The Palm Centro is a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

marketed by Palm, Inc. beginning its release on October 14, 2007 offering the functionality of the larger Treo 755p in a smaller size. The Centro is one of the last devices to run the Palm OS operating system. The successor to Palm OS is webOS, which debuted on the

Palm Pre The Palm Pre , styled as palm prē, is a multitasking smartphone that was designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux-based mobile operating system, webOS. ...

in June 2009. Currently, the Centro still works with some carriers, but not with others. 2G GSM devices, such as the AT&T Centro, can no longer connect to the AT&T network. Once

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

's 3G network is shut down, Verizon Centro devices will only work offline.

Specifications

With a weight of 119 g, and dimensions of 4.2″ (h), 2.1″ (w) and 0.7″ (d), the Centro was the smallest-ever Palm smartphone at the time of its introduction. It includes a 1.3-megapixel digital camera with video capture capabilities, microSD card slot (officially supporting up to 8 GB microSD cards, though in practice, microSD cards up to 64 GB work), touch screen navigation and a

QWERTY QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden ty ...

keyboard. The phone is available with either CDMA technology supporting

EVDO Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO, EVDO, etc.) is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access. EV-DO is an evolution of the CDMA2000 ( IS-2000) standard whic ...

Rev 0 for network access, or

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

. The stock battery allows for up to 3.5 hours of continuous talk time. The phone also offers internet connection tethering to laptop or desktop computers. An AC travel charger and a USB data cable are Included with the phone. Palm has more recently upgraded the available memory from 64 MB to 128 MB, but the updated models were available only with Sprint. The Palm Centro also had support for (Java) MIDP 2.0, though Palm has discontinued distributing it for licensing reasons. The product SKU on this model was PTR690HK, which is aligned with products in the Trēo family of Palm smartphones. The Verizon Wireless SKU was CENTRO690P.

Operating system

The Centro runs Palm OS 5.4.9. Because of the

backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especiall ...

features included in Palm OS, most applications released for older Palm devices also work with the Centro.

Carriers

Sprint

Sprint marketed the original Centro in red, black and pink. In October 2008, it released the second-generation Centro in two new colors, Olive Green and Vibrant Rose. The new model has twice as much user-accessible storage as the preceding model. It also features a rubberized soft-touch coating.

AT&T

The

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

version is available in black, white and electric blue. It uses the

cellular network for connectivity and does have some differences from Sprint's

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

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 and Verizon versions of the Centro support 3G (EV-DO), the AT&T version does not; it is a 2G-only device. PC Magazine writes: "The Centro for

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." The

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.

Verizon

The Verizon version of the Centro, available in dark blue only, was released on June 12, 2008 for $99 with a two-year contract and a $70 mail in rebate. This version runs on a 1xRTT/1xEV–DO (Rel. 0) 3G network.

Claro

Claro introduced the Centro to the Brazilian market by the beginning of 2008.

Telstra

Telstra Australia has seen the Centro offered via prepaid only. 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.

Rogers Wireless

Rogers Wireless (Canada) announced that it would be carrying the Palm Centro as of June 10, 2008. It is available only in dark blue. For new activations on a three-year $45+ plan, the Centro initially sold for $299.99. For renewals on any three-year voice-and-data plan, it sold for $199.99.

Unlocked GSM

On June 25, 2008, an Unlocked GSM version of the Centro was released for use on all 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM telephone networks. It is available in Glacier White with grey keyboard accents.

Bell Mobility

As of February 2, 2009, a

version of the Palm Centro in Midnight Black was released on the

Bell Mobility Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE and HSPA+ on its mainstream networks. Bell Mobility is the third-largest ...

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematic ...

. The phone sold for $49.95 with a new activation on a 3-year $45+ voice and data package. This version of the Centro runs on a 1xRTT/1xEV–DO (Rel. 0) 3G network.

Popularity

As of August 2008, the Palm Centro was the second-ranked US smartphone based on internet traffic, responsible for 78% of the traffic on Palm devices; it fell to fourth in February 2009, responsible for 86% of Palm traffic.

Advertising

In December 2008, Palm created a holiday advertising campaign, introducing a new version of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

, called " Claus", and complemented the TV spots with a Facebook pa
Facebook
viral videos and original music in download form.

References

External links

Palm Centro for Sprint specifications (PDF)
{{Palm Devices Mobile phones introduced in 2007 Centro Palm OS devices Smartphones Mobile phones with an integrated hardware keyboard