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Palm Discovery would like to extend a BIG THANKS to Erin Bury and Amy Clark of Environics for providing the product for this review.

This review has been broken down into three parts for easier consumption.

Part 1 focused on the quick specs and general details of the Centro smartphone plus pictures of the device and a comparison of the camera and video.

This is Part 2 where we continue with the multipart video reviews of the Centro and the opinion and observations.

Part 3 will conclude with the final thoughts.

Product Videos

Overview of Centro at YouTube

Part 1 at YouTube

Part 2 at YouTube

Part 3 at YouTube

Part 4 at YouTube

Part 5 at YouTube

Here are my observations:

As was mentioned already, the underlying Palm OS platform has not changed since 2006 as the Centro is still using version 5.4.9 so there is really no point in discussing the operating system or many of the programs as it’s been covered in previous reviews. Instead, I will discuss some of the other features that stood out in the Centro.

First of all, the Centro shows that a little bit of cosmetic changes and a few tweaks here and there under the hood and changing the packaging can make a difference. Surprisingly enough, the Centro has been a good seller worldwide, introducing the benefits of a smartphone device to many first time smartphone owners who may not otherwise have picked one up. The price point in my view has been a major factor in bringing the Centro to many households and opening that world of mobile opportunities to them. The form has changed somewhat from the old Treo shape to a more rounded and rectangular form which kind of reminds me more of a bar of soap. Had the Centro come with the silicon coating found on the treo 755p and Treo 750, it would have easily felt like holding onto a bar of soap. All jokes aside, it would not have been as bad to have that silicon coating which could have made the Centro less slippery. Instead, Palm opted to go with a plastic casing that was a bit slippery, at least to me. As many may know from my previous reviews, I very much dislike slippery casing devices.

The Centro has slimmed down in size, not only width wise, but also in depth, which will likely appeal to many people who complain about the bulkiness and size of the Treos. Personally for me, I prefer the Treo size because it feels better in the hand and everything else like the keys, screen are bigger. But that’s a compromise that you expect when you shrink something down that everything else will also have to shrink down. Surprisingly, although the keys were smaller in size and they were now lined up in horizontal rows, unlike the Treo keys which were somewhat curved upwards, I was able to type without much difficulty on these smaller keys. I was expecting to experience some difficulties but was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t.

With the Centro being “affordably priced”, that meant some cost cutting measures or changes had to be made. For me, some of those changes really changed my view of it. For example, I was shocked to discover that there were no battery cover release button on the battery door, as was normally found on the Treos. So, I had to dig in the manual to figure out how to remove the battery cover. Apparently, to remove the battery cover, you are expected to place your thumbs near the top edges of the cover, press down and slide the cover out. Sounds easy, until you try it yourself. Or, I may very well be one of the very few people who struggle with it. Actually, it has gotten me so frustrated that I avoid opening up the battery cover unless absolutely necessary. Again, I am likely the only person who finds it frustrating and difficult to do.

Somewhat related to the battery cover is the microSD card slot cover which I’ve found (at least with respect to the loaner that I was using) can be quite difficult to open. When I was first using the device, I wasn’t sure where the microSD card slot was. Although it looked like the slot was where I thought it was, I couldn’t figure out how to open it. It wasn’t until I removed the battery cover that I found that microSD card slot was where I thought it was and that I was then easily able to open it up. Putting the battery cover back on, it was quite difficult (again, it’s very likely my problems) to pry open the cover/door. I ended up using the edge of a firm piece of paper to dig in and pry it out. This is another frustration that has unfortunately influenced on my overall view and opinion of the device. Seriously, if I have to struggle to remove the battery cover and open up the microSD card slot (which I tend to access a lot for swapping out cards, etc), then it’s very unlikely that I will gain a positive experience with this device. Again, I want to stress that this is my own personal experience and it’s very likely it was limited to the loaner unit that I was using and that many will disagree with me.

When opening up the camera application regardless of whether it’s for photos or camcorder, it takes an extra split second or so before the application is loaded and the black screen fades out. I am aware that most cameras do take a second or two to load up, but it seems that with the Centro it was much more noticeable. Again, that may be my personal opinion.

Also, with regards to the ringtone or alarms, the initial sound of the alarm or ringtone is not at the maximum and takes that split second or two before it comes out at its full volume. I have not noticed that with either my Treo 650 or 750. I think that this may also be something that I have may have possibily noticed with the 680 and 755p, although I can not be sure. The volume on the other hand, was much louder than the 750 and 650, which is nice.

With these observations with regards to the sound and camera, I am wondering if the lower capacity battery may have something to do with it. As expected, with a slimmer and smaller size, that also means that the battery will also be smaller, with a lower capacity and that the battery life will not be as long as even the the slimmer Treos like 680, 755p, 750. I have observed that in half a day of even limited usage, the battery went to less than half. So keep that in mind.

The Centro has been supplied with a screen protector already put on, which was one thing I did not know until I read the manual. There were no notes or documentation anywhere on the device, which I found quite strange to have it fitted with a screen protector without letting the user/owner know unless they read the manual, which, as we know, many of us don’t.

One very positive feature I found with the Centro is the Voice Command program by VoiceSignals, now owned by Nuance. I found it to be surprisingly accurate in determining my commands and speech, although, of course, there may be some mistakes made from time to time. But compared to the Microsoft Voice Command or other voice command applications, this one is very good. If I were to point out the main strong point of the Centro, the Voice Command program has got to be it.

So, an old dog can be taught new tricks, or an old house can be renovated to change the overall looks and characteristics to such a degree that is can be somewhat “better” or “newer” than it was before.

For many die hard Palm OS fans, the Centro may be the only way to keep sticking with a Palm. Not only is it cheaper and more affordable than other Treo smartphones, it is also smaller and slimmer. Also, with the Voice Command program, it can be well worth it. For Treo owners and users, upgrading to the Centro may be the obvious choice since it offers everything at an affordable price. Of course, they can still get the Treos by why should they when the Centro is cheaper and practically offers what the Treo has? But keep in mind that the lower capacity battery, the smaller size, slimmer form and two year old technology may be reasons to reconsider.

That concludes Part 2 of this 3 Part review. Stay tuned for Part 3!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Palm and purchases made with the affiliate links in this post and throughout the site will help keep Palm Discovery running as paying for future giveaways offered from time to time. Thanks to your generosity, $20 was donated to Plan Canada (formerly Foster Parents Plan International) in 2006 and $85 was donated in 2007.

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