Shortly after Palm announced the availability of the Centro in Europe, AT&T announced that it has begun selling the entry-level smartphone for $99.99. The Centro first launched with Sprint in the United States. AT&T says the Centro is the first Palm OS product to launch with AT&T services, such as XM Radio Mobile, Push to Talk and MusicID.
The smallest and lightest Palm product to date, the Centro will be available from AT&T immediately in “glacier white” with green keypad accents, and, in approximately one month, AT&T will debut a second color, “obsidian black.”
“The demand for crossover devices is skyrocketing, and the Centro hits a sweet spot for many customers looking for a QWERTY device with a solid suite of messaging and multimedia features,” said Michael Woodward, vice president of Business Mobility Products for AT&T’s wireless unit, in a statement. “At a great price that can be coupled with a variety of AT&T’s messaging and data options, we are thrilled to offer Centro to our 70.1 million customers.”
With the current economic climate, wireless operators face shrinking marketing budgets and reduced consumer spending.
Globally, the credit crunch is very much alive, and operators will be tightening their belts into the foreseeable future by putting off capital purchases.
