Palm Centro 690 (CDMA)
Average Ratings
Great phones
Love this phone. If you are a smartphone user, this is a great way to get a QWERTY keyboard in a small package. My full review at my blog:
http://centrotreo.blogspot.com
Great Phone
Phone is perfect for people who need pda functionality but do not want the bulk. To correct a couple of reviews, this phone is stereo bluetooth, I dont know who popped that idea that it wasnt. This phone is revolutionary for pda users.Never has a device so small been capable of so much.
Best device I have used in a few of years
i have always like the palm devices and this device here was something that I was waiting for, for sometime. regardless of the size it still does and handles everything I need. its lightweight, sleek and compact. the user-bility of it is awesome. after adding my 4gb card I have load music and photos so I dont have to switch memory cards anymore. the mobile email function of the phone is real cool too cause I have all my email addresses being received at once. finally I love the fact that I can be logged in to all my instant messengers at once. pretty cool device I definitely recommend it.
LOVE the phone
Likes:
size
the sound..its LOUD and clear
easy 2 use
love the keyboard
good size screen
while i listen 2 songs..i hear the text or call ringer while i still hear the song so i hear 2 sounds @ the same time
i can listen 2 songs while i text or surf the web
Dislikes
battery life
camera and camcorder has no flash
camera can be a bit better
over all..i love this phone..the one i had b4 this was the samsung a 940 which i still love but i wanted 2 update..i am VERY picky on electronics and i read about this phone b4 i purchased it
Great 'Little PDA That Could'
I've been playing around with the Centro for about a week now and have no real complaints. Being extremely new to Sprint's service I can't really comment on the Centro's reception, but it works everywhere I've been so far! I love being able to force-roam onto other networks if needed.
Pros
1. Smaller than other touch screen smartphones I have used - much lighter too! Feels less bulky in your hand.
2. That familiar Palm OS that I learned to use several years ago. Kind of like riding a bike - no matter how long you've used WM5 (or WM6), you can jump right into using the Palm OS without any difficulty remembering how things work!
3. Crisp, bright screen (brighter than my Treo 750's)
4. Fast Internet access (OK, depending on your areas data coverage, but it's much faster than AT&T's Edge network).
5. Actually works well as a PDA and as a phone. With that said, every PDA phone I have seen, has been considered a PDA first and a phone second. The Centro is no exception, but is better at performing as a phone than other PDA phones.
Cons
1. Plastic body feels slightly cheap.
2. Additional item to #1: The body is made of shiny, cheap plastic. Shiny = slippery. Given that the phone is made of shiny, cheap plastic, I'd hate to drop it!
3. Screen is smaller than most PDA phones I have used.
4. Memory card access - the cover to the slot is located on the side of the phone. Too bad there's not some sort of groove you can get a fingernail into in order to easily open it!
5. Cheap plastic stylus. The plastic stylus bends every time you press it against the screen to use it. I hope that replacement styli (is that the plural form of stylus?) are cheap and plentiful soon.
6. Small, slightly cramped keyboard. But it's usable.
Neutral
1. Battery life. Just remember, it's not just a phone, but also a cool toy (I mean PDA). It's going to suck the juice out of a battery a lot more quickly than a 'normal' cell phone.
WOW!
What to say about this phone? There is sooo much to say but ill sum it up in short: This little thing is AWSOME! Its so small and so nice and sturdy. This is by FAR the best phone that i have ever had, having had an E815, LG V, LG enV, and LG Chocolate. If you are looking to get your first smartphone this is defiantly the way to go!
PALM LIVES!
First off I want to say, take everything said in these reviews for what they are: OPINIONS. Aside from actual phone features, we can pretty much assume that everything else here will be personal opinions. (Even mine for that matter.)
Buy it, decide for yourself, return it if you don't like it.
PROS:
Design- Light weight, feels great in your hand, simplified "retro" styling.
Full QWERTY= Fact is, other phones this size have combined keys(mulitple letters to a button), wheras the Centro proves that if done right a full keyboard is better.
Touchscreen-I challenge you to find another phone this size with one.
Palm OS- It works wonderfully in a phone this size, its intuitive, battery friendly and just feels right.
CONS:
Sylus- By far this is the most dissappointing thing about this phone. Its cheap plastic and feels like it could snap in half just by thinking about it hard enough.
Palm OS- Yes, I'll be honest its a pro AND a con. But its only a con in the sense that compared to other operating systems it could be a little more... well... Pretty. As far as functionality though, once again definitely a PRO.
THIS PHONE IS A POWERHOUSE! (For more on that see my review on the 700p, as this does everything that can)
If you're looking for a phone that has it all, look no further. I've always said that if the younger buyers could just get over Treo's well known bulkiness, they would be pleasantly surprised at its abilities. Well, Palm fixed that for them.
To all those haters out there saying Palm is dead, stop and take a look at this phone for what it is and compare it to its true competition. It was never meant to be an "upgrade" to current Treos. I'm guessing that's why they even changed the name!
Bottom line this phone is PACKED with features! Did I mention its $100?
If you've never used Palm OS, check out my 700p review. Its just a FEW of things possible with Palm.
https://www.phonescoop.com/phones/user_reviews.php?phone=976&r=21240#review21240
Its a phone
To me its just an average phone. I enjoy googlemaps and sprint tv..however I dont like how it froze 10 minutes after I took it out of the box...then once again 20minutes later. There is almost NO battery life to this thing and its far from slim and stylish. I've never had a touch screen before and thats a really cool feature but I cant get over the TINY keyboard and the poor quality speaker phone...there is also no voice command and is extreamly hard to pair with a bluetooth ear piece. Beaming games is neat and the web gets a perfect 10..and its pink
its just ok to me, has its ups and down but you get what you pay for :)
I would recommend this phone for ages 13-26
Best bang for the buck....
I just got this phone right after Christmas, and wanted to use it a bit before I submitted my review. Here's what I think...
First of all, let me say that this is my first "smartphone", so I thought it was really cool right away, but probably only because Im not used to so many features...Anyway..onward.
The size is great. Plenty small enough to easily fit into a front jeans pocket.
TONS of features. This phone will most probably do what ever you need, or at least help.
The PRICE is RIGHT...Nuff said there.
All in all, I've got to agree with a previous post. This phone does indeed need to be looked at for exactly what it is... GREAT phone at a GREAT price..."
Ive heard alot of people downing the OS on this phone, claiming that its "old" and "out of date". I can certainly understand their concern, especially folks that are used to previous Palm devices, but its times like this that I believe an old addage comes into play... it aint broke, dont fix it works just fine and its very easy to navigate..Nothing wrong with that...
My only problems with this phone are the following:
I cant seem to be able to get Opera on it..
...and, the battery life isnt "deplorable", but it could definately be better...All in all however, I love the device.....Thanx...
Awesome Phone; better then my WM5 PPC-6700
I am so happy with this phone I had to tell someone ... and you are it! ;)
My wife and I both have this phone (red and black). If it wasn't for my wife getting it first, I probably would have bought the BB Pearl 8130. But, this phone impressed me so much, I figured I would save some money and try it out myself ... why not, I could return it in 30 if I don't like, right?
Well, so far so good. This phone rocks.
I've had this phone for two weeks now and found the following:
PROs
- Stability (No soft resets here)
- Sync with virtually any email (synced with my .MAC account with no problem)
- Texting is fun again (keeps all conversations in its only little chat block until you delete it)
- Reception (My old phone had no reception in our house; my new phone has not dropped a call yet in the house)
- Easy to Navigate OS
- All my favorite sites are fast and accessible with the Palm Browser
- Doing all of the above with phone calls, my battery lasts two days! (My 6700 only lasted 8 hours; vast improvement for me!)
CONs
(minimal effect on overall rating)
- small qwerty keyboard, but getting use to it (My 6700 had a nice keyboard - one of the things I miss on it)
- Cannot auto download phone book to Ford SYNC system at this time (I can manually add each contact if I want though)
- Bluetooth Stereo does not work with Ford SYNC at this time; hmmm, I wonder if this is the same with Bluetooth Stereo Headphones...
- Could not sync iCal and Mac address book with Palm Desktop out of the box; had to buy 3rd party software
