Palm Centro: A New Beginning?

[Treo Musketeers]

See my responses in red below:

Originally Posted by His_Kid1

I've been reading this thread with great interest. My Centro is on it's way from Sprint, and will be here sometime this week. This will be my first PDA/Smartphone, and was not really a planned purchase. My dd13 sent my Samsung flip phone for a 60-minute swirly of death in the washing machine, and even after intense rehab, all was lost.

After much research, I decided that maybe the minivan mom from the suburbs just might actually really need one of these things, and bit the bullet and ordered. I'm a bit nervous and very excited, but happy to hear that for the most part, you like yours. I have tested the keyboard, and it fit my small hands just fine, and I was able to use my nails (short) on the keys perfectly.

I'm a tad overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information out there on freeware and Palm-compatible software, and various ways to set it up, etc. etc. Does anyone have any recommendations for a link for a total beginner? I'm not asking you to set it up for me, or do a ton of work on my behalf, but I just had a couple of quick questions. There are a good series of articles at TreoCentral.com for Centro beginners. This article, which I think was the last, gives links to the other nine. Its a good primer. treocentral.com >> Stories >> Guides >> Centro Intro Pt 10: Setting Up Email Also, I would recommend that you get an SD Card (micro for Centro), a file manager (FileZ is freeware) and a backup program (NVBackup is freeware and is as good as most shareware backup programs). I would also recommend several utilities that will protect your device and card: SafeGuard, Power Hero, TealScan, and either Card Reader or Softick Card Export II. All of these apps, except Tealscan, can be found in the Treonauts store and if you use the discount code TOP100 or BESTSELLERS, you will get 20% off discount. I also would recommend FastLaunch as a launcher. Butler is also a useful utility.

I'm assuming that most of the stuff written for the Treos works on the Centros? Is that true across the board, or is there some rule of thumb that I need to keep in mind?
No, unfortunately this is not true. Olders apps likely will not work on the Centro. One recommendation I would make is to both review an app to ensure it works on the Centro, and then trial it, before you buy it. That way you'll know firsthand if it does what you want it to do.

I also assume that anytime you download something from an unknown party, you invite the potential for viruses. Is this an issue? How do I avoid this? What are some really reliable sites for freeware or low cost software?
Viruses are not really an issue for Palm OS. There were a couple years ago, but noone has reported a Palm virus for years. There are several freeware sites for Palm. Here are some links:

Freeware Palm: the one and only site for downloading freeware files for PalmOS handhelds.

Best PALM Software - Enhancement

The Best Free Palm Software — Leslie Franke

Useful Free Palm Mobile Software

Must Have Treo Freeware Applications

Palmloyal.com - Essential Palm Centro Freeware Applications - Updated 02/08

Free Palm Pilot downloads

Freeware Palm treo phone and pda programs, Free Palm software downloads.
Thanks!

[His_Kid1]

Wow! Thanks so much. That intro will give me some great information to start with. Between the intro, the freeware links, and the search function here, I should be mostly good to go, but it is fantastic to know I have a place to go where I won't get beat to death for asking a dumb question. Thanks again!!!

Only question is do you have any feeling about FileZ vs. FileProg? I have seen both referenced, and others prefer FileProg.

[Treo Musketeers]

When I first started looking at file managers I saw that too, but my personal experence was that FileZ actually offered more functionality than FileProg. Furthermore, FileZ is still occasionally updated, and I don't think FileProg is supported anymore. But its a matter of personal preference. My clear bias is for FileZ.

[naturalsis]

I need advice. FileZ & Resco Explorer both cause problems for me. FileZ loops endlessly in find files dialog then crashes phone. Resco Exp makes my sd card undetectable. I have these added apps:

Treo Battery
KeyGuard Time
Power Hero
Resco Viewer
Teal Scan
Reset Doctor
Text Twist
Crosswords
Bejeweled 2
eReader
Palm Fiction
Skin UI
Scrabble
NV Back Up
In Hand
GoogHelper
Font Smoother
Phone Switch
Docs to Go
Mundu Radio
Sudoku

Any ideas on possible conflicts? It's strange that both of these file management programs cause me issues.

[deibelsan]

Filez works for me (I assume you are talking about the filtering function) as does Fileprog. It worked before the Sprint update and still works. Of the progs you have listed, I use SkinUI, Sudoku, D2go so those probably aren't the problem. Didn't you have way more progams than that on your i500?

[naturalsis]

Originally Posted by deibelsan

Filez works for me (I assume you are talking about the filtering function) as does Fileprog. It worked before the Sprint update and still works. Of the progs you have listed, I use SkinUI, Sudoku, D2go so those probably aren't the problem. Didn't you have way more progams than that on your i500?

Yes, more on i500. Haven't tried FileZ since the update - Resco Explorer IS working flawlessly since update, btw. I'll give another try & post result.

[fishchick72]

I just recently got the centro. For the past 2 years I've had a Nokia cell phone & a Palm TX PDA. My hubby has gone through a few versions of the treo & now has the centro. I finally decided to give up having a phone AND a PDA & got it combined now & am LOVING it so far...........except I got an email announcing the Pre & hubby & I both like what we see...........but it says it has plans for Sprint & we are with AT&T....hopefully it will be there too eventually.

[LotusLord]

It's likely that AT&T will pick it up after Sprint's exclusivity runs out. If not there will be other phones running WebOS. It won't be Sprint exclusive for long

[jaxjag1950]

Just bought my FIRST Centro and smartphone. The phone reception is outstanding in Florida. Very clear signal. I have been a Palm user since the M500 PDA days moving up to the T5. This year I decided to go smartphone because of the convenience of the PDA organizer function and the added benefit of wireless email and web access in one package. I researched smartphones for two months and decided on Centro because of size, power, and I get great reception with Verizon. I have used ATT, Cingular, and Sprint in the past and moved to Verizon 2 years ago because regardless what ATT ads say, Verizon really has "more bars in more places." My children are on Verizon in NYC and Seattle and the reception in those two places are outstanding. I have just started using my Centro and couldn't be happier. Maybe some day, if Palm Pre comes to Verizon; I might switch, but for now this is a great tool for me.

[jfa02]

welcome to treonauts jaxjag1950. Glad you are here with us. Thanks for sharing your verizon experiences with us.