Palm Centro Onyx Black Review - At a Glance

At a Glance

 

Editor Rating: 4.3

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Styling:  4 

Ease of Use:  4 

Display:  4 

Voice Quality:  5 

Battery Life:  5 

Quality/Durability:  4 

What’s Not Good: QWERTY keys are small and cramped; Display is smallish (if still easy to read); Hardware and software design feels a bit dated; Noticeably thicker than comparable devices; No Music Store access (yet)

Bottom Line: Get Centro in your hands.  If you like the way it feels and if the buttons aren’t too small for you, you might have found yourself the best value currently going in a full-featured smartphone built for consumers.  Palm OS is not slick, but it works well and Sprint’s fast EV-DO data network and excellent music store add value to the device.  But the cramped buttons and small screen will be deal-breakers for some.

Specs:

• Make/Model: Palm Centro (690)
• Network: CDMA
• Data: EV-DO
• Carrier: Sprint (Locked); GSM version available from AT&T
• Size: 107 x 54 x 18.5 mm
• Weight: 119 g
• Form Factor: Candybar
• Display: 2.25” Color LCD, 320 x 320 resolution, 65,000 Colors
• Memory:  64 MB built-in, microSD card slot
• Notable Features: Palm OS Smartphone Platform; POP3, IMAP, and MS Exchange Email support (including MS Direct push); IM support for multiple procotols; Web browser; Sprint TV and Power Vision compatibility including laptop tethering; ocketTunes Deluxe music player software including Internet Radio support; Sirius Satellite Radio support