Hands-on with the (Tiny) Palm Centro

Yep, it's small all right. Coming next month for $99 on Sprint, the Centro makes for one of the first Treos (well, it's not really called a Treo, but it's close enough) that actually fits comfortably in your pocket. I just got some hands-on time with the diminutive smartphone here at DigitalLife in New York; here are a few initial impressions.

At 4.2 by 2.1 by 0.7 inches and weighing in at about 4.2 ounces, the Centro (set for release in mid-October) is considerably smaller than its Treo brethren—and with its new, rounded design and sporty color scheme (red and black versions will be available), the phone is certainly more fun than, say, the relatively staid 755p. I tried slipping the Centro into my jeans pocket and yes, it fits nicely.

Of course, the Centro's small size comes at the expense of the QWERTY keypad, which is one of the smallest full-on keypads I've ever seen. I did manage to tap out messages relatively quickly with my thumbs, but holding the Centro in both hands is an awkward proposition, while typing with just one hand is slow going, indeed. Overall, the Centro's keypad isn't as it sounded in the initial reports, but it'll definitely take some getting used to.

Feature-wise, we're talking essentially the same specs as on the Treo 755p: 3G access on Sprint's EV-DO network, phone-as-modem capability, a 1.3-megapixel camera, push- and Exchage-ready e-mail, IM (AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo! Messenger), streaming video via Sprint TV, threaded SMS, and Bluetooth. Still missing from the party are features such as Wi-Fi and built-in GPS—and of course, an updated OS would have been a nice touch, but we're still stuck with the same, 90s-era Palm OS (or Garnet—I've lost track) that we've been seeing on Treos for too many years now.

The Centro isn't exactly a ground-breaker, and big-thumbed folks are going to be unhappy with the cramped keypad, but then there's that price—$99 with a two-year service agreement, which goes a long way toward sweetening the no-Wi-Fi, no-GPS, no-new-UI pill.

Related:
Press release [Palm]