Centro is a digital media and technology services company founded in 2001, serving over 350 ad agencies world wide . The company’s recently launched platform Transis automates and centralizes the media buying and selling process across 10,000 national and local sites. Transis has already been adopted by more than 50 top ad agencies including Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Boelter + Lincoln and Burrell Communications Group.

This looks to be the first major funding round for decade old Centro; The company had also raised a much smaller $276,247 round back when it was called Intégrent, Inc.

Honestly, there is no way to confirm whether this is the phone that Michael Arrington’s source was talking about, but at least the form factor seems about right for a Pre-Mini and follows the company’s low-cost Centro styling. But then again, that pic could be the Lock Ness Monster herself, and we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Honestly, there is no way to confirm whether this is the phone that Michael Arrington’s source was talking about, but at least the form factor seems about right for a Pre-Mini and follows the company’s low-cost Centro styling. But then again, that pic could be the Lock Ness Monster herself, and we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Just in time for the holiday spending blitz, the Palm Centro is going to be available in two new colors! I know, it’s so exciting. Almost as much as new Apple notebooks. Anyway, these Sprint-branded Centro’s are going to retail for the same price as the current Onyx version $79 through January 10th with a two-year contract and comes with twice the RAM as the original - 128 MB – when they launch on October 19, 2008.

Do you have 17 minutes? Do you care about the Palm Centro? Well CNBC has a video for you. Thrill as Palm CEO Ed Colligan can basically say $99 and Centro for over 15 minutes straight while Jim Goldman of TechCheck throws him softballs.

Palm sold 2 million Centros so far. To put that into perspective, Apple sold 4 million iPhones. Nokia sold 2 million phones last night to some guy in the back of a van. RIM can buy and sell Ed Colligan.

Sure, the Centro is a cute phone. It’s got some great features for the price. Sadly, it’s simply keeping Palm on life-support. Like Motorola squeezing out new RAZRs and RAZR-alikes, Palm needs to put up or shut up. The low-end smartphone market will soon be taken over by Android and HTC and then where does that put the Centro?

Didn’t get an iPhone today? Run back to the AT&T to store to get your sore legs a Palm Centro for $70. Why? So you have something to jam up Steve Jobs’ rear when you see him.

Do any of the CG readers have a mobile phone that isn’t black? I’ve never really concerned myself with the color of my mobile phone, but I hope to snag a white iPhone 3G this Friday just to keep my elitist façade intact. Heh.

Anyway, Palm is obviously banking on the success of the Centro because they’ve just announced a new color for the AT&T lineup that already has a white and black model. I’m not sure I’d call this new shade electric blue since it looks more baby blue, but I’m certainly not doing the marketing for Palm, now am I? Look for it this Friday at AT&T retail stores along with some back to school promotion that couldn’t possibly make it any cheaper than it already is, but it sounds like it.

Keep it up, Palm, but see if you can’t up the cool factor on the Treos a little bit.

By now you’re all familiar with the Palm Centro, so I’ll save all of you from having to read through a list of specs again. Today, Palm announced that an unlocked GSM version of the dainty smartphone is available on the Palm site for $299. Available for free beginning tomorrow for Palm Centro owners is Google Maps for mobile with My Location, which basically approximates your location on the map when you fire it up.

Full release after the jump.

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jun 23, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that the popular Palm(R) Centro(TM) smartphone is now available unlocked for U.S. customers. Now offered on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless – the nation’s three largest carriers – and in an unlocked GSM version, Centro gives U.S. customers the ability to choose the mobile phone that’s right for them.(1) Palm also announced that Google(TM) Maps for mobile with My Location on Centro is available for Centro starting tomorrow, giving customers faster access to local maps and driving directions.(2)

The unlocked Palm Centro retains the smartphone’s compact, modern design and is dressed in a new white color with grey accents. Centro offers customers more choices to stay in touch with friends, family and co-workers by using voice, text messaging, email or the web. Also available in 25 countries worldwide, Centro is Palm’s smallest and lightest smartphone to date.

