The Palm Centro is a smartphone which was released on October 14, 2007 by Palm, Inc.. 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]
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 is available with either CDMA technology that supports EVDO Rev 0 for network access, or GSM. 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.
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]
Carriers
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.
AT&T
The AT&T version is available in black, white and electric blue. It uses the GSM cellular 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]
Verizon
The Verizon version of the Centro 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 (Rev.0) 3G network.
Claro
Claro introduced the model to Brazilian market by the beginning of 2008. Curiously, the price for the Centro model is still above the old Treo 680 Palm model (as of June 2008).
Telstra
Telstra Australia sees the Centro offered via PrePaid only.[10] 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.[11]
Rogers
Rogers Wireless (Canada) announced they would be carrying the Palm Centro as of June 10, 2008.
Unlocked GSM
On June 25th, 2008, an Unlocked GSM version of the Centro was released for use on all 850/900/1800/1900 mHz GSM telephone networks. It was released in Glacier White with grey keyboard accents.
References
External links
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