The expectation that Palm would sell 2 million Centros in 2008 was a reasonable assumption with the $99 price point and availability in more than 25 countries. Unfortunately the world has grown tired of an aging Palm OS and eventually the financial struggles of Palm will return to the forefront of the media. The good news is that only a little over a month after Palm’s senior vice president of marketing, Brodie Keast, told the NY Times that they expected to sell 2 million Centros in 2008, the achievement was reached.
According to recent data released by Admob, the largest advertising network on the mobile web, the Palm Centro has jumped to number 8 on the list of mobile phones worldwide as of May 2008 and currently sits at number 7. This is what Admob had to say about the Palm Centro in their report,
Consumers are ready to do more on their mobile phone, and Centro has struck a chord around the world,” said Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. “Centro has everything a person needs to stay connected with everyone who is important to them — and at a price point and size that make smartphones more attractive to a much wider audience.”
Another interesting piece of information is that Palm has showed strong growth among smartphone manufacturers, ranking Number 2 in the US in mobile advertising reach and Number 3 worldwide. With all major US carriers, except T-mobile, offering the Palm Centro and the unlocked version being sold on Palm’s website the success of the Centro should continue. The big question now is whether the iPhone 3G will maintain its current pace to reach the 2 million units sold mark in 2008.
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