Got VZ's new Centro...

[mtnbkr]

For free! 

I went in today expecting to spend $170 after my "new every two" discount and learned I was getting a free phone after all my discounts (employee, New Every Two, Lord knows what else, etc).  Same plan as before and shiny new phone makes me a happy camper.

So far, it appears to be a big upgrade over my old Treo 600.  It is more compact, faster, and is a bit refined compared to the old one.  The battery is user replaceable, unlike the 600.  I finally have Bluetooth, so I can walk around with a Star Trek earpiece.  Sound quality is great, at least compared to the 600 (that could be due to the age of my 600, I got mine when the 600 first came out).

Chris

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

But it still runs that horrid Palm OS, right?

[mtnbkr]

It runs PalmOS.  I don't think I'd call it "horrid" as it has always worked for me.  Then again, so did PocketPC back when I had a PPC device years ago.  I don't tend to have the problems with my PDAs that other folks have (multiple resets, crashes, etc).

Chris

[AJ Dual]

But it still runs that horrid Palm OS, right?

I've supported Blackberrys and PalmOS Treo's pretty extensively. And I had any number of users who were to the point of hard-resetting their Treo's, then restoring/synching from their PC daily, just to get a repeatable 24hrs of solid use from them. Most often the Goodlink email client was the culprit. But w/o enterprise email, the whole wireless thing is kinda moot, unless pr0n on the commuter train is priority #1...

Unless you've had a Windows Mobile 6 device, like the Sprint/HTC Mogul I just got a week ago, you wouldn't throw around terms like "horrid" about other PDA OS's in such a cavlier fashion. 

Not that Palm is THAT much better/stable, but it's still better. If it weren't for the fact that the pair of HTC Moguls I got were a private sale at 1/2 the best price I could get from Sprint from a well-heeled and fickle couple who changed carriers one week after getting them, I'd have thrown them through a window or returned them (forcibly) at the Sprint store by now.

[mtnbkr]

I haven't used PocketPC since the days of the Casio Casseopea E125 (think that's the model).  That was back in 2000.  It was pretty stable, but once in a while needed a soft reset, maybe once every few months (kept it till 2005ish).  I've only had to soft reset my Treo 600 once and never hard reset it at all.

But, I don't do much in the way of networking with my Treo, I use it like a standalone PDA without network access.

Chris

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

I, too, maintain a large number of Treos and other Palm devices.  Every single last one has been a nightmare in some form or another.  We're in the process of moving to Blackberries.  I love mine.

[Azrael256]

We're in the process of moving to Blackberries.  I love mine.

Until your users figure out how to break those, too.  Or your BES goes down.

It's a phone.  It sits in the user's pocket all the time, and they tinker with it incessantly.  They break computers, and they're only on them 8 hours each day. 

[Antibubba]

I'm waiting for the release of the Instinct.  That thing is AMAZING.

[mtnbkr]

After a weekend with the Centro, here are my initial impressions:

As a phone, it's amazing.  Could be all the abuse I heaped upon it, but my Treo did not maintain a signal as well as this phone (though it was still better than most).  Most telling was my ability to maintain a call while in my basement last night.  That was a surefire call killer for my Treo.  Dunno why, but it couldn't hold a signal there.  The Centro had no problem.

As a PDA, it's faster than my Treo (duh, it's several years and revisions newer).  The screen is brighter and clearer as well.  The factory stylus is a joke, light and flimsy.  It makes the touch screen feel mushy and vague.  If I use the Treo's stylus (metal body), things improve greatly.  I'll be replacing the stylus soon.  The 4 control buttons are a bit too cramped and I sometimes select the text messenger button when I mean to select the PDA "Home" button, etc.  I'll have to retrain my fingers.

The sync software was a bit wonky.  It downloaded everything from my Treo, but didn't import it into the Palm Desktop.  When I synced the Centro, it downloaded my apps, but not the PIM data.  I had to manually import that from the backup folder to the desktop before it would sync.  Now that it's in the desktop, it syncs just fine.  I never really used the Palm Desktop with my Treo, preferring to maintain backups with BackupMan instead.  Speaking of BackupMan, I have to upgrade that since the version I bought for my Treo doesn't work on the Centro (or any Treo since the 680) and there isn't a direct upgrade path to the current version.  I have to fork out another $15 if I want to keep using it.

