Palm Centro Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Alfredo Padilla Published on October 25, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (7.88)
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Palm Centro | 39.4 | 7.88 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 30.7 | 6.14 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 49.8 | 9.96 |
| HTC Mogul | 44.9 | 8.98 |
| Palm Treo 700p | 38.4 | 7.68 |
| Apple iPhone | 39.6 | 7.92 |
T9 and Auto Complete (0.0)
The Palm Centro does not include any type of auto complete features, which is a shame as it would be very useful to use fewer key presses on the tiny QWERTY keyboard.
One Hand Usability (5.32)
For those who like to type out messages with a single hand we ran our words per minute (WPM) test using one hand. As with our two-handed WPM test we repeated it five times and took the average for our score. We often see a significant drop in typing speed going from two to one hands with QWERTY devices, and the Palm Centro is no different here, dropping to 26.6 WPM when we typed with one hand. We again found ourselves having to use our thumbnail, which was even more awkward with one hand than it was with two. We wish there were some kind of word prediction system, like on the iPhone, as mispelling words was a serious problem using the Centro's diminutive keyboard.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Palm Centro | 26.6 | 5.32 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 34.5 | 6.90 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 26.5 | 5.30 |
| HTC Mogul | 17.7 | 3.54 |
| Palm Treo 700p | 23.7 | 4.74 |
| Apple iPhone | 32.1 | 6.42 |
Keypad Backlighting (5.0)
The backlight on the Palm Centro does a very good job evenly and cleanly illuminating the keys on the QWERTY keyboard. Lighting controls for the keypad are linked to the backlight for the screen. There is no light sensor, nor can you change how bright the light gets.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (8.0)
The d-pad on the Palm Centro is different from those found on Palm Treo devices. It's slightly smaller, and instead of using a four-way rocker design it uses a raised oval along the edges for four-way control and a large center select button. In use we found it worked quite well. The raised oval is high enough above the surrounding controls that it's easy to use without accidental key presses. We were big fans of the Treo d-pad, and the Centro's is different but just as good. Touch Screen (7.0)
The Palm Centro has a touch screen interface that works very well. It's not as fancy as the iPhone's touch screen, there's no support for multi-touch, and it's pressure sensitive, but we found ourselves able to use it with a finger fairly easily, which is facilitated by the Palm OS. In the few cases where you need more pinpoint control you can use it with the included stylus, as well.
Jog Dial (0.0)
The Palm Centro does not have a jog dial.
Soft Buttons (0.0)
Palm OS does not use soft keys.
Volume Control (6.0)
The volume control on the Palm Centro is located on the left side of the phone near the top. The keys are on a rocker and are separated by a small indentation to help you feel the difference between up and down. We would have liked to see more key travel and tactile feedback when pressed, but other than that the volume key works reasonably well.
Power and Standby (4.0)
The standby key on the Palm Centro is a function of the end button. Just press it once anytime but during a call and the phone goes into Standby mode. Tap it again to wake the phone back up. The button sits flush with the surrounding keys, so we hit it accidentally from time to time, and it also doesn't provide much travel or tactile feedback. It is decently-sized, though, and eventually you do get used to it.
Other Buttons (8.5)
The Palm Centro has several other buttons to access various functions. Surrounding the d-pad are four shortcut keys for the phone, home screen, messaging, and calendar. The phone, calendar, and messaging buttons all have secondary functions, but you have to hit the option key plus the button to access this, which is more difficult than buttons with a press and hold function. As such, we only awarded half points for the secondary function. The calendar and messaging buttons can also be reassigned to other functions. There's a menu button at the bottom left of the QWERTY keyboard that brings up the menu system in any application. We've complained about the location of this key on the Treos because it's a little far from the control keys given how often you use it, but on the Centro the device is small enough that the reach isn't nearly as bad. Finally, there's a user customizable button on the left side of the phone that launches the chosen application with a press and hold. By default this launches voice notes. Overall, the additional buttons are useful and easy to use.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.5)
Like Palm OS-based Treos, the Centro has a screen resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. Although the operating system doesn't make full use of this high resolution, it is very nice for viewing photos or videos. We were quite pleased with the resolution of the Centro's display. Our score for screen resolution is based on the total number of pixels displayed.
| Cell Phone | Resolution | Score |
| Palm Centro | 320 x 320 | 8.50 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 320 x 240 | 8.00 |
| HTC Mogul | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Palm Treo 700p | 320 x 320 | 8.50 |
| Apple iPhone | 320 x 480 | 9.00 |
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (10.29)
Pixels per inch (PPI) is a measure of how closely pixels on the screen are packed. Higher pixel density leads to richer colors and sharper image viewing. The Palm Centro has a pixel density of 205.7 PPI. This is an excellent pixel density, and high resolution photos look great on the Centro's screen. The Centro is helped out by the fact it has a smaller screen for a smart phone with a higher pixel density, but we'll take it any way we can get it. As you can see below, the Centro has a higher pixel density than most phones we're comparing it to. The W580i is closest and is also helped out by its fairly small screen.
