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Palm Centro drops to $70 on contract with AT&T
Remember how we told you to expect some totally edge-of-your-seat, riveting price news in regard to Palm's Centro? Yeah, how's about $30 off? Presumably in conjunction with the iPhone 3G launch, AT&T has hacked the Palm Centro down to $70 after rebates (from $100) with a two-year agreement. There's no telling if the new price will sashay on over to those CDMA carriers or not, but we've got our fingers crossed real tight.[Via Electronista]
Palm Centro, now in "electric blue" for AT&T
Sorry, we'd make a comment on the appearance of AT&T's newest Centro shade, but we're still blinded from that white with green buttons stunt they pulled at launch. Sounds like Palm expects this pleasantly bright blue version to be available starting Friday in AT&T retail locations -- and they're also promising some news on a price cut in time for the school year. Stay tuned.
Group Sense's Palm OS line-up give way to lone, Linux-based phone
Well, it looks like Group Sense's once mighty line-up of Palm OS-based handsets has finally been shown the door with the whole lot now replaced by a single, Linux-based device. From the looks of it though, it doesn't seem like the new handset is about to work any wonders for the company, with the "real smart" Xplore WF100 boasting only a 1.5-inch 128 x 128 display, and such exciting features as a built-in antenna, speed dial, and "call shock." No word on price or availability just yet, but we're guessing most folks won't have much trouble containing their excitement over this one.[Via The Inquirer]
Matias Duarte, designer behind Sidekick and Helio, now developing Palm's next-gen UI
So we heard from a very reliable source that mobile user interface guru Matias Duarte -- who you may know as the man behind the Sidekick and Helio UI / user experiences -- actually left Helio late last year to join up with Palm. Although no announcement was made, we hear he and his gang of designers jumped ship (well before Helio completely flooded) to take on the monumental task of designing the UI for Palm's next-gen mobile OS (aka "Palm OS 2.0 or II"). His resume online now lists him as "Senior Director, Human Interface and User Experience" doing "Something new..." since September 2007; we got in touch with Palm, who confirmed that he's now under the company's employ.Of course, expectations should be pretty high -- Palm's only been promising this supposedly game-changing OS since around 2004, and the company's reputation and pedigree is (or at least it used to be) in groundbreaking mobile UI design. But this news also kind of makes us wonder: if they didn't have a killer UI and user experience team already in place and long-since working their asses off by late 2007, exactly how far along are they on this thing, anyway?
Verizon's Treo 755p gets firmware bump
The Verizon version of the Treo 755p from Palm is the latest of the world's 755p's to be graced with a firmware update -- or as Palm describes it, a "tune-up." There's very little detail to go on here, with the support page for the new binary simply saying that it "improves the phone application, stability and device usability." Hey, that's good enough for us -- and if you own an affected device, it's probably good enough for you, too.[Via Palm Infocenter]
Palm announces Q4 earnings -- it's not as bad as you think
Palm continued to flaunt its almost inexplicable boost in health in an earnings call yesterday. According to reports, honcho Ed Colligan boasted of a 29 percent gain in smartphone sales year-over-year, largely in part to the stellar performance of the company's budget-priced (with contract) Centro. In light of the recent negative outlook from investors, retail store closings, a constantly delayed OS update, and fierce competition, it's a pretty impressive feat to not only stay afloat, but manage some small victories. Now if they can just deliver on those OS and device promises we keep hearing about, they may stay in this game yet.[Via Palm Infocenter]
Missing Sync for iPhone: Windows Version
The wizards of sync at Mark/Space have announced the availability of The Missing Sync for iPhone (for Windows). This is the Windows edition of the package that takes PIM data from your existing Palm OS, BlackBerry, Symbian OS, or Windows Mobile device and moves it to your sparkly new iPhone. Like its Mac counterpart, the Windows version of The Missing Sync for iPhone comes with three separate applications that let you pull your SMS text messages, Call Log, and Notes from the iPhone. The app is available from Mark/Space for $39.95 and runs on PCs with Windows XP or Vista. To use the Migration Assistant feature of The Missing Sync for iPhone, you'll also need to have Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 on your PC.The Missing Sync for iPhone comes in English, French, and German localized versions.In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote the User Guide for The Missing Sync for iPhone under contract to Mark/Space.
