If you’ve always wanted a smartphone that makes your hands look gigantic by comparison, have we got the snazzy little unit for you.

The HP Veer 4G – with its itty-bit-bit 2.6-inch screen – certainly looks the business (if by ‘business’ you mean ‘accessorises perfectly with my tiny little dog’), but does it pack enough punch feature-wise?

Egg like
Recently launched by AT&T in a new white version, the Veer 4G has been compared on other review sites to “a jumbo chicken egg” – and they do have a point. Its high-shine plasticky coating means it’s slippy in hand, and we all know what happens when you drop said egg from a great height.

Slide out keys
‘But where’s the keyboard?’ we hear you fret. Rather than a touchscreen, the Veer rocks a slide-out QWERTY number. For the Palm enthusiasts amongst you (we know you’re out there somewhere!) you’ll feel right at home with the layout. Meanwhile, the close-together buttons make the handset fine for short messaging, but impractical for War & Peace-length missives.

But enough about its looks, surely it’s what’s on the inside that counts? And here’s where it gets really exciting. The Veer 4G sports webOS 2.0 – an operating system that pulls off both intuitive and functional with aplomb.

Lack of Apps?
If you’ve not yet had the pleasure, the web0S 2.0 basically allows you to access each app and setting via a card-shaped window. A tad gimmicky? P’haps. But it works, which is more than can be said of some competing offerings. Its slickness is due in no small part to the 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 and 512MB of RAM under its chassis.

For app enthusiasts, the webOS 2.0’s distinct lack of compelling offerings via the App Catalog may proof a dealbreaker. Kind of defeats the purpose of a smartphone, non?

Cute only
Despite its impressive OS, ultimately it’s the Veer’s lack of multimedia capability and pintsized dimensions that will see it relegated to a cute little number perfect for basic mobile usage only. That spells a missed opportunity for both manufacturer and carrier.

HP Veer 4G Features
US Price: $100.00 with a 24-month contract
Colour: Black and white
Size: 3.31 by 2.15 by 0.59 inches
Weight: 3.63 ounces
Screen: 3.6-in touchscreen; 320×400-pixel resolution
RAM: 512MB 
Processor: 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230