Palm Centro for AT&T unboxing and hands-on at Engadget Mobile

If you've been feeling like you don't have enough Palm in your diet, maybe it's time to look into the Centro for AT&T. Not sure? Then perhaps our handy unboxing and hands-on could help cement your decision. Head on over to Engadget Mobile where it's all going down, big time.

[Canadian Bacon @ Feb 20th 2008 11:16AM]

Is it weird that I actually don't think it looks terrible?

Does that make me a bad person?

[Poom @ Feb 20th 2008 11:21AM]

Hmm... Where has the poster said it looks terrible?

[Pismodude @ Feb 20th 2008 11:22AM]

Nah, just as long as you have some white paint for the green buttons...

[Canadian Bacon @ Feb 20th 2008 11:44AM]

@Poom

I think the guys at Engadget have stated before that they think this thing was beaten by the ugly stick.

@Pismodude

I actually kinda like the green buttons...again I could be in the minority here.

[Sean D. @ Feb 20th 2008 12:35PM]

No, I think it looks great. Green is the new blue!

[Jeremy K. @ Feb 20th 2008 12:42PM]

The Green buttons look like shit.

[Gorillamonk @ Feb 20th 2008 4:45PM]

it's not a bad green. I just hope they have other color options, this could be the first of many.

[pismodude @ Feb 20th 2008 7:48PM]

@everyone who likes the green buttons: You are all NUTS!!!!!

[Charles Honce @ Mar 12th 2008 6:05PM]

Yeah...I initially thought nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngreen on white....sigh....but...other than the battery life, (I listen to 2-4 hours of podcasts a day)...and some fritzy stuff with the A-data 4G micro SDHC...a Palm...ANY Palm can run circles around a WM machine when it comes time to do what a pda is REALLY meant to do...Search ...er...Find TEXT. As per Peter Rojas's comments...

Dear Palm,

Man, what a crazy year, right? We know things haven't really been going your way lately, but we want you to know that we haven't given up on you, even though it might seem like the only smartphone anyone wants to talk about these days is the iPhone. It can be hard to remember right now, but you used to be a company we looked to for innovation. You guys got handhelds right when everyone else, including Apple, was struggling to figure it out. And it was the little things that made those early Palm Pilots great -- you could tell that someone had gone to a lot of trouble to think about what made for a great mobile experience, like how many (or rather, few) steps it took to perform common tasks.

The problem is that lately we haven't seen anything too impressive out of you guys....you don't think the Centro is impressive??? Sure, over the past few years the Treo has emerged as a cornerstone of the smartphone market, but you've let the platform stagnate while nearly everyone (especially Microsoft and HTC, Symbian and Nokia, RIM, and Apple) has steadily improved their offerings. So we've thrown together a few ideas for how Palm can get back in the game and (hopefully) come out with a phone that people can care about. (And we're not talking about the Centro / Gandolf.) Read on.




So yeah, it was probably a smart move to recognize that you needed to offer a Windows Mobile version of the Treo to appeal to enterprise users, but there are literally millions and millions of consumers who want a high-end, powerful mobile computer that isn't built around Exchange server support. What they're looking for is a great user experience. Apple has done a good job tapping into that market, but there's still a huge opportunity out there for Palm to offer a smartphone that's just as engaging as the iPhone, but that's also open, rather than closed, and more geared towards productivity.

Frankly, you've taken a turn from being the respected underdog and innovator to repeat offender in stale gear. Every press release you issue or "leaked" photo we see these days is another dent in your already banged up armor, and really, we're not sure how much more we can take -- our loyalty has practically become an embarrassment among peers. The New York Times totally nailed it when they said "Palm is about to release a new model in its Treo line and photos leak out to silence." That said, we humbly submit a few (mainly practical) suggestions for how you can turn things around, organized by hardware, software, and other.

Hardware

Get thin - Three words: FIGURE IT OUT. If HTC, Apple, and Motorola can offer thin (and we mean friggin' thin) smartphones, you can too. We know you think the Treo is perfectly proportioned, but it's not. It's chubby. No excuses any more, ok? It doesn't have to be as thin as the iPhone, but you've gotta trim some of the fat.

Bigger, higher resolution displays - Make the screen bigger and up the resolution and you'll go a long way towards winning us back. There's no reason the 750 shouldn't have 320 x 320 (or higher) -- Windows Mobile 6 supports that, or didn't you hear? But for new devices you might want to have the keyboard slide out, like with the HTC Hermes or the Samsung i730. It's a really smart move. The long and short of it is this: if you can find some way to marry the expanse of something like the iPhone's or G900's massive, high res screens and still retain the spirit of the Palm keyboard, people will be very interested.

