Palm Centro

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Palm Centro
Palm Centro
Manufacturer Palm, Inc.
Carrier Sprint, AT&T
Screen 320×320 65k colors touchscreen
Camera 1.3 megapixels with 2× digital zoom
Operating system Palm OS 5.4.9
Memory 64 MB available user storage
Memory card microSD up to 4 GB
Networks CDMA2000 (3G)
GSM
Connectivity EVDO, 1xRTT, Bluetooth
Battery 1150 mA·h Lithium-ion
Physical size 4.22 × 2.11 × 0.73 in
Weight 4.2 oz (119 g)

The Palm Centro is a smartphone which was released on October 14, 2007. The product SKU on this model is PTR690HK, [1] which is aligned with products in the Trēo family of Palm smartphones. The Centro retains the functionality of the larger Treo 755p in a smaller candy bar form factor with a full QWERTY keyboard to appeal to those put off by the size and weight of the previous Treo devices.[2]

Contents

[edit] Specifications

Weighing 4.2 ounces with dimensions of 4.2″ tall, 2.1″ wide, and 0.7″ deep, the Centro is the smallest smart phone offered from Palm to date. It includes a 1.3-megapixel digital camera with video capture capabilities, microSD card slot, touch screen navigation and a QWERTY keyboard. The phone runs on CDMA technology that supports EVDO Rev 0 for network access. The stock battery allows for up to 3.5 hours of continuous talk time. The phone also offers phone-as-modem capabilities for laptop or desktop computers.

Included with the phone is an A/C travel charger and USB data cable.

[edit] Operating system

The Centro runs Palm OS 5.4.9, and as a result of the backward compatibility aspects of this operating system, many applications released for previous Palm PDA/smartphones work with the Centro. This phone has been streamlined to work with many popular applications and services. [3]

[edit] Carriers

The red Palm Centro.
The red Palm Centro.

[edit] Sprint

A ruby-red and black Centro were shown in early advertisements on Sprint's website, but when the phone launched on October 14, 2007, only the black model was available. [4] It was annotated on the phone sales page of the Sprint website that the phone would be available in red on November 4. Although there were some reports of the phone appearing early[5], they were available to everyone in most Sprint retail outlets on the scheduled November 4 release date. Pink is now available.

[edit] AT&T

The AT&T version is available in white and black. It uses the GSM celluar network for connectivity and does have some differences from Sprint's CDMA version. The GSM-based device is quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and supports both GPRS and EDGE data protocols. Even though the Sprint version of the Centro supports 3G, the AT&T version does not.[6] AT&T customers with quad-band devices such as Centro can place calls in more than 195 countries and access data in more than 140.[7]

PC Magazine writes: "The Centro for AT&T sacrifices the Sprint version's high-speed data access, but you get more battery life—though not quite enough. Nonetheless, the low price makes it a good first smartphone."[8]

The AT&T Centro also offers a Push-To-Talk Walkie-talkie like service not available on the CDMA device. This allows you to instantly see the availability of your contacts before calling them and make individual or group Push-To-Talk calls.[9]

[edit] Verizon

Evidence of a version of the phone for Verizon Wireless began appearing online in April 2008, though its release has not been officially announced.[10]

[edit] Telstra

Telstra Australia sees the Centro offered via PrePaid only.[11] Good Gear Guide writes: "The first smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard to be sold in Australia on pre-paid". The device is white but unlike the green number pad seen on AT&T's Centro, this version has a grey number pad.[12]

[edit] Rogers

Rogers Wireless (Canada) announced they would be carrying the Palm Centro as of June 10, 2008.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Centro at CNET. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  2. ^ Treonauts "The Mini Treo For The Masses"
  3. ^ Wright, A.. Palm Centro Review. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  4. ^ Kairer, Ryan. Centro Will Be Available This Sunday.
  5. ^ TreoCentral.com - View Single Post - The red Centro's are here
  6. ^ Lendino, Jaime. Palm Centro (AT&T) Review. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  7. ^ AT&T and Palm Introduce Centro. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  8. ^ Lendino, Jaime. Palm Centro (AT&T) Review. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  9. ^ Cha, Bonnie. Palm Centro (AT&T) Review. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  10. ^ Palm Centro headed to Verizon. Phone Arena.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
  11. ^ Palm Centro at Telstra. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  12. ^ Catanzariti, Ross. Palm Centro: A new approach from Palm. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.

[edit] External links