Customer Reviews

Palm Centro Phone, Onyx Black (Sprint)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

What soooo many reviewers (professional and amateur) seem to fail to realize or even note is that EVERY phone has a compromise if you want something in return. If you want a smaller phone, then there is 100% chance that the battery will be smaller and not last as long as a bigger phone using the same technology with a bigger battery. If you want a smaller phone AND qwerty keyboard, you are going to get a cramped keyboard. No way around that fact. Let's face it, no one who is serious about having an actual PHONE is going to put up with those huge and bulky HTC slide out phones in their pockets. And the hip holster people are just not living in the same world as most people. First, they are bulky as all get out. Second, you need two hands to use the keyboard....which is still small. If you want a comfy keyboard, buy a laptop. But you can't carry around a bulky phone and call yourself serious about having a PDA phone. The only phones on the market right now that meet an acceptable size requirement (and have a keyboard) are the Dash, BB Curve, BB 8800, BB Pearl, Q, BlackJack, and the Centro. I have used them ALL. They all have downsides.

As for the Centro, the may downside is this: The Palm OS does not allow multi-tasking. That is it, folks! You don't need Wi-fi on your phone. What is the point if you are paying for a data plan anyway? The only thing that is cool about wi-fi is T-mobile's BB 8320 that can make calls for free (well, $9 more a month for home service) over wi-fi. Now, THAT is a reason to need/want wi-fi!

The Palm OS, as out-dated as it may seem, still kicks the snot out of BB and Windows. It is far more intuitive. Hey, folks, the Windows smartphone OS is not much different than it was 5 years ago either..even with the recent version 6 that came out this year. Until Windows 6, you couldn't even edit a document or write a note or cut and paste on most phones. So, why bash Palm OS when it has had that functionality for years?? Bash Palm because it still does those things? The Palm is an OS that requires that the device has touch screen. Is that a bad thing?

The Centro phone beats the 755p and the 680 and the 690 for one reason: It is smaller. I mean, this phone feels great in your hand. The only other phones that feel this good are the Dash and the maybe the BB Pearl (and the none-qwerty keyboard on the Pearl is deal-killer for most people). The BB Curve has a nice rubbery backside, like the Dash. If the Centro had that rubbery plastic back and sides, it would be much better.

Everyone keeps referring to this phone as a "first time" or "entry level" pda. That is silly. It is no more "first time" or entry level than a 755p. The Centro does EVERYTHING any other Palm OS phone does and it is smaller to boot. And I happen to think smaller is a plus not a minus. Everything is still very usable. Sure, the keyboard is cramped. But, I'll take that compromise to get a smaller overall footprint. The iPhone may be thin, but it is still too large to put in your front pocket and sit down with. The Centro, the Dash, Curve, and Pearl can do that very well.

Email: Everyone raves about the BB's email. What is so great about it? Sprint's Email and T-mobile's email (and others, I'm sure) can do the whole "push" thing just as well as BB. And, with BB (depending on your provider) you are going to pay another $40 per month for that push service, compared to $15 for the exact same thing using this Centro with Sprint.

Camera: OK, a 1.3meg camera was silly. Why, in October 2007, come out with a 1.3meg camera on ANY phone. Centro losses points here for sure. BB's Curve is a 2.0 and takes great phones consider it is a camera phone AND it has a flash. Love that flash! And it is a true flash, not this poser-flash stuff you see on the HTC products. But BBs have no video. That is very lame of BB because camcorder stuff gets used a lot by folks with camera-phones. Where would YouTube be without at least a cheap camcorder? Centro should have a 2.0 or 3.0 meg camera AND a flash. Now that would make it even more appealing to folks. And no way would it drive up the cost that very much.

BTW: I have owned a Dash (liked the phone, horrible volume interface--deal killer, and silly HTC mini-USB headphone thing), HTC 8525 (too big), BB Curve (hated BB interface and horrible web surfing--web surfing was a deal-killer), some older Palm phones, and now I own the Centro.

Bottom-line is the Centro feels like a great phone and has a slightly updated format. I would really like multi-tasking (BB's do this well), but if you absolutely need this then you should just get a laptop. The Web surfing is as good as it gets (other the iPhone), especially with Opera Mini loaded. When you factor all the pros and cons of the OTHER phones out there, you realize that the Centro is the best Palm phone around to date. And if you don't mind not have multi-tasking, then Palm is still the best OS out there.

