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New Palm phone could be called Pepito, might be a budget phone
- TCL’s Palm-branded smartphone has appeared in several listings, suggesting that it might be a budget device.
- The device’s Bluetooth SIG listing also reveals the “Pepito” name, although we’re not sure if this is the final name.
- Previous reports suggest that TCL plans to release the device in the second half of 2018.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Palm brand custodian TCL planned to release another Palm smartphone. It looks like we’re edging closer to a reveal as the FCC website lists a Palm device (h/t: Android Police), while a Bluetooth SIG filing reveals the possible name of Palm Pepito.
The FCC listing for the phone (model number PVG100) has few details at this stage. But we do get a look at the label on the back of the device (seen below), revealing that the phone will be “designed by Palm in San Francisco.”
Android Police also managed to find the Wi-Fi Alliance listing, revealing that the phone doesn’t support 5Ghz Wi-Fi and will ship with Android 8.1. The former suggests that we could be looking at a budget device rather than a full-fledged flagship, as newer 5Ghz Wi-Fi support is often found on more expensive phones.
Meanwhile, a look at the Bluetooth SIG database reveals a listing for the phone back in June. The Bluetooth listing confirms the model number, but also reveals the device is called Pepito and will have Bluetooth 4.2. It’s unclear if Pepito is merely a codename or the final name for the device, although Palm Pepito does have a nice ring to it.
Oddly enough, the Bluetooth filing categorizes the product as both a phone and a “companion device.” This suggests we can expect more than one Palm-branded gadget at launch. Then again, the “companion device” description could also be dodgy placeholder text or a mistranslated description.
As per previous reports, a new Palm-branded phone is tipped to launch in the second half of the year on the Verizon network. We’re not expecting the new device/devices to be as revolutionary as the original phones though. The original Palm smartphones brought a number of innovative features to the table, including wireless charging, the card-based multitasking menu (since adopted by Android and iOS), and swipe-based gesture navigation.
What would you like to see in a Palm-branded phone? Would you buy one in the first place? Let us know in the comments section.