“Could the Palm Centro spell salvation for the struggling smartphone innovator that has fallen on tough times? Or is it a doomed effort to hang on in an increasingly competitive market? Palm designed the Centro to attract buyers who are younger and less affluent than its traditional Treo customers, and the new phone will probably succeed in buying Palm some time. But it may not be enough to reverse the company’s flagging fortunes,” Stephen H. Wildstrom reports for BusinessWeek.
“The Centro is essentially a shrunken version of the Treo 755p, with a scrunched keyboard, a slightly smaller screen, and a battery yielding about 13% less talk time. Among these compromises, the only one that worries me is the keyboard, which seems to be designed for hobbits,” Wildstrom reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Tiny mechanical keyboards, how quaint! Using an iPhone next to a Treo in an airport the other day was like flying a spaceship over a lame horse pulling a buggy with a broken wheel.
Wildstrom continues, “There is a big downside, one the Centro shares with its Treo siblings. The Palm OS software, which was revolutionary in its day, has been upgraded over the years with the tech equivalent of rubber bands and chewing gum. The program, which actually predates smartphones, has now gone five years without a major overhaul. Simply put, it is no longer up to the job.”
“The Web browser is barely usable, and every online Palm forum is filled with complaints from owners whose Treos crash or lock up frequently,” Wildstrom reports. “…For all its faults, Palm still offers the simplest and most intuitive user interface and the best integration between PDA and phone functions of any smartphone. That includes Apple’s iPhone, which has a great Web browser but lacks a simple way to look up contacts.”
MacDailyNews Take: Grabs iPhone. Presses “phone,” then “contacts,” scrolls to contact or clicks letter from side alphabet menu to jump directly to contacts whose last name begins with said letter. That seems quite logical, simple, and intuitive to us. Certainly easy enough to not start pining for some old dino mobile OS/company.
Wildstrom continues, “I’ve carried a Palm of one sort or another since the original Pilot in 1996, and I would be greatly saddened by the death of this icon. But the Centro may not be enough of an advance to prevent that.”
Full article here.
Stephen, you’ve carried a Palm for too long. Since June 29th 2007, in fact. Don’t be sad about Palm’s death; that’s what happens when companies sit around, rest on their decaying laurels, and do basically nothing for years. Now, remember to click “contacts” and use the iPhone’s side alphabet menu and we’re sure you’ll forget all about Palm as quickly as we have.