It was a good mail day for me today. Three different review samples showed up. Yay! I have to say though that the most exciting sample was a shiny Red Palm Centro from Sprint. I’ve only had a couple of hours to play around with it, but the Centro is making me consider that maybe we’ve (I’ve) been counting Palm out of the mobile phone game entirely too soon… This little phone is a real cutie! And at $99 (with a wireless plan), I think it may prove to be quite popular. Check out the pix.
First impressions:
It feels measurably smaller than my Treo 680.
The keyboard is microscopic, but so far I’ve not had an issue entering text with it.
Love the bright, crisp display.
Why can’t it be a GSM phone…
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wow are you lucky…I would like to know:
thanks…
I haven’t had a lot of time with the Centro yet, but here are some points that come to mind:
Why I like the Palm Centro better than the iPhone:
Why I like the iPhone better than the Centro:
As to your question about the Centro’s display compared to the Z22’s. I don’t have a Z22 handy to actually check… I do have a Z31, and the Centro’s display is much brighter, clearer and crisper.
I like the Centro too, my Clie TH55 is starting to get a little long in the tooth and I’ve been looking for something to finally consolidate my PDA and my phone. Is this a pre-order unit or did you get a demo/review unit? I’ll look forward to seeing your review.
Hey Julie, longtime reader etc etc from Aberdeen in Scotland. I’m seriously considering Ubuntu as my main OS, but i’m still a bit nervous. After 10 years breaking, then learning to fix various versions of windows, I don’t want to feel like an complete novice again!
Would you consider a quick review of Ubuntu (7.10) against OS X. It’s a bit outside the gadget remit of the site, but it would be very interesting to see if you think if Linux is “there” yet.
Thanks for all the good reading over the last few years!
Chris
oops – sorry, the previous post should be with your apple article. sorry! schoolboy error!
FullCarbonBike:
Sprint sent me the Centro to review. I have it for 3 weeks and have to return it. I wouldn’t be able to buy / keep one anyway since I’m an AT&T person. I don’t have Sprint coverage here at home. I’ve found it to be slower than Edge too.
Christo:
Interesting request… I will consider doing a gear diary entry on Ubuntu in the near-ish future. How will that be?
Well, when it comes to mobile phones, i never really cared for the cell phones like the treo, i always liked the motorolla, but that’s my personal opinion.
Lavadragon29:
Which Motorola phone are you currently using?
Hi Julie,
Have you ever used a Palm smartphone as an ebook reader?
I find my Lifedrive (hacked to LifeFlash) is extremely handy, so until the iPhone gets opened up, I am tempted by Palm phones. I can’t give up my ebooks, however!
the point would be to not have to have multiple devices.
thanks!
David
David:
Oh yes, my Treo is my main ebook reader and has been for years :o)
If you’re brave enough to jailbreak your iPhone, there is an ebook reader for it that you can install. It’s quite slow though and installing books is a little cumbersome.
Thanks, Julie!
The Centro is tempting. Of course, I live in an area of Northern California that Sprint won’t cover, but they are supposedly unlocking them soon.
the iPhone needs a few more product cycles before I bite.
iPhone v3 on eBay for $100, yes.
So the ebook reading doesn’t really cut into the battery enough to mess up your phoning functions, then?
thanks again,
David
David:
Nope, I never had a battery issue while reading ebooks. But then, I’m not the type of person that will sit on the couch and read a book for 8hrs at a time :o)