Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

There was a lot of talk about who would take the biggest blow in the smartphone world with the intro of the iPhone.  A Changewave study shows this chart.  What’s interesting isn’t the data the graph is making obvious, it is the totals. 

If you add up the % of the smartphone market, you’ll find the total market segment being served by Palm, Rim and Apple throughout this period isn’t changing.  It is staying relatively flat at about 2/3rds of all smartphones.  So this would suggest, the merry trio are not bringing new folks into the smartphone market, rather just cutting up the pie differently.

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Palm is back?  Perhaps.  Today, Palm announced they sold their two millionth Centro smartphone.  The $99 beauty is showing the world maybe Palm was just charging too much to gain some lasting market traction...perhaps that is too harsh.

Indeed, Palm seems to have a hit on its hands: Admob Mobile Metrics shows the Centro making the list of phones accessing the mobile internet (#7 for June).  Palm is psyched to be on the list:

“Consumers are ready to do more on their mobile phone, and Centro has struck a chord around the world,” said Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. “Centro has everything a person needs to stay connected with everyone who is important to them—and at a price point and size that make smartphones more attractive to a much wider audience.”

Congrats to Palm.  Any happy Centro owners out there?  Chime in on the comments.

Product page [Palm]

In addition to that new electric blue model now being available for purchase, AT&T has also announced they have dropped the price on the Palm Centro. The offer, which is currently available and running through September 20 will drop the price of the Palm Centro to $69.99, of course that comes after a mail-in-rebate and long with a two-year-agreement, but still a great deal for new customers. The discounted price applies not only to the new color, but also to the previously released glacier white and obsidian black models as well.

Via [Palm Blog]

It looks like AT&T will soon be offering another flavor of the hot selling Palm Centro smartphone. The electric blue Palm Centro will be available beginning Friday and in addition to the new color, it will also get a drop in price. Palm however is keeping a tight wrap on just what the lowered price will be, with a simple statement that it will be “more affordable than ever.”

Our guess is that (thanks to mail-in-rebates) it will go down as low as $49.99. The new electric blue color will join the existing glacier white and obsidian black that have previously been available. I am sure that not everyone is interested in, or wants an iPhone 3G, however July 11 sounds like a strange day to release a new color variety of the Centro.

Read [Official Palm Blog]

This is where we call out by names the actions and companies that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin crack.  Technology is an odd realm where PR speak doesn’t hold a lot of water if the 1s and 0s don’t line up.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity.  Here is what caught my eye this week: 

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Palm announced this afternoon that the Centro will be able to add Google Maps with My Location as early as tomorrow.  The maker also announced an unlocked version of the Centro in white with gray.

Another phone with Google Maps for location and driving directions.  Iv’e said it before, but anyone else feel like something else is coming?  Google has to have given this some thought?  Don’t get me wrong, Google Maps is fun but navigation is missing.  Enough of my blather.

My Location on the Centro will allow users to find themselves with fewer keystrokes and less effort.  The My Location is in addition to all the great things Google Maps brings: traffic, aerial shots and driving directions.  Ok, I can’t take it.  Just driving directions?  Come on Google.  You know where we are.  You’ve got the directions.  How much harder is it to put this together???  Ok, I am over it now.  This is a cool addition for the plethora of Centro users out there (the phone is really cute).  You can download as of tomorrow from here.

The unlocked phone is $299 and retains the same dimensions.  You can find it for sale online here.

Press release [Palm]

Rogers Wireless and Palm have recently announced the Canadian launch of the ever-so-popular Centro.

With a focus on bringing all communication needs in one compact device, the Centro delivers a full-featured package in a cool, stylish and modern design.  Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. says,

“More and more people need voice, text, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities all wrapped in one compact device so they can stay connected with everyone who is important to them. Centro delivers all that and more.”

All the applications that have come to be the norm on Smartphones – email, text messaging, news services, picture management, media playback and sharing – come on the Centro, and then some. The full keyboard promotes ease-of-use in typing complete thoughts and sentences in text messages, and it even comes with Google™ Maps integrated. The Palm Centro from Rogers Wireless is packaged with the standard features that we have come to expect; including Bluetooth support as well as a complete line of software to include Documents To Go, HotSync, Pocket Tunes, Web Blazer 4.5, World Clock and a lot more.

Rogers will be offering the Centro for $199 CAD for existing customers and $299 CAD for new customers, both however will require a three-year agreement with a required voice and data plan.

Read [BusinessWire]

Palm has been getting some much needed traction from the Centro, with the handset now available with Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless here in the US it can only be expected to see good sales, especially with its $99 price tag.

If you remember Palm announced back in late-March that they had sold one million Centro’s and they have also recently announced that they are well on there way to hitting the 2 million mark. According to a company representative, they “are confident we will get there in 2008.”

With a company that has seen (and taken) more than its fair share of criticism, its nice to see them having some success. Its been a while since I have used a Palm on a regular basis, but I would still say I am a fan, and will be rooting for them.

Read [Reuters]

Verizon Wireless and Palm have officially announced the availability of the Centro, and it will be available in-stores an online beginning tomorrow. It looks like the rumors were accurate on this release, the handset is indeed the blue model, and the release date was correct as well. It was however announced one day earlier than the rumor, which leaves one to wonder if Verizon thought it to be bad luck in announcing an already popular handset on Friday the 13th, of course I would imagine if they were supersticious, they would have pushed the availability up a day.

Verizon will be offering the Palm Centro for $99, which comes after a $70 mail-in-rebate and along with a two-year agreement. It looks like its just T-Mobile that is left out on the popularity of the Centro, as it has already been launched with both Sprint and AT&T in the past.

Keep reading to check out the full release and specs:

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It looks like the rumored launch of the Palm Centro on Verizon is finally going to happen. EngadgetMobile received a leaked image courtesy of an “anonymous tipster” showing pretty clearly that the Centro will be available on Friday June 13, 2008. While you would imagine that would be good news for anyone on Verizon, the pricing seems like it may be a big issue, and if this image is correct would keep most people from using a Centro with Verizon.

The listed pricing reflects at $70 mail-in-rebate, which is nice, however that still puts the handset at $199.99 with a 2-year agreement. We can only hope that price is incorrect or still possible to change, because the Centro can be found with Sprint for about a $100 less. This news is sure to make any Verizon customer waiting for the Centro to feel cheated.

Via [Engadget Mobile]