Comments on: Palm Centro Launched in Venezuela With Movistar

Why not mention the Centro features for a $99 phone? Were they just listing phones without listing the ones with carrier rebates?

Yes, the Centro is only $100 or less after numerous carrier subsidies, rebates, and (at least) a 2yr contract.

On top of that, the "hidden" data charges for the Centro can add up quickly, especially for users in countries without affordable unlimited data plans.

Finally, I think that any device with a touchscreen (especially a Palm Inc. product!) is ill-suited for in a developing or rural market due to the inherent fragility of the touchscreen. And let's not forget the Centro's atrocious battery life!

Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p

What a strange thing for a marketing site to say!

To be honest they had just copy and pasted a PC World article which said a few nice things as well as some not so nice, yet truthful things about the Centro.

PDA's Past and Present:
Palm TX (Number 2)
Palm - IIIxe, Vx, M500, M505, Tungsten T, TX
Handspring - Edge, Platinum, Deluxe
Sony - SJ22, UX50
Casio-EM500
Apple - MP110, MP2000, MP2100

Worst Case Scenario: IMO Palm paid off PC World (folks, get ready for a LOT of this going forward) and/or "leaned" on them to create this piece that sounds almost critical enough to be "believable" but ultimately arrives at the conclusion that Palm is still #1. Otherwise, they'd NEVER post an article like this verbatim on the blog.

Best Case Scenario: Giving PC World the benefit of the doubt, if anyone from Palm actually CARED (hah!) they'd have addressed at least one or two of the issues raised. It's a worrying sign when Palm's famous spin machine isn't even cranked up to provide a proper amount of propaganda & rah-rah PR fluff on the corporate blog.

So Palm's essentially telling us that, given the choice between a miniscule square screen and a large, bright, 320x480 screen....you're supposed to prefer the small one because it's less "touchy"? That's like decreeing us to take a 480i 13" CRT monitor over a 46" 1080P LCD because the CRT has more accurate color reproduction.

Hell, even a warmed-over "We are well positioned whichever way the market goes" from Mr. Loefler would have been better than nothing!

Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p

I'm thinking you are reading to much into this acticle.

He mention some good and bad points regarding Palm smartphones and also mention Centro's good value for the cost.

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In my opinion, Palm's smart phones still offer a strong mix of features, software, ease of use, and affordability.
People looking to buy their first smart phone or to replace their aging Treo or Windows Mobile Smartphone, might consider the Palm Centro. At $99 (with a two-year AT&T or Sprint contract), it's one of the best values in smart phones today. We gave the phone a PCW rating of 82 (very good).