Palm tries for a smartphone rebound with Centro

By Jacqueline Emigh | Published June 16, 2008, 8:20 PM

With new device releases and firmware upgrades, Palm is clearly paying much less attention recently to its older Treo platform than to its newer and cheaper Centro, perhaps in an effort to maintain its own existence.

Palm Inc. seems to be carving out a lower-end niche for itself in the smartphone market. Statistics from industry analyst firms have strongly suggested that Palm needs to do something about revamping its platform in order to regain market share, particularly in light of competition from Apple's iPhone.

Palm's latest moves include a somewhat significant firmware update for Sprint's Centro; an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 for the Treo 700wx; though not until this summer; a bug-fix update for the Treo 755p; and the first edition of the Centro for Verizon Wireless. New VZW customers who sign on for two-year contracts can now buy a cobalt blue device for $99 after rebates.

Palm CentroAlthough small in size, the Palm OS-based Centro for VZW offers a full QWERTY keyboard, a touchscreen, Bluetooth wireless, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a microSD slot for memory expansion. Other capabilities include a document viewer and editor, in addition to push e-mail with support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Xpress Mail, and Good Messaging. VZW is charging customers $29.99 per month for unlimited data and an extra $30 for the ability to connect the phone to a laptop for broadband PC-based Internet access. The Centro supports VZW's existing EV-DO (non-Rev. A) network.

With the new 1.06 version of firmware for Sprint's edition of the Centro, users will get enhancements that include better mobile voice control, improved audio, faster AIM (AOL Instant Messaging), and improved Versamail with increased support for Microsoft Exchange Active Sync Push.

Sprint was the first wireless provider to offer the Centro last fall, with AT&T Wireless following suit.

As for the Treo updates, the Treo 700wx will receive an upgrade from its current support for Windows Mobile 4 -- but only to Mobile 6, as opposed to 6.1, and not until this summer. The upgrade will work on 700wx only, and not on the 700w.

Reportedly, the new firmware for the Treo 755p will mostly include a minor bugfix for improving the phone application, stability, and "device usability."

The lower-cost smartphone does seem to be shoring up Palm's fortunes at last, with research from IDC giving Palm a 13.4 percent share of the smartphone market for the first quarter of 2008. In Q4 2007, Palm devices captured only a 7.9 percent market share, down drastically from a share of 23 percent in Q1 of that year, prior to the launch of the original iPhone. Also according to IDC's numbers, 70 percent of all Centro users are brand new to smartphones.

Comments

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It also only has bluetooth 1.2 and not 2.0 and some friends and myself have had problems with bluetooth headsets and 1.2 which I hear 2.0 fixes. I don't know why they didn't put 2.0, it wouldn't have cost them much more....but then again none of their phones have 2.0 I don't think. Palm is just behind the time. Plus I don't think they made any upgrades to their palm os in years, I think they just gave up on it.

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I have the one listed, the onxy. And I love this phone. The buttons are indeed small but I've found it very easy to type with, even easier than my previous phone the LG Rumor. They are all raised and curved at the top. The button in the middle is about half as big as the inside of the average thumb. I wish it had a better camera, one with flash. Also, buuy a non-oem battery because it'll last longer. Other than that, this phone is great and I'm really glad I got it.

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Looks sleek but isn't the central buttons area a huge waste of real estate? Those few buttons plus bezel seem to be taking as much space as the whole qwerty keyboard section.

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My wife has one.... The keys are tiny tiny tiny. The 'huge' button in the middle is not as large as it looks.

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However, if they reduced the "huge" button in the middle, they might be able to provide keyboard keys that people could actually use reliably.

It's really nice, but it's too small to be easily usable.

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