Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20156 in Cell Phone Accessories
• Color: Red
• Brand: Palm
• Model: RTR690HKP
• Released on: 2008-01-17

Features

• Pink with 320 x 320 color touchscreen,full QWERTY keyboard, and 1.3-megapixel camera
• Comprehensive organizer functions, including contacts, to-do lists, calendar, and more
• Text, e-mail, and instant messaging; Web browser; Bluetooth for wireless headsets; MicroSD memory expansion
• Up to 3 hours of talk time, up to 300 hours (12.5 days) of standby time; measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches (HxWxD)
• Includes: Battery, AC Charger, USB Sync Cable, Palm Software Installation CD and User Documentation

Amazon.com Product Description
Life starts after five o'clock. Not coincidentally, that's also when the Palm Centro smartphone comes alive. Not only does the Palm Centro handle all your favorite voice functions, but it also offers text, IM, e-mail, and web access, all in a body that's a lot smaller than you'd think. Add in such features as a 1.3-megapixel camera, 64 MB of internal memory, Bluetooth 1.2 support, a microSD expansion slot, and a full QWERTY keyboard and you have a terrific smartphone for all your messaging and personal needs. In short, there's no better way to stay in touch. It also offers the Palm OS 5.4.9 platform and support for Windows XP and Vista and Mac OS X 10.2 and higher.

The Palm Centro's full QWERTY keyboard makes it easy to type text messages, IMs, and e-mails (the red version is pictured).

Design
The Palm Centro boasts a sleek black housing that measures a mere 4.2 by 2.1 by 0.7 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 4.2 ounces. It's notably smaller than many competing smartphones, yet doesn't sacrifice functionality at any point along the way. Users will also love the 320 x 320 touchscreen (up to 65,000 colors), which offers a crisp resolution for photos and videos. And thanks to the full QWERTY keyboard, you can say L8R to those tricky keys on your old cell phone.

Phone and Messaging Functions
The Palm Centro smartphones offers a ton of ways to stay in touch with friends, whether you're calling Brian, firing off a quick text to Jen, instant messaging Chris, or shooting an e-mail to Kat. From a phone perspective, the Palm Centro lets you dial people right from your address book, set up three-way calls from the touch of a button, or use the speakerphone to talk hands-free. The keyboard, meanwhile, makes it a breeze to type complete messages whether you're sending text, pictures, or even audio or video clips. Plus, the Centro keeps all your messages in a chat-style view, so it's easy to keep track of the conversation.

The 320 x 320 color touchscreen is crisp and vivid, making it ideal for viewing photos or watching videos.

Want to keep up with all the latest gossip when you're away from the computer? Turn to the Centro's instant messaging functions, which support all your buddy lists on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and others. Similarly, the Centro lets you access your personal e-mail accounts, such as Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo. As a result, you can reply to invites and answer e-mails when you're out and about.

Web Functions
Whether you're keeping up with friends on MySpace or looking up directions to the new bistro across town, the Centro's touchscreen and keyboard make it fun to navigate around the web. The Centro includes a fast built-in web browser that lets you check out photos on Flickr or watch videos on YouTube, with broadband-like speeds on the EV-DO network that are guaranteed to impress. No more waiting around for your favorite sites to load. The Centro is also compatible with Google Maps, making it simple to get directions or see which freeways are clear and which ones are parking lots. Google Maps shows you red, yellow, or green traffic routes in real time.

Organizer Functions
The Palm Centro includes a complete organizer for keeping track of all your daily, weekly, and monthly responsibilities. The contacts list gathers all your friends' phone numbers, addresses, and more, while the calendar keeps you from missing upcoming meetings, events, and parties. You can even enter a friend's birthday in the contacts list and will automatically show up in your calendar. As with the best organizers, the Centro also offers a to-do list that lets you check off items when they're complete. As a result, it's easy to keep track of what you did and still need to do. And should you come across a tidbit that doesn't have a logical home, simply turn to the memo function, which lets you store random information such as hot spots in Vegas or the names of movies you'd like to rent. Say goodbye to carrying around crumpled scraps of paper in your pocket or purse. Finally, it's possible to save a copy of all those names, numbers, appointments, photos, and videos on your computer thanks to the sync function.

