Palm Centro Review - Odd but Nice
filed in Palm Qwerty on Sep.24, 2008
The Palm Centro Pink
So, there’s another strange qwerty cell phone from Palm. It has a screen of 320 x 320 pixels as opposite to “normal” smartphones with 320 x 240 screens. With this square touch-screen you would expect the phone to be good looking and proportionally built, right? This is not the case. It is not ugly but Palm Centro is a very odd phone and sometimes it looks too long. Even its qwerty keys are prolonged, which, although seems strange, but allow for a very convenient typing.
Memory and OS
As the name suggests the Palm Centro qwerty cell phone is based on Palm OS. It is the same bit of software that is featured on the Pilots and other similar devices, which means an ease of use and something as familiar as a piece of white bread. You get all the functionality of a normal Palm device: file editing, multimedia plus mobile features.
It’s MicroSD card slot allows you to upgrade the modest 64 Mb of in-built memory to 4 Gb. It is less than for a BlackBerry (8 Gb) but twice as much as HTC 620 (2 Gb).
Multimedia and Socializing
The default MP3 player on this device is a PocketTunes. It is not a Windows Mobile Media player but PocketTunes is still quite a reasonable piece of software. If you don’t like the native MP3 player, possibilities are endless - download a third-party freeware MP3 player… at your own risk.
The cell phone is designed (or shall I say marketed) for people that are hooked on MySpace, Flickr and similar social sites. The developers promise that the Palm Centro will be the perfect phone for viewing and participating in an array of social sites. A great touch-screen makes the experience of browsing and entering data even more enjoyable.
The 1.3 Megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom seems a bit stale. It is not as good as a similar camera by HTC but still, it will provide basic imaging functionality for you.
Don’t forget to check with your vendor. New Centro comes in different colours: blue, red, black, silver and pink. A pink one is especially beautiful.
Cons?
This qwerty cell phone is quite small. Am I really complaining? Yes, because due to its strange design, meaning that all the keys are placed at the bottom and there is a great deal of heaviness from the keybord to the top, it is hard to hold it with just one hand and hard to type. It is a shame because the buttons as such are convenient - it is the strange proportions that make typing a pain.
The digital camera could be better but then, I guess it is OK if you’re not after some swift photo-art.
Palm Centro Freeware
One of the biggest trumps of this qwerty cell phone, and honestly of all Palm range is the wide availability of Palm Centro freeware. It is amazing how much freeware you can find for this small phone. One of the all time favourites is MiniTones that allows you to select any MP3 music file from your phone memory, cut out the bit you like (for example, “Oops, I did it again” bit) and save it as a ringtone. Another great piece of Palm Centro freeware is F1 Season 2008 game. Wroom! In fact, you have almost unlimited possibilities when it comes to games. Oh, you are limited by your 4 Gb MicroSD card, though. For the best choice of Palm Centro freeware visit this collection of soft.
Bottomline
The Palm Centro is a great qwerty cell phone. You won’t hear it often from a Windows Mobile advocate. If you are after some fun, you enjoy mobile games and entertainment and you can live with an odd design, Palm Centro is probably for you. And it is dirt cheap!
Where to buy?
Beautiful as sky Palm Centro Bluewith AT&T for a penny!
Combat! Palm Centro Green with Sprint for $99.99
Unlocked or pre-used Palm Centro
What do real people think about Palm Centro?
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