In an effort to save time for our readers we are initiating a new service. We look at all the reviews of a phone or service and then report to you what the consensus of the reviews is. If you want to see the individual reviews click on the permalink to view this entire article with links and summaries.
Palm Centro Rated 4 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews
“The touch screen is just one of several features that make this a first class phone with a coach class price,” writes Larry Magid for CBS about the Palm Centro.
Most reviewers commented that the functionality of the Palm Centro is good and they like the Palm OS features and the cheap price ($99 with a contract.) However, they still want it to compete with the iPhone, and commented on the small keyboard, lack of Wi-Fi support and poor syncing abilities with Macs.
If you are a power user, you are probably better off with a iPhone or another high-end smartphone. If you only need a little Internet access and decent e-mail access along with calendaring/phonebook Palm features, the Palm Centro will be a good phone you. Then you can spend the $300 price difference between the Centro and the iPhone on a new PC computer or weekend getaway.
This article is currently the most popular article we have posted so far. November 2008, the price has dropped for the Palm Centrowith Wirefly offering it for free with a two year contract.
Larry Magid’s Palm Lowers The Bar On Smart Phone Prices Review for CBS says the Palm Centro “has all the basics you would expect from a typical combination telephone personal digital assistant with only one potentially annoying drawback: its keyboard is quite diminutive.”
Engadget is not so thrilled and reports “there are too many minor hang-ups that contribute to an overwhelming sense of letdown.” They don’t like the poor Mac syncing abilities or the poor speakers.
CNET gave the phone 7 out of 10 for price, compact size, poor keyboard, no Wi-Fi and weak speakers.
Brighthand’s Palm Centro Review is a positive review due to the price, but the small size of the keyboard and the screen are disliked.
IT Business Canada calls the Centro: satisfyingly cheap and points out that the Centro has Bluetooth but no Wi-Fi.
Palm Centro is constructed of all plastic, but some of the parts are not of the highest quality, making it look almost like a toy.
There were no mentions of the plastic look of the phone in the reviews quoted. We always suggest that if you are interested in a phone to go to a retail outlet and look at the phone and play with your new "toy" first.
Updated 11/12 : We recently heard a review on NPR that mentioned that the plastic in the the Palm Centro made it look like a Fisher-Price toy.