BTW 2: Palm is finally going to get rid of its proprietary connectors and just go with the mini-USB connector. This is a great move. Too bad the Centro does not have that. But the Treo 500v does.

The Palm Centro is one of the very few smartphones that can fit in your pocket and still deliver quality power features. However, it has a few minor drawbacks.

SCREEN
I've owned a Palm IIIxe, Palm Tungsten C, iPAQ rx4240 and have test driven an iPhone, Blackjack II and Moto Q, and a couple Blackberry models. The Palm Centro is probably the smallest screen of them all save the Blackberry Pearl. However, the Centro offers 320 x 320 resolution which is higher than most Windows Mobile smartphones and PDAs out there. The result is a small, but crisp display with adjustable font sizes for most applications. I found the touchscreen to be about as sensitive as other Palm devices in the past, which is to say it's fine (see stylus comments below). The screen is slightly recessed into the phone which I find to be necessary so I don't hit the screen with my fat face while talking on it.

KEYBOARD AND BUTTONS
Have you seen this thing? The keyboard is small. And you know what? I'm glad it is. The Moto Q, Blackjack and Curve, etc might fit in the front pocket of your tight jeans, but it's not comfortable. The Centro passes my "jeans test" by sliding into my front pocket while letting me sit and stand with no problem. As a result, you get a smaller screen and a smaller keyboard. The Blackberry Pearl is the about the same size as the Centro, but it doubles up two letters per key button. Personally, I hate that. The Centro scores huge points for giving me dedicated keys for each letter on a small phone that fits in my pocket. It took me a day to adjust to typing with my fingernails, and I have large hands. But I can easily type with two thumbs or one--something that I can't do on my Palm Tungsten C or the Moto Q. Therefore, Centro is an outstanding one- or two-handed phone. The 5-way directional key also works better than i thought it would. After moderate use I find myself actually liking it a lot. The remaining buttons work just fine and can be assigned to whatever you want, including the side button below the volume keys. The dedicated ringer-off slider on the top is a very welcome bonus.

SOFTWARE
The Centro comes with a great suite of software preloaded onto the phone. The two email programs work very well with POP3 and IMAP email accounts, although I prefer the VersaMail over Sprint Mobile Mail. I've also been somewhat partial to the Palm Organizer over MS Outlook. It also comes with Documents To Go, which lets you open and edit Word and Excel files and lets you view PowerPoint and pdf files. There's a free download available to upgrade Docs To Go so you can open Office 2007 files and it gives you some basic Power Point editing abilities. The GoogleMaps and IM software are nice and work very well. The entertainment package of pTunes, Sudoku and Solitaire are nice and work ok, however I found that Sprint TV had some problems syncing up audio and video. The video seemed a step behind. But I loaded SlingPlayer for Palm OS on it and the Centro works great for watching pocket-sized TV in conjunction with a Slingbox.

The Palm OS gets knocks for being outdated, however, it works very well and is simple to use. Plus it's alot snappier than Windows Mobile. It doesn't really multitask, although some programs like IM let you sign onto an AOL, MSN, or Yahoo account and still receive messages after you've backed out of the program. The Centro syncs easily with Vista and XP, but I haven't tried it on a Mac. The other benefit is that there is a plethora for Palm software apps out there, both free and for purchase.

The web browser is just ok. I find that it loads pages much quicker than Internet Explorer on Win Mobile devices. Unfortunately it's not quite as good as Opera Mobile, and definitely not as good as the iPhone's Safari (to date nothing is...not even close).

PHONE/VOICE
I've been on US Cellular and Cingular/AT&T networks for years and never used Sprint. Sprint service is fine in my area, and the voice quality of the phone is nice. The earpiece volume can be raised to high levels when in noisy areas and people on the other end said my mic has no problems and sounds like any cell phone. The Centro syncs well with my Plantronics 640 bluetooth headset and people on the other end say I sound great with it. After 3 weeks, I haven't been able to complain about the phone or data signal. The addition of a WiFi radio would have been nice, but so far I haven't really missed it because of the high speed EV-DO network touted by Sprint.

