Palm Centro Review

By: Christopher Meinck

The Palm Centro smartphone represents Palm's smallest and lightest smartphone to date. In addition to a new form factor, this new smartphone also carries a new name, "Centro". Palm's reasoning behind the new naming convention is the Palm Centro is "central to everything in your life". In reality, Palm is looking to capture a new audience who may have associated the Treo brand with being too "clunky" or business-like. Either way, it's hard to deny the Centro's strong ties to the Treo smartphone and that's not such a bad thing.

Designed for the CEO of the household or the young executive, the Centro features an entirely new form factor at an entirely new price point. Billed as $99.99, the new Palm Centro comes in under $100 as you'll see advertised in various marketing channels. This price is dependant upon signing a 2-year agreement and a supporting $25 data plan. Compared with Verizon and AT&T, Sprint's data pricing is still relatively cheap compared to the competition. If you are new to smartphones, then don't let the requirement of data disuade you from considering the Centro. Any smartphone would require a data plan and it's necessary to get the most from a smartphone. Data is required for web, instant messaging and email - basically all the good stuff you'd expect from a capable smartphone.

Centro Certainly Pocketable
The Centro may not be as thin as other smartphones such as the Moto Q, but it is most definitely smaller. The Centro is flat out pocketable and it's best friend might be the front pocket of your favorite jeans. It also feels light and this can be partially attributed to the smaller battery and plastic shell casing. Carryovers from the Treo smartphone include the ringer switch at the top of the phone allowing you to easily switch the ringer to vibrate mode and vice versa. The buttons on the front of the Centro have the familiar Power/End Call and Answer Call buttons. Neslted in the middle of the device are buttons for Phone, Calendar, Email/Messaging and Home (Applications). The 5-way navigator is a departure from previous designs. The rim that allows for 4-way selection appears to be too thin, but I had no issue navigating as it's actually raised from the center button. Suprisingly, the center button despite being larger than the previous Treo buttons, is a bit more difficult to use. I found that due to it being recessed, I sometimes hit the rim of the 4-way selector. The silver panel across the center of the device allows for navigating the Centro along application selection and answering calls. The panel does not provide the same tactile feel found on the Treo. In the real world, this had very little impact on my usability, but worth noting as something Palm's product design group might want to tackle with future hardware modifications.

What About The Centro Keyboard?

Where the panel lacks tactile reinforcement, the keyboard certainly makes up for it. Palm uses what is called "sheet key technology". What that means to the average user is that Palm has found a way to put a miniscule, yet fully functional keyboard onto a very small form factor. I've mentioned tactile responsiveness often and it's because I feel it's important to the successful implementation of a QWERTY keyboard. The Centro keyboard is responsive and that makes typing much easier, faster and will result in less typos. I was able to type at a fairly brisk pace, with very few errors. Given my history with the Treo, when conducting my review, I was probably more focused on the keyboard than other features of the Centro. The keyboard is certainly not without it's faults. The keys feel cramped and you'll noticed very little extension of your thumbs while typing on the Centro. On Treo smartphones, there is certainly more movement of your thumbs. That in mind, I'd be hesistant to say the keyboard is a deal breaker. If you are new to smartphones, the Centro keyboard will be a major upgrade when compared to standard 12-key wireless phone. If you are a Treo user considering the move to Centro, then it would certainly depend on your usage patterns and quite honestly the size of your hands. In making a small device, there are trade-offs that are unavoidable and the Centro keyboard is one. Thankfully, Palm has done a great job squeezing in a very responsive, tactile keyboard that is quite good onto a super small smartphone.

Centro Design
This is not your father's Treo, or at least not yet. Palm's peppy taglines speak of happy hours and in general "good times". The Centro ushers in this new era of Palm smartphones in two splashy colors. Ruby Red and Black Onyx are glossy colors that are accented with a touch of sparkle. The colors look as if they were inspired by a classic 50's diner. Even the device itself has a sort of retro feel to it. The design, while new, is certainly not something you'd see from Jonathon Ives. If this device were twice the size, you could make a case it was an old Handspring design that never left the drawing board until now. With the glossy finish comes a slick finish. While the trend in smartphones had shifted to rubberized coatings, Palm has bucked the trend with the Centro. According to Palm's product manager for the Centro, he reasoning behind this decision was to make the Centro "pocketable" and it certainly hits the mark. In addition to being pocketable, the Centro is a joy to hold. Pardon the pun, but the Centro fits nicely in the palm of your hand. Grabbing my keys, wallet and Centro didn't weigh me down at all.
Accessorizing the Centro