Google Maps for mobile with My Location makes it easier and faster for Centro customers to get mapping and direction information by approximating the user’s current location on the map. This saves time and keystrokes for people trying to find where they are, what’s around them, and how to get there.

In addition to My Location, Google Maps offers:

– Comprehensive information on traffic conditions in more than 30 U.S. major metropolitan areas, and partial information in many others;

– Detailed driving directions with traffic estimates to avoid congestions;

– One-touch recall of favorite locations and routes;

– Integrated search results for business locations, including directions and contact information;

– Ability to scan and drag maps using Centro’s touch screen for a PC-like experience; and

– Satellite and aerial views.

Pricing and Availability

The unlocked Centro smartphone is available online at http://www.palm.com/centro for $299.

Google Maps for mobile with My Location will be available tomorrow free of charge for Palm Centro smartphones at http://www.google.com/gmm. Please check the site for details on the download process and carrier availability.

The Centro

The Centro is Palm’s new low-end device, replacing the “p” series of Treo smartphones. Running Palm OS 5.4.9 Garnet, it’s compatible with thousands of add-on applications, but comes with enough built-in to be useful out of the box.

The Good Stuff

The 320×320 touchscreen is bright and clear, with little pixelization and a very accurate digitizer. That means you don’t miss what you’re aiming for often.

The full QWERTY keyboard has a good feel despite the small size, and is quite usable. You won’t be writing a novel with it, but it’s great for emails or text messaging. Speaking of texting, Palm’s unique threaded text messaging is intact, giving you an IM-like interface for texts.

Sadly there’s no integrated IM client as the AT&T model includes, but there are many third-party apps around to take care of that minor annoyance.

The customizable side button can be mapped to launch the application of your choice. I keep mine on “camera”, mostly because my friends are idiots and photogenic.

I’m glad to see Palm maintained the ringer mute switch at the top of the device, one of the favorite features of the original Treos.

Palm also included City ID, a neat service that tells you the city and state that a call’s coming from or going to.

Not so good

The device takes advantage of Verizon’s fast EV-DO network, though I would have liked to have seen it running on the faster r1 data network Verizon uses rather than the 1xEV-DO r0 network.

The keypad is possibly too tiny for some users. I have big fingers but I’m used to tiny QWERTYs, so I was okay, but other users might not have such an easy time.

The stylus, while adequate, has a cheap, flimsy feel to it. There are replacement styli out there, but the users this phone is marketed to likely wouldn’t know where to start.

The lack of applications is a little disappointing. The lack of IM messaging mentioned above is an annoyance, as is the lack of more than Sudoku or good video apps, and it’s a shame.

One other problem I noticed is that I can’t connected via SSL to a mail sever that uses a self-signed SSL cert. Palm has a tool to get around this on its website, but I couldn’t get it to work. If you have exchange or POP that uses a self-signing cert, don’t use Palm OS.

Conclusion

The Centro is Palm’s consumer smartphone, and in that regard, it’s really great. If you’re a power user or require a faster connection, look elsewhere.

There it is! The Palm Centro for Verizon is available now for $99 after a MIR. What a pain in the ass.

If it’s in the WSJ then it must be true! Was there any doubt that Verizon would try and sell the Centro for more than $99? They’d be shooting themselves in the foot if they did.

It was inevitable that Verizon would be getting the Palm Centro, but we just didn’t know when and now we do. The Centro is said to be launching on VZW this coming friday. Pricing is set at $269.99 with a 2-year contract. Wait. What? Even with the $70 MIR that’s $100 more than Sprint or AT&T. However, Verizon does have the Advanced Device Credit that slings back $100 for those subscribing to the Unlimited Data Plan, which would bring the cost of the device down to $100. If you’ve been waiting for this to hit Verizon, I’d keep my fingers crossed that this is the case.

Don’t look for Palm OS 2.0 to come to your Centro any time soon. Sure, Palm’s sold millions of the small smartphones, but it also has a perpetual license for the current Palm OS and will likely continue to use it for the consumer handsets.

