New Smartphone from Palm -- the Palm Centro

[NatCh]

Thanks to MobileReader petermillard for the tip-off on this one.

From a press release dated yesterday ,(my copy must have gone astray -- have to check the spam filters) Palm has announced a new line of smartphones, the Palm Centro. It's compact and it's cheap ($99 through Sprint), oh, and it comes in Red and Black!

Designed for individuals and traditional mobile phone users looking for a better way to manage their professional and social lives, Palm, Inc. and Sprint today introduced the Palm® Centro™ smart device, at $99.99. With voice, text, IM, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities, a full-color touch screen and full keyboard, Centro brings Palm simplicity and organization to customers who want to stay connected with co-workers, friends and family. Centro will be exclusive through Sprint in the United States for 90 days and is available in onyx black or ruby red.

"Palm Centro has the power of a broadband smartphone at the price of a standard 12-key phone," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc. "People looking to have all their contacts and calendar at the touch of a button, plus YouTube streaming videos and the Internet can now get it in a small, cool design with the trademark Palm ease of use. If you're thinking about stepping up to a smartphone, the Palm Centro should be your choice."

It looks to me as though they're aiming to make smartphones more accessible to those who may consider current models too complicated.

Additional Palm Centro Features and Benefits

-- Superior Phone - Centro's touch screen and keyboard, combined with the simplicity of Palm OS, make it easy to use key features such as one-touch speakerphone, conference calling, ignore a call with text messaging and Bluetooth(R) connectivity.

-- Easy Text Messaging - Centro's full keyboard makes typing out complete messages fast and easy when sending text, pictures, audio and video clips. Plus, Centro keeps all your conversations in a chat-style view, just like IM, so you can see the entire conversation unfold.

-- Personal and Corporate Email - New users to the smartphone category now have an easy mobile email solution using Microsoft Direct Push Technology(5) for delivery of Outlook email as well as personal email, such as Gmail, AOL and Yahoo.

-- IM with AIM, MSN, or Yahoo! - Compose messages quickly and easily with a full QWERTY keyboard. Instant message your buddy list with direct access to Yahoo, Windows Live Messenger or AOL's AIM service.

-- Web Browsing - Fast and easy web access on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network at fast EvDO speeds. The full keyboard and touch screen provide quick access to online information. The built-in Google Maps application offers fast access to directions, traffic updates and local search.

-- Multimedia - "Sideload" songs and manage music easily with Sprint Music Manager. Centro is the first Palm phone to include PocketTunes Deluxe, a $39.99 value. Shoot pictures or video with the built-in digital camera.

From the Product Page:

Specs

• Display: 320x320 pixel Transflective color touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (up to 65K colors)
• Radio: Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO backward compatible with 1XRTT and IS95
• Platform: Palm OS 5.4.9
• Bluetooth® Wireless Technology: Version 1.2
• Memory: 64MB available user storage
• Camera: 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture
• Battery: Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time
• Expansion: microSD card (up to 4GB supported)
• Conector: Multi-connector
• Dimensions: 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz
• Colors: Ruby and Onyx
• System Requirements: Windows® XP, Windows Vista™, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Software on device

Bluetooth®, Calculator, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Documents to Go® Professional Edition 10, Downloads, Google Mobile Maps, HotSync®, Instant Messaging, Nuance Voice Control, My Centro, On Demand, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes™ Deluxe, Quick Tour, Sprint Mobile Email, Sprint Store, Sprint TV, Sudoku, VersaMail® 4.0, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer® 4.5), World Clock

Nothing too surprising in the specs, a bit light on memory, but with a micro SD slot (a new move for them), that's really not an issue.

So, folks, what do you think about the new Palm on the block?


Press Release ...... Product Page

[IceHand]

Wow, that are some damn small buttons! And I don't like the silver stripe, but the price sounds good.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Sounds like it's got some promise. If it was offered on Verizon... and if I needed a new phone right now... I'd take a good look.

[BooksForABuck]

I'm glad Palm is staying in the game--and even happier that they're competing on price. This should help them recapture some market share. I still use and love my old Palm III, but it's long in the tooth.

My concern with the new Centro is when I read that it's much smaller than the treo. Thinner is great. But doesn't smaller mean less of an already tiny screen?

There really is a minimum size for comfortable eBook reading. My old Palm III has it. My Samsung phone doesn't. If anyone has played with the Centro, I want to hear what you think about it as an eBook device.

Rob Preece
Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com

[RWood]

I will be at the Sprint store as soon as the next client payment arrives. My old Samsung i500 with Palm 4.5 is on its last legs. And yes, I have been with Sprint for over 10 years and they have been great to me the whole time. I have never had a problem with their service although I have heard that many have.

While the buttons are small, they are a major improvement on the hand text entry called Graffiti on my phone.

I'll give a report as soon as I can.

[Linley Meslier]

Centro is a cool device for sure but I would not recommend it to power users though.

[NatCh]

They seem to be aiming it at bringing non-power users in, so that's probably a pretty fair assessment.