New Palm Smartphone - The Centro

[xdreadpiratedoug]

Just announced this past weekend was the new Palm Centro (text.) From all the talk and previews, it appears to be a Treo 755p in a smaller form factor. Minor complaints about the keyboard being so close together, but still does fine one handed - no jokes.

Specs:

• -Display 320x320 pixel Transflective color touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (up to 65K colors)
  - Radio Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO backward compatible with 1XRTT and IS95
  - Platform Palm OS 5.4.9
  - Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version 1.2
  - Memory 64MB available user storage
  - Camera 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture
  - Battery Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion
  - 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time
  - Expansion microSD card (up to 4GB supported)
  - Connector Multi-connector
  - Dimensions 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz
  - Colors Ruby and Onyx
  - System Requirements Windows® XP, Windows Vista?, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Software on device
Bluetooth®, Calculator, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Documents to Go® Professional Edition 10, Downloads, Google Mobile Maps, HotSync®, Instant Messaging, Nuance Voice Control, My Centro, On Demand, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes? Deluxe, Quick Tour, Sprint Mobile Email, Sprint Store, Sprint TV, Sudoku, VersaMail® 4.0, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer® 4.5), World Clock

I was looking to get a new phone soon, and it appears that this dropped in my lap at a perfect time.

Links:
Palm Centro Announced With Sprint - PalmInfoCenter
TreoCentral HandsOn

PalmCentral Photo Gallery

 

[EarthwormJim]

Wonder how fast the processor is and when a gsm version is coming.

 

[bigrash]

I like the new design and it looks like a sweet phone, but I think that I would compare it to a 680 before I compared it to a 755p. At $99 it's really not aimed at the normal "corporate" palm user (even their website suggests so).

 

[DivideBYZero]

Pearl 2> that

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Pearl 2> that

Give reasoning - there are a lot of disqualifiers for that statement.

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

Originally posted by: EarthwormJim
Wonder how fast the processor is and when a gsm version is coming.

Processor is the same as the other Treo series, and listening to the new podcast from Treocentral where they talk a lot about the Centro, he stated that he saw an Orange-branded Centro. Of course, that's going to be in Europe, but you can always import it or pray that T-Mobile or AT&T pick it up. Not too sure if AT&T would because they carry the 680 though.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Pearl 2> that

Give reasoning - there are a lot of disqualifiers for that statement.

It's got more stuff and it's better.

 

[sciencewhiz]

It has half the memory of the 755p, same as 680. It has less stated talk time then either.

I have a 650 right now, and it looks like it would be a decent upgrade from that (except for battery life, which seems to be an issue for all new treos).

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

Has half the memory? All of the Treo devices have the same amount of memory standard - most of the hands on places said that they cannot tell a difference, and that they believe Palm is stating that the listed memory is only the user accessible portion in order to prevent confusion. As for battery life, meh - I'll get an extended battery.

As for /0 - no offense, but until you have your great "proof" - stay out of the thread with your self professed CrackBerry lust. I didn't insult any BB device, you didn't need to come in here and be a douche by starting flames.

 

[cw42]

I just ordered my Centro last night with SERO, should be coming tomorrow with overnight shipping. This will be my first smartphone, i've never really used any before nor am I familiar with PalmOS. Does anyone have suggestions for useful PalmOS software, or a website that has a list of good ones?

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

You should checkout www.treocentral.com - there seems to be a good, smart group there when it comes to Palm. I'm registered on the forum, and got my Centro last Friday. You can ask questions here if you'd like, or hop on over to their forums.

Mods, if it's a problem for me to talk about TC, let me know and I'll edit my posts and refrain from givin people a place to look - completely understand if this is a problem. - Thanks!

 

[cw42]

i just reg'd over at treocentral as well. in case anyone else is looking, this guy compiled a list of freeware apps for the centro: http://www.palmloyal.com/addon...s&file=print&sid=17990

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: EarthwormJim
Wonder how fast the processor is and when a gsm version is coming.

Processor is the same as the other Treo series, and listening to the new podcast from Treocentral where they talk a lot about the Centro, he stated that he saw an Orange-branded Centro. Of course, that's going to be in Europe, but you can always import it or pray that T-Mobile or AT&T pick it up. Not too sure if AT&T would because they carry the 680 though.

I read that sprint has a 90 day exclusive on the Centro. Don't know if its accurate or not, but I read that online.

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Pearl 2> that

Give reasoning - there are a lot of disqualifiers for that statement.