CAMERA
It's a 1.3 megapixel camera, which is pretty weak by 2007/2008 standards. There is also no flash. The camera actually takes decent pics, though. I never even consider the camera on the phone when I buy it, but if it's really important to you, you probably want at least a 2 megapixel one with a flash...so maybe pass the Centro on by.

PROBLEMS AND SHORTCOMINGS
There are a couple things that annoy me about this phone and keep it from a full 5 star rating. First, the stupid Palm connector at the bottom. I've always hated the Palm connectors. Why the company can't switch to mini-USB like the rest of the world is a mystery to me. The jack isn't the easiest to pull out, it's big, and I have to buy all new car chargers for it. Also, there's no cradle. My previous Palm devices have a cradle and I miss it, although this is cheaply remedied with some poking around the internet. The stylus is also very thin, lightweight, and cheap. As a result it's doesn't provide enough tactile feel and weight to effectively use the touchscreen. I had to purchase a replacement metal stylus to bring the touchscreen use up to par. Again, a cheap fix, just a little annoying. Even with these shortcomings I would still be inclined to give the Centro 5-stars except for:

The battery cover. Ugh, the manifestation of evil itself! You have to take the battery cover off to remove the SD micro card. You also have to take the batter cover off to reset the unit. Now, I've only had one system crash in the first 3 weeks, but that was because I was trying to load some really old AOL software that wasn't designed for this Palm OS version--and I paid the price. The cover isn't the worst thing to get off, but putting it back on sure is. I've kind of gotten the hang of it, but man, total loss of a star because of it. There is no inset reset button on the back of this phone like other Palm devices of yesteryear. Having one of these small reset buttons in the back could have made me somewhat overlook the battery cover. Bummer. Palm, what were you thinking?

OVERALL
If you want a QWERTY smartphone but don't want to lug around a bulky unit your choices right now are either this or the Pearl. And the Pearl does the whole two-letters-on-one-keypad set-up. If these features are important to you, then the Centro is your choice. Don't worry, it's internal abilities don't disappoint. The Centro is great for text messaging, writing quick emails, doing some casual web browsing, and reading through Office files. However, if you want a better camera, or do HEAVY smartphone typing then I would look to a fatter smartphone that has a bigger screen and more spaced out thumbkeys. But in a world where size matters...the compact Centro delivers amazingly well. I've been very happy with my purchase. Now can somebody help me get this battery cover back on?

(P.S. If you found this review helpful please click yes below so other prospective shoppers will read it. I place a lot of weight on amazon reviews before I make a purchase too. Thanks!)

I'm a busy doctor, and I was getting tired of carrying a cell phone, Palm Pilot, and pager. All my medical programs and notes are on my Palm, so I didn't want to switch to Windows handheld. Treos were a little too big. After all, "dangit Jim, I'm a doctor not a Best Buy salesman!"

Then the Palm Centro "for kids" came out, with full Treo features in a small spiffy package. Hmmm.... THEN it made the front of Consumer Reports magazine this month, and a good review there. AND, Sprint has a 30-day money back guarantee. WOW. My new Centro arrived Friday, and I've loaded up all my good old Palm medical programs and notes on various conditions, and calendar, etc. Up and running no sweat. Incredibly clear screen, easy to read even for my middle-aged eyes. Great reception and call quality in our rural area of Wisconsin, with only a few spots between hills when I'm driving from hospital to clinic where it loses parts of words, but doesn't drop the call. My pager will be turned off and in at the end of the month, and now instead of carrying 3 gadgets to work with, I only need one. My old cell phone is now in the truck for my wife, who always forgets to turn her ringer on....

Phone list on cell phone to Palm? I just exported from my Nokia onto the laptop, and imported in to Palm Desktop. No problem.

Little keys on keyboard - yes. Do I have big hands (size 8 and 8-1/2 gloves)- yes.
Works OK? - yep! I just use fingernails or stylus or tip of pen.

Phone + pager functions, without having to be a programmer - it's built into Sprint's voicemail already.

For the doctors out there - it runs Epocrates great- 'Nuff said. (And you can install onto the Centro without having to buy Epocrates again. Just re-download/install from Epocrates.com.)

