New Palm Centro

[JBJ]

Anyone have info on the New Palm Centro? Pros and cons would be helpful. Thanks.

[Bill Clinton]

I like the crisp screen, micro SD slot, great price, sound quality is good, and the device is a nice size.

Minor gripes include the speaker on the back and a mediocre 1.3 megapixle camera.

Overall it is a pretty good device. When you consider the price of $99 with a plan the deal is hard to pass up.

[JBJ]

Thanks Bill. I went to Sprint today to get info (of course biased) and the new, young employee had one so he was able to show me a lot of the features. He loves it! I'll go thru the manual that I downloaded.
Since I'm on the SERO plan, if I choose to purchase it, I don't think I could get it for $99 but I'll try hard.
Say hi to Hilary.

[Bill Clinton]

If you are signing up for a SERO plan the cost is $99 for a Centro. If you are already into you plan you might be better off buying the Centro on Ebay. If you try to buy the phone directly from Sprint you might have to pay as much as $400 without the subsidy.
Hillary is busy of course, but I will pass along greetings form you.

[JBJ]

Thanks. My hunch is that you're a Sprint employee. I figured this one out after your 2nd reply. Am I correct?
Actually, I found a website where I can purchase the phone, if I decide to do so, but when I looked a 2nd time, I couldn't find it. I have to do more research. I had thought of eBay as well.
Thanks again for all your insight.

[Bill Clinton]

I am actually not a Sprint employee. I have been a customer for a while however.

[RJB]

I have had the centro fo a long time now and I have to say and no offense bill. The speaker is plenty loud I drive a very loud deisel truck and I can hear it just fine also the camera is one of the best I have ever used. In fact I get compliments on it all the time how good the quality is.

[Bill Clinton]

I was just trying to give JBJ a few things that I noticed about the device. The speaker is plenty loud, I just don't like putting the phone face down. I for a phone that does it all, the camera isn't that bad I guess. I couldn't find anything else to complain about, so these were the only things I felt were shortcomings.

[RJB]

Originally Posted by Bill Clinton

I was just trying to give JBJ a few things that I noticed about the device. The speaker is plenty loud, I just don't like putting the phone face down. I for a phone that does it all, the camera isn't that bad I guess. I couldn't find anything else to complain about, so these were the only things I felt were shortcomings.

For sure we can both say what we like and dont like.

[Imajika]

Pro:
Crisp images on the screen
Fast load times for apps
Fast data connection for IM and browsing the web
Good video quality
GREAT speaker
Excellent size
Great voice quality on calls

Con:
Battery cover is a pain in the neck to remove (eventually you get used to it though)
Memory card slot is UNDER the battery cover (less chance of losing a card but a pain in the neck if you need to change cards frequently)
Stylus is cheap and has no 'substance'. I just ordered a new one
No GPS (other than location services for 911)
No flash on the camera

I work for Sprint and we get all the demo phones here before they are released to the public so I got to play around with the Centro for quite a while before we could actually order them for ourselves. As soon as they let us place our orders, mine was in! I think I was the first one to place my order here.

[JBJ]

Thanks for the great info Imajika. One of the main drawbacks you mentioned --there isn't a GPS in the Centro-- is a real negative. My phone allows me to turn ON/OFF the GPS. Are there other PDA/smartphones that you would recommend?

[budney]

As of right now Their are no Sprint PDA/Smartphones with any type of GPS. You will need to buy a GPS card that fits into the memory card slot to have GPS. But if you can wait, Sprint anounced that the Mogul (for sure) with get aGPS with the next ROM update in Q1 2008. Supposedly the Touch will be getting it too.

[JBJ]

I just joined this group and love it. Thanks to all for the great information.
I will watch for the Mogul and Touch. What companies put those phones out?

[Bill Clinton]

Those devices are made by HTC. I have never been disappointed with any products from HTC.

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

what about the QWERT keyboard.......CNET says its really cramped and it looks cramped but would a fast texter like me have issues with it???

[RJB]

Well I have large finger and at first the size threw me for a loop then I got used to it after a few days I am a heavy texter as well but love love love this phone. And for those of you who know me I went threw about 15 phones in three months and have finally found one I love.

[RJB]

Granted I do make some spelling errors but once again seeing me here shows I make these all the time lol.

[Imajika]

I haven't had any issues with the keyboard size on my Centro. I am a female and have small hands/fingers and I never had any issues.

My boyfriend has larger hands/fingers and, at first, he had a heck of a time using the keyboard but he said eventually he got used to it.

No Sprint smart phones have built in GPS at the moment. You would need to buy a GPS device to use with the phone.

My previous Samsung M500 had built in GPS and worked like a charm with Garmin mobile. I think it's funny that a 'dumb phone' like the Samsung M500 has built in GPS and all of our 'smart phones' don't have the capability yet!

[JBJ]

Imajika,
As I believe, all the Smart phones have GPS capability but they're locked by the phone company.

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

i have big hands and fingers as well......especially my thumbs........i know the centro will prolli be an issue for me........which is why im leading more towards the the Blackberry 8830......the keys are a little more spread out