AT&T Palm Centro smartphone, ready and now available

 

The rumor mill has been turning about the eventual availability of a GSM version of the Palm Centro smartphone since the Centro device was first announced back in September...today's it's a reality on AT&T's EDGE Network for $99.99 (after mail-in rebate and two-year service agreement).

The AT&T Centro smartphone rolls voice, messaging (text and instant), email and internet surfing* into a small lightweight device. And we have new colors for you -- immediately in "Glacier" white with green keypad accents -- and it will be available soon (in about a month) in a second color, "Obsidian" black (yep, it's different than "Onyx" which is available on Sprint). There are also some new features the AT&T Centro will be sporting right out of the box including:

• XM Radio Mobile - Allows you to stream commercial free music from just about any genre (hip-hop, pop, jazz, country and more); all for $8.99 per month.
• MusicID (a personal favorite!) - Helps you identify unknown songs by simply holding your Centro smartphone up to a speaker - it's a really cool way to figure out song information for tunes you aren't familiar with (title, artist and cover art, if available, etc.); all for $3.99 per month.
• AT&T Mall - You can buy ringtones, wallpapers, and other multimedia content and download over the air to the device.
• Push to Talk (PTT) - Not really new to the AT&T Centro since it was recently made available on the Treo 680 Update 2.11 for AT&T, but new and cool enough to be worth mentioning again! PTT works like a walkie-talkie to talk to an individual or a group of up to 29. The app also includes "status" icons so you can tell which of your family and friends are available before you call. Users can purchase unlimited PTT minutes with Nationwide Plans for $9.99 per month per line and with FamilyTalk for $19.99 per month per group (two to five lines). Customers also can use PTT on a pay-per-use basis for $0.15 per minute.

In addition to these applications, which we'll be discussing in more detail during the weeks to come, the AT&T Centro of course still has the features you are familiar with from the Sprint Centro including instant messaging, Pocket Tunes Deluxe, a color touch screen, and full keyboard.

For details on the AT&T Centro, including availability, check out www.palm.com/centro and www.att.com.

And for those of you outside of the U.S. who are interested in the GSM Centro, our friends across the "pond" announced earlier that it will be available in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Phil M. - Product Line Manager, Consumer Smartphones

Links to reviews coming soon...

(a picture of "Obsidian" black)

     

*Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at additional cost.

Comments

[Mike D.]

My first Palm product I purchased was the Treo 700w w/ WinMo (yes i know i should have went with the PalmOS). As a new Palm customer representing the "young professional" market segment I only care about the following things: built in GPS, friendly UI w/ PalmOS, touch screen w/ sytlus, and not being as bulky as my current Treo 700w. Palm...can you show me some love?

[tk421]

Guess I'm not the only one waiting for a large screen smartphone from Palm. The TX screen size is just perfect. Put it in a thinner device (at least a flush screen), and watch your user base flock back to you.

The Palm OS interface is still the best out there. For information management (PIM and other), it is still the most efficient.

You cannot build a platform on small screen devices, because it makes using third party applications very tiring on the eyes. I think that's why Palm needs to release such a device.

Note that I would still buy another Palm PDA in the meantime, if the screen was of considerable quality with the competition. I just can't live without my Palm TX.

[Mai Hue]

I just find this link and I really want to buy AT&T Palm Centro smartphone with white colour. But this product isn't sold in Viet Nam. On middle March-2008 my friend is going to travell to Malaysia and Singapore. Does anybody know how can I get this, please help me. Thanks!!!

[Kyralessa]

Why do the pricing plans on these favor new customers over loyal ones?

My wife and I have AT&T Wireless, but the $99 price is apparently only for new customers; they say it'll cost us $249, even if we sign up for a two-year contract (right now we're month-to-month). I'm *that* close to switching to T-Mobile just because I'm sick of this kind of thing from AT&T.

[Andy]

Is the Palm Centro going to be availible for Verizon Wireless soon? But I would rather you build me a iPalm or a TreoTx for Christmas would be nice and I wont even charge you for the naming rights!

[Paul]

I looked at the Palm Centro at the AT&T store the other day. I think it was a cool solid little phone. I really like the white color. I would love to get my wife one of these, she would absolutely love it. The only thing is... I am on Verizon right now with a 700p. I can't move her to AT&T, I need a Centro on Verizon and hopefully soon. This is the only "cute" smart phone, as she says, that she would consider using. Palm help me out!

To Palm: Any idea when or if there will ever be a Centro on Verizon? Please throw me a bone here! I need to know if I should hold out for one, or if I have to start thinking about the dreaded "Windows Mobile" for my wife :(

[Melissa]

Is there a release date yetfor the black centrofor at&t. I'm waiting patiently

[Amber]

I would love to see the pink centro on ATT. Any chance of that?

[Brian]

I have a TX. I also have a Centro. While I prefer browsing on the TX, using something of that size as a cell phone doesn't appeal to me.

[Nestor Martinez]

I like all the comments made regarding TX vs. Centro. I own a TX and love it. I am considering a Centro, but don't want to carry two similar PDAs. Does anyone know if you can use the BlueTooth on Centro to connect to the internet on TX? I pefer the larger screen on TX. Now, if someone can come up with a product combining the best from TX and IPhone, that we would be awesome!

[Vipul Kumar]

Is there a plan to launch the Palm Centro in its black variant in Singapore? If yes, by when will it be available?

[z]

I was wanting to know if the palm centro will be available in pink for the att gsm network?

[Lorance]

I am Palm user for a long time. The software is very stable and i just love to use palm os compared to Windows mobile os. I went to buy new PDA phone for my brother in the biggest mall in kuala lumpur, Malaysia. I just want to ask my brother to buy Palm Centro. But i find out that palm centro it so back dated. No 3G or 3.5G, No 2 MP Camera,but Palm Centro has cool design and very good palm OS software. Do you know what i found out that there is no Palm Dealer in KL, Malaysia. Sorry sad to hear this. Finally there was one shop was selling Palm Centro, but he said there is no support here in malaysia. Gosh, where is the palm all this while. Did thier die along the way. Do you know i am still using my 2003 PDA from sony clie peg-sj30, with palm OS. Very good history but not up to the standard yet.

[Swooeett]

Anyone know where to find the best deal on a Pink Palm Centro? I want to get one for my wife but she is still in contract. The best deal I could find so far is at AllCellDeals.com ,but I have heard of people getting them for free before the rebate, with an upgrade. Oh by the way, I have Sprint as my carrier.