Verizon's Palm Centro in the flesh!
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Apr 21st 2008 8:58AM
posted Apr 21st 2008 8:58AM
posted Apr 21st 2008 8:58AM
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"It's not often that a single handset unites all four US national carriers"
...You sure about that "all four" bit there? Sprint, AT&T, Verizon: yes. T-Mo still a rumor, ain't it?
Maybe t-mo is getting one with wifi? :o
Fair enough, it's still just a rumor -- though a pretty plausible one. I've updated the post.
Chris
the palm OS is still crap, ship it in a smaller shinier box, but it's still crap.
I can't belive how popular this thing has been, and now onto Verizon. Verizon's 755P didn't sell very well, I wonder hwo the centro will do. looks like the palm OS is gonna try to make a comeback on the big red.
Palm OS may be well-aged, but it's certainly not crap.
I think the 755p is just too expensive for what it has to offer. It doesn't really have much over the centro. In my area, for ages now, the 755p has been the only palm-based option and I've just been holding out for something like this.
Palm does things more elegantly than WM. For example, you can just enter an appointment directly onto the line in your calendar and you're done. Try that in WM and you go into a big menu and have to navigate around several fields, then click OK. WM does more, but Palm does it right!
I've going to replace my Treo 600 soon. I've also got an AT&T Tilt, which is one of the most sophisticated WM devices out there, but the old Treo just works better for the things I really do with my PDA/smartphone.
I hate the blue.
I've got a red one from Sprint. I've always liked blue on just about anything. I'm tempted to say I'd prefer it to my current red one. Good thing I didn't have to choose :D
I have the white from AT&T. I definitely prefer the blue one but I love it. Not only is the PalmOS not crap, it's what sold me the phone. I've been a Palm geek for years who got taken in by Windows Mobile. I've returned to the flock knowing Palm makes the best handheld OS currently on the market. And third party app support (a HUGE thing for me) ROCKS! I have software I bought in 1996 for my Pilot model Palm and it still works on the Centro. That's backward compatability. And everything I couldn't do natively in the PalmOS Garnet included (mostly just support for Bluetooth stereo and video playback) I have covered in 3rd party apps. All I'm missing out on is 3G and, quite frankly, I don't miss that much. Edge hasn't disappointed.
I think Palm gets a bad rap. Look at the success of the iPhone and notice the similarities between what Apple has done and what Palm has done. Both produce both the hardware and software. Both have an icon based touch screen, easy to use interface. Both very innovative. I think that Apple took Palm to the next level, somewhere Palm should have headed but somehow got side tracked.
@John
You are aware that Palm doesn't do the OS anymore, aren't you? For at least 5 years. That's why there are Treos running Windows Mobile. That's why the company changed the name for a while to PalmOne and the OS now boots with a splash screen that says "provided by Access.
That said, it's a strong OS, I just was hoping to see Cobalt by now. That the Centro runs Garnet is a bit disappointing. Perhaps we'll see Cobalt in the aformentioned Centro 2?
Cool! This should be available for purchase in Q4. Probably a month before the Centro 2 is released. Way to go Verizon!
If Verizon doesn't mess up and give it a $200-$300 price tag ($99 would be preferable, $150 more probable), this would be a pretty decent deal with their $30 plan. They'd actually have a decently priced "casual" smartphone! I never thought I'd see the day.
Come on, you know that VZW will make you subscribe to their ridiculous $45/month data plan, oh, and charge you an extra $10 for text messages, on this thing. It's a SMARTPHONE, right? (About the only thing more insulting is that they hit you with those charges on the super-crippled PN-820 and MOTO Q which don't even have touchscreens!)
nextcube, you do know that VZW just introduced a $30/month plan for smartphones a week or so ago, right?
I bought an unlocked GSM verison and am pretty happy with it. It's a good phone/PDA combo.
Where's the glossy skin like sprint has?
Seconding the fear of a verizon price bump.
i really like the size of the centro, and with the employee pricing in the data plans, i just might buy one.
according to palms website, it supports up to 4gb cards, which is good, cause thats what i have, and i just need to know if the VZW version will have stereo bt, then ill get one.
wow, it is like, "welcome to 2005". two dips of extra chunky...
===
Church in the Texas Medical Center
http://ChurchInTheCenter.com
You obviously haven't seen a Centro in-person. They are REALLY small. Might not be the thinnest, but certainly short and definitely narrow.
Oh no, not another church in Texas...
Pink please
Pink please
Any word yet on when this thing will be released on verizon?
Wondering if these crash much? I've had friends whose Treo's keep crashing and rebooting.
I've owned one on a Sprint plan for about two months, and I think I've reset it once (and it turned out that it was an issue with the network, not the phone). From the perspective of a first-time smartphone buyer, it's a great phone and I can't recommend it enough.
My only gripe is that it can be a bit of a pain to re-affix the battery cover.
And the glossy paint job on the Sprint models can make it a bit slippery, though it looks like it may be less of an issue on the Verizon models...
