Palm Centro Available for Pre-Order Now

"featuring a high resolution touchscreen"? I thought this device did not have a touchscreen

""featuring a high resolution touchscreen"? I thought this device did not have a touchscreen"

Nope, that's the 500 that's across the pond.

Is this Pocket Tunes Deluxe the full version... that will play ACC files? That may be exactly what will cause me to get this above others. I just can't justify paying for the full version of Pocket Tunes just for that one feature. I'd get that, with a sleek designed phone, for less that what I paid for my 700p. I'm almost sold!

Hey, Andrew -- any chance you could do a comparison chart for us? Something along the lines of a "here's the Treo 755p and here's the Centro compared" kind of thing. I'm really tempted to advise my boyfriend to get Sprint's Treo 755, because I've been so happy with my Treo 680, but I'm always skeptical to run into the first release of any device, plus I'm wondering whether all the cool add-on stuff I've gotten for my 680 will be available for the Centro, like cases. He's a contractor, and the phone will get beat up a little, so I'm wondering if maybe the whole "small and light" thing isn't really for him (me, on the other hand, ahhh...). Any chance you could do a chart? Thanks much for your fantastic site and newsletter....

hey.. Andrew.. I am trying to read your mind, based on your question during the press conference.. how about setting up www.centronauts.com as a mirror site.. Cheers Munir

David - yes, the Centro sports the _full_ version of Pocket Tunes Deluxe saving everybody some $$$ and also providing an excellent built-in MP3 player.

audra - I'll definitely be adding a comparison chart shortly. In terms of advising your boyfriend I think that it will depend on his data entry needs. If he's a frequent and long texter/emailer/documenter then the Treo 755p will probably be best for him. If nonetheless what he needs most readily is just fast access to all sorts of information in a smaller and more pocketable smartphone then the Centro will be great. From your description it sounds like you should give him your Treo 680 and then get yourself the Centro... ;-)

muniruddeen - although we do own the domain Centronauts.com (of course) I currently don't have any plans for another sub-site principally because in all respects but its name the Centro is actually very much a Treo smartphone (albeit a mini version).

Cheers, A.

Andrew -

You said:

"What is revolutionary is the fact that Palm has now been able to fit a fully usable QWERTY keyboard in a candy bar smartphone when no other company in the world has yet managed to do this."

Look at the dimensions of the Blackberry Curve.

Blackberry Curve:
4.2" (length)
2.4" (width)
0.6" (depth)
3.9 oz

Palm Centro:
4.22 (length)
2.11 (width)
0.73 (depth)
4.2 oz

And BTW the Curve has a FULL QWERTY keyboard. You might need to re-evaluate that remark.

.29 inches is what makes the Centro a Candybar phone and the Centro, Blackjack, Q, etc not.

Small difference, sure, but seemingly enough to change how the phone feels.

Further, Andrew said if data entry is what you do most then the 755p would do you better.

I was thinking about upgrading from a 700p to a Centro to hold me over until my Sprint contract runs out, but Palm wants $399—the same price as an iPhone—for a Centro sans 2-year contract extension!

Will there be a Centro for ATT any time soon. I have a 680 that I thought I would love, but I dont think its as good aas my 650 was. Maybe its just this phone. It's my third treo, I love them but the 680 just has not sold me. So if you have any ideas about the centro or maybe another Palm OS for ATT I would be grateful.

Hey Andrew, how does the Centro fair as an MP3 player? I've found the audio quality in my 650 to be only "ok".

So did they bundle Opera Mini since Blazer sucks so bad compared to Apple's iPhone Safari?

See: http://operamini.com

Andrew, how long until this may be available on the verizon network?

Clayton - Verizon will not release the Centro until at least Jan 14 '08 as Sprint has an exclusive for 90 days. Same applies for AT&T.

Cheers, A.

Well, I bit the bullet and just placed my preorder for the Onyx Centro. I was leaning toward the 755p, but with the low introductory upgrade price, I can't resist going with the Centro. Hopefully it will serve me as well as my faithful 650 has over the years.

My only concern is that I had to enter my current phone number in the pre-order. Hopefully Palm will be smart enough not to turn off my current number until I have the new phone in hand and activate it!

Here's a caveat for debit card users: Although the Palm store says during the preorder process that it won't charge your credit card until the product is shipped, that is not the case with debit cards. Much like renting a car with a debit card, when the vendor attempts to run an authorization to make sure the card has enough funds, those funds are actually withdrawn from the debit card account. This is not the case with true credit cards; when a vendor attempts authorization on a credit card, the card's balance does not change.

So, if you do preorder a Centro with a debit card, be prepared for those funds to actually be withdrawn from your debit card account at that time, rather than at the time of shipping. They may be refunded later, and then pulled again at the time of shipping, but that remains to be seen in my case.

Just to be clear, this is not an unethical business practice by Palm, it's just the way debit cards work. It would have been helpful for Palm to mention this during the preorder process, though, for those of us who use debit cards primarily.