Our family just replaced our cell phones while switching to a new carrier. With all the exciting new phones available, I bought a Palm Centro smart-phone – not exactly the latest technology available. This was based partly on price, partly on my familiarity with the Palm PDAs, and partly on the limited availability of devices at our local Verizon store.
We went to Verizon originally seeking the BlackBerry Storm, but it proved disappointingly slow and prone to freezing in actual use. Other family members decided on the Samsung Omnia - a nice touch-phone. Although the Omnia runs the much maligned Windows Mobile operating system they seem to be doing well with it.
To replace my PDA & cell, I didn’t want a large smart-phone – the Treo & Blackjack are about the largest I was willing to consider, and the Centro is significantly smaller than them. With a case, the Centro isn’t really smaller than my old Sanyo Vi-2300 flip-phone, but it certainly is smaller than two devices. I like the fact that there are no major moving parts like slide-out keyboards or moving screens – hopefully, that translates into a longer & more reliable service life.
The primary reason I chose a Palm Smart-Phone is the ability to synchronize contacts, calendars, memos, etc. with IBM’s Lotus Notes. IBM’s Lotus EasySync Pro software didn’t work out of the box (even though it worked well with my Clie), so I tried finding solutions on their web-site. The main suggestion seemed to be uninstalling the Palm software and EasySync, and then reinstalling them in sequence. This initially appeared to fail (the Lotus software always hung shortly after starting), but after a couple of days, it magically worked perfectly upon powering up for the day. I guess adding reboots to the instructions would be helpful. EasySync works with Windows Mobile also, which is why the Palm Treo and a couple of HTC phones were on my list.
The BlackBerrys look very useful, but this kind of synchronization isn’t supported by my local office, and I don’t need the frustration of setting that up on my own.
One nice thing I didn't expect is that my Centro's alarms sound off at about the same time as those from Lotus Notes. The Clie's alarms always go off at a different time, sometimes making me wonder if it isn't synchronized with Notes correctly. This is probably because the Centro gets the correct time from from Verizon when the phone is on.
The “tactile” QWERTY keyboard is just barely big enough, but the individually shaped keys really help with accuracy. For me, it is a huge improvement over using a regular telephone keyboard to enter text (I never got comfortable with T9 data entry). The sticky Alt & Shift keys help a lot now that I’m used to them. Searching text is vital to getting info from a Palm quickly - instead of a dedicated Search key, the Centro combines this function in the Shift key and requires the Option key be pressed before pressing the Shift/Find key. This was not intuitively obvious to me, but after finding it in the user guide, it is easy enough to use.
The screen is small but bright for a Palm, very nice for a phone – I prefer my old Sony Clie PDA screen (and it’s Jog-Dial button), but not enough to keep carrying it in addition to a phone. I can read text easily without adjusting my glasses when using it as a phone, but I have difficulty using the small screen with games like Solitaire unless I switch or take off my glasses. My biggest problem with the small screen is the need to use a stylus for some of the smaller icons. I can select most fields with a fingernail, but pulling out the Centro’s plastic stylus can be frustrating when it is needed. I usually grab a multi-function pen that includes a stylus instead.
The Palm Software is the latest version (Garnet - 5.4.9), so it has more features, takes advantage of a faster processor, and seems as stable as my prior Palm PDAs. If you like Palm, then this is more of the same. I also like the Palm Treo running Windows Mobile 6.1, but that wasn’t available from Verizon.
I got a BodyGlove case at the Verizon store, and like their other products I’ve used, it fits well and works well (especially the belt clip). Although my cased Centro has passed a parking lot drop-test, I’m worried about the exposure of the open screen and keyboard when clipped to my belt, so I’ll try a leather pouch also. With the Bluetooth headset, I can leave it on my waist much of the time.
The Centro has a 1.3 Mega Pixel camera – definitely the low end these days, but it performs well enough. The software integrates the Palm memory and the tiny Micro-SD memory card seamlessly. You can see where an album is located, but all albums on the Centro (including the card) are visible all the time. This is good enough for the “camera you have with you” events like recording accident scenes, etc.
The Omnia has a 5 Mega Pixel camera with a flash – I expect to see great pictures from family as they get used to using this.
Because the Centro has been available for quite a while, and is nearing the end of it’s marketing life (the price point where I seem to buy many gadgets), most accessories are heavily discounted, including cases, batteries, chargers, headsets, etc. I’m getting a few accessories now before availability becomes a concern.
The Palm manual states that a screen saver (plastic film overlay) isn’t needed on the Centro, but after a few days of worrying about the exposed screen I installed one anyway. The brightness isn’t affected, and it isn’t too slick for comfortable use with a stylus. I also cut out a small circle of the film to protect the camera lens on the back – not an easy task, but it contributes to a little peace of mind.
The Centro is probably the least expensive Smart-Phone available now – I paid $49.99 for this one. Monthly cost is comparable to our previous Sprint plan, and I can add a data-plan for another $30 or so. I’m going to monitor the bill for a couple of months before deciding if I need a data-plan. I have lots of the information I need loaded in the Palm already as memos & documents, so I may not use the Internet a lot.
I long ago decided not to have work e-mail on my personal PDA, but I may decide to have my personal e-mail copied to the Centro.
One feature I wanted in my new smart-phone was a music-player. The Centro includes this software, but it uses a 2.5mm headset jack, so I'll have to wait a few days before learning how good it is - a stereo headset with the correct plug is "in the mail".
The provided music player pTunes isn't integrated with the Palm Desktop - it needs to be installed on the PC separately, and this isn't documented well by Palm. I needed to download the pTunes Windows application (and I'm still not sure if I have a trial version or if it is licensed because I own a Centro). Once installed, the pTunes integration with the newly downloaded Windows Media Player 11 seems excellent. It is easy to create & download massive playlists to the memory card from within Media Player while music is playing on the PC. The download process takes a while, but doesn't interfere with doing other work on the PC. The first time I synchronized the media player screen was new & busy - I finally noticed the spinning synchronization logo after it was about 60% complete. Finding specific albums & songs on the Centro seems a little awkward now, but I'll probably uncover shortcuts that make it easier after using pTunes more.
