After taking a closer look at the hardware of the cute HP Veer 4G, we wanted to spend some time diving into the software. Not surprisingly, the Veer 4G feels much like a Pre 2 since both devices run the latest version of WebOS, v2.1. This means that you get the newish features of WebOS, like stacks, and the ability to customize your application panels.

The Veer 4G, like the Pixi and Pixi Plus, feels underpowered. At times the device can become unstable and slow, sometimes requiring a soft-reset. And performance isn’t predictable: sometimes the slowness will happen when you have other apps open, and sometimes the slowness will happen when you’re running just one app.

WebOS in general is starting to feel dated. The “card” paradigm…that of having all of your open apps available on the homescreen…is still neat, but Android and iOS have proved that you don’t need such a fancy UI to handle multitasking. The compromise is that you can only have four application shortcuts on your homescreen. You can’t have widgets, more apps, or any other visual elements. WebOS feels a bit limiting.

And while the Veer 4G is billed as a 4G phone with AT&T’s HSPA+ network, our speed tests revealed very weak data speeds, even with full bars and an “H+” indicator.