[Review] ATT Palm Centro (685)

[crazzy88ss]

So I got the black Centro about a month ago, and I absolutely love it. Here's the Phonescoop link if you want technical details: http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=1438

TOUCH SCREEN - 9/10

First off, it's the same resolution as the other Palm phones, at 320x320. It's 16 bit w/ 65k colors.

The touch screen is very nice. You don't need to use the included stylus for anything but small things in the very corners. I've gotten so used to navigating around the phone's OS by touch that I try and use my the screens on other people's phones/iPods. While it's not 100% as good as the iPhone's touch screen, I think it's very close and does the job very well.

The screen is also very bright and I can see the screen easily in direct sun. There's also a direct button to adjust the brightness (option + P = brightness adjustment), which comes in handy a lot.

KEYPAD - 8/10

I thought the keypad was awful my VERY first time seeing the phone. However, once I started to use it, I realize that I like it a lot better than the blackberrys and blackjack I/II. The keys have a rubber texture that make them very nice to push. They feel solid unlike the plastic keys of most other smart phones. The only problem is that it's kind of small. It doesn't bother me too much, but this probably isn't the phone for you if you have big hands.

BUILD QUALITY 8/10

The phone is completely plastic. The phone feels completely solid with out the battery cover on. There's no squeaking or flexible parts. However, once you put the battery cover on, there's a bit of squeaking, and the battery cover does bend under pressure.

INCLUDED SOFTWARE 10/10

I am very very pleased with the included software on the phone's OS. My first big surprise was that it came with Microsoft Office 2003. Yes, Office. I can CREATE Word, Excel, and Powerpoint presentations ON my phone. I wrote a 3000 word essay for school while I was at work one day, ON the phone. I then emailed the essay to my teacher (he only accepts emailed assignments). I used Powerpoint to demo my presentations to my group for two classes. MS Office alone has helped me increase my productivity a lot.

The text messaging UI is set up in a chat mode, just like the iPhone. It stores unlimited (so far) texts and is very easy to use. Texting has its own dedicated button on the right side of the phone.

The calender is wonderful. It has really helped me stay organized for school at the end of the semester. It also has it's own dedicated button on the left side of the phone.

The picture viewer is very nice. You can actually draw on your pictures and save them as new images (more entertaining than useful).

The web browser is pretty good. I don't use the web too often, but it's much more functional than previous phones I've had.

Of course, since this is Palm OS, you can add just about any application you want.

CALL/SPEAKER QUALITY 9.5/10

The Centro's standard speaker is of good quality and I don't have any problems hearing people clearly. The speaker phone on the back side of the phone is also very loud and clear.

STYLUS 9.5/10

They stylus is of good quality and durability. It's pretty strong and has a good feel in my hand.

BATTERY LIFE - 10/10

As somebody who sends ~3000+ texts and makes about 350 minutes of calls a month, the battery is very good. My two previous phones I'd have to charge every day, and the standby time was very limited. This phone I only charge every 2-3 days with the same amount of usage as the other two phones. I feel that the standby time on this phone could be well over a week. One feature that's really nice is that you can turn the cellphone portion of the device off, while leaving the Palm OS PDA part of the phone still running. If the phone is turned off, and the PDA part is on, the standby mode only uses about 1% battery every 12 hours.

CAMERAL - 8/10

1.3MP is kind of small these days, but it's of good quality. It takes pictures quickly and functions very well in low light for a cell phone camera.

OTHER

I really like the size of this phone, and would not have gotten a Palm phone if the Centro wasn't available due to the large size of their other phones.

The IR beam is a nice function to have. I work with several other Palm owners, and they just beam me their software using the IR; it's not super fast but it makes it easy and convenient.

Palm has used the same charging tip on their phones for a LONG time now, which is a good thing. It seems like every other phone manufacturing company creates a new charger tip every year, but not Palm.

I haven't actually used the computer software. I've installed it on my iMac, so it does work for OSX, but I've been to busy to use it, and I haven't really had much of a need to synch it with my computer.

Overall I rated the Palm Centro a 72/80, which is 90%. I really enjoy this phone and recommend it to everybody else.

[Guest sendmarksmail]

Awesome, I'm glad someone posted. I had a question. Hopefully you can answer.

I know someone selling a Palm Centro because the "End Call" key is broken. I was wondering, (please answer if you know for sure 100%) is there another way to end a call besides that button? I know it's touchscreen as well, so is there an option on the screen that ends the call? Acts like an "End Button"? Thanks!

[crazzy88ss]

Actually, there is not.

Maybe just wait until the other end hangs up? lol

If they're selling it really cheap, it might be a cheap thing to fix, too.

[L3thal Veteran]

The Centro is a very good phone indeed. Though I stick with their Treo's, the Centro is an excellent phone for the price and it is of no surprise that Palm has actually gained marketshare after Centro's release: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home