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Palm Centro: Hands-On

Frazier Barretto, Mar 20, 2008 1154 hrs IST

A first look at what appears to be a business handset meant for the younger crowd

EXPERT REVIEW

The Palm Centro launched yesterday, and I was there to take a good look at what Palm had to bring to the competitive game of mobile handsets. Before the event, I'd already formed an impression about the Centro: I was expecting it to be a "female" phone (one for the ladies!), and was wondering what kind of pricing Palm would have for it, especially considering its tie-ups with network operators. Well, things turned out differently, and the Centro to a certain extent does win my favor.

A First Glance

At the table were some dummy models (1:1 ratio) of the Centro, and I picked one to get a feel. My curiosity was evident, and I was very soon holding a production model. What first caught my attention was that it's small, especially considering that the phone has a large touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard. Compared to the Treo 750, the Centro is compact, but has a bit of an aura of being a power device. The QWERTY keypad is a bit cramped, meaning stout thumbs won't be pleased. The keypad keys are of a soft build, which reduces stress while typing, but the close spacing will eventually detract from the comfort.

Usability

The touchscreen is built to take finger-touch inputs and also those made using a stylus. Even without trying too hard, I was able to comfortably use the handset without the need to pull out the stylus for the most part. What makes the Centro thumb-friendly -- if you could call it that -- are the large icons that pop up on the screen in the case of events, or in the menus.

USER COMMENTS

hi everyone i want to share my experience with you. from last four years i was using windows mobile products but from last 3 months i am using centro. my friend bought it for me coz i was fed up with the hanging problem of windows mobile. believe me this is the best device i have ever used. its so simple, but its having very good features. the things i like its speed, chat messaging style, e.t.c..... and ofcourse palm's full year replacement warranty

by krishan, new delhi, on Jun 13, 2008 02:05 AM, Report abuse Reply

u can buy the same from Prompt Infosolutions in Delhi for Rs.13,750...u can contact them at 9810101054, 011-41501111

by amit, delhi, on May 21, 2008 05:44 PM, Report abuse Reply

Any idea where one can buy a Centro?

by Anurag, Mumbai, on Apr 27, 2008 10:36 AM, Report abuse Reply

Nice,But Price not quoted ! Price ?

by vijendra, Mumbai, on Mar 21, 2008 12:24 PM, Report abuse Reply

It's for Rs.13,999.

by Sagar, Mumbai, on Mar 21, 2008 12:32 PM, Report abuse

is this a review or a joke mr.baretto? this is nothing but a copy paste of already available product features which most of the readers know much before you could have copied and pasted. Also the images look like being lifted from some source. Where is the actual review anyway???

by xotiq, blr, on Mar 20, 2008 04:57 PM, Report abuse Reply

Thats evident!!! see the price is in $!!

by SSA, TH, on Mar 21, 2008 02:39 AM, Report abuse