Speaking of the keyboard, don't mess too much with it - Apple may or not add a physical keyboard to the iPhone (our money says it won't happen), but the one the Treo has now is pretty good and it's pretty much the one thing that's keeping a lot of Treo owners from jumping ship. And from what we hear, the Centro is going to have a keyboard that's "impossible to type on" -- not a good sign. Then again, HTC's signature sliding QWERTY form factor is really compelling too, so you might do good to whip up a really messaging-heavy device built around that kind of design. But again, don't be tempted to mess too much with what's good about the Treo's input.

Make it look nice - We know Jeff Hawkins thinks Palm (well, technically Handspring) nailed it with the Treo form-factor, but it's been almost FOUR YEARS since you introduced the Treo 600, and apart from a few long-overdue improvements here and there (losing the antenna stub, making the casing a few millimeters thinner, tweaking the keyboard), it's essentially the same phone. The Treo used to win design awards, but now it looks really clunky compared to devices like the Dash, the Curve, and the iPhone.

YOU NEED TO MAKE THE PHONE LOOK NICE. Phones are a big part of people's lives now, and if they're going to spend $400 and up for one, they're going to want something they won't be embarrassed to use in public. C'mon, even RIM has figured this one out. How have you failed to see that innovative and engaging design is necessary to win (or even compete) in the mass-market consumer cellphone world? We know that's where the Centro is aimed, and we're not so sure it's going to hit the mark.

Add WiFi - Is it really almost 2008 and the Treo STILL doesn't have WiFi? No excuses any more, sort it out.

Think about adding some storage - There was a time when just having expandable storage via a memory card slot was enough, but that time's passed. People won't mind sideloading via USB if you make the Treo appear as a mass storage device, meaning you can add embedded flash memory (a few gigs would be nice). 8GB in a cellphone is now the new bar. Meet or exceed it, but don't ignore the fact.

Finally, put the kibosh on the Centro / Gandolf / Treo 800p - You're going down the wrong path with these devices...and everyone knows it but you. We don't want to harp on this, but if what we've heard in the initial reports, and seen in blurry photos is what you're really going to offer, and believe it or not, you'll actually be able to expect a reception from your community roughly twice as lukewarm as it was for the Foleo. Palm, put your ear to the ground and listen. We hate to be jerks, but now appears to be the time for some tough love. But jerks you are on this one Peter...I refer you to

Software suggestions

Completely overhaul the OS - [COLOR="Red"][B]but don't loose the 15 second search time for over 1800 phone notes...or 1000 Memos...remember...it takes 12 minutes to search for a word on a WM5 or 6 platform...after all...what is a PDA FOR?...besides phone calls...storage...and more importantly SWIFT RETRIEVAL of stored text...something at which Windows Mobile sadly fails...I don't blame HTC, I truely believe that if a 8125 was loaded with the Palm OS, the search time would be under 10 seconds...but right now 12, or 10 of 5 or 1.1 minutes for a text search is completely unacceptable...and THAT is why I went back to the Palm OS!!![/B][/COLOR]


...so...yeah...Wifi would be nice but we ALL KNOW how fast that kills the batteries on WM 5-6 machines...read HTC...dunno about any other WM machine like RIM's latest Blackberry offerings, but I 'd be willing to bet this is a physical/physics/chemistry situation....todays technology sucks at making small, long lasting batteries....but...I understand innovations are on the way...so that may not be the issue any more.

The ISSUE...is you want a playpretty?...get an Iphone...you want to LOOK productive...get a Windows Mobile phone or pocket pc....

You want productivity?.....Get a Palm...

finis

Chas

[Scottie @ Feb 20th 2008 11:19AM]

Palm should be sued because the corners are rounded like the iPhone!!! :)

[O2 @ Feb 20th 2008 11:47AM]

AND it can display English. Let's sue their a** off.

[Dax @ Feb 20th 2008 12:17PM]

Hahaha nice try. This P.O.S. doesnt remotely resemble the iPhone, unlike other handsets that steal virtually everything, minus OSX and the elegance.

[mac @ Feb 20th 2008 12:32PM]

The elegance? It's a shiny, rounded box with a touchscreen.

[ericdano @ Feb 20th 2008 11:19AM]

Slow News Day.........

[754Boy @ Feb 20th 2008 11:23AM]

I love this device. The green looks kinda weird but wouldn't keep me from buying it if the price is right.

