Palm Centro hits the UK at £199

I know there’s a lot of Palm devotees reading so I’ve reproduced the announcement here:

Palm Europe Ltd. is pleased to announce that the Palm® Centroâ„¢, the smallest and lightest Palm smartphone to date will be coming to Europe at the end of February.

Centro is designed for individuals and traditional mobile phone users looking to manage their busy lives. It has email, web, contact and calendar capabilities, a full-colour touch screen and full keyboard.(1) Running the Palm OS®, it offers Palm’s renowned organiser functionality, including a detailed and integrated Contacts list. Centro will be available in black onyx.

‘We are excited about bringing Centro to Europe. Its small size — which incorporates a full keyboard, making text and email easy – is just one of the reasons that traditional mobile phone users are being persuaded to move to smartphones,” said Roy Bedlow, vice president, Palm EMEA. ‘People want more functionality from their phones, and Centro delivers all the vital communication and organisation needs without compromising on design.”

I thought it’d be running Windows Mobile but… no! Palm OS all the way. Very interesting. I’ll need to take a look at this one and see how it works.

The Centro’s key features:

• All-in-one phone and messaging device(1)
• Small and light, weighing just over 4 oz.
• Full keyboard and a colour touch screen
• Text messaging with a chat-style view(1)
• Ability to store names, numbers, appointments, notes and to-do’s
• Access to wireless email accounts, such as Gmail and Yahoo!(1)
• Web browsing capabilities, for visiting sites such as MySpace and Yahoo!
• Google Maps for maps and directions(2)
• 1.3-megapixel digital camera with video capture
• Easy-to-use Palm OS software
• Ability to play music with PocketTunes
• Ability to create, edit and view native Word and Excel® compatible files
• Ability to view native PowerPoint® and PDF documents
• Microsoft Direct Push Technology for delivery of Outlook® email, as well as personal email, such as Gmail and Yahoo!(1)
• Bluetooth® 1.2 for connecting wirelessly with compatible headsets and car kits
• 64MB dedicated user storage with support for up to 4GB microSD cards(3)
• Thousands of add-on applications available
• Ability to use Centro as a modem for connecting a laptop to the Internet via Bluetooth

It can be yours for £199… more information at www.palm.com/uk/centro.

Here’s a pic of the device running Google Maps: