[LM_NET] HIT: Palm Centro

[Toni Buzzeo <tonibuzzeo@TONIBUZZEO.COM>]

ORIGINAL POST:

I'm tired of schlepping around both my Palm and my phone and am 
thinking of finally taking the plunge and buying a smart 
phone.  However, I would just as soon not change OS platforms and so 
am considering the Palm Centro.  Does anyone have one?  Anything 
positive or negative to report?

RESPONSES:

***Just make sure you hold one before you buy it. I looked at a Palm 
last spring, and it was big and heavy. The person at the Verizon 
store said he could give me a great deal on one, because they had so 
many returned. You couldn't put it in your pocket. I also didn't want 
online access for an extra $79 a month, I just wanted phone access and my PDA.

*** I have one I bought in May.  Since I have a Mac laptop, I have 
also purchased a bridge software to synch iCal.  I had long used a 
Palm, so didn't want to change over.  Mostly, I like it.  It operates 
as you would be used to with your Palm.  A couple of things I wish 
were different: - The keys are really teeny tiny.  Makes it hard to 
press unless you use the edge of your  fingernail. - The keys don't 
light up (or I have somehow turned this feature off and can't find 
it!). This means I have to turn on a light in the car or whenever the 
light is low to use the keypad and is, for me, a pain. - I had some 
issues this fall with battery life, but pretty much solved it by 
making sure the Bluetooth feature doesn't come on automatically.  I 
also got the free version of PowerHero to see where my battery power 
was being used. - Finally, either I'm getting really old OR (and I 
like this option better) the sound for the earpiece isn't the 
best.  I can't always hear on phone calls as well as I would like.

Other than these little annoyances, it operates much as you would 
expect with a Palm.  I couldn't justify the cost of an iPhone when I 
got this, plus I've always really liked the options available with 
the Palm (like HandyShopper).  But I may be an iPhone convert in the 
future ...

*** I have had a Centro for about a year now.  I've been very pleased with it.

*** I've had a Palm Centro since June. I never had a palm before, so 
I can't compare. I do like the phone, though. Try searching it on 
YouTube - I saw video of a guy detailing the pro and cons of it while 
showing off the phone. That was helpful.

I bought it mainly for it's fast upload of internet images, 
touchscreen and keyboard. Internet was faster than most of the other 
phones I compared it to and the touchscreen works great.

I have no complaints!

*** I love love love my Palm Treo 755p.  I think the Centro is very 
similar, just more compact.  This has the best reception of any phone 
I've ever had, and I am able to check the internet, receive texts and 
phone calls from within my library office--most people don't get 
service inside the library.  Also has good battery life.


I was in the same situation with a Palm and a phone...I switched to 
the Palm Treo and sync up at school and at home.  LOVE IT!  Don't 
know anything about the new Centro....I hope you get some responses 
because it is almost time for me to upgrade.
***

I have a Palm Centro and I LOVE it. I do so much with it, so many 
things that I had told my husband I didn't think I would use and 
didn't understand why he thought they were so cool....

I use my so much, as a matter of fact, that I make the battery go 
down to about 25% each day. It's easy to recharge so no big deal. But 
that's a lot of use. I travel by subway to work each day and find 
myself reading my email for work and home, researching online, and 
reading blogs. I take a lot of photos with it and have them handy all 
the time. It takes pretty good photos. I bought a program called 
ListPro and use that for all sorts of lists, from simple to complex. 
I have a few games on it, like Sudoku. I use IM on it, too.

I haven't seen anything negative, to tell you the truth. I've had 
mine almost a full year.

Bottom line, I highly recommend the Centro!

*** I've had mine since the middle of last year's school year.  I'm 
still loving it, even though my brother-in-law is fond of giving me a 
hard time about not buying a Blackberry instead.

Fits in my pocket, alarms during class are great (though I still want 
to find a countdown timer for it - I keep putting it off, especially 
as I'm not working this year), easy to switch to vibrate only.  And 
much better than carrying around phone and PDA (not to mention I use 
it for my "backup book", downloading books from Overdrive through my 
public library system) as well as audiobooks

I've only had trouble twice with the alarms not working.  The "fix" 
for that is to just take the battery out and replace it 
again.  Considering the number of "issues" I've had in the past with 
phones, I consider that a minor annoyance - and just hope that the 
third time it happens isn't for anything important

I definitely don't use all the features, though.  Oh... and that tiny 
keyboard?  I've found that using my fingernails to type on it, the 
size is not a problem - and they're made of a plastic that gives, so 
the nail doesn't slip, and it doesn't hurt to do so (short nails for 
typing on the computer, anyway).

I've found that I'm getting better at using all the PDA features than 
I used to be with my old Palm, and the Visor I had before that... 
just because it *is* with me almost all the time.  Though I made the 
"mistake" of getting Word Worm and Sudoko... so I probably play with 
it while waiting for things almost as much as I actually *use* it.

Best part of it is the many alarms working... my ADHD self is getting 
much better about watching the time and being where I have to be on 
time than I used to be, thanks to its reminders.

Oh! nearly forgot - one negative.  Something about the phone 
interferes somewhat with my car key - I have a Toyota with a remote 
key / push button start (amuses me to no end that something "old 
fashioned" is "new fangled" again.  However, I've also been told that 
that can be a problem with *any* cell phone - leaky signals.  It 
*doesn't* happen if I've got the phone part turned off.  (and that's 
a positive - you *can* turn off the phone and leave the PDA portion 
completely useable - even sound)

*** I saw your post on the LM_NET digest asking about the Palm 
Centro.  I got one about two months ago (through Verizon) and have 
been very pleased.   I have used a Palm for several years, and it was 
a very easy transition.  I carry it with me all the time in my pocket 
and it is great to have it handy the many times a day I am stopped in 
the hall and asked for .... (fill in the blank!).  I can set myself a 
reminder or to do and not have to worry about forgetting it before I 
get back to the library.   I also often set myself alarms (so I don't 
forget to do all those requests!).    The only negative in my opinion 
has been the sensitivity of the touchscreen.  The first month or so, 
I accidentally hung up on several calls.  I think I've adjusted 
though, because it hasn't happened much lately.

*** Sorry, I can't comment on the Palm, but in the event you do 
consider another OS, I can share that I LOVE my new Blackberry Bold!


Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com>
Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita
Buxton, ME 04093
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com  

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