Multimedia
Whether you want to take pictures, play videos, or listen to music, the Palm Centro has got you covered. The 1.3-megapixel digital camera (with a 2x digital zoom) lets you shoot pictures and send them to friends, store digital albums, or shoot videos. The built-in MP3 player, meanwhile, lets you take your tunes everywhere you go. With 64 MB of storage, there's plenty of room for your playlists, plus you can add up to 4 GB more with a microSD card. And thanks to Pocket Tunes Deluxe, you can play the songs you downloaded from places like Rhapsody or Yahoo. As a bonus, the Centro supports a ton of fun stuff from Sprint, including the ability to watch such TV channels as CNN Mobile, Fox Sports, the Weather Channel, the Disney Channel, and E! Entertainment. There's never a dull moment with the Palm Centro around.

Vital Statistics
The Palm Centro weighs 4.2 ounces and measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches. Its 1150 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.5 hours of talk time, and up to 300 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/1900 CDMA frequencies as well as the 1xEV-DO r0 data network.

Customer Reviews

I Love This New Phone
I realized earlier this month that I was going to need a new Smartphone. However I wasn't sure if the Treo 755 that my husband has was a good fit for me. When I called Sprint to inquire about what other phones they carry with some of the same features of the Treo 755 they offer the Palm Centro phone for free. Once I received it I fell in love with it. It's small enough to fit in my purse or pants pocket and it has everything I need for work and for entertainment. Besides I love the color, because it's not a real bright pink.

The keyboard is kind of small but it's perfect for me, however some might not like that. I hear all my calls clear and they can hear me without a problem. I hope this helps anybody who is thinking of purchasing this phone.

Excellent Smartphone on a Poor Sprint Network
As of March 2009, I think Palm Centro is one of the best smartphones available. The style is simple, unadorned and functional a.k.a. Google style but not stylish, fun & glamorous like iPhone & Mac. Having used 3 Windows Mobile phones, iPhone, Balckberry Storm, Palm Treo 755p & Nokia E51, I think Centro is closest to the ideal smartphone but Sprint network does not hold water to Verizon Wirelss network in reliability.

1. Clear sound. Solid, reliable phone.
2. Reasonable size & weight (119 gms) and is pocketable and you have to carry phone with you all the time. But there is scope for improvement, it could be lighter and thinner. Ideal weight for a phone is less than 100 gms.
3. Top-notch contact, calendar and memos management.
4. Brisk, peppy response and rarely locks up or freezes.
5. A-one Microsoft office document functionality with Documents-to-Go.
6. Good QWERTY keyboard.
7. Fairly decent availability of applications.
8. Functions well as a tethered modem with cable and speed in 800-900 Kbs range on Verizon Wireless network.
10.Synchronizes calendar, contacts and memos with Macbook.
11.Good SMS function: threads messages.

But Centro is not without flaws: the default OK button is on Voicemail and dials Voicemail unintentionally. I have not been able to sync over Bluetooth or use Bluetooth modem. Web browser is fast for mobile sites but otherwise barely functional - Internet is available but browsing is not enjoyable like on iPhone. Instead of micro-USB or mini-USB, it uses proprietary cable which is hard to take out. Camera is bare minimum at 1.3 Megapixels and music function is basic with 2.5 mm audio jack. Font size is small and has to be individually adjusted in each application.

Here is my Gestalt on smartphones.

1. iPhone is the best MP3, video and multimedia player, has the best user interface and mobile browser experience but is abysmal as a phone in comparison to Verizon Centro. AT&T has poor network signal and coverage, the calls drop all the time and sound on iPhone is average.
2. Blackberry Storm has a gorgeous screen and excellent email device but has very buggy software and constantly freezes. Blackberries shine when it comes to email.
3. Windows Mobile phones are horrendous: packed with features that don't work and smartphone operating system is the most unreliable.
4. Symbian based Nokia phones are fairly decent smartphones but their availability on US cellular carriers is very limited. Verizon Wireless, the best network in US, has none.

In my experience Palm operating system is one of the most trusty and functional smartphone operating systems. Centro is supposedly the last in the Palm lineage phones. I would recommend it if you need a solid, trustworthy smartphone, but on Verizon, not on Sprint.

BUYING ANOTHER FOR FRIEND AND BOYFRIEND!
SMALLER THAN A PEN, SWIFT ON THE EMAILS, RINGS LOUD AS H**!
HOWEVER- VOLUME IS A LITTLE LOW FOR THE SPEAKER (GET THE BLUE TOOTH).
WORTH IT!
GET IT!