Palm Centro review
While established mobile workers may not find the Palm Centro fulfilling all of their needs, for those just getting into the smartphone arena, the Centro may be a hit! While Palm has been under fire recently for lack of OS updates, management shakeups and general business problems, I would have to say that their latest product, the Centro, works well for what it is designed to do.
Still on the fence? What follows are some pictures and links to help you with your decision.
Here’s the front of the phone looking at the main application window. Quite a bit smaller than a regular size phone, the display is bright and the smoothness of the fonts makes it quite legible and easy to read. I’ve been using both Weasel and the Palm Reader on the unit and have yet to start squinting. The included stylus is different than the standard Palm pieces and are quite a bit smaller and more flexible. I’m somewhat concerned about the display as the phone came with no cover, but so far no problems. The documentation did state that there was a “screen protector” built in.
This will give you some sense of the size of the unit as compared to everyday items. I’ve found that in moving from a flip phone, this one is not that much bigger and in fact is quite slimmer than my old one. On the side of the phone is the door for the microSD card as well as the IR port.
Notice the keypad as well as the keyboard, if I can call it that. The home keys, calendar keys and the phone keys are quite handy and feel substantial with nice feedback. The keyboard, considering how the engineers had to squeeze things into a lot smaller form factor is ok. I personally find it hard to use, but with two-thumbed technique, it’s getting better. There is a built-in key lock once the phone has been turned off or left alone for a bit. This is handy if you have the phone in your pocket and keep bumping things.
The back of the phone contains the battery as well as the microphone, camera and for the lack of a better term, the aiming mirror. The phone’s speaker as well as microphone are the best I’ve ever seen in a cell phone. It is legible and when set on speaker phone is quite handy. There is a sound-out mini jack at the
bottom of the phone for attached speakers and/or headphones, but note that it is non-standard and you will need to buy an adapter for use with regular stereo ear buds/headsets. I found mine at a big-box retailer.
The camera, well, let’s just say you will never be an ace photojournalist with it, but for emergency and quick everyday use, it is fine. It comes with a video mode and can record both to the phone memory as well as an external storage card.
In any event, the phone is nice and the added features, while perhaps not on the same level as a Windows smartphone, enable it to compete well in its field. Follow the links below for some more sources and reviews to help you in your buying choice. I didn’t have time to touch on the applications that came with the phone, so stay tuned!