Will it hold programs, clinical pearls notes, texts? I bought a 1GB microSD card at Walmart for $27.84 while I had a mom in labor this weekend. I'll probably never fill it up.

Durable - I already dropped it once (on to carpet), no loose shaky rattles or problems. And mo'ly insurance is only $7.84.

MAJOR GOOD DEAL - BUY, BUY, BUY!

The only downside - the cool looking red ones are already sold out. I had to settle for boring but professional black. But there are cool looking covers for Christmas wish list....

I've been a fan of the Palm OS for, well, as long as I can remember. Some criticize how Windows Mobile seems to update more frequently, or make things look way cooler or whatever...does the LOOK of the program you use matter THAT much in the REAL World?? Nope. Sure it'd be nice if Palm made regular upgrades in their software, but to be totally honest, the system is ridiculously simple to use and since it needs so little in the way of upgrades, I guess it makes sense to leave well enough alone. But again, I know many who find Palm old, outdated or just not sophisticated enough and so have decided to go with Windows Mobile instead, which is fine...go with what works for you. Let's get down to business:

The Centro is smaller than previous Palm devices, namely the phenomenally popular Treo line, which virtually invented the smartphone industry. I have gone all over the 'net looking for comparisons so I would have a good idea of how to compare the Centro to say the Treo 755p and I MUST say that looking at photos simply cannot do it justice. On the surface, the Centro looks only slightly smaller than the 755p...but I ASSURE you in reality, it is much smaller...maybe too small.

Let me explain: the smartphone field is becoming more and more convoluted as more models become available almost daily, from the new Blackjack 2, to newer, sleeker Blackberry's or even the Moto Q...all have nice features and programs unique that make them great for specific uses, but I submit that the full Qwerty keyboard is one of the main reasons why these phones are so convenient. I do NOT have big fingers, and yet I found the Centro's keyboard VERY difficult to type on. I never thought I'd say it, but it's just too dang small to use with any kind of ease, provided you have normal to large fingers. I would imagine my 15 year old daughter would be able to text at lightning speed, but without handling this Palm device IN PERSON, you just may be making a rather expensive mistake. Other than that, I was most impressed with the overall functionality of the Centro. One thing I DO miss from the 755p model is the rubberized coating which made it fit so wonderfully in my hands, without it, the Centro lacks a certain comfort in use that otherwise may be perfect depending on who you are.

While the Centro isn't as thin as several other models available, it was definitely thin enough. I've become rather used to my Treo 650 for quite some time, so even the 755p fit well in my eyes, but the Centro was downright tiny. It boasts pretty much all the bells & whistles that made the previous Treo's so popular, and it pulls all that off in a smaller package. It even comes with Google Maps built in! Now THAT is a nifty feature. What I wish more than anything is for Palm to make the Centro and Treo 755p available to more wireless carriers than they currently do, although I certainly won't be holding my breath for that to happen.

In short, if you are a fan of the Palm OS like I am, the Centro is definitely worth a look...but I cannot emphasize enough to get that look in PERSON rather than in photos. If you have trouble using a Qwerty keyboard on the regular Treo's, the Centro will only compound that issue I promise you -- otherwise, kudos to Palm for a great upgrade and nice packaging.

I have been a user of the Palm platform for years. I tried the Windows mobile based platform on a few PDA/phones but found them to be very resource hoggish and they ate up my battery life. I eventually ventured back to the Palm OS for reliability.

As far as the phone, I have had the Treo 600 and the Treo 650, and loved them both. The Treo 650 was a definite improvement on the problems the Treo 600 had. I loved everything about the phone except the size. I couldn't throw it in my pocket while at the ball field or the beach. That seemed the only drawback. Battery life was fantastic and I used the Treo for everything. My provider was Cingular/AT&T, and really didn't have any issues for nearly 15 years until Cingular messed with my data plan and said I did it. I am a very high power user when it comes to the data on my PDA, and somehow my plan was changed from the $39.99 unlimited plan to a different plan that cost me $1,154 in one month. Needless to say I said farewell to a company that was not interested in helping a customer of nearly fifteen years.

