With the announcement of the Palm Centro -a $99 entry-level smartphone - young professionals and tech-savvy youth areanxiously awaiting its release. Andwhile it may not have the broader appeal that an iPhone does, it still sports somenice features that will attract the majority of consumers on a budget.

But in an industry where "pricemaintenance" is a term that is coined by professionals and consumers, alike,has Apple missed the boat by not offering a stripped down iPhone that couldcompete with the Centro on price and features?

Apple's missed opportunity?

Regardless of its price, the Palm Centro ismore than capable to bring any consumer into the world of smartphones. With the ability to browse the Web, send andreceive e-mails, and maintain your busy schedule on its built-in calendarfunction, the device can easily compete with the likes of Apple.

Even better, it sports a touchscreen andfull-sized keyboard - two features Apple has been touting ever since theiPhone's announcement.

With such a robust device being offered forpractically nothing when compared to other smartphones in the market, what'sthe impetus for people to save up and buy an iPhone?

I've owned the iPhone since its release inthe United States, and while it's certainly the best smartphone I have everused, it's expensive and it's missing some of the features you can expect from theCentro - i.e. video capture and chat.

The iPhone is too expensive

But the main issue facing the iPhone is itsprice. Regardless of its hype andconsumer love for the revolutionary device, it's expensive. If you're not obsessed with having an iPhone,why would you spend four times as much for a device that can do only some ofthe things the Centro can?

Now, before you cry foul, I know the iPhonecan do a whole slew of things the Centro can't. But do any of those featuresjustify spending that much more money?

Prior to the iPhone's announcement, a $99smartphone would have precipitated a string of events that would have led tounprecedented hype. But in reality, theiPhone was released and the spectre of going back to the days of mechanicalkeys is just too much for some to handle.

In effect, the iPhone has made every other device on the market lookoutdated and ugly.

We need a range of iPhones

But perhaps what Palm was quick to graspand Apple failed to realize was that consumers want functionality at a lowprice. If Apple released a $99 iPhonethat was only capable of sending and receiving e-mails, as well as browsing theWeb, we wouldn't be having this discussion - the Centro would have never beenreleased.

Apple went out on a limb with the iPhoneand released a device that sells at a premium. So far, the company has been successful in its strategy and other cellphone manufacturers have been forced to find creative ways to sell phones --Palm has done that.

But if Apple had a bit more experience inthis business and realized that it could single-handedly control the mobilephone market by selling a stripped-down iPhone, Palm, Nokia and the restwouldn't have been able to compete.

You missed the boat, Apple -- you couldhave been alone atop the industry. Instead, you're forced to fight it out against low-cost alternatives. Only this time, you may not be able to winso handily.