Palm Centro hits the magical one million mark

Palm's miniscule and wallet-friendly Centro has managed to reach one million units sold since its launch last September. It got its legs working as Sprint and AT&T's gateway smartphone at that fantastic $99 pricepoint, and now it's making a bid for world domination in major markets in Europe and Asia. The one million sales have it nipping at the heels of recent superstar smartphones, the two million plus HTC Touch and the four million plus iPhone, not bad company in the least.

[TheChris @ Mar 31st 2008 5:49PM]

is it just me or does it look gnormous..though it says miniscule.
$99 is a steal. Please make the iphone's price more reasonable! =]

[JAmerican @ Mar 31st 2008 6:19PM]

My Dash is a steal. Got it for $50 with 1 year contract :).

[tekdroid @ Apr 1st 2008 10:35AM]

99 without contract and unlocked would be a steal.

The phone is smaller than it looks:
http://www.palm.com/us/products/smartphones/centro/play.html

[Fusion @ Mar 31st 2008 5:51PM]

im surprised they sold that many

[Janne @ Mar 31st 2008 5:56PM]

There are over 7 million N95s sold so far...

[trumpton @ Mar 31st 2008 6:16PM]

...and they cost four times as much. Hardly a reasonable comparison, is it?

The Centro is a great little phone, despite the relentless knocking from some quarters here. That's why it's sold so well, regardless of what the sneering 'experts' say.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Mar 31st 2008 6:32PM]

Trumpton, doesnt that make selling over 7 million of them in about 10 months even more amazing? Besides, I think you're talking about the unlocked, unsubsidised American pricing? Hardly a reasonable comparison since the centro is subsidised yet it still must be BOUGHT with a contract....

[trumpton @ Mar 31st 2008 7:10PM]

So the logic is that the better a phone sells = the better the phone is?

Wow. That must makes bog standard Nokias some of the greatest phones on the planet!

[wifiguy @ Mar 31st 2008 9:46PM]

7 million is really not that impressive when you consider that in Europe you can get it free on a contract. No way Americans bought even a million of N95 unsubsidized. The iPhone it is not.

[Joeshmow @ Apr 1st 2008 1:41AM]

$99 is cheap but not as cheap as us. RadioShack is selling the Sprint at $69 and the at&t at $49, both are rebateless prices.

[The Dude @ Mar 31st 2008 6:00PM]

The most recent prices I've seen are at BestBuy with AT&T as the carrier:
Holy shit ---> $39.99 (New cusomters w/2 yr. contract)
$79.99 (For existing customers...basically sign yourself up for another 2 yrs.)

My contract is up this September and I'm definitely looking at this phone.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Mar 31st 2008 6:07PM]

DAMN!

I almost feel sorry for you guys...Getting excited about PAYING for this poor phone even though it's on a contract? A bloody 2 year one!

[rock99rock @ Mar 31st 2008 6:16PM]

Dont do it dude.

[flicman @ Mar 31st 2008 10:31PM]

I'm a Centro owner and I'm a big fan. It *is* small, it has everything the bigger palm phones have, and the internet and e-mail are extremely useful with the 3G that another phone in this market clearly lacks.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Mar 31st 2008 6:02PM]

Mr Miller, I believe you forgot the 7.5 million+ Nokia N95?

[Quix @ Mar 31st 2008 6:01PM]

As a big fan of Palm over the years, I say enjoy your last labored breaths, Palm. Far too little, far too late. Apple (among others) are about to sweep you into the dust bin of technological history.

Sad. But true.

[Craig @ Apr 1st 2008 1:31AM]

I lost count as to the number of times I've heard this over the years about 3 years ago. Amazing how the little underdog phonemaker that could keeps chugging down the track, despite the heaping dungpiles of negativism hurled at it by armchair analysts.

Would I have liked Palm OS 6/Cobalt to come out when it was supposed to? You bet. In the meantime, I've not yet found a reason to switch out my Treo 700p -- nothing out there is more compelling for my needs. You, of course, may have different needs. ;-)

[Anthony @ Mar 31st 2008 6:02PM]

How do you compare 1 million Centros to 4 million iPhones? Seriously. They're not even in the same ballpark. I don't even think they're playing the same game.

[Scott @ Mar 31st 2008 8:27PM]

Right Right, but once iPhone FW 2.0 comes out for real the iPhone will finally have native activesync push, Which the Centro has ... now, oh and custom applications which the Centro also has ... now.

Then they will be in the same ballpark, kinda... except for text heavy, email heavy users of course.

In all honesty I got the Centro as a kinda tide me over phone, and have been very very impressed with it. It has honestly asked very little of me, has a fast net connection, and is just pretty handy for keeping up with email and work calender on the go. The centro is a massively under appreciated phone, that is ungodly fast and responsive, go hate on the numerous phones that deserve it.

