Hands-on with the Palm Centro

Well, here's the shiny little Centro, in all its slightly-less-than-breathtaking beauty. Truth be told, the phone doesn't look or feel too bad -- we still don't get the gray stripe through the middle, but what can you do? The keyboard is unbelievably tiny, but we'll take it where we can get it. The surface of the cherry red or metallic black phone is quite slick, and we suspect will go tumbling out of sweaty hands like gang busters. Of course, the EV-DO connection was snappy, but the thing we're most stoked about is the fact that Palm has finally eliminated that 2-pixel border around the screen. Hey, no new OS... but that border is gone. The Centro is due mid-October for the shockingly low price of $99.99, which should help push more than a couple of these out the door. Hit the gallery and check out all the hot photos.

Gallery: Hands-on with the Palm Centro

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Stephen Lang @ Sep 27th 2007 3:45PM]

What's worse, the Centro keyboard or the iPhone keyboard?

[Tony @ Sep 27th 2007 3:54PM]

Yawn. After iPhone, everything is simply boooooooo-ring.

[telepheedian @ Sep 27th 2007 3:54PM]

Has anyone tried calling the phone number on the back of it?

[Martin Blank @ Sep 27th 2007 4:40PM]

Called the number - right to voicmail - left engadget love.

[gtraar @ Sep 27th 2007 3:59PM]

damn ...

How ugly could the people design that phone.

Looks like a cheap copy made in china ...

[nobody important @ Sep 27th 2007 4:02PM]

That thing is so effing ugly.

Stick a fork in Palm, they're done.

[kerunt @ Sep 27th 2007 4:04PM]

Why the old phone application? The 680 I had was running a newer one...

[apeguero @ Sep 27th 2007 4:06PM]

Man those screen capture images bring back some good memories...from 2003!!! Upgrade that damned OS already Palm!!!

[Brent @ Sep 27th 2007 4:42PM]

I hate to be the lone gunman on the hill here, but this looks like a pretty cool phone for $99. Yeah, its not an iphone, yeah, the red looks diploable, yeah, Palm is stuggling for breath after being asleep at the wheel - but I like it - There I said it and I'm standing by it.

[Darnell @ Sep 27th 2007 4:21PM]

Say what you will but I bet a ton of high schoolers will pick this thing up. It's not the prettiest but it's a smartphone--on the cheap. Not for me but I see Palm making a ton of money off this.

[StaffordshireBT @ Sep 27th 2007 4:21PM]

Does that red finish look speckled like a 1950's truck stop diner table top?

[Tristan @ Sep 27th 2007 4:22PM]

Geez that's an ugly phone. Plus the old, ugly and boring os - yuck

[nate @ Sep 27th 2007 9:14PM]

I will say its a huge improvement for them

http://answers.nobosh.com/



right?

[qrius @ Sep 27th 2007 4:27PM]

This is obviously targetted at high schoolers and pre-teenies who have small fingers, lower budget, and want to text and im like crazy. in that market, this my fly enough to make a decent profit for palm until they get around to finishing their Palm OS II. Hopefully they don't delay it yet ANOTHER year after 2008 rolls around.

the iphone is looking better and better. Hope it comes to sprint. my 755p is looking more and more ancient.

[mezmer0 @ Sep 27th 2007 6:16PM]

lol, the iphone wont come to sprint for at least 5 years if that. at&t in my opinion is a far superior company to sprint anyway.

[Mark @ Sep 27th 2007 4:29PM]

Great price.

[YoMeister @ Sep 27th 2007 4:34PM]

I don't find it quite so ugly.. But with the lack of wifi I don't see the purpose. I honestly don't know if I should choose to stick with old technology in the mogul or give the htc touch a chance. I've also never tried a WinMo on it either, only Palm devices, which I'm used to.

[timatl @ Sep 27th 2007 4:33PM]

first of all, did any call the # shown on the back of the phone?

is it me or does this phone keypad look like crap.

[Joe @ Sep 27th 2007 4:37PM]

I'd really like to move up into a smartphone, without the size and cost. This phone seems like a really good solution. I'm nowhere near a teenager, is it really too much of a toy? Also, how good is internet access on something like this?

[Jim Kochmanski @ Sep 27th 2007 4:49PM]

Looks like a piece of junk. I've had 2 treos and that thing looks like the chinese rip offs I saw in Morocco this summer. They were smart to make the thing so cheap. Nobody would drop more then $99 for that thing.

[Tacticus @ Sep 27th 2007 4:54PM]

Frak Winmo stick some money into a decent linux distribution and put that on there

better yet go stick the money into openmoko and stick the software stack on the phone

[Logboy @ Sep 27th 2007 5:47PM]

Wow, Exclusive to Sprint... I need to get out of my contact...

[Joe Blo @ Sep 27th 2007 5:09PM]

As long as it steals sales from the iPhony , that`s ok by me.

[Steve @ Sep 27th 2007 6:41PM]

I see only positive things in this phone. Sure the OS is old, but it still works GREAT, has thousands of applications ready to be installed, works on Sprint's 3G network (very fast), can be used as a high-speed modem, has blue-tooth, etc.

I've been wanting to upgrade my Treo 650, and when this ships I'm going to do it!

Oh yea, and $99 after rebate, SWEET!

[Appleman @ Sep 27th 2007 5:24PM]

The screen is right out of the year 2000. The Palm IIIc. It's just embarrassing now.

[cloud9ine @ Sep 27th 2007 5:30PM]

Show me another phone with touchscreen, keyboard, fast internet (EVDO), and push email and i'll show you why it'll sell.

I have a moto Q, and no matter how much uglier the centro is and how small its keyboard is, when the time to upgrade comes, i'd go for one, coz it's a touchscreen at $100

[iofthestorm @ Sep 27th 2007 8:38PM]

Actually, I don't think the Centro has a touchscreen. That's why I wouldn't get it.

[laughallway2bank @ Sep 27th 2007 9:35PM]

actually it does have a touchscreen

[Anil R @ Sep 27th 2007 5:30PM]

At $99 for a touchscreen, keyboard and EVDO, no matter how ugly it looks, it's going to sell itself.

And that's despite sprint, and despite Palm.

[Source @ Sep 27th 2007 5:35PM]

For that price, i´ll buy one

[Johan S @ Sep 27th 2007 5:37PM]

The resolution sucks. The human eye can detect 1200 pixels per inch .. and that phone has what? Less than a tenth of the pixels? That makes it unusable for full HTML web browsing.

QVGA sucks!

[754Boy @ Sep 27th 2007 5:40PM]

Actually that screen is still 320X320 which is still a higher resolution that many other devices out there today. I beta tested this thing earlier this summer and it was pretty decent. I can't go into detail because of the NDA I signed but it's well worth the $99.

[NLI @ Sep 27th 2007 6:02PM]

I might be the last person on Earth to own a Palm Zire, a mobile phone and a MP3 player separately, but if I could get this Centro on this side of the Atlantic for the equivalent of US$99, I'd get it ASAP.

[g00n @ Sep 27th 2007 6:16PM]

Mogul > Treo Centro

[kookoobirdz @ Sep 27th 2007 6:20PM]

Yeah still too fat. Same OS. Sigh. Seems like a pointless release. Still, nice price.

[cpu933k @ Sep 27th 2007 6:22PM]

Is that $99 with or without contract? Oh nevermind, it's Sprint. Can't use it on any other network.

[dawgy @ Sep 27th 2007 7:02PM]

whats up with the dent above the letter "R" button!?

[Jeff Foster @ Sep 27th 2007 7:10PM]

When will Sprint offer something to compete with the iPhone?

screw this half-step nonesense.

If i'm not going to jump ship to ATT, give me some hardware that isn't yawn inspiring. blah!

[Travis @ Sep 27th 2007 7:16PM]

I'm going to agree with the minority here and say that I am excited about this phone. I'm a college student who is still tied to a family plan, and I live in a rural area where there are only two large carriers available; Sprint, and Alltel. I go to school near Cleveland where I can take advantage of Sprint's mobile broadband coverage. This phone does things iPhone doesn't; high speed data and a tactile keyboard(even if it is tiny). I have been waiting for a smartphone to be affoardable enough to buy, with a touch screen. I don't know why people are bashing this little guy. Sure, it's not the most beautiful phone out there, but it's funtional, looks good enough, and you can't beat $99 for a phone that does all that it does.

Once my family's contract is up, we're swtiching to Sprint, and I am picking up this phone.

[Hilz @ Sep 27th 2007 7:22PM]

I like how they slipped in there the 1:37PM on the clock. 1:37PM = 13:37 Guess they are trying to call this the new leet phone on the block.

[iofthestorm @ Sep 27th 2007 8:46PM]

Haha probably unintentional, but nice catch.

[periks19 @ Sep 27th 2007 8:12PM]

Wow lot of people think this phone is ugly but in my opinion is a nice looking phone available in two colors and for $99 is well worth it. Sure is not like the iphone but it does have evdo ohh sorry iphone doesn't have 3g. So what is worth having such a nice phone with a slow conection, well unless you are near a wifi conection not to mention being tied up to Att.

[dawgy @ Sep 27th 2007 8:39PM]

2 Hilz / nah.im sure it wasnt intentional.the red centro
has 1:34p on
it!!!

[Golferal @ Sep 27th 2007 8:44PM]

@merzmer0

Are you effing kidding??? AT&T blows donkey balls.

[Hilz @ Sep 27th 2007 8:46PM]

I saw just thought it was funny =P

[Gaber @ Sep 27th 2007 8:54PM]

Does this thing hve EV-DO Rev 0 or rev A?

[Craig @ Sep 27th 2007 9:27PM]

Same old 80's style looking ugly OS. Do yourselves a favor, Palm, update your OS. Acknowledge that you're aware we're in the 21st century. How about something that's appealing and different?

Phone hardware looks nice though.

[laughallway2bank @ Sep 27th 2007 9:34PM]

So does every phone with a touchscreen have to be compaired to the Iphone?!?!

mogul > centro umm.... $500 < $99

for this price and the features... this is a winner...

my question is the $99 with two your contract?

[laughallway2bank @ Sep 27th 2007 9:42PM]

never mind... got my own answer from the palm site...

"Order your Centro today with Sprint service for only $99.*


*After instant discount, mail-in rebate, and qualifying two-year Sprint service agreement.

[navamske @ Sep 27th 2007 9:43PM]

The user-specific information that in other phones lives on the SIM card -- in this thing does that information live on the microSD card? Or does it use a SIM card and take a microSD card?