Priced at just AU$299 on prepaid with Telstra and running Palm OS, not Windows Mobile 6, the Centro is pitched at first time or budget-conscious smartphone buyers. It may even pick up the odd, long and frustrated Palm OS devotee.
Design
Depending on your view of design aesthetics, the Palm Centro is either unerringly cute or bares too much of a resemblance to a bar of soap. We fall into the former category, but we suspect that if you're of the latter disposition then none of the praise we're going to heap on the Centro will change your mind.
Casting aside its snow white hue — the only colour currently available in Australia — the Centro looks like a Palm 500/500v that's been left in the dryer for too long. Weighing 124 grams, while measuring 55mm wide, 18mm deep and 107mm tall, the Centro is a smidge shorter, a tad thicker and about the same weight as its Windows Mobile sibling. Most telling, though, is that it's 6.5mm narrower, making it far more pocketable. It does, however, make pressing keys on the Centro's QWERTY keyboard, initially at least, tougher, with the odd mis-pressed key an inevitability. With a little practice using the keyboard with your thumbs becomes second nature although certain tasks, such as typing and walking, should never be attempted.
Above the thumb-board is a five-way controller surrounded by a cluster of four buttons — home (applications), phone, messaging, and calendar/organiser. These are flanked by pick-up/call and hang-up/power buttons. On the left-hand edge there's a volume switch and a user-programmable button, while along the top there's a switch that lets you quickly flick the smartphone to silent.
The Centro's 2.2-inch touchscreen boasts 320x320 resolution and, as such, is sharper than the 240x320 displays on most Windows Mobile devices. Visually, Palm's OS has changed little since its inception. Yes, yes, there are now more pixels and colours than before, but the essentials are practically the same. That means an uncluttered interface that's easy to use but lacking the gee-whiz factor of products breathed upon by one Steven P. Jobs. Many of the on-screen buttons are large enough to be finger-clicked, however there are some teeny buttons, on say the Web browser, for which many users will find the included stylus invaluable.
Features
In terms of hardware specs, the Centro isn't terribly impressive — for instance, there's only 64MB of available memory. But with Palm OS's simpler design, lower overheads and smaller app sizes there should be plenty of space. Those wanting more space for photos, music or other electronic trinkets can supply more memory in the form of microSD cards. Responses are always speedy — something that can't be said about most Windows Mobile 6.0 devices.
On the phone's box there's a picture of three sassy, suitably photogenic lasses, primed for a night on the town, snapping a photo of themselves on their Centro with the tag-line "your shortcut to happy hour". How they managed to take that shot of themselves is beyond us, as the Centro's 1.3-megapixel camera can charitably be called basic, at best. Capable of taking both stills and video, the camera has a self-portrait mirror and best left for taking photos of friends for easy caller identification ... in good light. With no flash, any ideas that you'll be capturing your friends' drunken escapades should be banished.
Other spec-sheet features include Bluetooth 1.2 and an infrared port, but no Wi-Fi. Standard software included are the Blazer Web browser, Google Maps, Versa Mail, Pocket Tunes for MP3 playback, and Documents To Go 10. The latter allows you to create, edit and view Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Those who have used Microsoft Office Mobile will be surprised by how much more fully featured and easier-to-use Documents To Go is. We were able to sync up, via the supplied cable, our Outlook calendar, tasks and contacts but not our email.
Performance
Those unfamiliar with Palm devices may be surprised with the Centro being always on. The phone can be switched on and off by pressing and holding the power button, however, the device is always on unless you remove the battery. That said, battery life is good; the Centro just managed to last an entire weekend of intense use on a single full charge. Although, we do reserve a poisoned dart to the smart alec who designed the SIM card tray; its location and design means that you'll need longish nails, and a willingness to break them, in order to retrieve said card.
