Centro Q&A - In My Hands

Dieter Bohn · 10/10/2007, 12:32 PM

Hi All -

Just received my review unit. I'm making a quick and dirty unboxing video now. Point of the thread: Ask yer questions and get yer answers.

It's charging up now.

wachie · 10/10/2007, 12:47 PM

My wife is using my old treo 600 and I wanted to get her an upgrade, but I was worried about doing it until now.
My concern is that she has very little patience with new electronics and the learning curve involved.
She has become very fond of the threaded text messaging, would prefer a better camera, and doesnt want to deal with a ton of extra features she doesn't need.
I thought this might be the perfect answer.
Since you have one in your possession, could you give me your opinion on what a semi-novice such as my wife might think of this phone and what kind of frustrations I might have to talk my wife through in learning to use this phone from the 600?

whatever7 · 10/10/2007, 12:59 PM

Can the battery fit in the old usb battery charger and can you post a comparison pic of the Centro and 650/700p battery.

Thanks.

dreadpiratedoug · 10/10/2007, 01:02 PM

How well do the menus respond, and such? Is there any noticable lag or anything?

Also, did it come with a screen protector in the box?

And how does the speakerphone sound?

BigTreo · 10/10/2007, 01:19 PM

I'll ask the obvious - How's the keyboard?

Dieter Bohn · 10/10/2007, 01:24 PM

Quote:

My concern is that she has very little patience with new electronics and the learning curve involved.
She has become very fond of the threaded text messaging, would prefer a better camera, and doesnt want to deal with a ton of extra features she doesn't need.
I thought this might be the perfect answer.
Since you have one in your possession, could you give me your opinion on what a semi-novice such as my wife might think of this phone and what kind of frustrations I might have to talk my wife through in learning to use this phone from the 600?

If your wife has learned the Treo 600, then the Centro is the perfect upgrade for her - seriously. The only thing I'd worry about is whether or not she has long fingernails - somebody in our office does and she wasn't fond of the keyboard initially. But compared to the 600 it's a no-brainer. 1.3 mp camera, better screen, keeping threaded text, faster internet, it goes on and on. Definitely tell her that the phone works almost exactly the same way (excepting a couple of button changes), the only question is whether or not she'll like the keyboard.

Quote:

Can the battery fit in the old usb battery charger and can you post a comparison pic of the Centro and 650/700p battery.

I'll get a pic up in just a bit - but the short answer is absolutely not. The battery connectors are in a different spot.

Quote:

How well do the menus respond, and such? Is there any noticable lag or anything?

Also, did it come with a screen protector in the box?

And how does the speakerphone sound?

Menus seems to respond fine - if you've ever used a 755p it's about the same. I've only had it for a few minutes now so I can't speak to long-term stability yet.

No Screen Protector, although I personally don't consider that a big loss as the stock screen protectors always stink IMO.

Haven't had a chance to test the speakerphone yet. I definitely will include that in the full review.

Dieter Bohn · 10/10/2007, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTreo

I'll ask the obvious - How's the keyboard?

Keyboard - not bad at all! BUT: You will want to try it out in person. Long fingernails and or fat thumbs may have difficulties.

The video is "processing" on youtube now, when it's up there's a closer look at the kb you'll want to see.

dreadpiratedoug · 10/10/2007, 01:32 PM

Do have any ideas on when cases or screen protectors will be coming out? Sena is sending out the pre-ordered cases on Nov 14th, but I'll want something to protect the screen at least the week I get the phone.

Is the store going to have anything, or do you have any suggestions?

Dieter Bohn · 10/10/2007, 01:41 PM

http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/1376-1.htm

Dieter Bohn · 10/10/2007, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreadpiratedoug

Do have any ideas on when cases or screen protectors will be coming out? Sena is sending out the pre-ordered cases on Nov 14th, but I'll want something to protect the screen at least the week I get the phone.

Is the store going to have anything, or do you have any suggestions?

Our TreoCentral Store is getting accessories as fast as they can. They already have some cases that were originally designed for other phones (like the Pearl) that they are testing as we speak for compatibility.

As for custom-fit screen protectors, they're looking into getting an ETA now.

dreadpiratedoug · 10/10/2007, 01:44 PM

Awesome, thanks ... any updates on that would be cool when they get an ETA. I'm one hell of a paranoid guy about my phone screen.

samkim · 10/10/2007, 01:48 PM

Some website mentioned that the Centro doesn't have the white border around the screen. Does this mean that the Centro has more pixels available for the screen display than the Treos? Or does the 320x320 resolution of the Treos exclude the white border?

Palm describes the Centro's memory as 64MB available out of 64MB, while the 755p is 60MB available out of 128 MB. However, Sprint describes both devices as having 64MB available out of 128MB. I've never been clear about how memory and storage work in Treos. Is there a real hardware difference in terms of memory between the Centro and the 755p?

Is the case the same slick plastic as on the 650? Or is it a little grippier?

Conrad · 10/10/2007, 01:57 PM

Hi Dieter,
- Could you install MemInfo and let us know about the state and amount of NVFS?
- Can the side button wake the device?
Thanks.

whatever7 · 10/10/2007, 02:05 PM

Your video volume is wy way too low.

I have seen the Centro many time on video, I still can't grasp the size. Until I see a comparison of the Centro vs. the SE m600, or SE w800, I won't know exactly how big it is.