[Fusion @ Mar 31st 2008 6:02PM]

im surprised they sold more than 1 of these useless machines, i know, i had 3 palms absolutly useless, esspecialy the Z22 AND E2,
i would never buy a palm again,

[Dirk @ Mar 31st 2008 10:43PM]

How would you know if its useless? You picked some of the worst Palm devices to own.

[Z @ Mar 31st 2008 8:52PM]

I like my Centro, and I never considered the iPhone, entirely on cost. I think a lot of other people felt the same way.

[bulls96 @ Mar 31st 2008 6:07PM]

Wow you guys are hard to please :)

In perspective... Palm is a miniscule company that has really overachieved.

A little history.... Palm Sold...
- 1 million Palm Pilots in 18 months
- 1 million Treos in 2 years
- 1 million Centros in 6 months
source:http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/23/technology/business2_workingtech0323/

Says a lot in terms of achievement. Lets give them some credit for this guys.

[DT @ Mar 31st 2008 6:11PM]

Hopefully this will give Palm execs a taste of what a successful phone brings, and they'll work double-time to bring out the next gen of Palm devices. Hopefully they'll remain in the business...the Centro is a great value for what it does.

[Ryan Block @ Mar 31st 2008 6:21PM]

Perhaps, but my constant fear with Palm is that they'll take this to mean they can get away with building ever more phones on the aging Palm OS instead of hard driving to push their platform forward. How many years has it been?

[DT @ Mar 31st 2008 6:32PM]

@Ryan,
I fear that as well, but I think that your intervention several months ago shook up the culture at Palm. At the very least, the Centro is a good way for Palm to retain SOME customer base while the corporate market races away towards RIM. They establish a name for themselves in the consumer sphere, and when Palm OS 2 devices hit the market (rumor has it they will be aimed at the consumer world, not corporate), they can build on the Centro's success. I hope.

[propynyl @ Mar 31st 2008 6:57PM]

"It's the OS Stupid!"

[Andrew @ Mar 31st 2008 6:16PM]

Conquer Europe you say?! I must say that gave me a great, big laugh!!! It is beyond ridiculous because Palm has no chance in Europe with the likes of Nokia and SonyEricsson dominating the market. European cellphone markets are totally different from the US and we all know it.

Palm should roll over and die already.

[Zap @ Mar 31st 2008 6:35PM]

the concept was great, but gosh Garnet just feels SOOO old.

Look at iPhone or HTC w/ nice extra running WM6...Palm OS, from mid 2002, looks terrible

Still, can't argue with 99.

Of course, HTC Touch and iPhone are much more expensive, and out selling it.

[schmitty338 @ Mar 31st 2008 8:25PM]

Why does everybody keep saying the HTC Touch is way more expensive? Not sure about US prices, but here in Canada I got a CDMA Touch (Vogue) for $99 on a 2 year contract with unlimited data for $7/month...and it's free with a 3-year...

Other than a tactile keyboard (which given how small it is I find harder to type on than a large touchscreen keyboard or TouchPal), why would anybody why this and not a Touch or a Pearl (which can be had for $49)?

*shrug*...to each their own i suppose.

[Fernando @ Mar 31st 2008 6:37PM]

"hey, americans will buy one million of whatever we put out, so why spend money on R&D right?"

goddamnit palm...

[Allen @ Mar 31st 2008 6:44PM]

Not bad for a company that just a few months ago was being considered for sale and chopping. Keep it going, Palm.

[John P @ Mar 31st 2008 6:49PM]

I don't think the Centro is aimed at the same market as people who buy iPhones. iPhone requires a much larger monthly plan payment and starts out at a higher price. Likewise, Blackberry devices require you pay for the RIM service (which seems to have similarities with a certain Xbox Live service concerning reliability). But this palm, which is $99, does alot of the things more expensive smart phones do, without the extra service plan. It doesn't run as well, obviously, and the OS is showing its age. But it is inexpensive and works as an entry level phone, much like the Nokia brick you can get for free with a two-year contract. It's simply an entry-level smartphone.

[DT @ Mar 31st 2008 7:00PM]

Unfortunately, this actually may be bad news for the company's financials, as it is estimated that most of those sales came at the expense of higher-margin Treos.

[Slide @ Mar 31st 2008 7:09PM]

Wow. I don't see why these phones are so popular. They look kinda fugly. The interface also looks a little kludgy. If Palm is selling one million Centro's. Heck, they might as well put new plastic cases on more old hardware.

[Malatesta @ Mar 31st 2008 7:28PM]

Instead of going "golly gee, that phone sure looks silly..." why not actually go to a brick and mortar store and play with one. Crazy, right?

