Latest Palm Centro leaked shot looks official

You probably know the storied history of Palm Centro leaks, you might even be aware of our feelings on the subject, but we've finally got ourselves what looks to be an honest to goodness "official" photo of the device. It's a big step up aesthetically from what we've been seeing, and even bears a passing resemblance to T-Mobile's fan-fave Dash, but the keyboard still looks like a distinct step in the wrong direction for Palm. The teensy youth-friendly phone is expected to do the EV-DO thing, with Sprint exclusivity for 90 days and a $99 price tag.

[Thanks, Mark]

[Fernando @ Aug 25th 2007 12:57PM]

Damn ugly! Kill it with fire!

[xbit @ Aug 25th 2007 7:09PM]

I don't know. It certainly looks better than the original white photos.

However, it still looks like the cheapest of the cheap HTC units. It's certainly no iPhone, Blackberry Pearl or Nokia N95.

[JJ @ Aug 25th 2007 12:58PM]

I actually think it looks quite good

[Arthur Nonamiss @ Aug 25th 2007 1:01PM]

I don't get it. Why all the ugly comments? (Not just here, but in general.) Certainly, it's not earth-shattering or ground breaking. Maybe they keyboard is too small, maybe it's not. But why is everyone talking about how ugly it is? I wouldn't be ashamed to be talking on one of those.

[Paul @ Aug 25th 2007 1:04PM]

Seriously, it ain't that ugly, especially in this color scheme. Now, it is probably impractical for those of us beyond our younger years, but for $99 this seems to be quite a good product. That seemingly crystal clear 320x320 screen (I'm assuming here, but the fonts are too clear for 240x240 and Garnet phones have had 320x320 for a while now) looks to be a winner. Sure, it isn't going to compete with any of the uber high-end WinMo phones, but for a simple smart messaging device in the $100 range, this actually looks nice. Now I just hope Palm follows through with a truly nice Treo (800??) upgrade.

[Alex @ Aug 25th 2007 1:09PM]

looks sleek and very modern, but should have made the black glossy and not grainy like it is now.

[FUTUREman @ Aug 25th 2007 2:51PM]

Very Nice. Great design. This color looks better on it. I think the thickness will make or break this design.

Giver Pa1m!

[hartmania @ Aug 25th 2007 1:11PM]

It looks pretty good (for a Palm device, anyway), but that keyboard looks like an absolute nightmare to use.

[Pritesh Modi @ Aug 25th 2007 1:20PM]

Being a Palm enthusiast, this phone actually gives me some hope for Palm heading in the right direction again. It's not the best looking phone but it definitely does surpass anything aesthetically that's come from Palm lately. For a sub-$100 phone, this looks to be fairly promising. Let's just hope they continue delivering products like this and improving their line.

[RD @ Aug 25th 2007 1:20PM]

I don't imagine this Palm product is meant to sway anyone from a high powered business device, such as your "Crackberry".

But this looks better! I think my wife will actually get it. That's a testament to the aesthetics.

[baz.karim @ Aug 25th 2007 1:23PM]

Well---2 thing:

#1: In my opinion, it doesn't look half bad. But here is the problem--Palm needs to be taking care of us long time Treo owners before trying to open up a new segment of the market. Paul said something about a Palm 800 upgrade possibility--that's what they need.

#2: All this talk about the keyboard, also in my opinion, is useless and even pointless for now. Why? This is the only "official" photo--meaning we don't know the size. We can assume that it is the same size as the old photo of the white one or that because it is for teens that it will be smaller--but those are all assumptions. So to say that it looks hard to use doesn't really work. Now--what the author said is different...that the keyboard is going in the wrong direction. That works because it's just looking at it from a design-perspective.

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[JerkyChew @ Aug 25th 2007 1:29PM]

As someone who's used Treos for over four years now:

1) It's not that ugly anymore. Those leaked shots of the clear plastic looked horrendous, but this color scheme looks a hell of a lot better

2) The keyboard would be a step in the wrong direction if this were Palm's Treo replacement. It's not, it's the Treo Nano. A few less features than the Treo for a much nicer pricetag. As for it being so small, that leads us to...

