**REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK**
*By Hope King*
The Palm brand seems to be so valuable that people can’t help but resurrect it.
The latest incarnation from the 26-year-old computing brand launched Monday in the form of a credit card-sized mobile device.
Co-founders Dennis Miloseski and Howard Nuk stopped by last week to show me the product. And while the original Palm devices from the 90s aimed to create a new category of mobile computing, the new Palm aims to create a new category of computing as a fashion accessory.
The device is essentially a mini smartphone. The 2- by 3.8-inch Android product has a glass body, 3.3-inch LCD display, rear and front cameras (with face detection), GPS, gyro sensor, and cellular connectivity. But despite its shell and guts, the Palm only works as a phone if you have a Verizon ($VZ) number — syncing calls, notifications, and messages through the carrier’s NumberShare service.
The design is undeniably cute and sleek. The user interface is simple, and the *raison d’être* is well thought out.
As smartphones get bigger, they become more useful — for gaming, productivity, and media consumption. At the same time, big screens can become a constant reminder that work or distraction is just a swipe away. And despite smartphone companies trying to shrink the physical size of phones, giving us more screen space, a hunk of glass and metal doesn’t quite fit in pockets, small purses, or workout armbands.
I know. Cringe. These are first-world problems. But the Palm tries to solve them. The small screen limits the ability (or at least desire) to do a lot of work or scroll through a lot of YouTube and Instagram feeds. The smaller physical size also means it’s not as much of a pain to stow and carry.
I was definitely impressed with the design and would be interested in getting one if I were on Verizon’s network.
The Palm costs $349, or $299 with a 2-year contract with Verizon. Using Verizon’s NumberShare costs $10 a month to enable data sharing. (An Apple ($AAPL) Watch with cellular starts at $499.)
The Palm goes on sale in November.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
