The Poor Man's Palm

Written by Adam Gosling

Tuesday, 02 October 2007

Posting disappointing earning results and cancelling key product releases, Palm has had an interesting QUarter which culminated with shareholders agreeing to sell of a quarter of the company to Private Equity investors. Now the copmany looks to be taking a new direction with the release of a new smartphone squarely targeting the mainstream consumer market. Palm says the new Centro phones are designed for "traditional mobile phone users looking for a better way to manage their professional and social lives", but the phone's US$99.99 price tag sounds pretty consumer oriented to mobilised. Combining voice, text, IM, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities, the Centor has a colour touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard. A black model and a 'ruby red' version will hit the US streets via Sprint first before other carriers and markets get their hands on it in three months. There's been no Oceanic announcement as yet. The phone is Palm's smallest and lightest phone to date and marks a distinct move away from the business oriented Treo that's kept the company alive through the past two years. Based on the Palm OS, the company hopes the Centro will attract a whole new class of users to the smartphone category and to Palm itself as the smartphone category becomes a mainstream device. "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." 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. www.palm.com/centro Related news items Hybrid Drive Boosts Laptop's Skillset -10/10/2007 Palm Goes Consumer With Treo 500v -12/09/2007 Vodafone UK Promises All-You-Can-Hear Music -12/09/2007 Palm Deletes Foleo Folly -05/09/2007 Engin Buys Into Unwired -03/09/2007 Newer news items Telstra Gets New i-Mate Exclusive -13/02/2008 Nokia N96: Multi-Media Magic -13/02/2008 New Brand For Sony Ericsson Smartphone -11/02/2008 A Better Looking Touch Screen -11/02/2008 New Year i-mates Announced -04/12/2007 Older news items Armani, Prada, Labels Get Mobile -26/09/2007 Next-Gen 3G RAZR DownUnder -24/09/2007 Nokia E51: Smarter Than It Looks -19/09/2007 New Pearl Colours Coming -18/09/2007 First Windows 6 Palm In Australia -12/09/2007 Tag This Now: