Palm Centro 690 (CDMA)
Average Ratings
Cool phone!!!
I just switched from the pink lg muziq to the red palm centro...i was skeptical at first deciding if I really wanted the centro bc I really loved my pink lg muziq with all themes and games and lots of customization things u can do with it...so I tried out my moms centro and decided to switch...and I did...the phones cool...i lovvveee texting on it, in fact I'm writing the review from it...the caller I'd pictures cud be a lot bigger and the contacts list is boring looking...camera pictures are only good in light because there is no flash...theres barely ne games...and the customization isn't that great...im still debating weather or not I want to go back to the muziq or just wait for a better phone from sprint...i wish they would come out with sony ericsson...love those phonesz....but just might keep this phone bc its original and sprint is the only one with centro...and att is gettn them in white....ewww...haha!!!!.. but I reccomend it...its cute and stylish...small..not bulky...shiny....good texting for small hands...good keyboard ..loud ringers...battery life is alright...i haven't had any problems with it yet. good price for not upgrading 225 brand new on ebay..can't beat that without upgrading....so go get it...itsz HOTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!! I give it 4 *z bc no themes and customization and caller I'd pics to small...tht stuff annoys me. but if your not big on that stuff then itsz the phone for you.
Mostly Great Phone
I recently decided to go back to Sprint because I'd never had problems with them before, and found this to be a cute and cost-efficient phone (which is true). I haven't found too many cons versus pros to this phone, which makes me rate it pretty high; however, sometimes it does get frustrating.
Pros:
The texting is similar to an AIM conversation
There is (so far) no limit to the amount of texts
You can personalize your shortcuts as well as the main screen
No random dialing from being in your pocket/purse
Full QWERTY keypad
Google Maps is mostly convenient (but sometimes slow)
Pretty fast internet
Small
Good camera
User friendly
can set to vibrate easily
Cons:
Mine has reset itself randomly twice
It has a lag in texting sometimes
When set on vibrate, it will vibrate randomly
Sometimes it freezes
There isn't a very good keypad locking system
Can't actually turn off phone
Overall, it's a great phone with a few minor problems that Sprint is too stubborn to fix.
just got it
over all I am pleased with this phone... infact i am writing this message from it. here is the lo-down...
pros:
1: compact
2: Wicked Fast, the Blazer is blazing fast way to go evdo!!!!
3: E-mail is super fast, i get mine within seconds
4: lots of freeware
5: can be scanned by Mc Afee from the comp
6: google maps are deadly accurate
7: weather is almost instant!
cons:
1: tiny buttons(not needed w/touchscreen)
2: flimsy plastic stylus
the OS completely blows microsoft out of the water. the blackberry apps on EDGE are a slug compared to the evdo on this phone.
I am a fan.
I browsed for quite a while on phone scoop before making my decision. In the end I based my decision off of two factors: Battery life and user reviews.
Pros:
-Conversation Text messaging (arranges text messages into a conversation similar to how you would find on instant messaging.
-Easy access to aol, yahoo, or windows instant messaging as well as leading email providers
-Palm dowloadable games and programs offer thorough test periods and are a one time purchase (cool game: monopoly, cool software: splash money - an assets manager)
-calendar is easy to use and set alarms
-can choose between touch screen and using buttons to navigate
-Palm OS is simple to learn
-customizable buttons
-camera is good
-low price
-great signal (through sprint)
Cons:
-Keyboard is a little small for people with big hands, however i found myself picking it up pretty easily
-Top buttons are a little uncomfortable
battery cover is near impossible to get on and off
-cases are either too big or too small
-calculator is a little difficult to use
Finally, an excellent smart phone from Sprint!
I have tried the Mogul, Touch, and the Blackberry 8130. This phone beats them all. Palm has a wonderful OS that operates smoothly and is quick to respond and load applications unlike the miserable Windows mobile.
Pros: Fast operating system (doesn't crash!), qwerty keyboard, sharp display, decent browser, clear calls, holds a signal very well, good speaker phone, chat view for texting, Itunes compatible, expandable memory, and a very good email app.
Cons: Lack of a back key, silence all key does not override vibrate unless set to never, keys are a touch small for my hands.
Great phone, battery life, battery cover suck!
I've owned this phone for 2 months now. At first, I was struggling whether to pick this one or 755 but then I picked this one mainly because of the price. 755 still looks the best in Sprint Palm family!
Pros:
- Small form factor, keys are small but amazingly, just like other said: I can type pretty fast after practicing for a while
- Has lots of free but really useful applications built-in like Document To Go, Pocket tunes...
- Great reception.
- So many great applications out there: the ones that I have are Card Reader which helps alot installing songs, movies... because removing Micro SD card is a pain in the butt, TCPMP to watch movies (mp4)... With this phone, you can surf the web, watch TV with Sprint TV (CNN, E!, Weather, Fox Sports, Disney...these are all free if you just have your internet package) you can read, edit Microsoft Office, Acrobat Reader on the go. With iPhone, you can't open Microsoft Office or watch TV and this little phone can even play mp4 movies if you have TCPMP!
Cons:
- Battery life is not good: I have to charge every 2, 3 days. Consider how small this phone is, so that's understandable.
- One thing that I hate the most is the battery cover. Before I had Card Reader, I had to take out my Micro SD card to put, delete songs, movies... and in order to do that, I had to remove the battery cover first and that is really frustrating and a pain in the butt! Now, even I already had Card Reader installed but once in a while, I still need to remove the battery to reset the phone because my phone crashed sometimes.
- Lastly, this is the latest Palm model, but it doesn't look as classy as 755, it looks more like a toy and kinda feminine.
A great smartphone!
