[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!