Palm announced today that they have shipped their one-millionth Centro consumer-oriented smartphone.
“SUNNYVALE, Calif., Mar 31, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that it has sold its one-millionth Palm(R) Centro(TM) smartphone, demonstrating the $99 product’s mass appeal to customers ready to get all the power of a smartphone at the price of a traditional mobile phone.(1) Palm is now shipping Centro in 10 countries worldwide, including Hong Kong, Singapore, India, the UK, Germany, Spain, Ireland, France and Italy, and its already-rapid momentum is set to grow as Palm debuts the product in additional countries around the globe.
“The Palm Centro is flying off the shelves because users who want to step up to a smartphone see it as the perfect first choice,” said Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. “It has everything a person needs to stay organized and connected with everyone who is important to them. We’re very excited about the Centro’s near-instant popularity in the U.S. and think it’s going to be a huge hit as it continues to make its way across the globe.”
“Smartphones are certainly not new to business professionals; however, now more than ever we are seeing consumers migrate toward these types of devices as form factors have become more appealing and price points are now competing with traditional mobile phones,” said Ryan Reith, senior research analyst with IDC. “Palm’s Centro plays right into the hands of the consumer looking for a more robust experience on their mobile phone. We definitely expect to see this trend continue worldwide.””
By comparison, Palm sold their one-millionth Treo smartphone back in April of 2005, (the Treo 600, under the Handspring brand, began shipping in 2003) according to CNN Money.com.