Palm Centro...So what?

[Rick31]

I have always been a big fan of Palm. I owned the first few PDA's 9 years ago. However, when I saw the Centro review, then looked at their web page, I had an underwhelmed response. :roll: The biggest problem for Palm with this phone is going to be the So What factor. It offers nothing new to other smart phones. Yes, it's smaller, but they are way behind on this. The only way that it stands out is in it's software, which hasn't changed in years and, IMHO, is being overshadowed by almost every other option currently available. :evil: Plus, I think the phone is just plain ugly.

Did anyone else have a 'So What response'? Would anyone spend US$400 on this? :shock: So now they have a smaller phone...probably 8 months behind others and with no features that make it stand out. I don't see Palm's smart phone line surviving in this new iPhone/ HTC market if this is the best they can do.

What happened to the innovative thinking of Palm...gone :!:

 

[gato]

I went through the same process you are going through now, and I decided to stay with Palm.

Currently, the only alternative to Palm for running PlecoDict are the Windows Mobiles systems (HTC included). But Windows Mobile reportedly crashes even more often than PalmOS, and runs more slowly than PalmOS on the same hardware because it has more overhead. It's also difficult to use Windows Mobile one-handed, whereas most things can be done with just one hand on the Palm. So despite more vendors to choose from, I don't think going with Windows Mobile will be an improvement over PalmOS.

Many of the previous bugs on the Palm have been fixed on Palm 680 and more recent models. Palm 680 also uses a Broadcom baseband chip, which provides better reception and voice quality. If the Centro also has these improvements, I think it will be a very good choice for many people.

I would love to be able to use PlecoDict on an iPhone, but currently Apple is being a dictator with respect to third-party applications. Who knows when it will be possible to run PlecoDict on it?

 

[hairyleprechaun]

I am starting to think that the best option for a big screen phone that has a stable OS and can run PlecoDict won't come around until Pleco gets ported to Symbian. And, to say the least, that is way off in the distance...

 

[gato]

A very enthusiastic review of the Centrol from the New York Times:

(Mostly) Good Things in a Small Package
By DAVID POGUE
Published: October 11, 2007
Still, you’ve rarely seen so much utility in such a small package, and you’ve never been able to buy one for so little money. Palm may have created Centro by shaving down the Treo’s size and price — but in this case, tiny tweaks make all the difference.

 

[mikelove]

hairyleprechaun - Symbian might not be that far off, actually; our two big projects for '08 are a desktop version and a non-touchscreen-equipped smartphone version (Pleco Mini), and for the latter depending on how the WM Smartphone version turns out we might start work on an S60 one almost immediately. (BlackBerry is still on our radar too, but we'd really like to have Mini out for a while before we do BlackBerry since we'd be rewriting all of our code in Java and wouldn't want to have to keep porting over large numbers of changes / new features / etc)

I'm happy about the Centro simply because it means more people will be buying phones that can run Pleco; in a year where the two biggest smartphone launches so far have been the non-Pleco-compatible BlackBerry Curve and the non-anything-compatible iPhone it's nice to have a little buzz for a platform we actually support.

 

[hairyleprechaun]

I'll keep my fingers crossed!

 

[Jim]

Geez Mike, just buy Palm already and show em how to run it.

 

[Rick31]

I hate to keep being hard on Palm, but I just don't get what they are doing.

The Centro has been out for some time, and the price for the 680 has been US$299 since about March (or that is the first time I even considered looking). I thought maybe the price would drop somewhat, but just the opposite...now the Treo 680 is $379. :roll: What are they thinking :?: Why would they raise the price on an older model upon releasing a newer one. It seems Palm takes standard business practices and turns them upside down....I don't get it.

 

[lmcjipo]

I've been with Palm since my company lent me a Palm III (had to return it when I left the department). I was hooked on the PalmOS since then.

However, what bothers me about Palm is the lack of WiFi with their phones (they have WiFi on PDA only PalmOS devices like the TX and on their Windows Treo models but nothing for their PalmOS Treo's excluding external third party attachments). We are not even talking about innovation with WiFi since lots of cellphones have it and lots of PDAs have it.

I'm still using my Treo 680 (upgraded from a Treo 650 almost a year ago) and I'm not sure if I will get the Centro if/when a model comes out for the GSM market. I don't like the fact that the Centro no longer uses standard-sized SD cards so I have to buy new memory cards for this device. I also don't like the fact that it doesn't have WiFi.

Most upper end PalmOS devices are also capable of GPS (with an external bluetooth device and software). Palm should include built-in functionality.

There is nothing about the PalmOS smartphones that make me say "wow!"

 

[chao-ren]

There is nothing about the PalmOS smartphones that make me say "wow!"

How true that is! It reminds me of some couples I know whose wives are equally "not much to Wow about" especially
after a few years. With so many younger ones around, slimmer, less demanding, sexier ... etc. etc. or simply just better to have around... :wink:

Oh the wow factor is so important, in a PA or PDA! :mrgreen:

 

[Dan_78cj5]

I don't get it... what do you want your phone to do? Let you flip through album cover art with a flick of your finger? Some other phenominally useless function your hoping Steve Jobs will throw on his phone that we can't run Pleco on anyway?

Here's how I look at it... I have a cell phone in my left pocket and a Palm in my right pocket, the Centro lets me do both, on an OS I am familiar with and like, on one device that is barely larger than my current Moto SLVR, much smaller than a Treo and it still has a stylus so I can hand write characters in Pleco. Now I can fill my memory card with Chinese flashcards on PD instead of useless coverart.

 

[Rick31]

I don't get it... what do you want your phone to do?

Besides having a phone/PDA that can run Pleco, I want one with Wi-fi. I want to be able to use skype and msn. I live overseas, so this is important for me so that I can stay in touch with my friends and family, who happen to be scattered all over the world. I am a research student, so when I'm out somewhere studying, I want to be able to look up information on the internet so that I don't have to make numerous notes and look it up when I'm in front of a computer. I want to be able to keep my documents (word and pdf) with me, on a machine that I can actually read them on. I also want to multi-task, ie, flip between word documents, internet, and Pleco. I don't want to lug around my laptop, but want something that keeps me connected *almost* as well as a laptop. Basically, I want internet/wifi, supported and user-friendly programs, document storage/view capability. Having fancy "flip" functions is just a nice feature, but not a necessity. What I don't want is to be stuck in a contract to pay what the phone is actually worth to me, especially stuck with one of the worst carriers in the world.

Centro can't give me any of of what I want, and gives me a lot of what I don't. Some of us need more than just Pleco and a phone; for those who don't, maybe the Centro is an ok choice. It wasn't for me...not even close.