3) The youth and 'mainstream' market. Whenever I bring my Treo out among non-geek friends they call it "the laptop". Nobody wants to touch the damn thing because it looks so foreign. This step in the small direction is a great idea for Palm - It makes the phone look a little less intimidating, and it's much more inviting to the Disposable Income demographic, i.e., teens with small hands and small purses. The palm OS has always run well on lesser hardware - Throw in a touch screen and some mature applications, and we may have a winner.

I still think the Foleo is a dumb idea, but this Centro might be a slam dunk.

[LazPL @ Aug 25th 2007 1:32PM]

De gustibus non est disputandum.

[spacegravity4me @ Aug 25th 2007 1:34PM]

the press release from the 16th said there was something special they'd reveal about it closer to launch. I'll bet it's built in myspace or something to that affect(effect?) What I really wanna know are the solid specs, memory, camera, etc.

[brian @ Aug 25th 2007 1:53PM]

This device is designed to compete with the Sidekick, not the Treo, and could be pretty successful, assuming it has ~64-100MB of memory and a microSD slot. It also needs VersaMail and an IM client built in, and decent bandwidth.

If, however, it's like a Zire with 32MB and no expansion, I think it's dead in the water.

[venk @ Aug 25th 2007 2:00PM]

At the $100 price point I'm not expecting much. This isn't a TRUE WM6 Treo like we've been hoping for (128 MB Ram, GPS, 320x320 LCD etc). This seem more like another option for the first time or low end looking PDA shopper to compete with the Motorola Q.

[db26 @ Aug 25th 2007 2:04PM]

I think this actually looks pretty nice now. The old shots of it just looked awful, but this is much more sleek. At the $99 price-point, I think it could actually do pretty well. If I knew (and liked) the specs, and there was a WM6 version, I would consider getting this.

[Ashraf @ Aug 25th 2007 2:14PM]

but who the hell wants to be wif Sprint?

Sprint sucks in Brooklyn, NY

[DarkAardvark @ Aug 25th 2007 3:03PM]

not everyone lives in brooklyn?

[TJF @ Aug 25th 2007 3:18PM]

Apparently so does the English language.

[Constable Odo @ Aug 25th 2007 5:36PM]

Some professor here said you're not allowed the use a semi-word like "wif". And you must capitalize the first word in a sentence otherwise you'll never get a good job. At least you used Brooklyn and not Crooklyn.

Sprint is perfect in my Bayridge section of Brooklyn. Of course, I don't live near anywhere near Brownsville or Bed-Stuy so I couldn't say about coverage there.

That Centro seems like a nice phone for a male teenager, but not so hot for a female. The colors are too drab.

[Ray @ Aug 26th 2007 12:37PM]

As a sprint user I have great reception in:

Bay Ridge
Bensonhurst
Williamsburg
Park Slope
Boreum Hill
Bushwick

As a matter of fact, I dont think I've ever had a problem with reception anywhere in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island or Long Island. AT&T/Cingular customers however, usually borrow my phone, especially in Bushwick/Boreum Hill

Also keep in mind, its not just the service that effects your reception, but also the phone you have. Not all phones are created equal.

[Mindfield @ Aug 25th 2007 2:26PM]

For a tech-savvy youth-oriented market, that's actually not a bad-looking device. Tiny, definitely not for adult thumbs, but for the SMS-happy kids it would be a definite step up from the clunky keyboardless T9 phones, and would have access to a crapload more applications than you can get with your average flip or candybar, which is good for students, especially at that price point. While I'd rather see Palm take care of their core constituents first, that horse has already bolted, so for what it's worth this isn't half bad.

[derF @ Aug 25th 2007 2:50PM]

Other than the cheaper build materials, what makes this different from a 755p? What are they leaving off??

[joe23521 @ Aug 25th 2007 2:55PM]

Looks really nice, I think. Only if the screen is a bit larger...

[Generic @ Aug 25th 2007 3:06PM]

looks nice but also looks thick

[PPC @ Aug 25th 2007 8:09PM]

Thats what she said.

[Generic @ Aug 26th 2007 2:17PM]

but she was happier then...

[Bard @ Aug 25th 2007 5:19PM]

So, when the hell is this thing comming to Verizon? I'm tired of the $400 crackberries and want something a bit more affordable without having to decide between laptop or phone.

