Live From DigitalLife…it’s the Palm Centro smartphone…

   

We haven’t mobloged yet to the official Palm blog yet, so we thought it would be a great to do at DigitalLife, where we just announced the Palm Centro smartphone. We are actually using a Centro right now (a ruby red one as a matter of fact), and have included a few highlights about the phone as well as a picture from the press conference below.

Features of the Palm Centro include:
-New compact design, Centro is the smallest and lightest Palm phone to date
-$99.99 price point (after discounts and promotions)on Sprint’s Mobile Broadband Network (yes, it’s EvDO)
-Voice, text, IM, email, web, a full-color touch screen and full keyboard
-Available in two colors - ruby red and onyx black.

For those of you not to join the press conference, you can check out a playback of the webcast, available by 4 p.m. EST at: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=42256.

We’ll be adding more pictures from DigitalLife throughout the day and talking more about Centro throughout the next couple weeks before availability (mid-October).

Updated:

Treocentral has a nice in-depth review and also a hands-on video. Check it out.

-Rob Katcher and Stephanie Richardson

-The Palm Lounge...not your ordinary tradeshow booth

-Me (Rob Katcher) showing off a Centro at the Palm Lounge

-Ed Colligan with The Buried Life (4 guys who created a list of a 100 things they want to do before they die). Check out their site: http://theburiedlife.com/.

Comments

[Patrick]

It surprises me that Palm had a press conference for this. When I heard there was a Palm press conference I assumed they would release Centro and then give us a sneak peek at a real phone.

Oh well...

[Jerry]

OK, but will it be available on Verizon? Or will the 755p come out on Verizon soon?

[Chad Garrett]

Great, a 755p in a thinner form factor!...zzz...zzz...

[JD]

Nice Presentation Ed, I'm a Treo fan and lover but I have to admit that I have been really disappointed over the last fiscal year:
- No new palm OS phone for GSM users
- Still no wifi
- Let's not talk about gps or other advanced functions,

I will stick to Palm because no other brand has satisfied my needs, but geez, surprise us like you usually do !!

[CES]

Congratulations Palm! The Centro is a nice device. I think that Instant Message applications must be a default application on all future palm smartphones and pdas.

Now Palm you need to run and launch an High End PDAPhone with a Huge 320x480 screen and wi-fi.
Take a look at the link below about a possible Apple PDA:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/09/26/up_next_for_apple_the_return_of_the_newton.html

You Palm is a Pionneer in touchscreen devices. You cannot let Apple wins this race. We are all waiting for the:
TX Phone!!!!

[Marc]

Please Palm: Where is the Palm Smartphone with a bit screen 320x480 and without keyboard? I need to replace my old TX and I cannot live with so small square screens. How can I browse the Web, Read PDF documents in normal layout, Watch movies, to draw diagrams, watch digital TV,... with this small screens?

[AndAl]

Beautiful Device. The teenagers will enjoy a lot. But now give me any hint about a TX Phone device.
Are you planning to launch a Smartphone with the TX screen? Please palm, answer my question!!!

[GM]

The Screen size on Centro is even smaller than any previous Treo! I think you are going in the wrong direction palm. Look at the competition launching big screen devices (like the IPhone) and you launching this MicroScreen and MicroKeyboard Device.
We need a big landscape 480x320 device. The keyboard could be a sliding one or simply omitted.

Palm you need to listen to your loyal long time users.

[RobAnd]

My vote goes to a TX Phone!

I have heard about TX Phone in many previous Palm Blog Posts and I think palm must have at least one smartphone with pure touchscreen input method and of course a big landscape screen + wi-fi.

[RichC]

Great to see you MoBlogging with the Centro. I'm looking forward to tinkering with the new Sprint Centro model, but don't think I'm ready to give up my Treo 700p for a lighter weight smart phone. (perhaps I'm wrong?)

[Oliver Sander]

Thanks Palm for not bringing PalmOS to us Europeans. Thanks, really. I love Windows Mobile.

[Ederic]

Will there be a GSM version for Asia? :)

[Anthony]

Great looking device, just what I am looking for. Obviously would love WiFi and a 2 megapixel camera on this device but the price point and size are winners. Also, the updated design is a lot cooler. I think you might finally have me upgrade to a converged device if the Centro comes to Verizon Wireless (Unfortunately their the only carrier with any decent coverage where I live.) I know there is a 90 day exclusivity deal with Sprint so I have to wait.
Thanks again Palm.

[XuanYuan]

wow!! Great!!
真的非常不错！

[XuanYuan]

测试一下中文

[cynthia white]

Why no wi-fi? I don't want to pay for the data pack and I live in a city that has wi-fi everywhere. It is the main reason I haven't bought a treo.

[Troy]

Nice Looking Phone - I want it, but why not on Verizon? Seriously, at $199 I'd like to replace my Moto Q with this thing... at $99, I'll commit to 2 MORE years with Verizon to use it.. but no.. why not on Verizon? Even the 755p...? Now, to be fair... I've shouted the same argument at Verizon, being that I don't really know which side of the deal is keeping these devices from showing up at my carrier.

By the way, I could end up possibly buying 3, if not 4 of them to support my 'family' plan on Verizon...

And please don't come back and say... get a 700p... look at those threads on the maintenance release... I'd be exchanging my Q headaches for bigger ones in that case. No, before I'd do that, I'd switch to an iPhone, and just hope they (apple) get cohesive PIM apps to match Palms.

Congrats on the new device, and kudos to those who reported it on this blog... nice job.

Troy

[BaDZeD]

Great looking device (the black one) Think this will make me switch to Sprint, still not sure about the $25 data plan requirement though. Otherwise, a great looking device. Lack of wi-fi is not a problem with the Sprint's internet connection so I'm not too worried about that.

[Charline Avey]

Does this new phone have e911 chip? Otherwise looks great.

[roman]

same phone in a different case - not worth having a whole show about, is it?

[Tom Schmidt]

PLEASE, PLEASE get the Centro on pay as you go with Virgin Mobile USA!!! It's on the Sprint PCS network, so it can't be too hard. Thank you.

[Tam]

I always heard people complaining about the thickness of Treo and never about the Height and Width.
The TX for example is a very thin device and fit perfectly on any T-shirt Pocket. A TX + cell radio would be a better option (TX Phone).

[Smee Jenkins]

Why no Wi-Fi? Because it's a $99 device. They are building to a price point.

Why no huge screen? Because it's a $99 device.

Why not on Verizon/AT&T/Vodafone/Orange/carrier-of-your-choice? Because Sprint paid hard cash (well, probably not hard cash, but some benefits worth a lot of it) to get exclusive rights. If you're not willing to pay more hard cash than Sprint did, then you won't get exclusive rights. (This is a long-winded way of saying, because it's a $99 device.)

[ALZ]

I waiting for the TX Phone:
Big Screen 320x480
GPS
Wi-fi
cell radio

[Lin]

It looks cute, I guess?? But what about a TX smartphone with wifi and a large screen? I'm too blind to read this tiny screen...

The keypad looks slippery too...hard to hold?