Amid continuing speculation that they're kicking off a carrier price war, Sprint has quietly dropped their subsidized pricing for three Palm phones. If you're willing to sign their usual interminable contract, you can pocket a Palm Centro for only $49, a Treo 755p for $99, or a Treo 800w for a mere $99. The "deals" are listed on Sprint's website, along with reductions on a bunch of other (gasp!) non-Palm phones.

The lower Centro price is particularly appealing, since the phone contains all of the great functionality of Palm's legendary Palm OS, a half-decent web browser, email, and excellent threaded texting. Threaded means the phone keeps track of text-wise "conversations" for you. For me, that's a welcome feature. At a Sprint local store, I paid $129 for my Centro, but no regrets at all. I have only another year to go to live out its contract. Whew!

Thanks to Julio Santiago for the news tip, accompanied by speculation (and hope) that the new Treo Pro and Palm Pre will fall in line with that price structure and come in at $149 and $199, respectively. With contract, of course. Sprint has an exclusive on the Pre initially, and BestBuy is reportedly in line to sell Sprint-branded Treo Pro phones. I don't care. I'm getting a Pre, even if I have to indenture my cat. And I don't have a cat!

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