Then came the Centro. I really didn't want to venture towards Sprint because of the horror stories of their service through the years. But guess what? I have had nothing but great things to say about the service through Sprint (as good or better than Cingular where I live) and the reception on my Centro is better than ANY phone I have ever owned with any carrier.

It has all the same features of the Treo 650 plus more (ie. Google maps and other free third party software), and yes, the only thing you really give up is some battery life, but that is a welcome trade off for a phone I can throw in my pocket. I was switching my sim card from a Razr to the Treo 650 and back as needed, and it got to be a pain to keep data synced in both devices. Now I don't need to worry about it.

Even though the price is very attractive for the first time PDA/phone buyer, I am telling you that this phone is every bit as good as my old Treo 650. Every bit so.

I love this phone!

This little guy is great. It combines my cell phone & Palm in one...and for us gals who have to go fishing around in our purses for them, it can be frustrating. Well, the Centro helps eliminates that. (Hence, "smartphone".)

I have my schedule, alarms, task list, phone, e-mail, IM, text, web at one place. (It has other features that is also useful, like the weather, e-books, camera, voice memo, music and Sprint TV though "Sprint Power Vision" where you can listen to the free radio there.) There is much more though!

Anyway, the phone is just the right size for my pocket. It's not too small and not bulky either. (I AM using the clear hard case I bought at the Sprint store which is very sturdy and has a tight clip for securing it to your pocket.) And I can see how the letters are a bit cramped where it would be a small challenge for somebody with large fingers. But for me it is fine.

The screen is very crisp, clear and bright. I find myself having to turn down the brightness at night. It can be seen very well in the sunlight/daytime. (Some of the pictures/wallpapers are very nice looking on it.) With the memory at hand, I only placed five (Classical music) songs for now until I get myself a memory card. And I've already uploaded lots of custom "wallpaper", e-books, and games onto it. The speaker is fairly loud and clear with the ringtones/alarms. I find myself having to turn the sound down too. Oh, I love the "mute" button on top. I can just walk into church and simply turn the sound off at the switch of a button. (And nobody would see or hear it either.)

I chose black, as the red was a little to "bright" red for me. (I felt it would draw too much attention to me. But if that's what you want...) The Centro is light but not flimsy feeling. It does have weight so you won't miss it in your pocket too much. (Is that a good thing? Your call.)

The camera is ok if your taking pictures bright lighting but there isn't any flash. The video is a bit choppy. But I guess if you want a decent camera, you shouldn't be looking for that here.

Oh, and yeah it froze on me once in all the time I had it...but I had a complicated program running. (You just have to remove the battery for a few seconds. You won't lose your data.) Also, it does need to reset a few times on it's own...but I suspect it is only natural as it "upgrades" itself on it's own. It doesn't bother me or hinder my productivity.

I like Sprint, I've been with them waaay over 10 years with the same phone number. I don't get the best service at my house but everywhere else the phone operates so much faster. Which is what you want to be productive.

I have had my Treo 650 for over 2 years, it was time to put it out to pasture.

It was between the Treo 755p and the Centro. Went with the Centro for the smaller size. I was able to transfer everything over from my Treo and with only a couple of problems. My Real Estate program had to be updated. Everything is working properly now. Kinoma on the Centro is a nice program with the EVDO network. Check it out to make your new phone a media playing machine.

Pros:
Small size
Same Palm interface
Good Screen
Loud Speaker
EVDO Fast Internet
No Antenna
Qwerty keyboard
Micro SD
Sprint Unlimited Data Plan


Cons:
Plastic Stylus
slick plastic
small keyboard

Avg.
Camera
Battery Life

I have a new Seidio case and stylus on order to take care of these short comings. A beefier battery might be in order if you are a power user.

This phone is good enough to run a business with with the PDA, calendar, memos, call log, Internet, Email, text message alerts, and bluetooth.

And cool enough for a teenager as a text messaging, 6 GB MP3 player, games, camera, and camcorder phone. That also includes the text messages services for AOL, MSN, and Yahoo.

BTW, you can multi task with PTunes. It allows you to play music in the background as you play games, make notes etc. Sprint and Palm get a bad rap, but this is a nice little device for the price.