Well lets look at raw specs:

Specs:

• -Display 320x320 pixel Transflective color touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (up to 65K colors) Draw
  - Radio Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO backward compatible with 1XRTT and IS95 Draw
  - Platform Palm OS 5.4.9 Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM is more modern, stable)
  - Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version 1.2 Advantage: BlackBerry (Bluetooth 2.0+EDR+A2DP)
  - Memory 64MB available user storage Draw
  - Camera 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture Advantage: BlackBerry (2.0MP)
  - Battery Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion Draw
  - 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time Palm might win here?
  - Expansion microSD card (up to 4GB supported) Advantage: BlackBerry (SDHC supports up to 32GB!)
  - Connector Multi-connector Advantage: BlackBerry (miniUSB)
  - Dimensions 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz Advantage: BlackBerry (smaller/thinner)
  - Colors Ruby and Onyx
  - System Requirements Windows® XP, Windows Vista?, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Software on device
Bluetooth®, Calculator, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Documents to Go® Professional Edition 10, Downloads, Google Mobile Maps, HotSync®, Instant Messaging, Nuance Voice Control, My Centro, On Demand, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes? Deluxe, Quick Tour, Sprint Mobile Email, Sprint Store, Sprint TV, Sudoku, VersaMail® 4.0, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer® 4.5), World Clock

Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM supports better apps--Palm OS is a dying platform!)

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Pearl 2> that

Give reasoning - there are a lot of disqualifiers for that statement.

Well lets look at raw specs:

Specs:

• -Display 320x320 pixel Transflective color touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (up to 65K colors) Draw
  - Radio Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO backward compatible with 1XRTT and IS95 Draw
  - Platform Palm OS 5.4.9 Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM is more modern, stable)
  - Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version 1.2 Advantage: BlackBerry (Bluetooth 2.0+EDR+A2DP)
  - Memory 64MB available user storage Draw
  - Camera 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture Advantage: BlackBerry (2.0MP)
  - Battery Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion Draw
  - 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time Palm might win here?
  - Expansion microSD card (up to 4GB supported) Advantage: BlackBerry (SDHC supports up to 32GB!)
  - Connector Multi-connector Advantage: BlackBerry (miniUSB)
  - Dimensions 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz Advantage: BlackBerry (smaller/thinner)
  - Colors Ruby and Onyx
  - System Requirements Windows® XP, Windows Vista?, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Software on device
Bluetooth®, Calculator, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Documents to Go® Professional Edition 10, Downloads, Google Mobile Maps, HotSync®, Instant Messaging, Nuance Voice Control, My Centro, On Demand, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes? Deluxe, Quick Tour, Sprint Mobile Email, Sprint Store, Sprint TV, Sudoku, VersaMail® 4.0, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer® 4.5), World Clock

Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM supports better apps--Palm OS is a dying platform!)

Sorry, but no advantage with BB OS - you can get a lot more/better apps based on the Palm OS.

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: UNCjigga

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Pearl 2> that

Give reasoning - there are a lot of disqualifiers for that statement.

Well lets look at raw specs:

Specs:

• -Display 320x320 pixel Transflective color touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (up to 65K colors) Draw
  - Radio Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO backward compatible with 1XRTT and IS95 Draw
  - Platform Palm OS 5.4.9 Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM is more modern, stable)
  - Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version 1.2 Advantage: BlackBerry (Bluetooth 2.0+EDR+A2DP)
  - Memory 64MB available user storage Draw
  - Camera 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture Advantage: BlackBerry (2.0MP)
  - Battery Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion Draw
  - 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time Palm might win here?
  - Expansion microSD card (up to 4GB supported) Advantage: BlackBerry (SDHC supports up to 32GB!)
  - Connector Multi-connector Advantage: BlackBerry (miniUSB)
  - Dimensions 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz Advantage: BlackBerry (smaller/thinner)
  - Colors Ruby and Onyx
  - System Requirements Windows® XP, Windows Vista?, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Software on device
Bluetooth®, Calculator, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Documents to Go® Professional Edition 10, Downloads, Google Mobile Maps, HotSync®, Instant Messaging, Nuance Voice Control, My Centro, On Demand, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes? Deluxe, Quick Tour, Sprint Mobile Email, Sprint Store, Sprint TV, Sudoku, VersaMail® 4.0, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer® 4.5), World Clock

Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM supports better apps--Palm OS is a dying platform!)

Sorry, but no advantage with BB OS - you can get a lot more/better apps based on the Palm OS.

That may have been true at some point, but RIM 4.3 is a true multitasking OS with much more robust security and authentication built-in. Plus, it uses an industry-standard JVM. I work in the industry and I know for a fact that the RIM developer community is VERY strong and porting an app to the BlackBerry platform is becoming standard practice. Palm OS may hold the current advantage for consumer apps (remote controls, streaming media players, PIM managers etc.) but the Curve and the Pearl have done a lot to bring similar consumer apps to RIM.

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: UNCjigga

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Pearl 2> that

Give reasoning - there are a lot of disqualifiers for that statement.