Treo 800 spy shot madness starts again with new blurry goodness
So we've had blurry "Treo 800" pictures that turned out to be the Centro, others that turned out to be just about nothing, and now this one that is making the rounds in super-blur fast-mo. It's as if someone took a Centro, made the keys bigger, put a Sprint logo on there, and blurred out what appears to be a tester serial number. That's about all for now, but as usual we'll take this with a big grain of salt and make some rumor soup.
Palm Centro for Verizon unboxing and hands-on
Not much to see here folks, save for a new paint job and a few minor software changes. Still, for those of you on Verizon, this could be just what the doctor ordered. Unless the doctor has a fake degree from a made-up country -- then his orders might not be so good. Regardless, you should feel free to feast your eyes on this cobalt blue number from the folks at Palm in the gallery below!%Gallery-25007%
Palm Centro heads to Verizon, in stores tomorrow for $99
Come on, T-Mobile, all we need is you to get on board now and that'll make a perfect Yahtzee! for Palm with its surprise hit, the Centro. Thanks to Verizon's expected announcement today, the top three US carriers now carry the diminutive Garnet device, which Palm actually says is "off to the strongest start of any smartphone in Palm's history" -- quite a statement, considering the Treo line's rich tradition. The Centro is also the first Palm phone to be eligible for the big V's "unlimited" E-mail and Web for Smartphone plan, which runs you a thrifty $29.99. After the full, delicious menu of rebates and discounts have been applied, Verizon's version will run the same $99 on contract that the boys and girls on Sprint and AT&T pay, and we can look for it to be available through all retail channels starting tomorrow.Update: Palm also has a brand new Facebook app launching with this phone (which will be available for the AT&T and Sprint models as well).
Alltel's Palm Treo 755p gets firmware update
Have a Palm Treo 755p on Alltel? Check it: your lil' buddy's just received an official update from the mothership. Little is known about what greatness lies within this new 1.03 version of the binary; all Palm's saying on the matter is that it resolves a "reset issue" under "specific and rare conditions." So if you found that your phone was spontaneously rebooting every time you sat in on a crawfish eating competition while wearing sandals, you may have stumbled upon those specific and rare conditions, in which case hearty congratulations are in order. Whatever, just download the update, will ya?[Via Palm Infocenter]
Verizon's Palm Centro: June 13 for $199.99?
We hope beyond hope that there's a typo here or some sort of magical bonus discount that'll be applied at the cash register, because documents coming out of Verizon at this point seem to indicate that Centro buyers will be paying a whopping $269.99 before $70 mail-in rebate when the device supposedly hits all retail channels next Friday, June 13. Sprint's version was just a single Benjamin many months ago, so we really don't see how Verizon can justify this kind of coin. Unless there's like a $100 bill in the battery compartment of every phone, we guess.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Palm Treo 800w spotted in new pics, price and release date rumored
Well folks, it's real... and it's in the wild. You can get a better idea about the size from these photos, but unfortunately it's looking about as clunky and dated as what we've seen previously (in spy shots and flashed on the screen during Gates' CES keynote). Sprint users, lucky you. Hey, at least it's not this thing. Update: According to our friends at WMExperts, the 800w is rumored to be heading onto store shelves come July 13th, with a price tag of $249.99 (after instant discount and mail-in rebate). Of course, there's no confirmation on that just yet, so don't place any bets.[Thanks, Surur]
Verizon's Palm Centro spotted in Circuit City
Well, not quite -- turns out it's just a dummy -- but it's got to be getting close now that Circuit City locations are taking delivery. We're not so keen on the metallic finish here, maybe we'll end up warming up to it; either that, or by the time it's released our collective attentions will be squarely diverted to the Treo 800w. You know, one of the two. Follow the break for another shot![Thanks, Grant]
Palm claims larger share of smartphone market, has Centro to thank
What's this? Some joyous news on the Palm front? No need to Windex your spectacles -- the aforementioned handset maker has indeed managed to up its share of the smartphone market from 7.9% in the fourth quarter to 13.4% today, largely thanks to the popularity of its Centro. In general, analysts seemed quite pleased by the gains, noting that it (along with RIM) were able to take advantage of the 7.5% skid experienced by Apple during the same period. Despite the recent gains, Palm's market share is still down from 23% in Q1 a year ago, but considering the sweeping slump in cellphone sales of late, we'd say this should still go down as a victory -- however minor -- for the firm.[Via Palm InfoCenter]
StyleTap's Palm OS emulator officially coming to iPhone and iPod touch
In a move of unsurprising proportions, StyleTap announced today that it will be bringing its Palm OS emulator to the iPhone and iPod touch... officially. This basically means that every one of those precious Palm apps you couldn't live without will now be easily accessible via Apple's devices, thus seriously threatening the argument for keeping your Treo 600. Gregory Sokoloff, CEO of the company, said that the response to a video posted in February of a demo version of the software convinced them to take the plunge. Palm, now might be a good time to stun us with your new OS.
