confirmed earlier this year, saying these new Palm phones would be sold by Verizon. And while we still have yet to get a proper glance at an actual device, it does look like it’s finally coming.

Android Police is reporting that the Palm PVG100 has “rolled through both the FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance.” This gives us no actual image of the smartphone itself, and the Palm PVG100 name may not represent the model name that they’ll market, but it means it’s a real device.

In the filings, we learn two key details. First, the only Wi-Fi frequency band listed is 2.4GHz. Given that, the Palm PVG100 won’t have 5GHz Wi-Fi on board, pointing toward a device that can only be mid-range at best. It could even be budget-oriented. Second, it looks like the Palm PVG100 will ship with Android 8.1 Oreo. That makes sense, as hoping for Android Pie is just wishful thinking on such short notice.

If all the earlier reports and rumors are to be believed, the Palm PVG100 should still be arriving this fall or winter. Now the real question is whether anyone will care.