Hands on: HP Pre 3 review

HP Pre 3
The HP Pre 3 has the webOS card interface

So goodbye Palm Pre. Hello HP Pre.

The fact we saw recently leaked pictures of the HP TouchPad with Palm labelling suggests that HP's decision to abandon the Palm branding may have been a late one, but it seems strangest with this handset, since its the third numbered version (though fourth overall) of the Palm-branded Pre.

The phone has an incredibly bright (not Super AMOLED Plus bright though) 3.58-inch 480 x 800 touchscreen and a 1.4GHz processor alongside a slide-out keyboard and 8GB or 16GB of internal storage.

HP palm 3

That processor is a quick Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8x55 variant and offers an impressive performance improvement over the plethora of 1GHz phones out there.

HP pre 3

We're not massively keen on the shiny little keys on the HP Pre 3's slider, but HP says it has conducted a lot of testing with the device. The Pre 3 does feel great in the hand though, with a smooth back – however, we don't think that's too great for keeping hold of the device when you're in a hurry!

HP pre 3

Contributor

Dan (Twitter, Google+) is TechRadar's Former Deputy Editor and is now in charge at our sister site T3.com. Covering all things computing, internet and mobile he's a seasoned regular at major tech shows such as CES, IFA and Mobile World Congress. Dan has also been a tech expert for many outlets including BBC Radio 4, 5Live and the World Service, The Sun and ITV News.