Palm Phone Review
You’ve decided your kid is ready for a phone, but there’s no way a bulky iPhone will fit in their pocket—not to mention their hand. The credit-card-sized Palm phone solves that problem. It works with all of our favorite parental control apps for some extra safety precautions, but since it does connect to the internet, we recommend it for teens, not youngsters.
Small enough size for a kid Two cameras Gorilla glass Water and dust resistance
No integrated parental controls No headphone jack Poor battery lifePalm phone comparison to other kids phones
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Product
|
Phone price
|
Service price
|
Integrated parental controls
|
Internet access
|
Social media
|
Learn more
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |
 Gabb Z2 |
$99.99 |
$19.99/mo. |
 No |
No |
No |
View on Gabb |
| Best kids smartphone |
 Palm Phone |
$349.00 |
Depends on carrier |
No |
 Yes |
Yes |
View on Amazon |
| Best for budgets |
 BLU Advance L5 |
$39.99 |
Depends on carrier |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
View on Amazon |
| Best kids flip phone |
 Jitterbug Flip2 |
$99.99 |
$19.99/mo. |
No |
No |
No |
View on Amazon |
| Best kids smartwatch |
 TickTalk 4 |
$199.99 |
$10.00/mo. |
Yes |
No |
No |
View on Amazon |
*Amazon.com price as of publish date. Read full disclaimer.
Palm phone cost
An unlocked Palm phone retails for around $350 on Amazon.
You can pay for the phone in 24- or 30-month installments by purchasing it through Verizon, but you’ll have to visit one of their retail locations to complete the purchase.
Unlocked phones work with Verizon and T-Mobile, but not with Sprint or AT&T.
Palm features
The Palm Phone isn’t strictly for kids. It’s also marketed toward adults who want a smaller phone, so it has full smartphone functionality. Expect a high-definition display, two cameras, dual speakers, and facial recognition.
Unless you download a parental control app, your kid will have full access to the Google Play store and the internet. It’s a regular smartphone in a kid-sized package.
Parental controls sold separately
Based on customer testimonials featured on the Palm site, we expected this phone to have integrated parental controls. As it turns out, Palm’s parental control setup process involves downloading Google Family Link. It’s a free app, so that’s a plus.
Google Family Link includes GPS tracking, screen-time management, and app management. It’s better than nothing, but with a bonafide smartphone like Palm, you’ll want a content filter and site blocker too.
Palm recommends Bark, which costs $99 per year. We’re also big fans of Bark and consider it the best parental control app on the market. It has all the features lacking in Google Family Link, including social media monitoring, web filtering, and email monitoring.
The silver lining
By giving your kid a smartphone like the Palm, you can gradually lift parental control restrictions as your kid gets older. Keep an open dialogue about what you’re doing and why so that your soon-to-be-adult knows how to stay safe on their own.
Palm phone battery life
Because it’s a small phone, the Palm’s battery doesn’t last nearly as long as behemoths like the iPhone. But that might be a blessing for a kid’s phone—they’ll have to limit their phone time to preserve battery life.
For example, the 800 mAh battery lasts a little over three hours when talking on the phone and up to six hours when streaming music over Wi-Fi.
If your kid demands a lot of their phone by listening to music, using the GPS fitness tracker, and browsing the internet, they’re unlikely to get more than three hours out of it.
Tooltip: mAh stands for milliamp hours. For comparison, the iPhone 13's battery is 3,227 mAh, which equals 75 hours of audio playback.
Final word
The Palm phone is a good smartphone for kids because it’s more affordable than its cumbersome competitors. Adults won’t appreciate its poor battery life or limited storage, but we consider this a perk for kids since it helps regulate their phone use.
Read our full review of the best phones for kids to explore other options.
Palm phone FAQ
The Palm phone’s tiny size makes it much easier to tuck into a pocketbook when your dress doesn’t have pockets—or into an armband when you want to track a workout. It also happens to be a great size for kids to hold with one hand.
Yes, the palm phone can be your only phone. It can also be a companion device with the same number as your main phone.
The Palm phone has a retail price of around $350 on Amazon, but it’s often available for less. At Verizon, it retails for around $280.
The Palm phone uses the frequencies supported by Verizon, T-Mobile, and US Mobile, among other wireless carriers. It doesn’t work with AT&T or Sprint.
Yes, the Palm phone uses an Android operating system.
How we reviewed the Palm phone
For our Palm phone review, we read the Palm phone’s specifications and paid close attention to kid-friendly features, like durability and parental controls. We compared its offerings to other phones on the market. To learn more, visit the SafeWise methodology page.
Related articles on SafeWise
*Product prices and availability are accurate as of post date and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Safewise.com utilizes paid Amazon links.
Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided “as is” and is subject to change or removal at any time.
Google, Google Family Link, and other related marks are trademarks of Google LLC.
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