Palm Launches The Centro in India

Palm has introduced the glacier white Palm Centro smartphone in India, with voice, text, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities, a full-color touch screen and full keyboard.

"The combination of keyboard, touch screen and Palm's trademark ease of use makes Centro intuitive and easy to use for staying in touch," said Olivier Rozay, Palm's regional director for Asia Pacific. "Consumers who are thinking about stepping up to a smartphone will find Centro the perfect first choice – it's rich in features but also comes in a small, cool design."

With a new compact design, Centro is the smallest and lightest Palm phone to date, comes with Palm OS by ACCESS, and offers all the organizer functionalities that Palm offers.

The Centro features a touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard, with key features such as one-touch speakerphone, conference calling and Bluetooth connectivity. It keeps all conversations in a chat-style view, just like Instant Messaging, so users can see the entire conversation unfold. Personal email, such as Gmail and Yahoo!, is simple to access right out of the box, while Microsoft Direct Push Technology gives users access to their corporate email.

In addition to usual smartphone capabilities, Centro is highly customizable with thousands of applications available.

The full keyboard and touch screen provide quick access to online information and allow users to directly feed their personal blogs. Pocket Tunes on Centro lets users "sideload" songs and manage music, audio books and videos easily. Users can also shoot pictures or videos with the built-in digital camera and share them with friends.

The Palm Centro smartphone is available now at a recommended retail price of Rs. 13,990 (inclusive of tax) and will be distributed through Brightstar Telecom India Pvt Ltd., the national distributor.

Centro will be available in IT retail stores in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune and Chandigarh.

BenQ Introduces V2400W Premium LCD

Ben has launched its V2400W "premium" LCD display with the claim that it's the world's slimmest 24-inch widescreen monitor. The V2400W, only 2.44-inches at its thickest point, is well equipped with a 4000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, full 1080p HD support, touch controls and sports an overall mirror-black finish.

The monitor combines "unexpected asymmetry and the aerodynamic curves of the B-2 stealth bomber" and is the first in a new "Kinergy" design range from BenQ.

Manfred Wang, director (Lifestyle Design Center) of BenQ, says, "The V2400W is inspired by the B2 stealth bomber, evoking a sense of mystery, awe, and the elite. In addition, the display's asymmetry exemplifies our new design philosophy."

The V2400W will be available at the end of March in China and Asia and available April in Europe and America.