Palm OS 2, as it’s unofficially called, will be geared towards a “prosumer” model of smartphone, something with more features than the Centro but not business specific, as the Windows Mobile Treos are. No word on the name for the new device, but we’re guessing a form factor somewhere around a Blackberry Curve with a touch screen, and we’ll likely see one before the end of the year.

I’ve been a fan of the Centro since it was leaked. I said it was the perfect gateway device, as it retains a phone-like form factor while granting smartphone functionality. And it’s easy for first timers to use. I love being right all the time.

Like the depths of my soul, the Palm Centro from AT&T now comes in obsidian black. While this won’t change the fact that this is a Palm Centro, it’s nice to know that you can now get a Centro in black or white (aka glacier) for $99.99.

I love me some Palm Centro, I think it’s the perfect first-time smartphone. Best Buy is having a killer deal on the AT&T flavor this weekend, offering the phone for $40 for new AT&T customers or $80 for existing ones. That’s hot. Go forth and upgrade, AT&T users, and rejoice!

The Palm Centro for AT&T is one of the better smartphones on the market today for first-time buyers, or so-called “casual smartphone users”. Its low price, familiar form factor and full QWERTY keyboard with touchscreen make it ideal for those who aren’t into navigating through messy menus — though it’s not for everyone.

The Centro

The Centro is Palm’s follow-up to the highly successful Treo 600 series of smartphones. Running the Palm OS, it’s an object-oriented interface with simple click-what-you-want icons that are familiar to any computer user.

The Good Stuff

The 320×320 touchscreen is bright and clear, with little pixelization and a very accurate digitizer. That means you don’t miss what you’re aiming for often.

The full QWERTY keyboard has a good feel despite the small size, and is quite usable. You won’t be writing a novel with it, but it’s great for emails or text messaging. Speaking of texting, Palm’s unique threaded text messaging is intact, giving you an IM-like interface for texts.

The included apps are many, and the built-in IM client is great, supporting AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN’s networks. The 1.3-Megapixel camera is adequate, though we would have liked to have seen a flash included.

The PTT feature works surprisingly well, but if it’s not your bag, you can remap the button to the application of your choice.

We were glad to see Palm maintained the ringer mute switch at the top of the device, one of our favorites.

Palm also included City ID, a neat service that tells you the city and state that a call’s coming from or going to.

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Not so good

For being a data-centric device, it’s slow. It’s not so much the processor, but rather the network. The Centro uses AT&T’s slower 2.5G EDGE network instead of the faster 3G network. That means for those looking for the best Web experience out there, this isn’t your device.

While the keyboard is usable for most people, this reviewers fat fingers sometimes found it hard to hit their mark. That being said, a little practice made it easier, but it might discourage first-time users.

The stylus, while adequate, has a cheap, flimsy feel to it. There are replacement styli out there, but the users this phone is marketed to likely wouldn’t know where to start.

The review unit’s navigation buttons were janky, for lack of a better word. They had to be pushed just so to make them engage. That being said, we’ve tested other Centros and didn’t have the problem, so we’re guessing it’s just a problem with this singular handset.

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Conclusion

The Centro is Palm’s consumer smartphone, and in that regard, it’s really great. If you’re a power user or require a faster connection, look elsewhere.

It fits nicely in the pocket, and is a good weight. Not heavy, but with enough to know it’s there. More after the jump, with many pics!

The screen is responsive and the buttons firm. The stylus is a bit light, flimsy, even, but it works. I’d recommend a replacement, though.

The contents of the box are sparse, the phone, a USB cable, the charger, software and manuals, and that’s it. Don’t look for headphones, memory cards or anything else fancy, this is a mass market smartphone.

I’ll be using it the next few days and will have more as soon as I’ve formulated my love/hate relationship well enough.

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More on the Centro [Palm]

Speaking of HD DVD, Palm’s Centro just dropped today on AT&T. It’s a sexy white Centro with a rough touchpad that is still running Palm OS. We saw this bugger back at CES and both Doug and I wished Palm had released something a little more “modern.”

Bonus: In this video we also learn that Dave Ciccone’s fingers are bigger than the standard fingers.

AT&T Palm Centro [MobilityToday]