ThinkPad X200 Tablet Save Extra 5%
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 40 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"this is an excellent phone"
Pros: size, features, keyboard
Cons: battery capacity, EDGE data speeds, battery cover
Summary: Been using the Centro for 3 weeks, switched from a Sony Ericsson
W810i, and before that a series of Nokia phones - 3100, 3590,
8260. Wanted to upgrade to a PDA and considered the Samsung BlackJack
II, Motorola Q and Centro. After pouring over many reviews and playing
a bit with the phones in the store, I went with the Centro, size being
a major factor.
Here's my review of the Centro (AT&T GSM):
Phone:
So far the phone reception/sensitivity is as good as my W810i which is
excellent. It does not have the occasional static problem of the W810i
though. Audio quality is very good and the speakerphone is
outstanding. This is a great cell phone.
Keyboard and Buttons:
I've been very pleased with the feel and responsiveness of the
keyboard. Keys are very close together but worth the tradeoff for
device size. There is an occasional display lag after hitting a key
but it's been rare enough and short enough to not be an issue. Audio
alerts for incoming IM or Email messages are tied to the same sounds
settings that control the keyboard beep so you can't shut the beep off
without turning off IM alerts, a minor annoyance. The shortcut buttons
and directional pad are very sturdy and have a much better feel than
the Motorola Q. Many of the apps respond to the D-pad so the stylus
can often remain in its holder
Messaging:
Text messaging is threaded so you can maintain every message sent and
received from multiple people at the same time in a session
format. This is a key advantage of Palm, although Windows Mobile 6.1
supposedly has this feature. One annoyance of the IM client supplied
by OZ Communications is that it creates numerous log files in a folder
called IM_LOGS on the SD card. There appears to be no way to disable
this so you need to periodically delete the folder. Neither Palm nor
AT&T tech support could figure out how to turn it off. The IM client
sometimes has a hard time connecting if your data connection is not
good.
Software:
The look and feel is very similar to the Palm V I owned 8 years
ago. The calendar app looks like it hasn't changed in 8 years, still
easy to use. The task and memo apps look original also.
Email:
I had trouble making Xpress mail work with my Comcast email account so
I switched to the provided Versa client and that works
well. Retrieving mail sometimes takes minutes, even downloading just
subject headers. Not the speediest access, but adequate.
Internet:
The provided Blazer browser is basic but decent. Web transfer speeds
are slow as to be expected over the EDGE network. Centro with a 3G
interface will be a killer phone. Viewing content on a 320x320 display
is challenging but again worth the tradeoff in size. Being able to
touch a web link on a page is very handy. I've had some success
watching Youtube videos but occasionally the player just stops and I
get a timeout message.
Multimedia:
Centro comes with Pocket Tunes which rivals the Walkman software on my
W810i. Audio quality is good. Managing photos and videos and transfer
to and from the phone is easy using Palm Desktop. Picture quality with
the on-board camera is so-so but works in a pinch.
Battery:
Many people have reported that the battery capacity is weak and I
concur. Plan on charging the phone at least every other day for
moderate use (few hours of voice calls, few hours of web surfing, and
some email transactions), and every day for heavy use.
Build Quality:
The phone feels well built and solid with one exception. There's a gap
between the battery cover and the battery so typing on the keyboard
can cause an annoying creaking noise depending on where your fingers
are located. Palm tech support suggested putting a folded piece of
paper underneath the cover to close the gap and this solved the
problem. Otherwise the device feels solid and comfortable in your
hand.
Overall Recommendation:
This is a great phone and a good first PDA device. With the addition
of GSM 3G data and improved battery cover fit this would be a best in
class phone.
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