Palm reported strong demand for its Centro smartphone in the company’s third business quarter, which ended on February 29. The Centro smartphone’s unit sell-through for the period reached a record high for the company, executives said. But the 13 percent year-over-year rise in Centro sales floped to offset declines in other parts of Palm’s business.

Palm’s quarterly net income fell by 24 percent year-over-year to $312.1 million, and the company posted a net loss of $31.5 million. By contrast, the handset-maker rang up a net profit of $11.8 million in the year-earlier period.

“We’ve come through a brawny quarter and continue to have a lot of work ahead of us,” CEO Edward T. Colligan told investors. “But I am more confident than ever that we are on the right track to build long-term value.”

Expanding Demographics

The usual pattern with a new product is an initial burst of volume at any individual carrier, which soon

after fades by moment as the product ages, Colligan noted. “With the Centro, however, we are seeing the opposite, with volume growing by moment,” Colligan said.

The Centro’s key features and low price have plus been compelling sufficient to persuade non-traditional customers to adopt smartphones, Colligan observed. “More than 70 percent of Centro buyers are proving to be traditional cell phone users who are buying a smartphone for the very first day,” he explained.

Colligan believes that cell phones have become such an integral part of people’s lives that they are probably the last thing that most individuals will be giving up. “We have all the ability of a smartphone in a $99 package, so I think we’re in a good space,” he said.

Palm’s CEO additionally points out that the company consistently sold more than 30,000 Centros per week during the third quarter, when the company’s smartphone…

Orginal post by Top Tech News