GSM Centro spotted
A GSM Centro has been spotted in the wild
(white Centro on the left, red Treo 680 on the right)
(via Gadgets on the Go, originally from PDALive)
Rumor has it that this will be the GSM/Edge version of the Sprint Centro. The latter has high speed EVDO but the GSM version has “only” EDGE speed which is still 3-4 times faster than dial-up or standard GPRS speeds. Still it would be great to see Palm powered 3.5 G devices but I guess we’ll have to wait for the next generation OS from Palm.
Other rumored specs:
320×320 resolution
1150 mAh battery
Same connectors as the Treo 680
MicroSD slot rather than full size SD
1.3 MP camera which can shoot up to 1280×1024 res
Bundled apps: Docs2Go 10, pTunes 4.04, Web/Blazer 4.5.8, Google maps, Voice Dial
Palm hopes to target this device at the younger set. I guess medical students might go for this. Nurses would appreciate the smaller sized Centro as opposed to the bulkier Treo 680.
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About the author, Alan: Alan Teh is a Malaysian Physician who specialises in Hematology-Oncology & Stem cell Transplantation. He has been using Palm PDAs since 1997 and is absolutely reliant on them. His current PDA is a Palm Pre and is a strong advocate of the webOS platform, Palm's latest operating system. Caught the blogging bug in 2004 and has been addicted ever since… |
Price,price,price!
This is apparently selling well in the USA due to pricing-$99 US for a 2 year contract
Yes I think the price would be a very important issue. This would be seen in the eyes of many as an entry level smartphone with “old features” and “unspectaular” hardware specs (no wifi, no 3G, no 3.5G/HSPDA data speeds). The Centro is selling well as it is only $99 with a contract. I really wonder how it will do if not for this price point and carrier subsidy.
Palm must go beyond being shackled by carriers and be bold and come out with designs and features which the public will clamour for and buy even without carrier subsidies, ala the iPhone….