After a lot of shopping around, I finally found a smart-phone that I love! The Centro is nice and small & looks more like a phone than a calculator. It's sleek and stylish and not bulky. I'm the text queen so I love it for it's ease in typing and getting to contacts. I thought the small QWERTY keyboard was going to be a problem with fingernails, but it hasn't been at all. I was going to get the Blackberry Pearl, but found that was more for email usage and didn't like the text on that phone. Plus, with Sprint, a $39.95 vision pack is needed for the Blackberry. Big negative for me. Only need the minimum vision pack for the Centro.
Pros:
Text chat feature shows entire convo like in IM.
Speed dial, text or anything you want to jump to. Has 70 spaces to program all your favorite "go to" functions anyway you want with a 1 touch key.
All PDA functions & options are user friendly.
Touch screen option.
All common functions such as clarity, speed, volume (especially ringer all great.
PTunes, you can download music from the Sprint Music Store, or any other for that matter, like ITunes.
Has picturemail at no additional charge if you already have a min vision pack with Sprint.
Toggling to call waiting and back or "ignore call & send text" option is a good one. Shows you both numbers connected to swap between calls.
Picture quality is fine in light.
Just about everything!
Cons:
The only thing I wish was better is the battery life. It's average for a PDA but no worse than any other. I had the HTC Mogul and the battery was horrible that I returned it.
I've read the stylus was a negative for some. A heavier stylus isn't necessary, but I guess you could buy one if you wanted. The one it comes with does the job. Plus, it's easier for me to use my finger.
Chronic Research Disorder
Cartoon-like or not Still want Centro. battery life issue with the seven mail thing they got the patch, still displays suck up the juice its not a nintendo ds with a Nyko Power Pak strap on...
kill all the services and garbage that you dont need runnin Ive been to the Sprint store played with the Centro nothing unbearable about the kb size was able to rip yahoo.com without a back space/typo into browser within 1.5 seconds and it felt nice lol 6' tall person hands dont need the stylus 95% of the time have the finger edge thing down,took me 8 seconds picked it up to download progress thingy in Kinoma plyr was halfway done dl a sprint tv file,EVDO rocks check your email manually, "when you have time that'l help improve bat life If I sat &chronically play with Yahoo Messenger or Surf for hours at a time would probably plug in, door design battery position tough one to design a 3 amp battery cover for Heres my main beef and correct me if I'm wrong
So if I got this right if Centro crashes on me when I'm on the road or at the mall ...
and uhhh I did not opt for the $7 a month wireless data back up plan I just lost all my contacts and phone numbers till I get back to my comp and HotSync ???
that would definitely get my undies bunched up in a rigid clinch seriously
long as I'm up on the soap box why is it you can get a 4 gig usb hdd for $29 and they throw 64 mb at you and tell you its a great deal/device ...
I guess that sums it up even knowing this I still want the thing ..
wipe the drool off your face and hit the sprint store you need your fix ADMIT IT !!!
if it smells like %^&% and it taste like %^&%
dont step on it cuz it probably is %^&%
Enjoy the pain (cracks whip)
Best Phone I've Ever Owned or Used
I had to give this phone a "5" rating because I cannot find anything wrong with it.
For Sprint to be offering such a nice, full-featured phone at the price they are offering it for is a real "phone scoop"!
PROS:
One reviewer said that you had to pay to use Yahoo! Mail. Not true! It's free, and it displays nicely on the screen. So does my AOL/AIM Mail and Hotmail.
Blazer browser works great. In fact, the whole "tried and true" Palm OS works great.
Touch screen is fantastic, a "must-have".
Speakerphone/earphone are both loud and clear.
Bonus software allows you to create/edit (not simply to view) PowerPoint files.
Camera on-screen display is really sharp. Pics come out nicely too at 1280 x 1024 resolution (which means they fit a PC screen nicely). Filesize of 1.3 MP images is 200-250k.
Keyboard logic and design is great
CONS:
None that I can think of. If I really scratch my head and try to think of any, this is what I come up with (NONE of which are really a CON)...
Keyboard may seem small to some folks. But you get used to it. I have large fingers and have yet to hit two keys at once.
Some reviewers have complained about lack of Wi-Fi. However, I do not see this as a drawback, given Sprint's great data plans and data throughput. Plus you can browse anywhere you get a Sprint signal, not just near a Wi-Fi "hotspot".
Some reviewers have complained about the "coffee stirrer" stylus. Not a problem for me.
I've read that Sprint apparently disabled the stereo Bluetooth. That is no problem for me, since I have a dedicated thumbdrive MP3 player.
In summary, I'm glad I waited until now to upgrade my phone. I had the old phone (Sanyo 8100) for 4-1/2 years. It's one of Sprint's (and Sanyo's) best phones ever. I had considered upgrading, but just couldn't settle on a particular phone until this one came along (I was looking for an *upgrade* not a downgrade!). The Palm Centro is definitely an upgrade worth getting.
Not Bad Sprint
For the most part I am pretty happy with this phone... It has almost everything I need in one place, plus It's fun and functional!
Con's: (Yes, I'm starting with cons, I want you to remember the good stuff at the end!)
My main con is, It's difficult to get the memory card in, it pops out just enough to not be registered unless it is put in exactly correct.
Pro's:
It has google maps.
It's pocket friendly.
Touch screen!
Fast internet access
Palm OS (fast)
Bright screen
The fact it has at least memory card slot (even if accessing it annoys me.)
Keyboard (small but useful)
Good reception
Good speakerphone
Battery life is not bad if you get a good one, if not sprint is pretty nice about excahanging.
Messaging keeps your texts like a chat.
(All this and it sparkles too!) :)