This is my first Smartphone, and being that I'm not using this for business reasons, I am extremely pleased with this little gem. It's much smaller than most of the other phones I considered, its interface is one I'm comfortable with as a old school Palm OS user, and its sleek look will prevent me from hiding it in my purse all the time. Some have said it may appeal more to women than men--this may or may not be true, depending on your taste. I highly recommend this phone for first-time Smartphone buyers.

Coming from a T-Mobile Sidekick III to a red palm centro, I had fairly reasonable expectations from a higher-end phone and a higher-end service (sprint). Providing a little background into my service change, my friend who works at sprint hooked me up with the Sprint SERO plan, which you can google and will find multiple ways to take advantage of the plan. I pay thirty dollars a month, and I get 500 minutes, unlimited data and unlimited texting... you simply can't beat it.

Anyway, back to the phone. I ended up getting the red version; my best friend has the pink one, so I figured I should switch it up a little, and black was so normal. I was stunned when I opened the packaging and saw how small it was. This phone is truly the tiniest smartphone I have ever seen that has a QWERTY keyboard, hands down. Being a young man with rather large hands, I was afraid that the keyboard would be too small for me to tap out even the simplest text message without making multiple errors; however, after a few days of getting used to the phone, I now make no mistakes when writing even a large email.

This phone is also one of the sturdiest phones I have ever owned. Compared to my previous sidekicks,razrs, and the like of flimsy phones, I have had this phone for over two weeks, used it constantly, dropped it multiple times, and it has not one scratch on it. The casing, a shiny metallic-like plastic, is surprisingly sturdy, and none of the paint has come of at all.

Diving into the software interface of this phone, Palm's age-old operating system is on it, but I had no problems with it. Sprint included pTunes, which is a great mp3 player with an internet radio receiver, Sprint TV, which is a system of some free and some one-time cost shows and videos that you can download to your phone at lightening speed, google maps, documents to go, and text messaging that is displayed in conversations much like the iPhone.

Syncing this phone to the computer is an absolute breeze, and finding third-party apps for it is an easy task. Opera mini, an iPhone-like web browser, can be installed onto it if you find the Java Microenvironment. Another plus in having this Microenvironment is the fact that...drumroll please... it allows you to STREAM YOUTUBE VIDEOS! After downloading the Java Microenvironment, just go to [...] and off you go! This browser AND the Java Microenvironment made the phone 100% better, and it's only one of the many third party apps that I use every day.

One of the huge features of this sprint smartphone is that it has picturemail. Windows mobile phones do NOT have picture mail, making this and the Palm Treo the only smartphones that sprint offers which have this capability; a MAJOR selling point for many, including myself.

In terms of service, I get service absolutely EVERYWHERE, including in my school which has cell blockers. I often get service where people who have verizon don't get service, and when I've roamed it's been on the verizon network, so I have never had a time where service hasn't been available.

There are two things about this phone that I dislike, but not enough to dislike it any bit. One of these is the battery life. With the screen's brightness turned to the lowest it can go without shutting the baklight completely off, the most it could last without a charge is 2 days, and this is without use of the mp3 player and data. I find myself charging it every night, which isn't a big deal, but for some people I'm sure this would be a hassle. The other negative feature about this phone is the fact that the batter cover has to be removed in order for you to be able to remove your microSD card. For those who swap memory cards, this could get old very quickly, but I've gotten used to it.

All in all, this is basically a smaller version of the popular, and much more expensive, palm treo. I would recommend this phone and the sprint SERO plan to everyone, hands down.

I have had the phone about 2 weeks now and i must say i am pretty satisfied. Palm OS is very easy to use and this is my first palm, i was a previous blackberry owner. call quality seems to be very good, and i love the chat style text messages. using the web is very easy and fast. my only complaint comes when i am texting..and no its not about the querty keyboard because yeah its a lil cramped but it doesnt bother me, but its the bottom where you charge your phone, they got the piece sticking out on the bottom and it can be a lil discomforting if you text a lot. also it would be nice if the phone had multi-tasking, but but other than that, its been a great phone. everybody whos seen it has loved it and wants one. they cant believe how small and good lookin the phone is, yet it has a qwerty keyboard and touch screen! its a great price on the phone, and not to mention sprint has the best data plans of any carrier out. i would recommend this phone to anyone.