Otherwise, it's great.  It has all the features I want in a PDA/Phone without the bulk of the Treo 600.  This is my first bluetooth phone, so it'll be interesting to try out the headsets and all.  Since DC passed that law forbidding talking on the phone with a handset while driving, I have to have something "handsfree". 

Chris

[Ex-MA Hole]

Chris....

I am on my fourth Palm Pilot.  I love them.  They do everything I need them to do.

Well, except for getting my emails and allowing for Web usage while on the road....

I am in the process of begging for work to pay for a Black Berry Curve, to replace my cell and my Palm E2.  Both are on their last leg, and I have a new customer that wants/ needs me to be email accessable when on the road.....

I hate the thought of moving from Palm, but people that I have talked to said that once I go to the Crackberry, I will never look back.

Have you/ Did you compare the two?  Anythoughts on switching to the Crackberry?

[mtnbkr]

I didn't look closely at the Blackberry devices because I don't really do much via the network with my Palm devices.  I don't want to pay for the data/time unless I can bill it to work, so I simply turn all that off.  My primary uses are offline and I wasn't sure the Blackberry devices would do that as well as the Palm ones (didn't feel like looking into either since Palm worked so well for me).  Blackberry seems better suited to "corporate" use while the Treo devices (including Centro) seemed more appropriate for "private" uses.

Not sure about email, but you can surf the web with the Treo style devices.  I did that when I had a data plan for my 600.  I'm sure at least Internet email would work (vs Corporate email) if you had a pop client on the device.

Chris

[Ex-MA Hole]

Where is your thought process on this now?  Still like it?

[mtnbkr]

Love it.  I don't do any more with it than I did with the old Treo, but this one is faster and smaller.  Some of the interface changes are mildly annoying, but that's mainly due to several years of use with the Treo, not because the changes are bad per se.  If I started out with the Centro, there wouldn't be any problems. 

When SWMBO needed a new phone, we ended up getting her a Treo as well.  She's not a PDA user, but she prefers "candybar" phones to flip phones and VZ doesn't offer a candybar that isn't an overpriced text tool.  We were able to get her a Centro for $50.  Lots of untapped capability, but the form factor suits her.  Plus, we can share accessories and power cords.

Chris

[Ex-MA Hole]

Have you used it for getting emails or web stuff at all?

As indicated a few months back, I need something to get emails on the road...I've switched my calendar to Outlook to get ready for the Blackberry, but I can not get used to it.

I like Palm.

I need to be able to get emails on the road....

[Gewehr98]

I still use my vintage Palm-driven I-300 cellphone every day.  It hasn't had a problem, and I have both ballistics software and flight planning stuff on it.  Should I induce some sort of crash/error in it to feel up to speed? 

[mtnbkr]

Have you used it for getting emails or web stuff at all?

No.  I don't use it that way.  I did use the Treo like that for a while.  It worked fine, though web browsing was slow. 

I still use my vintage Palm-driven I-300 cellphone every day.  It hasn't had a problem, and I have both ballistics software and flight planning stuff on it.  Should I induce some sort of crash/error in it to feel up to speed? 

The Treo 600 worked fine for me, the Centro is just smaller.  As for crashes, if you can find a way to make it happen, let me know.  With the compliment of apps I run, I've never had a crash.  I don't try to use mine as a multimedia terminal or digipet though.  Just basic PDA and a handful of simple apps for me.

Chris

[K Frame]

You know, one of these days I'm going to have to upgrade...

My cellphone is so old that it has a dial on the front, and the only way I can get e-mail with it is when the post man stops by and delivers them to me. On paper.

[K Frame]

Hum...

Through my employee discounts it looks like I can get a new phone for $0 if I sign up for two years with Verizon.

Since that's not an issue to me, I just may do that.

What does worry me, though, is that I have a KILLER plan for my use (very little) -- $6.95 a month base fee. Air minutes are a bit salty, but that's OK. I don't want to lose that. It may, however, become a moot point once Verizon totally does away with analog. My plan is an analog plan...

I'd better look into this some more.

[Ex-MA Hole]

Chris-
I ended up getting one this weekend....so far, so good....except for the stylus....is so thin it bends when I try to use it....I'm going to get some metal ones...

[mtnbkr]

Yeah, the stylus is a flexy piece of crap.  I keep meaning to replace mine, but never get around to it.

Chris