Seeking fresh buzz on Verizon Centro release date. Local store said it would be available April 30. Would also love to find it'll handle VZ Navigator, though I think most Palm OS phones need an add-on GPS receiver.
i had the black one for sprint, and the only thing i didnt like was the small keyboard for my big fingers. That said, to the user "joel" sprint has a pink one. And the OS on it (powered by Access) is incredibly 3rd party compatible and it makes it for an amazing phone. The only reason i sold it on ebay was i transferred from a slaes rep for sprint/nextel to a manager for suncom(which is about to become tmobile) and they gave me a free curve.
love the centro, its awesome!
I'm probably not one to ask, my favorite color is blue, but I love it.
I am looking for the release date. Friend of mine said he saw a commercial on tv but wasnt sure (verizon centro). Any News yet??
I have a 700p and wouldn't trade it for anything. Crashes you say? only if you put on programs which are not compatible. Sometime, trial and error on the programs.
Really dont want to go to a 755p. Seems too similar. Thoughts??
All signs point to June 1st. Large "Verizon Only" retailers should be receiving stock of the Centro by May 30th and have been instructed not to begin selling until June 1st.
I'll be waiting for this to be released on VZW!
Have you guys gotten any more information about this phone? PLEASE give us some info! I'm dying! I must know the release date!
This page infers that it should be released before June 15th. I'm not sure how accurate it actually is, Verizon could have screwed up and pushed back the release date without updating this rebate sheet, so take it for what it's worth. Look towards the bottom on the left, the Palm Centro is the first one listed in the Palm category with a $70 rebate. Along with some other things, everything points to an early June release date.
http://www.palminfocenter.com/ss.asp?f=verizon-centro-rebate-form.jpg
Saw a dummy unit on saturday in a VZW store and it was the same navy blue in that pic.. When I asked about it they said it was definitely coming out.. it could be any time from today to sometime in the next 20 days.. so SOON
Now that the rumored "June 1st" release date has come and gone -- does anyone else out there think VZW is waiting til June 15 passes and the already published Centro rebate has expired? Just as I wouldn't be shocked to see VZW charge more that the $99 pricepoint that other carriers have priced the Centro, I also can see them changing their minds about that rebate, since the Centro is so in demand. Just a thought.
**impatiently waiting for the VZW Centro to combine my reviled (by me) RAZR and my Palm T|E**
The LG Decoy is being released by Verizon on June 16th, so I'm thinking that maybe they'll group the Centro in there with the Decoy on the 16th. I really wish that Verizon would just come out and say when its being released, though. This is getting pretty annoying.
corp. stores all have dummy units in.. some even claim to have received shipments of the phone but i'm not sure if that much is true..
most stores have been trained on the phone already..
it shouldn't be more than 2 weeks away.. but there's a chance for it to happen in the next few days.
I just called Verizon and they sold me September!
well what exactly did they tell you ? who did you call ?
somehow seems unlikely considering they appear to be gearing up for launch and how did they mysteriously come up with a date when you call but nothing for any of us?
idk...
@ Rah
I'm not the poster who was told "September," but a few months back *I* called Verizon's main customer service number, and they told me, re the Centro, that they "should have it by the end of the summer." Perhaps that's the canned answer the call center folks are told to give (seeing as they don't work at a physical store where the dummy units are already in-house.)
@ rem87062597
Re: "The LG Decoy is being released by Verizon on June 16th, so I'm thinking that maybe they'll group the Centro in there with the Decoy on the 16th."
When I saw VZW having a big "up to 50% off" sale on their smartphones, I thought maybe they'd release the Centro after that promotion was over. Kind of like Apple slashing the cost of the iPod to clear out the older stock right before releasing the brand new model.
As you can tell, I spend too much time trying to figure out/predict when the Verizon Centro is coming out. I swear, if it isn't out by 7/1, I'm switching to AT&T. I can't stand this waiting!
I have been waiting for the Verizon Centro like everyone else, and getting frustrated with their lack of a date. Well, I just got a call from my local Verizon sales rep stating they just got their release package and it is set for next Friday the 13th of June ! I will be on their doorstep that morning.
Thought y'all would like to know.
Gary
June 13th $269 with either a $70 rebate or $100 rebate, I've seen both listed. I just want to say that I predicted that it would be released June 16th earlier on this comment wall, I'm three days off, I'm closest, I win. How's that for competitive?
This is how I've read that the rebates work. The $70 rebate is a mail-in rebate. The $100 is an additional rebate you can get if you sign up for one of VZW's Unlimited Data Plans (it's an "Advanced Device Credit.") Not sure if that one is mail-in or instant.
I just confirmed with a VZW operator that the Centro will be released on Friday, June 13th. But she wasn't sure about what rebates if any will be available for the phone.
The phone will be $269.99, less my NE2 credit, the phone would be $169.99.
Does any know, or can they confirm whether there will be any rebates (mail in or instant), and whether the phone will qualify for the Advanced Device Credit?
I just returned from my local VZW store, Centro in hand! I dorked out, waiting out front before the store opened (just for a few minutes,) and I was the first Centro they sold.
The amazing thing is that I got it for $7, and I think that's just the tax. (Well, it was $107). I had a $100 NE2 instant credit, a $70 instant rebate, and I have the paperwork for a $100 mail-in rebate for the advanced device credit. I swear he gave me too many credits (I was expecting to spend $169) but when he said, "that's going to work out to $7" I wasn't going to correct him.