New cell phone - Palm Centro

[grislyatoms]

Washed my old phone and need to pick a new one.

Under Verizon's "New Every Two" program, I can pick up a Palm Centro for free.

Not really interested in Web or E-mail, but I do like the fact that Excel and Word documents can be stored/edited and otherwise manipulated on it.

Anybody have/had one? Likes/Dislikes? Yeahs or nays?

Old phone is very...clean...

[mtnbkr]

I've had one (from Vz) since early last year, almost as soon as they became available from Vz.  I love mine.  Even after nearly a year of hard knocks, it still works perfectly.

Chris

[Ryan in Maine]

I haven't heard anyone who owns one complaining about it.

I really like the size of them too. I hate phones that are too small.

Personally, I'm rough on my phones, so I need the Mil-Spec stuff from Casio. The G'Zone Boulders are great.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=4330

It's hard to beat the Palm Centro for all-around results though. Good size. Good key layout. Very functional. I couldn't afford a plan for one though.

[Antibubba]

As someone who works for a cellphone company, I wouldn't recommend it. 

Not really interested in Web or E-mail, but I do like the fact that Excel and Word documents can be stored/edited and otherwise manipulated on it.

Not well, though. 

Then again, I work in Retention, where I always hear the worst.  But the the last few Palm devices have been disappointing.

[Nitrogen]

agreed.  They are about as stable as Windows 3.11 was.

[Bogie]

I want something with a large enough keyboard to actually type on. Which means I'd be happy with a "phone" the size of a paperback.
 

[erictank]

I want something with a large enough keyboard to actually type on. Which means I'd be happy with a "phone" the size of a paperback.

Have you considered one of the PDA-type phones, such as the XV6800 (IIRC) sold by Verizon?  Runs WinMobile 6 or whatever the latest version is, lets you do the Word/Excel thing (even PowerPoint, though that might just be read-only), has a slide-out landscape-mode keyboard, and while it's large for a phone, it's rather less than paperback-sized with a keyboard that's small but usable, unless you have gorilla fingers.  A friend of mine has one, and likes it a lot.

I'm considering the HTC Touch Pro once my current phone is eligible for upgrade from Verizon, so I can go converged and not carry a phone AND a PDA.  I'd considered it earlier, with the XV6800 in fact, but I got spoiled by the VGA screen on my current Dell Axim xv51 (disclosure - my PDA is a recreational tool, not a business device - I read books, watch video, write notes and Word docs, etc., on it).  I could wish the Touch Pro had a CF slot in addition to SD the way the Dell does, but that would make it considerably larger, and the Touch Pro currently takes up to a 16GB SDHC card, so capacity is not likely to be a major issue.

[mtnbkr]

agreed.  They are about as stable as Windows 3.11 was.

No problems here.  Never had any problems with the Treo 600 that preceded it either.  That one was in use for 2 years before I got the Centro.

I don't do anything crazy with it though.  I mainly use it as a PIM and checkbook.  I don't browse the web, edit documents, etc.

Chris

[Nitrogen]

No problems here.  Never had any problems with the Treo 600 that preceded it either.  That one was in use for 2 years before I got the Centro.

I don't do anything crazy with it though.  I mainly use it as a PIM and checkbook.  I don't browse the web, edit documents, etc.

Chris

Ahh, see, I'm a geek and I load it up with apps and browse on it.

I'm much happier with the Blackberry that work gave me.

[Ex-MA Hole]

I use mine for everything...

Mine tends to "get hung up" a fair bit, usually for 10-15 senconds at a whack...the buttons are really, really small, but I have (for the most part) gotten used to them.

It does the trick, but it's just "ok" in my opinion.

[grislyatoms]

Thanks for the responses.

I went ahead with the Centro; if I feel the need to get something a little more robust, kiddo will get the Centro and I'll get something else.

I think it will fill my needs, though.

The G'Zone Boulders

Those are pretty nice. Reminds me of the casing for my GPS.

[AZRedhawk44]

such as the XV6800 (IIRC) sold by Verizon?

Stay away from this phone, Bogie.

I had one.  The screen's data cable shorted on it and I had a non-functional phone.

After going down the "all in one" route, I'm happy to say I have a cheap clamshell cell phone again.  Something I can pay cash to replace easily, that works like a phone should (with buttons you can feel instead of a dumb touchscreen).

[erictank]

Stay away from this phone, Bogie.

I had one.  The screen's data cable shorted on it and I had a non-functional phone.

After going down the "all in one" route, I'm happy to say I have a cheap clamshell cell phone again.  Something I can pay cash to replace easily, that works like a phone should (with buttons you can feel instead of a dumb touchscreen).

Really?  A friend of mine down in Richmond has had one for a while, and has not been vocal about any problems - not that I've asked him, mind you. 

The argument about cheap replacement is certainly a valid one, I'll admit, and something which goes 'round in my mind whenever I think about my upcoming potential phone upgrade.  Haven't made a real decision yet - suppose I should look into what standalone PDAs are available with the features I need (want), so as to have a real basis for comparison.