[David Clark @ Aug 25th 2007 9:15PM]

I agree! Come to Verizon and I'll buy it. I'm waiting for something good to come along to replace my POS Moto Q.

[Chase @ Aug 25th 2007 5:43PM]

I used to think the Blackjack had a horrible keyboard...then i tried the iphone. I can't handle a touchscreen non-tactile keyboard. Granted I love everything else about the iPhone, but the keyboard is crucial if you text, im, or email a lot. This keyboard looks on par w/ the blackjack keyboard, albeit with flatter keys, which would help increase surface area. I think palm has a solid, low price, capable, entry level phone on their hands - which i personally think looks better than similar devices (t-mob dash / older palms). I'm going to pick one up for my Sprint account in October....just as long as it doesnt have win-mo on it!

[Tim T. @ Aug 25th 2007 6:41PM]

I'm wondering about the price point. $99 sounds all nice and sweet, but this could be like typical cell phone ads. $400 - instant rebate - store credit - mail-in rebate = $99
I think there could definitely be a market for this, so long as they target it for high schoolers or techy middle schoolers. Show off it's compatibility with popular services like Youtube, AIM, YIM, Myspace, etc...
Don't compare a device like this with the 755p or the likes, look at the sidekick. I hope Palm is aiming for that measure as well, rather than a 755p replacement.

[dj_tof @ Aug 25th 2007 6:56PM]

If it has more RAM than my 700p...AND it comes to verizon (which I assume is next up). I will be the proud owner of this new palm... especially since the 700 update issue. If i have to hard reset this this 13 or 14 more times... it's going on eBizzle... fo shizzle

[patrick526 @ Aug 25th 2007 7:57PM]

This is a nice design! I hope they release the GSM version first so that the we could use it for T-Mobile or AT&T. The whole world would want a phone like that from Palm.

[Ryan Smith @ Aug 25th 2007 8:20PM]

Wow, as bad as I thought about Palm, I can't tell the exact size but that looks like almost what I wanted in a phone. Almost phone size but some decent PDA functions as well. I have an ipod and don't care about that in my phone. Good job palm, I wish I had sprint.

[taylor @ Aug 25th 2007 11:54PM]

it certainly won't singlehandedly turn palm around, but it looks waaaaaaaaaaaay better than he white shiny cell phone pic shots we saw (except for the straight keyboard)

[Randavance @ Aug 26th 2007 1:32AM]

Why is there an alt key?

[Ellianth @ Aug 26th 2007 2:10AM]

Take another look at the picture. Some keys like (i think all of them) represent two different keys. Like J is: j/J and ! . In case i've confused you. Capital J, common J, and exclamation mark.

[bok @ Aug 26th 2007 10:51AM]

The alt key is how more obscure punctuations and other characters are accessed.

[monstroy @ Aug 27th 2007 11:51AM]

Look right of the space bar

[artifex @ Aug 26th 2007 8:51AM]

If this is a real picture, why is the reflection of the front, and not the back side?
Look at that angle.

[eric f. @ Aug 26th 2007 12:33PM]

what's wrong with the keyboard? it looks just like the Treo which works great.

[ark_v2 @ Aug 26th 2007 12:45PM]

Pretty good, for the price and the design, which is not breathtaking but seriously better than expected.

[Siddharth @ Aug 26th 2007 1:36PM]

But the most important part is: Will it blend??!

[tomcatla @ Aug 26th 2007 8:48PM]

Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Look a lot like the Sony ericsson K550i to me
http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=us&lc=en&ver=4000&template=pip1&zone=pp&pid=10745

I was at the Sony store today and saw the Sony Ericsson K550i……well, at least they tried…

Good luck palm, I am looking at other phones for upgrades now and will not look back!

[bruckwine @ Aug 27th 2007 5:10PM]

Must say it looks much better than the pics leaked months ago! For $99 it's looking like a good backup phone if anything and a good aim at the lower end (not SE/iPhone rich) market again by palm!

[kyle @ Aug 27th 2007 9:20PM]

would people "upgrade" from their treo 700p or 755p to this device?

[tom @ Aug 30th 2007 10:28AM]

I would expect this to hit shelves till after christmas! Typical Palm.

[David Mancherje @ Oct 1st 2007 11:04AM]

Palm Centro Review Tons of good information