Those considering the Centro as an upgrade from the Treo will find that "most" of their accessories will work with the Centro. It features the Athena multi-connector allowing you to use your existing Treo chargers and hot sync cables. The device uses microSD, so you will not be able to utilize your existing memory expansion cards. Those planning on utilizing the Centro as a multimedia device will want to invest in a microSD, as opposed to storing your media on the device. The Centro supports microSD cards up to 4GB. Accessing the card slot required the removal of the battery door, which is a bit tricky with the glossy surface. On a positive note, this will prevent you from accidental loss of your memory card.

To keep costs down, Palm did not include a wired headset. For most, your existing Bluetooth headset will make you forget about the omission. Other cost cutters include the flimsy stylus. There are times when you will need to use a stylus to select onscreen icons when surfing the web or using other applications on the Centro. The included stylus, in all it's bright red glory, is certainly usuable but bends too easily. When accessorizing your Palm Centro, include a few dollars for an upgrade to your Centro stylus. Both the Treo 650 and Treo 700 series styli do not fit the Centro.

Battery life was surprisingly good during my testing period. I deliberately failed to charge my Centro each night and it lasted a few days of moderate calls, web surfing, IM and Sprint TV. Your mileage will vary, but overall battery life was more than sufficient for my needs. Power users will have to wait for extended battery solutions that will invarably become available in the next few weeks or months ahead.

Software Shines In Small Package
It's very appropriate that the title of this site is Everything Centro, as you can do most everything on the Centro. The software bundle is robust and almost identical to what's included on Palm's flagship model, the more expensive Treo 755p. The Palm OS is certainly showing its age, but this has allowed a certain refinement of the OS not found in other smartphones. When making a smartphone purchased, you'll be hard pressed to find this compliment of features and most certainly cannot be had at under $100.
Threaded SMS offers chat-style text messaging
Included Docs To Go allows document editing/reading of Microsoft Office documents
IM application provides integration of AIM, Messenger and Yahoo allowing you to be logged into all three services at once
Phone application offers feature allowing you to "Ignore with text", so if you are unable to take a call you can respond with a text message.
Streaming live TV using SprintTV (data plan required). Some minor buffering issues, but good quality picture is excellent "time killer". Expect to pay extra for assorted channels that are not included.
Full version of PocketTunes which is arguably the best MP3 player for the Palm OS
GoogleMaps
Sodoku
Voice Memo

Of course in addition to these apps, the Centro also offers an email client and web browser. While the web browser is fast, it is the "mobile web". To date, the only mobile device to offer a desktop like web experience has been the iPhone. Still, for access to sports scores, news and more, the web browser will offer fast and easy access. As long as you don't expect the "full version" of a website, you will not be disappointed.

With age, comes applications. There are thousands of available applications that extend the capabilities of the Centro. Most are available as free trial software, allowing you to try before you buy. In addition, there are plenty of free software applications for the Centro and this is certainly one of the advantages of an open platform.

Overall
While the Palm Centro probably will not win any smartphone beauty contests, the true beauty of the device lies in its size and feature-set. Palm has repacked their "smartphone experience" in a truly pocketable device. When the Treo is working late, the Centro is at happy hour and that's exactly where Palm hopes it's next generation of customers lie. While the Centro certainly evokes memories of the Treo, the new form factor is a distinct departure. If you are an existing Treo owner, the trade-off is simple. The Centro offers a similar experience in bite-size format, but expect some minor frustrations with the keyboard during extended typing sessions. If this is your first smartphone, you'll find the full QWERTY keyboard to be a major upgrade from a 12-key cellphone and the small form factor to be an extremely palatable solution. While some Treo accessories will work, existing Treo owners and new Palm users should expect to add costs for various accessories including case, replacement stylus and microSD memory expansion card. With a robust software package, new pocketable design and aggressive price point of $99.95, Palm's Centro smartphone represents an excellent value for first time smartphone buyers.

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