The Centro is selling so well because it's a great little smartphone that still can compete with WM, RIM and others--that is evident from the popularity. And as a pretty hardcore WM users, I use the Centro as my daily device. It's even very stable (!) which should be shocking news for anyone who has used any other Garnet device.

70-75% of people who bought the Centro are completely new to smartphones and women are a large number--a group that has till now been ignored in the industry.

This will be Palm's last Garnet phone as they have reported just days ago that their next-gen OS ("Nova") is still on track to be finished at the end of this year for an early 2009 release. Whether it is any good is another issue.

The problme of Centro being too low and cutting into Palm's financials is due to their aging and outdated WM Treo line, which is set for a refresh this summer (800w on CDMA; Drucker on GSM; plus their new WM Standard device).

[Warren @ Mar 31st 2008 7:22PM]

Engadget - I would hardly call anything that sold 1 million compared to 4 million 'nipping at the heels'....

[PynkFloydd @ Apr 1st 2008 8:44PM]

You're massively taking things out of context.

Centro was launched mid-October on Sprint. They just introduced an AT&T version and they're probably releasing versions on way more carriers, worldwide. It's VERY user friendly, has a great pricepoint and has become an affordable powerhouse of features.

iPhone was launched in June on a much larger carrier with a locked in contract to only offer it on that carrier and a huge user base anticipating the moment it hit stores.

That'd be like me saying, "in 2008, Microsoft expects to ship 20 million Windows Mobile units...you call the iPhone a competitor?".

[decypher44 @ Mar 31st 2008 7:39PM]

I've had my Centro since December and I have to say I love this phone. It is my first smartphone, although I had played with friends and families phones (iPhone, Blackjacks, Q). It does everything I like, plus it actually provides a good PHONE experience. The smaller buttons took me about a month to get used to fully. The OS could use some updating, but for my use, it works and looks just fine.

[decypher44 @ Mar 31st 2008 7:40PM]

Response to Ryan:

My fear is that Palm will continue to make phones with WM and abandon Palm OS.

[The Reptile @ Mar 31st 2008 7:56PM]

It took Palm what, 3 or 4 years that this is the price point that they should have been at all along? Glad that they're finally getting the message. Now we'll see if their new team can create something more than a has been device in an era where customers are expecting the wow factor.

[freakmarket @ Mar 31st 2008 8:01PM]

A lot of people are buying them to use as a regular phone because they are cheap and have better organizer features than most regular cell phones. Palm is making almost no money on them as their last quarter figures reflect.

I think it's mostly just to keep the name Palm in people's head until they launch their "new platform" which is going to suck if they stuff it onto the tiny screen treo form factor.

[s10 @ Mar 31st 2008 8:09PM]

How many of these Palms came free or discounted with a contract? How many where sold separately? There is a lot of information missing in order to make anything out of this newsbit.

In any case, Palm has no future.. if a company has to close down shops, restructure and downgrade their own products (because that's what it is, a downgraded Treo) in order to keep selling anything... it is bad news.

[Malatesta @ Mar 31st 2008 10:10PM]

lol, you're kidding, right?

A company with about 1,000 employees sells 1-million phones in 6 months (and "s10" it doesn't matter if they were given away or reduced in price--those are *carrier* subsidies, Palm gets the full cost)...and they have no future?

Seems they are besting Moto with the Q out there and I'm pretty sure other companies would want those customers.

Palm now has 3 former Apple Inc. executives working for them. Two oversee product-development: Rubenstein (the "podfather") and Mike Bell.

Speaking of apple, ever read their history?
http://9rules.com/apple/notes/8244/

[Warren @ Mar 31st 2008 11:11PM]

@ Malatesta:

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[ScOObyDoo @ Mar 31st 2008 8:17PM]

I'm calling shenanigans. I don't know a SINGLE PERSON with a Centro.

I've never even seen anyone with a Centro (and I travel a lot).

Perhaps they sold them to themselves?

[Eric @ Mar 31st 2008 9:22PM]

I'll tell you all why they sold a million phones.. . . every person wants a "smart phone" now. and if you can get one for less than some other "non-smart" phones why not. Most people don't care about the little things Engadget readers obsess over and just want a neat phone. end of story. won't help Palm in the long run.

[james rose @ Mar 31st 2008 9:28PM]

to those stressing over $99 with a new contract, just buy a new one off ebay and do an esn swap...i got mine still boxed brand new for 180 with no new contract.

scooby, too many scooby snacks and herb for you...i see em regularly here in nyc

[Dirk @ Mar 31st 2008 10:43PM]

This can only get better once its released on Verizon.

[Rollins @ Apr 1st 2008 12:17AM]

I was thinking that too, except for the fact that they'll still be charging $45 per month for data. Even though they only charge $30/month for data on a BlackBerry. Makes perfect sense, right?