With Windows Mobile on the rise, the iPhone continuing to grab headlines, and Google’s mobile OS Android making waves, it’s easy to forget that Palm’s smartphone OS is among the most mature and flexible approaches for phones. And Centro is here as a gentle reminder. At 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.73 inches (HxWxD) and 4.2 ounces, the spectacularly small unit makes smartphones compact and affordable ($99 with Sprint plan) for everyone. With a microSD card slot and 64MB RAM, it gives you room to work.
The best news is that Palm essentially has shrunken the Treo without compromising too many features. The full and very good Palm OS is here, with email, text messaging, and a strong mobile Web browser called Blazer. Plus, the Centro boasts a large library of apps, such as DataViz’s Documents to Go program for creating Office-compatible documents. We loved the addition of Sprint’s IM client, which lets you flick across open tabs for AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN accounts. Google Maps weren’t quite as animated as the iPhone’s, but they got the job done of mapping and providing turn-by-turn directions.
Input flexibility is what makes the Centro shine above anything else in this form factor. The QWERTY keyboard is the smallest you will ever find, but we found it surprisingly usable. The touchscreen, although a bit challenging at this size, let us dial and navigate menus easily.
And because the Centro runs on the EVDO broadband network, you also get Sprint TV streaming video service. Although it’s a nice feature, the disappointing low resolution of the video feeds just didn’t take full advantage of the bright and sharp 1.56-inch display.
The Centro's 312MHz Intel XScale CPU can be a little sluggish in the multimedia player, and we wouldn’t want to rely on that tiny keypad for dialing. But quibbles aside, Palm’s superb, approachable Centro gives you all the power of the big smartphone bricks at a fraction of the bulk.
Specs: Palm OS 5.4.9; 312MHz Intel XScale processor; 64MB memory; Touchscreen: 1.56 inches, 320 x 320; 1,150mAH Li-Ion battery (3.5 hours talk time, 300 hours standby)
The best news is that Palm essentially has shrunken the Treo without compromising too many features. The full and very good Palm OS is here, with email, text messaging, and a strong mobile Web browser called Blazer. Plus, the Centro boasts a large library of apps, such as DataViz’s Documents to Go program for creating Office-compatible documents. We loved the addition of Sprint’s IM client, which lets you flick across open tabs for AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN accounts. Google Maps weren’t quite as animated as the iPhone’s, but they got the job done of mapping and providing turn-by-turn directions.
Input flexibility is what makes the Centro shine above anything else in this form factor. The QWERTY keyboard is the smallest you will ever find, but we found it surprisingly usable. The touchscreen, although a bit challenging at this size, let us dial and navigate menus easily.
And because the Centro runs on the EVDO broadband network, you also get Sprint TV streaming video service. Although it’s a nice feature, the disappointing low resolution of the video feeds just didn’t take full advantage of the bright and sharp 1.56-inch display.
The Centro's 312MHz Intel XScale CPU can be a little sluggish in the multimedia player, and we wouldn’t want to rely on that tiny keypad for dialing. But quibbles aside, Palm’s superb, approachable Centro gives you all the power of the big smartphone bricks at a fraction of the bulk.
Specs: Palm OS 5.4.9; 312MHz Intel XScale processor; 64MB memory; Touchscreen: 1.56 inches, 320 x 320; 1,150mAH Li-Ion battery (3.5 hours talk time, 300 hours standby)
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