Palm Centro: A New Beginning?

[clamknuckle]

Originally Posted by skoenig

@clamknuckle On the keyboard side I heard from Andrew it's got a softness and platsic stickiness to it that allows you to just use your nails or finger tips when typing. My 700p's keyboard keys are smooth and hard which actually makes using it harder than it should be because my finger tips slip down.

I'm gonna check it out. Maybe I can upgrade and donate my 700p my wife (who wouldn't carry something so big or heavy).


~ Steph

You could use your nails I suppose. I COULD get by and adjust to the Centro if i absolutely had too. But I prefer the spaced out keyboard on the 755. I honestly can't tell much of a difference between the "touch" of the two keyboards.

Also, the stylus on the Centro is 100% plastic and feels even cheaper than the one on the 755. I miss the aluminium ones from the 600-600.

[comiken205]

I have big meaty claws. I used keyboards that are smaller than the Centro's. For a good reason, our brains adjust to adversity. My fingers were able to txt like a teenage girl on a small keyboard. (I say that cause my daughter can text like 10/min. and she is only 9!)

Even now I use a bluetooth keyboard with my 700P.

[redheads]

Have had Treos since the 600 debut - picked up the centro today when i went to take in my 650 for a headset jack repair and decided to take home the new toy instead (kept my 650 just in case...)

Love so far:
1) the grippy-ness of the keyboard, less typing errors, faster with fingertips after mere minutes of 'getting used to' it
2) download speed is awesome - kinoma content never loaded so fast!
3) gets a signal where before I had none... and I mean None.
4) the big memory capacity
5) speaker sounds great
6) lightweight
7) great built-in apps - docs-to-go, google maps, on demand...
8) no problems with sync of outlook 2003 and install of splash wallet programs, my most-used apps.

bugs me:
1) very slippery.
2) I loved my 'menu' button at the top of the keypad, where my thumb rests more naturally - didn't like it down low on the 600, miss it now.
3) hard to get to the memory card - may not be an issue since it is bigger, though a couple of movies fill it up fast.

overall, it is a winner - and I am admittedly very picky

[stancooper5]

If you get the touch...you will love it. just got one and use it on my last trip

[redheads]

Still liking the centro today... used the included Vox blog feature - looks cool... MAYBE I can keep up a blog with that feature (it could happen!). I made my first post minutes after setup and included a photo all with minimal effort on my part .

Ran my own beta test today - LOL - found out the software for the treo 650 Audible Player works just fine on the Centro (so far). Installed and added a book (besides the ones I had already copied to my card) using the sync cable. It was not cooperating with the audibleAir feature, but I am not sure if that was a lack of connectivity or a program issue. Audible is a must for me, glad it was a plug-n-play.

The mail accounts (3 in all) seemed to fetch REALLY SLOWLY, not sure if that is a centro issue, connectivity, or what... time will tell. More on that as a few days go by and I can compare. Seems it was faster yesterday. Maybe it is the weather...

[redheads]

... after all of the nice things I have said I have a major gripe. Wanted to confirm it before I posted, but I just ran some more tests.

'Files' is a program that comes on the centro (in the my centro add-ons) - lets you manage the files on your micro SD card. Ok so far. It does NOT let you manage the files on the palm card - hmmmm... well, I say, it is still an improvement -- right... since the treo previously had no bulit-in file management at all.

And then...

I load Filez (love that app!) onto my card and try to copy it to the handheld. It says there is already a file with that name... ok, thinking the other 'files' program was interfering I rename Filez. Still no way to copy it to the handheld. No matter what I name it I cannot copy it to the handheld, I get the message that there is already a file with that name... sigh. So they are 'protecting' me from loading Filez, a very useful app for managing my music as i have no intention of loading *yet another* music-management software on my computer just to add mp3s to my handheld. Not nice.

The good news is I found a work-around. I am a bit hesitant to post it lest it get patched ... any thoughts on that?

[skoenig]

redheads...

Enjoying the Centro vicariously through you. Sad to hear about the filez issue. Very important to me too that I should be able to manage my files how i like and of course loved Filez.

Thought you might also like out check out the freeware Fileprog it does a similar thing the might work on your Centro's Palm card.

FileProg v1.14

I wouldn't worry about Palm patching a method you might have for running the filez, there's a few other things to patch first in their OS so put us out of our misery and let us know.

~ Steph

[redheads]

Originally Posted by skoenig

Thought you might also like out check out the freeware Fileprog it does a similar thing the might work on your Centro's Palm card.

Oh, nice - will check it out, Thanks!

Originally Posted by skoenig

I wouldn't worry about Palm patching a method you might have for running the filez, there's a few other things to patch first in their OS so put us out of our misery and let us know.

~ Steph

LOL - of course you are right, again... too funny. Ok, not really too tricky, I was just glad to get past this and arrange my music where I wanted it and rename files if I please I went in via palm fileS and selected the fileZ program (which unfortunately still resides on the SD card). You can run fileZ from there and you can carry on as usual. So you never get an icon and I did not figure out how to copy fileZ over to the palm card, but at least i can still use it.

[forgot]

Ok, so I just got a chance to actually hold one. Wow! Really its not that much smaller than my 680 when you hold them side by side, but they feel so different. The smaller screen and keyboard really were not issues either. I managed to crank out a quick paragraph in the memo app with ease, and I only misstyped up maybe twice. I'll definantly be looking for a GSM version when they come out.

[SomeoneWhoBikes]

Originally Posted by redheads

I load Filez (love that app!) onto my card and try to copy it to the handheld. It says there is already a file with that name... ok, thinking the other 'files' program was interfering I rename Filez. Still no way to copy it to the handheld. No matter what I name it I cannot copy it to the handheld, I get the message that there is already a file with that name... sigh. So they are 'protecting' me from loading Filez, a very useful app for managing my music as i have no intention of loading *yet another* music-management software on my computer just to add mp3s to my handheld. Not nice.

I downloaded the latest version of FileZ on Wednesday and hot-sync'd it to my Centro with no problems whatsoever. It shows up in my applications list & seems to work fine. Except for (apparently) not supporting the "5-way" navigation; anyone know how to get around that?