Being available only on Telstra prepaid — not to mention the prominent on-screen Telstra branding, most of which can thankfully be disabled — the Centro is locked to Sol Trujillo's cash cow unless you pay an unlocking fee of AU$100. Note that this is contrary to what's stated in our video &mdash our review unit was shipped to us in an unlocked state.
Voice quality is good via speaker, handset or the included hands-free kit, which plugs into the phone's 2.5mm headphone jack. Using mobile mail and Google Maps on the Centro is only for the patient. That's because the Centro is only a 2.5G phone, albeit a quad-band one — this is no doubt a consequence of the phone's eye-popping price. Download speeds, even when using EDGE, are pretty tragic and more akin to dial-up modem speeds than broadband. Stick to mobile specific websites which are graphically light, such as those offered by the New York Times or — gratuitous plug warning — CNET.com.au and ZDNet Australia, and you'll be fine.
Conclusion
We're not entirely certain that the comely lasses like those on the Centro's box would actually be that interested in this smartphone. It's not particularly flash but those looking for a cost effective entry into the world of smartphones or those wanting to upgrade from their phone-less Palm PDAs will be more than satisfied by the Centro. With the wealth of free or cheap Palm OS applications available on the internet, the Centro is far more powerful and useful than its AU$299 price suggests.
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dddddddddddd
22/09/2008, 03:59 PM
rating
1/10
I had it, after my V6 Maxx Motorola broke. And i hated it! good it's slow! who has 2G these days? thats dial-up internet! im only 13 but for christ sakes! make it better! the following happened to mine
-'J' key stoped functioning and fell off
-The camera would stay in a loading position forever, it wouldnt work
-the stylus is a peice of **** too!
Pros: nothing
Cons: everything
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anti_palm52
12/09/2008, 05:09 AM
rating
1/10
palm does not stand behind their products. i have had this phone since may 30th and in 3 months my keys have cracked and broken off. one of the four silver navagation keys broke off in my hand as i tried to use the phone. a second key is only days away from falling off as well. my phone has never been dropped, does not have water damage and is kept in case. and palm refuses to cover this under waranty. they obviously know the keys were flimsy and refuse to back up their products. calling palm for customer service is even worse. they are rude and flat out refuse to help. plus you have to pay to talk to them! i've had it for 3 months and signed a two year contract and now am stuck with a phone that is already missing keys. if it cant even stand up to 3 months of use what it is going to look like after 2 years? my only opition is to buy a new one at MORE than i paid for the original! do the smart thing, buy a blackberry.
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flycow
25/08/2008, 12:50 PM
rating
9/10
Brilliant! I've bought this for a month and am a very happy user. It does almost everything I wanted, except wifi, not that I need it anyway. This phone is a breeze to use, it's so easy to text and send emails, and I can load dictionaries and translators in it for my travelling needs. I can even update my facebook through it! Excellent!
Pros: Loads of free softwares including games, ebooks, dictionaries, media players, language translators available and they are so small in size and there's no lag like windows mobile! Highly customisable too.
Cons: Only white is available in Australia. No WiFi. Battery life is average at 4 days per charge for daily phone and text usage.
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Unhappy customer
28/07/2008, 04:20 PM
rating
2/10
This has been the most expensive phone Ive bought(im a uni student, so dont usually splash much cash around on phones etc), kept it well away from any abuse. Usually phones will last around 18 months from my experience, but this one lasted under 2 weeks. I found the screen had shattered, and have no idea what kind of presure caused it to do so, as i had been sitting down watching tv, with it in my pocket. And the beauty is that thats not covered in the warranty. Only option, buy another for $235. Dont think so. Dont buy this phone, its a shocker. I wont be buying a palm product again, and shall be warning my friends and family from doing so.
Pros: Bit different, nice to be able to view excel documents etc.
Good camera
Cons: Shocking quality screen and warranty basically worth less than the paper its written on.
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canberra_photographer
26/07/2008, 03:57 PM
rating
5/10
Don't leave it on a table in a cafe, the way this phone looks, they may just put it in the bin rather than the lot and found... and they would be quite correct in doing so.