Ed Colligan speaks about Palm OS 2.0
While Palm's CFO Andy Brown wasn't exactly forthcoming with details about its elusive next-gen OS, a recent interview with top dog Ed Colligan revealed quite a bit about codename Nova. As if it wasn't official enough already, we're told that Palm OS 2.0 (which is also not the final moniker) will indeed be Linux-based, and Ed continued to say that it would be "driven around the internet and web-based applications." Of course, a Palm interview wouldn't be a Palm interview without at least some mention of the now-defunct Foleo, and the bigwig left a crack in the rumor drawer by stating that he "still believed the idea would be vindicated some day." Trust us, there's way more where this came from, so head on down to the read link if your interest is piqued.
Palm Centro goes prepaid in Australia
Smartphones are a disappointingly rare occurrence in prepaid stables in some corners of the world, but at least Telstra's doing its part. The Australian carrier has launched Palm's Centro obligation-free for $299 AUD (about $286), giving Aussies a solid option for taking a trip down Garnet lane without shelling out any more monthly cash than they need to. Interestingly, the Telstra model sports a white shell but eschews AT&T's funky green buttons for a more conservative gray set -- and honestly, now that we've had some time to get used to 'em, we sort of miss the green. Are we crazy?[Via Palm Infocenter]
Palm CFO keeps cards, products, anything interesting close to the vest
We're not certain why Palm CFO Andy Brown was being so cagey about the company's next-gen Linux-based platform during a "fireside chat" at a recent JPMorgan tech conference, but his devotion to secrecy is almost as interesting as if he had dished out some details on upcoming devices. Wait, no, it's not. Of course, Palm's new OS is being developed by Jon Rubenstein, former Apple hardware and iPod veep, so maybe the paranoia is contagious -- but Brown probably didn't convince anyone when he openly compared Palm to Apple because both companies make both the hardware and the software. That's a pretty hard head-to-head to be in when you're talking about the Centro running Garnet -- maybe some actual products might help that pill go down easier, you know? Brown did say that we'd been seeing the fruits of all this labor sometime "this summer," but didn't mention what it might actually be -- let's hope it's got more design behind it than that nasty Zeppelin prototype.
Sprint saying goodnight to the Treo 755p? UPDATE: Nope!
Feeling pressure from its smaller, sexier, newer cousin -- and every other smartphone, for that matter -- it looks like the Palm Treo 755p has taken its final bow on Sprint. With the Centro stealing the overwhelming majority of the Garnet limelight as of late, it seems there may be little business justification for another Palm OS device on Sprint's network; ironically, Verizon's version just launched four months ago, so we wouldn't sound the final death knell for the devicejust yet. For what it's worth, the classic Treo form factor lives on Sprint thanks to the 700wx -- another Palm device that's getting just a little long in the tooth (like 2006 long in the tooth). We'll admit, we'll probably shed a quick tear or two when the old-guard Treo line finally takes a permanent vacation in favor of newer, more modern looking designs, but we're not really mustering much eye moisture for the 755p here.[Via Brighthand]Update: We've gotten word straight from the horse's mouth that the 755p isn't discontinued -- it's merely out of stock, hence the disappearance from Sprint's site. They're "addressing [the] temporary outage of inventory," though, so if you've got a hankering for the larger Garnet piece in Sprint's lineup, hang tight!
