Palm Centro

I converted from treo to a centro. The centro is the most annoying phone I have ever had. Problems include a too small keyboard, annoying tendencies to reset itself, but most of all it's annoying because… it's slow and inconsistent. The stupidest example of this is the unlock. You're supposed to press red button, center button to unlock. But it's so slow to bring up the box that says "press center button to unlock" that you can press keys that get acted on BEFORE the unlock screen comes up. And you can't just press red, center quickly, because it throws away the center key press if you do it too soon. And If you press the keys too fast, sometimes the keystrokes get lost, but other times you'll think it hasn't registered the keypress (the phone will lock up temporarily, and miss keystrokes), so you press it again, nothing, again. And then the whole series of keystrokes will play back - perhaps hanging up your call. This happens with screen input, too. If it only lost keystrokes, or was consistent about whether it kept or dropped buffered keystrokes, you could adapt, but since it makes you guess, it's really annoying. It also hangs up when you plug in the headset sometimes, so you have to plug in the headset first, or do without. I can't wait to replace this phone.

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When I moved to an area with horrific Verizon reception, I started researching different plans and phones. After MUCH research, my fiance and I decided that Sprint's family plan would end up being our best… choice. I knew that I wanted a smartphone, but couldn't see paying $30/month just to OWN the iPhone. I walked into the Sprint store and told the saleswoman that I wanted a phone that would act as a PDA that I didn't have to have a data plan for. She told me I needed a Palm Centro...she was right. I've had my Palm for about a week, and I seriously wonder how I lived without it. Of course there's a learning curve with every new phone, but I had most of it figured out on day 2. Some of the best features include: touch screen, calendar app, pTunes, QWERTY keyboard, messaging/chat, ability to add apps (including TaskLauncher which causes the interface to look like the iPhone), microSD card, and Sprint reception. This phone helps keeps me organized and allows me to store documents. Syncing the phone and to my PC is a breeze. Acknowledgement of shortcomings: Let me say that I am a 26 year-old, high school teacher. I do not use this phone for business, if I did, it's possible that my review would be different. For my purposes, though, it is perfect. I am able to keep my appointments and to do list straight, and read/edit documents. I will most likely add the data plan because, while the phone functions fine without it, there are many features that are available only with the data plan (including picture messaging). Yes, the keyboard is small. However, the size of the phone is worth it. I am able to easily put this phone in my jeans pocket without being uncomfortable or having an unsightly bulge. If you're new to the smartphone world, this phone does all you need it to at a price that's reasonable.

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I have the Palm Centro for Verizon. I did about two months worth of research into this phone vs the Blackberry, or the Verizon wireless special. I really thought I had this down, even went into the… Verizon store and had all three to use, hold, play with, get used to -- and I probably drove the sales staff nuts. Bottom line, this is so not the PDA phone for me. Half the time the touch screen is very unser unfriendly, I spent time each day resetting the touch screen and stylus. Phone speaker is non existent, it is difficult to hear a caller the does not sound 'fuzzy' and or distorted. Yes I adjusted the volume. Yes I took the tutorials on getting around this PDA. I even called Verizon looking for assistance and was pretty much told, "look if you cannot operate the phone ( it's a PDA) you need to take it back and get something else like the Blackberry". I was extremely disappointed to find out even thugh there are a TON of apps on the phone, that I would have to go and DOWNLOAD the apps to make them run on the PDA. Further the battery is quite weak and drained to less than a quarter cell by the end of a 12 hour work and travel day. Some folks will like this phone, and find it very useful, and will have great success. I cannot see putting up with this for two years.

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As of March 2009, I think Palm Centro is one of the best smartphones available. The style is simple, unadorned and functional a.k.a. Google style but not stylish, fun & glamorous like iPhone & Mac. Having… used 3 Windows Mobile phones, iPhone, Balckberry Storm, Palm Treo 755p & Nokia E51, I think Centro is closest to the ideal smartphone but Sprint network does not hold water to Verizon Wirelss network in reliability. 1. Clear sound. Solid, reliable phone. 2. Reasonable size & weight (119 gms) and is pocketable and you have to carry phone with you all the time. But there is scope for improvement, it could be lighter and thinner. Ideal weight for a phone is less than 100 gms. 3. Top-notch contact, calendar and memos management. 4. Brisk, peppy response and rarely locks up or freezes. 5. A-one Microsoft office document functionality with Documents-to-Go. 6. Good QWERTY keyboard. 7. Fairly decent availability of applications. 8. Functions well as a tethered modem with cable and speed in 800-900 Kbs range on Verizon Wireless network. 10.Synchronizes calendar, contacts and memos with Macbook. 11.Good SMS function: threads messages. But Centro is not without flaws: the default OK button is on Voicemail and dials Voicemail unintentionally. I have not been able to sync over Bluetooth or use Bluetooth modem. Web browser is fast for mobile sites but otherwise barely functional - Internet is available but browsing is not enjoyable like on iPhone. Instead of micro-USB or mini-USB, it uses proprietary cable which is hard to take out. Camera is bare minimum at 1.3 Megapixels and music function is basic with 2.5 mm audio jack. Font size is small and has to be individually adjusted in each application. Here is my Gestalt on smartphones. 1. iPhone is the best MP3, video and multimedia player, has the best user interface and mobile browser experience but is abysmal as a phone in comparison to Verizon Centro. AT&T has poor network signal and coverage, the calls drop all the time and sound on iPhone is average. 2. Blackberry Storm has a gorgeous screen and excellent email device but has very buggy software and constantly freezes. Blackberries shine when it comes to email. 3. Windows Mobile phones are horrendous: packed with features that don't work and smartphone operating system is the most unreliable. 4. Symbian based Nokia phones are fairly decent smartphones but their availability on US cellular carriers is very limited. Verizon Wireless, the best network in US, has none. In my experience Palm operating system is one of the most trusty and functional smartphone operating systems. Centro is supposedly the last in the Palm lineage phones. I would recommend it if you need a solid, trustworthy smartphone, but on Verizon, not on Sprint.

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I really enjoy this phone because of all the features you get. While I do not use it to its capasity, it is stiil a dream. The callender is always available and easy to enter items in with lots of fields… to enter (or not). The camera is high quality and worthy of printing that rivals other point and shhot cameras. The only thing I did not like was that if you wanted to use the mini SD card, you had to go to the internet to initialize it. Since I do not have access, it makes it difficult, but if I ever get access, I am sure this will not be a problem. This is truely a wonderful phone and pda and I am sure will find it easy and a joy to work with. Enjoy.

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