| Cell Phone | Pixels Per Inch | Score |
| Palm Centro | 205.7 | 10.29 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 200.0 | 10.00 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 164.6 | 8.23 |
| HTC Mogul | 142.9 | 7.15 |
| Palm Treo 700p | 170.0 | 8.50 |
| Apple iPhone | 164.8 | 8.24 |
Screen Physical Size (5.50)
The Palm Centro's screen measures 2.2 inches. This is larger than the average phone's screen because it's square instead of rectangle, but is significantly smaller than the displays you find on most smart phones.
| Cell Phone | Size Diagonal (inches) | Score |
| Palm Centro | 2.2 | 5.50 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 2 | 5.00 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 2.43 | 6.08 |
| HTC Mogul | 2.8 | 7.00 |
| Palm Treo 700p | 2.4 | 6.00 |
| Apple iPhone | 3.5 | 8.75 |
Screen Brightness (6.9)
To measure screen brightness we pointed the phone's browser at a blank white page and set screen brightness to maximum. We then used a lux meter to measure how bright the screen gets. The Palm Centro's screen measured 54 lux in our test. This isn't very bright — almost every comparison phone did significantly better in terms of screen brightness than the Centro, including the older Treo 700p. The Centro lacks an automatic light sensor to adjust screen brightness, however you can adjust brightness manually to one of 16 lighting levels.
| Cell Phone | Brightness (lux) | Score |
| Palm Centro | 54 | 6.90 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 85 | 6.75 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 105 | 9.50 |
| HTC Mogul | 102 | 7.85 |
| Palm Treo 700p | 85 | 8.50 |
| Apple iPhone | 168 | 15.40 |
Screen Bright Light Performance (3.0)
To see how the Centro handles bright light situations we shine 3000 lux of light onto the screen and judge how legible it remains. Three-thousand lux is equivalent to a bright sunny day, and to be fair we turn the screen's brightness up to maximum for this test. We found the Centro's screen to be difficult to read in these conditions. Although we could just about make out icons and large text on the phone, there's no way you could read a Web page or e-mail. The glare gets really bad, and the Centro's backlight just isn't powerful enough to illuminate the screen against it.
Color Depth (6.0)
Color depth is a measure of how many colors a phone's screen can display. The Palm Centro supports 65,000 colors, which is fairly standard in phones. As you can see from our table below, only the W580i displays more colors. The Centro's 65,000 colors should be sufficient for most users, but you definitely notice the difference compared to phones like the Nokia N95, which supports 16 million colors.
| Cell Phone | Colors (thousands) | Score |
| Palm Centro | 65 | 6.0 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 262 | 8.0 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 65 | 6.0 |
| HTC Mogul | 65 | 6.0 |
| Palm Treo 700p | 65 | 6.0 |
| Apple iPhone | unknown | 6.0 |
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (2.0)
The Palm Centro uses Palm's typical power and data connectors: the proprietary Multi-Connector for data, and a small proprietary power port next to it. We understand the interest in having backward compatibility with the large selection of Palm accessories out there, but we still plead with Palm to please adopt a recognized standard like Mini-USB. Headphone & Jack Compatibility (2.0)
The Centro has a 2.5mm headset jack. We could say we'd like to see a 3.5mm jack, but given Palm's propensity for proprietary connectors we're just happy to see a standard connector here. Unfortunately a wired headset is your only option with the Centro, as it lacks support for Bluetooth stereo headphones.
Internal Storage (1.0)
The Palm Centro comes with 64 MB of internal storage. This should be sufficient for your contacts, appointments, and other PIM data, but if you want to use the Centro as a multimedia device you'll find you need to invest in a memory card. Even a good number of e-mails with large attachments will eat up the available memory fairly quickly.
Expansion Slot & Format (5.0)
The Palm Centro supports the Micro SD card standard for expandable storage. This has become par for the course for phones, so no surprise there. We're happy to see the Centro supports high-capacity Micro SD cards, currently available up to 4 GB and with higher capacities expected in the near future. The Micro SD slot is, unfortunately, not easily accessible. In order to get at it you first need to remove the battery cover and then open a second flap along the right side of the phone to get at the card slot. You can't open the flap without first removing the battery cover. Given how easily accessible the card slot is on Palm's Treo lineup, we are very disappointed with how difficult it is to get to the card in the Centro. | Previous Next | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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