[Jonathan @ Feb 20th 2008 11:33AM]

I don't know why the Phone and Big Green Answer button needed to be separate. Seems to me that the combined button has served me well on the Treo 650.

[Grizz @ Feb 20th 2008 11:54AM]

Every time I see the green buttons I think the photos are a fake photoshop circulating the net, I still can believe they went with those, but I bet they look alright when back lit.

[StrangeBum @ Feb 20th 2008 11:56AM]

I really dig the white and green design. Very attractive looking phone in my opinion. Maybe I'm a bit picky, but it's nice to have gadgets that coordinate with one another, as far as color and style go. And this looks like it would fit in well with my X360, white HP laptop, and White/Green Creative Zen V-Plus.

Wow, now that I think about it, I do have alot of matching gear, I never thought about it before.

[trumpton @ Feb 20th 2008 12:05PM]

I think it's a great phone for the price - and once you've plugged into the massive library of Palm OS software, you'll have a phone that will outperform anything in the same price bracket.

[seamonkey420 @ Feb 20th 2008 12:37PM]

yea.. palm really has lost its rep w/my attorneys and me..

this phone is just fugly and the keypad is joke.. why not just go w/a 'smart-tap' number pad than a non-usable qwerty..

and yes. i have used the Sprint one already and all of my users who have tried it have hated it; mainly because of the crap keyboard and the horrible Blazer browser!! seriously palm needs to get its act together and get a real frickin mobile browser..

just my .02..

[Andy @ Feb 20th 2008 5:47PM]

seamonkey420

I'm guessing since you are a lawyer you might not be hitting the key demographic this device is aimed at. This is not a replacement for your Treo 700 or 755 you might be using. The target is messaging folks not heavy email users.

[KaiBeezy @ Feb 20th 2008 12:57PM]

.
duh
now i get it
green phone button
green dialpad buttons
.
green = phone
.
but what about the
green other little button
hmmm
.

[ReggieXuk @ Feb 20th 2008 1:09PM]

hello

ok, we all know devices have no emotion, hello seems a bit desperate.

[Ian @ Feb 20th 2008 11:22PM]

The only part of the phone that should be green is the talk button.

[Xultar @ Feb 20th 2008 1:57PM]

Wake up HAL-9000 some one stole your look.

[Wyze @ Feb 20th 2008 10:52PM]

the "other" green button is a shift key for when you're in text enter mode and u need those numbers...pay attention!

[kaibeezy @ Feb 20th 2008 2:51PM]

.
ah, but not while dialing the phone
.
does not fit the 'green = phone' paradigm
.

[robinsmad @ Feb 20th 2008 10:17PM]

@KaiBeezy:

Look at the keypad. All the alternate key options (@, &, #, etc.) are in green. That's why the shift button is green. It's pretty simple. Green does not mean phone functionality, it's just there for contrast so you can find the number keys easily.

[Razor1973 @ Feb 20th 2008 2:41PM]

Nice looking and I do prefer the green keys by a large margin, but no multi-tasking, thanks to the aging Palm O/S, is a show stopper for me.

[Wifiguy @ Feb 20th 2008 2:46PM]

With the edge connection can someone tell me why this doesn't have wifi?

[Wifiguy @ Feb 20th 2008 2:46PM]

Why no wifi, edge is torture!!

[roberto @ Feb 20th 2008 2:47PM]

am I the only one to think that's the ugliest palm ever made?

[Kriston @ Feb 20th 2008 3:29PM]

Wow, it even comes blemished, with a black scratch on top and one on the bottom-right in the keypad.

And a crooked "Palm" action button.

I'm going to wait for the black model next month so I won't have to worry so much about scratches... or maybe not.

[ErikEngd @ Feb 20th 2008 6:11PM]

One comment: It's UGLY!

[Captain Crunkled @ Feb 20th 2008 10:27PM]

Hello


Goodbye

[Kate @ Feb 21st 2008 1:19AM]

I am actually getting ready to go over to Sprint from AT&T and pick up the red Centro...a choice that has been made a little harder now, as green is my favorite color (and like a previous poster, it would go well with my green Creative mp3 player).

Grr!

[Bryan @ Feb 21st 2008 3:09AM]

I actually threw up a little in my mouth when I saw the picture

[Haro! @ Feb 21st 2008 8:10PM]

I really don't like those green buttons. They should've been grey or blue, but not green. I really liked the idea of a white Centro, but those buttons are killing it for me.