We get our hands on Palm's newest smartphone, and they claim it isn't a Treo. Does this slick little phone have us fooled? Philip Berne has our full review.
Review summary of the Palm Centro:
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 The Palm Centro is the right device for Palm right now. It's a happy little Palm device, priced very competitively, that will bring a new audience to business smartphones and perhaps even reinvigorate the brand just a bit. The phone offers enough features for the price to foster good will, perhaps as long as half way until the next Palm OS update is due. Then, we'll swear we'll start to get tired of the Palm OS. We'll need something new, and this time, there isn't an antenna to cut off. Until then, anyone in the market for a Treo should seriously consider the Centro. If your fingers can handle the smaller keys, it's definitely the one to choose. Release: October 2007. Price: $180.
Pros: Great value. Small size. Screen maintains high resolution of Palm Treo. Runs full Palm OS, can use many existing Palm OS program. Fast networking on Sprint's EV-DO
Cons: Tiny keys. Small screen. Aging Palm OS in dire need of cosmetic update. Scheduling app could use an update. Lacks features and apps of a multimedia smartphone.
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Full Palm Centro Review:
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When Sprint announced the Palm Centro earlier this summer, it came as a surprise to everyone, perhaps even Palm. The new device was so early in its marketing phase that it didn't even have a name tag, we were simply told it was a small Palm device running the same OS as the Treo 755p. That surprise was the first of many. Though we may have been hoping for a more advanced Palm device, with a spanking new OS, the Centro is a phone that will pleasantly surprise the right user.
Design - Very good
The right user will certainly have tiny fingers. The new Centro is shrunk down from the Treo's size. It retains all of the QWERTY keys on the treo, as well as the function keys, but everything is much smaller. It was difficult to type complete sentences without error. Even number dialing was tough, and a few time we found ourselves ditching the hardware numbers in favor of the on screen touch digits, something we've never done on our Treo.
The screen is smaller as well, though it retains the Treo's 320 by 320 resolution. The effect of the high resolution on the smaller screen is nice, and most graphics and text looked more crisp on the Centro than they do on the Treo. It was easy to compare, since all graphics and text are exactly alike on the two. The OS is identical, though a few of the add-on programs have been updated since the Treo 755p started shipping. It is a cliché at this point to rag on the Palm OS, so we won't. We'll just wait.
Calling - Very good
Though Palm used to dominate the calling category, recent strides from Windows Mobile and Apple have put the once-advanced OS in its place. Calls on the Centro sounded good, a bit bright, which was nice. Callers said we were obviously talking on a cell phone, with a real digitized sound, but had no trouble understanding us. In terms of features, however, the Palm starts to look dated. Voice dialing is still an extra $20 app, a jab in the side even on a phone that's such a value. The speakerphone is nice and loud, and Bluetooth works fine.
The contact lists on Windows Mobile 6 phones, like the HTC Mogul, are easier to search, since the OS now offers live searching from just about any screen. We like WM6's way of keeping call logs linked to address book entries. We've also seen better conference call handling, even from a Palm device, the Palm Treo 680. Again, these are innovations that need to be made in the Palm OS itself, but with a new smartphone should come some significant new feature improvements.
Messaging - Good
Sprint and Palm are offering their IM client on the Centro, just as it comes shipped on the Treo 755p. The new IM client gives you AIM, MSN and Yahoo chatting, and it can run in the background while you perform other tasks, a rarity in the efficient Palm OS world. E-mail was surprisingly easy to setup, as the phone can find presets for many e-mail services. We needed to upgrade to use our Yahoo e-mail accounts with POP access, but Gmail worked fine. Of course, our real e-mail service relies on Good, and we had some trouble loading Good onto the Centro. Still, the phone supports Exchange ActiveSync accounts, so business users can get push e-mail without a problem.
If only typing on the tiny keypad made messaging enjoyable. Perhaps the younger audience at whom this phone is aimed will appreciate the smaller keys, but our hands aren't obnoxiously large, yet we still had trouble typing. We like that Palm retained the four familiar dedicated keys, incuding the messaging key, which let us jump right into e-mail or SMS. SMS is still threaded, by the way, and Palm is still bragging like it’s a new feature.
Scheduling - Good
The Palm OS does a fine job synchronizing contacts from wherever you keep them. At the install, you can choose Outlook or the Palm Desktop program, which also handles HotSync procedures. We went with Outlook, though we normally use Good. Everything synchronized well, though we wish there were more scheduling options on the phone itself. We would like to invite attendees to events, and include more details about appointments. Also, the calendar could use a cosmetic overhaul. Windows Mobile is fitting more information on the "week" and "month" view screens, we'd like Palm OS to keep up. Perhaps an interim OS update is in order.
Productivity - Very good
For document viewing, Palm smartly chose DataViz's Documents to Go program. Documents to go lets you view, edit and even create new Office documents, even PowerPoint slideshows. In a pinch, the software works very well, and has exceeded our expectations in the past. We hate to think of typing out long spreadsheets on the Centro's tiny keys, but the touch screen should help a bit, and at least the program is perfectly capable, if you're game.
Laptop sidekick - Very good
We were delighted to find the Centro works as a tethered modem. In fact, we didn't even need to tweak our software much, it simply used the same setup as our Treo 755p on the same network. In fact, speeds were very similar between the two, hovering just under the 500kbps mark, though we've seen better speed from our Treo on a clear day, so maybe we could get more out of the Centro as well. The Centro charges from a USB port, which is nice, but uses the same proprietary cord as the Treo. We definitely would have preferred mini-USB, but at least our Treo accessories will still work. In fact, this device is sounding more and more like a Treo every minute.
Multimedia - Mediocre
Don't be mistaken, the Palm Centro can perform some mighty multimedia feats. For instance, SlingBox owners will be pleased with the phone's performance, though the small screen leaves something to be desired. Still, without third party add-ons, the Centro is lacking in multimedia, especially compared to competitors like the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130. That phone has a better Web browser, better music player, and uses a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the Centro is stuck with a 2.5mm port. Also, the Centro lacks GPS, though Google Maps is included, and even updated for this phone, for directions in a pinch. To appeal to the younger crowd, though, Sprint is going to need better music transfer software, and maybe throw in an accessory or two. We know the price is low, but an introductory bundle with a microSD card and a pair of headphones wouldn't kill anybody, would it?
Value - Excellent
For $100, at print time, there is little you can buy in the smartphone market. Verizon Wireless has nothing, and even its older Q costs $230, let alone the $250 you'd spend for the newer Q9m. For $100, AT&T will give you a BlackJack, which isn't a bad phone, though it isn't Windows Mobile 6, and it lacks a touch screen. The Treo 750 on AT&T costs $250, while the EDGE-only Treo 680 comes in $50 more than the Palm Centro. Sprint's Moto Q also costs $150, and it's not even the newer Q9m, while T-Mobile has only Pearl's in this range, and they don't include high-speed networking.
We think the Palm Centro is going to redefine the value of a smartphone. For $100, this is a remarkable phone. It does everything the Treo 755p can do, and that phone costs two and a half times as much. We think that, in the near term, the Centro will inspire price cuts for phones like the Motorola Q and the T-Mobile Dash. In the long term, however, we think there will be a solid market for a $100 smartphone, and the feature wars have only just begun.
Price and availability
The Palm Centro is available from Sprint for $180 with a two-year contract. A mail-in rebate of $100 is available, when signing up for a qualifying plan.
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