Palm Centro drops to $70 on iPhone day

Palm in tandem with AT&T today sought to draw some attention from the iPhone 3G launch with a promotional price drop on the Centro, bringing the cost of the already budget smartphone down to $70 with a two-year plan from its original $100. The cut accompanies the launch of the promised Electric Blue version of the device and is officially targeted at back-to-school buyers looking for their first smartphones.

The phone itself continues to shrink the Treo design without sacrificing most features, and includes a 320x320 touchscreen, a 1.3-megapixel camera, microSD for storage, and EDGE data. AT&T applies the discount to the Centro in all three colors and plans to end the discount on September 20th. Palm hasn't indicated whether the cut may become more permanent for AT&T or whether it will spread to Sprint or Verizon, both of whom are still charging the full $100 price.