WIndows Mobile Centro Knock-Off Spotted
Palm's surprisingly successful Centro smartphone has received its fair share of accolades and satisfied customers but has not earned the ultimate sign of industry respect by being deemed worthy of copying by Chinese handset manufacturers…until now. Engadget's semi-regular "Keepin' it Real Fake" series showcases clone, knockoff, and copycat electronics from the Far East. Their latest report spotlights a Chinese-manufactured and designed Windows Mobile Centro clone oddly wearing US-based OQO branding.
Almost more surprising than its actual existence is the solid feature set attached to this new Palm Centro-inspired device. If the listed specifications are correct, this smartphone sports a PXA310 CPU precisely twice as fast as Palm's Centro (634mhz vs. 312mhz), a higher-resolution 2 megapixel camera (vs. the Centro's 1.3mp), GPS, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional powering a 320x240 touchscreen, and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. In fact, one of the few areas where the Centro manages to eke out a win in the spec category is battery capacity, with 1150mAh li-ion battery to the G900's 1080mAh battery pack.
While the G9000 does look to be a physically larger device than the diminutive Centro, the indicated dimensions are essentially identical to those of the Centro. The G900's designers appear to have put the device's available space to good use with a larger, non-membrane keyboard with separate keys and what appears to be a semi-usable telescoping stylus. Additionally, the G900 employs a handful of additional buttons on the device body dedicated to power, camera & GPS functions. A 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and a dedicated reset button in the battery well are to be present, certainly to the chagrin of Palm Centro owners.
The device's manufacturer has a page here filled with photos and information about this curious handset that, despite being in Chinese, still makes for an interesting read. No word as of yet if this clone will ever see the light of day Stateside, though the unit is apparently available for order in China for Y2880.00.
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RE: that ain't no centro
This one looks to executive for the playground.
The last known classic PDA user.
I've recently upgraded from a Palm TX to a Newton MP2000!
http://newtonpda.googlepages.com
I still think it's more Centro-inspired
"Stacked" hard button arrangement? Centro
Identical dimensions all around to the Centro? Check
Rounded corners like the Centro? Check (Q is more square/boxy in shape & has more of a "chin")
Touchscreen like the Centro? Check. Moto Q is definitely not a touchscreen device!
Thumboard? I too thought it was Q-inspired but then Ryan commented that it's more like the Samsung Blackjack
The d-pad looks like some cross between HTC, Nokia & Motorola.
At any rate, those specs blow the Centro out of the water.
Palm should rebrand this sucker, give it a "smile" keyboard, and sell it as the Treo 580 (or whatever) as a stopgap solution between the Centro and Treo 850. Forget the 550/Wanda!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
Funny....
I know it would be unlicensed, but I'd like to see a non-palm pos device. Maybe...
http://tinyurl.com/2ooncg
RE: Funny....
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
Processor
Former POS user. Grudgingly converted to WM.
I'm DaCheez most other places...
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that ain't no centro
it's a Q, silly...
http://www.everythingq.com/images/motorola-q-accessory.jpg