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helkev
27/06/2008, 10:29 AM
rating
4/10
I bought Plam Cenro because I just wanted to try what the fuss is all about "touchscreens" as I am not a fan of Iphone. Palm Centro satisfies my curiosity. However, Plam Centro is more suited to tech savvy teenagers or uni students as I do not find Palm's phone easy to use. If you are a businness exec look for another phone.
Pros: Sharp resolution
A rather good quality 1.3MP camera.
Good MP3 player.
Cons: Short battery life.
Trying keyboards- they are especially challenging to use when you just got up of bed and trying to send a quick message.
Cannot MP3 player music as ringtunes.
Cannot save pictures from Internet sites.
"Voice quality is good"- highly disagree. The phone's earpiece needs to be directly facing your eardrum in order to hear the other person properly. Any angle away from that I find it difficult to listen or hear.
"That said, battery life is good; the Centro just managed to last an entire weekend of intense use on a single full charge" - highly disagree! I have to recharge my phone every night! So don't attempt to get away for the weekend without bringing along your charger.
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Mark-Sydney
26/06/2008, 06:55 AM
rating
9/10
My wife and I both bought one q week ago, and it is a zillion times better than the Motorolas they replaced. The speaker phone, great-the on screen hold/pause/3rd party dial/speaker phone-easy to use. We have use palm and password plus for years, and it really suited us to combine the phone-data applications. Often the next phone one buys has to have all the data transferred, often manually, but the palm operating system has been fully usable for years, and will be till i drop off the perch - its got grat form factor, it has great battery life and can get a heavier battery if u want. many games, but carefull not to use old games, as makes it crash.
Pros: see comments plus
Clear sound and mike
Great screen
doesn't randomly crash like windows OS
Many good quality 3rd part software
Documents to go is great
password plus is secure
Cons: Tied to telstra, Yuk
wish i could have got black colour
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JK8185
19/06/2008, 04:22 PM
rating
8/10
For someone who is looking for a PDA and a phone in one - great!
Those looking for internet and e-mail, suggest you look at Blackberry or the new iPhone.
Tried the Treo 750 but hated it - buggy and slow... and unresponsive at times!
Pros: Palm OS with miriad of apps...
Cons: Lack of 3G/HSDPA
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AlexK
18/06/2008, 11:37 PM
rating
9/10
$100 to unlock from Telstra... or $19 USD from http://centrounlock.com/
:)
Pros: PDA+phone for $299!
Cons: Black isn't locally available.
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AnthroGirl
13/06/2008, 08:18 PM
rating
8/10
I've had the Centro for a little over a week now. I really like the smaller form factor, although it takes a little getting used to if you're transferring from one of the larger Treo's. I reverted from the Treo 750 to a treo 650 just for the Palm OS and then upgraded to the Centro. I've always been a huge fan of the Palm OS and was stoked to have another Palm OS device released in Australia rather than a horrid WM device. Still, the Centro does tend to lack the compatibility of the older Treo's due to it's slightly upgraded OS. The number of programs that will work on the OS still far outnumbers the dodgy versions of some very good programs that barely function on a WM device. Once the centro is loaded up with some good third party apps, you'll find it much more efficient, useful and entertaining than anything running WM. I would recommend, as standard installations, Iambic Agendus for calendar/contacts etc, DiddleBug for note taking, Hardmark Monopoly and LDW Village Sim for games, and downloading a whole lot of free ebooks from the web. Get yourself a decent sized microSD card and load up videos and MP3's, but beware the battery life...you could invest in an extended battery if you required more I suppose. For those young 'hip' people, Palm has recently released a new Facebook app for the centro so you can facebook to your hearts content right from your phone.
Pros: 320x320 screen
Great selection of stable palm OS apps
Full QWERTY keyboard
Expandable memory
Cons: GSM rather than 3G or Next G
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