Well lets look at raw specs:

Specs:

• -Display 320x320 pixel Transflective color touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (up to 65K colors) Draw
  - Radio Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO backward compatible with 1XRTT and IS95 Draw
  - Platform Palm OS 5.4.9 Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM is more modern, stable)
  - Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version 1.2 Advantage: BlackBerry (Bluetooth 2.0+EDR+A2DP)
  - Memory 64MB available user storage Draw
  - Camera 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture Advantage: BlackBerry (2.0MP)
  - Battery Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion Draw
  - 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time Palm might win here?
  - Expansion microSD card (up to 4GB supported) Advantage: BlackBerry (SDHC supports up to 32GB!)
  - Connector Multi-connector Advantage: BlackBerry (miniUSB)
  - Dimensions 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz Advantage: BlackBerry (smaller/thinner)
  - Colors Ruby and Onyx
  - System Requirements Windows® XP, Windows Vista?, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Software on device
Bluetooth®, Calculator, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Documents to Go® Professional Edition 10, Downloads, Google Mobile Maps, HotSync®, Instant Messaging, Nuance Voice Control, My Centro, On Demand, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes? Deluxe, Quick Tour, Sprint Mobile Email, Sprint Store, Sprint TV, Sudoku, VersaMail® 4.0, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer® 4.5), World Clock

Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM supports better apps--Palm OS is a dying platform!)

Sorry, but no advantage with BB OS - you can get a lot more/better apps based on the Palm OS.

That may have been true at some point, but RIM 4.3 is a true multitasking OS with much more robust security and authentication built-in. Plus, it uses an industry-standard JVM. I work in the industry and I know for a fact that the RIM developer community is VERY strong and porting an app to the BlackBerry platform is becoming standard practice. Palm OS may hold the current advantage for consumer apps (remote controls, streaming media players, PIM managers etc.) but the Curve and the Pearl have done a lot to bring similar consumer apps to RIM.

I'll get comparisson photos this weekend of my Centro next to an 8300, and then we'll talk about size

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: UNCjigga

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: UNCjigga

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Pearl 2> that

Give reasoning - there are a lot of disqualifiers for that statement.

Well lets look at raw specs:

Specs:

• -Display 320x320 pixel Transflective color touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (up to 65K colors) Draw
  - Radio Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO backward compatible with 1XRTT and IS95 Draw
  - Platform Palm OS 5.4.9 Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM is more modern, stable)
  - Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version 1.2 Advantage: BlackBerry (Bluetooth 2.0+EDR+A2DP)
  - Memory 64MB available user storage Draw
  - Camera 1.3 megapixels with 2x digital zoom and video capture Advantage: BlackBerry (2.0MP)
  - Battery Removable 1150mAh, lithium-ion Draw
  - 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time Palm might win here?
  - Expansion microSD card (up to 4GB supported) Advantage: BlackBerry (SDHC supports up to 32GB!)
  - Connector Multi-connector Advantage: BlackBerry (miniUSB)
  - Dimensions 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz Advantage: BlackBerry (smaller/thinner)
  - Colors Ruby and Onyx
  - System Requirements Windows® XP, Windows Vista?, Mac OS X v10.2-10.4

Software on device
Bluetooth®, Calculator, Camcorder, Camera, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Documents to Go® Professional Edition 10, Downloads, Google Mobile Maps, HotSync®, Instant Messaging, Nuance Voice Control, My Centro, On Demand, Phone, Pics and Video, PocketTunes? Deluxe, Quick Tour, Sprint Mobile Email, Sprint Store, Sprint TV, Sudoku, VersaMail® 4.0, Voice Memo, Web (Blazer® 4.5), World Clock

Advantage: BlackBerry (OS 4.3 w/JVM supports better apps--Palm OS is a dying platform!)

Sorry, but no advantage with BB OS - you can get a lot more/better apps based on the Palm OS.

That may have been true at some point, but RIM 4.3 is a true multitasking OS with much more robust security and authentication built-in. Plus, it uses an industry-standard JVM. I work in the industry and I know for a fact that the RIM developer community is VERY strong and porting an app to the BlackBerry platform is becoming standard practice. Palm OS may hold the current advantage for consumer apps (remote controls, streaming media players, PIM managers etc.) but the Curve and the Pearl have done a lot to bring similar consumer apps to RIM.

I'll get comparisson photos this weekend of my Centro next to an 8300, and then we'll talk about size

I wasn't comparing it to the Curve, I was comparing it to Pearl 2!

I suppose one Palm "advantage" I left of the table was real QWERTY, but I refuse to believe those tic-tac keys on Centro are comfortable.

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

While you may refuse, there are plenty of people who are saying the keys are usable. They're perfectly fine, I haven't had my thumb slip onto another letter yet.

 

[DivideBYZero]

GEEK FIGHT!

 

[erwos]

The Centro isn't supposed to be competing with the Blackberry - they're two different phones designed for two different markets. For one thing, a Blackberry plan with Sprint is like $40 a month on top of everything else. Unlimited smartphone data is only $15 for "normal" smartphones. For another, the Pearl is like twice the price of the Centro. Of course it'll have more features!

 

[slag]

I picked up the centro on friday for $99.00 on the free and clear plan

I like it so far. Sound quality not as good as my old razr phone, but all in all, a nice phone with good applications and useability.

 

[AntiFreze]

So what would a normal monthly bill be for the $15 "normal" data package attached? any link I can view the plans?

 

[2canSAM]

http://nextelonline.nextel.com...b_Link_IndividualPlans

 

[2canSAM]

Keyboard is very usable to me. I just wish some of the apps I used on the 680 would work, really liking this device though and the SER O plan makes it that much better.