The Story So Far
In the first part of this three-part story, I discussed the circumstances for the search for my new smartphone.
In the second part, I discussed the major highlights of my investigations into the smartphone options. But I did not finish mentioning all of the devices I checked…
Last Device: Palm Centro
The last device that I was considering was the Centro. From many “pundit” accounts, this was a device that was more style than substance, and some people even theorized that it was specifically targeted toward women because of the slimmer case and the smaller keyboard, compared to the Palm Treo models.
Centro Size
The size of the device is very important. I’ve seen countless phones “dribble” from the fingers of road warriors to smash onto hard pavement. I had dropped my cellphones in past, with and without the so-called “protective cases”. Being able to use the device to type and point efficiently and accurately with one hand is a critical feature, something which my Treo 650 was unable to support given its encumbering bulk and shape.
The contour of the device initially presented some concern as well. The Treo models that I sampled had some issues with the keyboard buttons that were too close to the two bottom corners; it was exceedingly easy to inadvertently put pressure of those buttons, whether in a pocket or any sort of carrier. Oddly, although the Treo models have evolved over time to become more rounded and more sleek (to some extent), a lot of the holsters and carrying cases seem as if to have been primarily designed around the Treo 650 but retrofitted to work with the newer Treos, which lack the external antenna and have a different fit within the cases. 
When I was trying out the live Centro at the physical storefront, it was unfortunately tethered to the display stand with a large security claw that actually obscured several of the buttons around the bottom corners, including the Menu, Dot, Shift, and Enter keys. As a result, testing out the typing functionality of the Centro was drastically impaired.
Centro Keyboard
That brings me to the keyboard composition itself. It was the first Palm device I’d seen in a long time that sported non-curved key positioning: instead, it has straight horizontal (and also vertical) key positioning. At first, I was thinking that would be a significant hindrance, but as I played around with the live device, I noticed that there was virtually no impact. But perhaps the most divergent feature was the keyboard button texture: unlike the previous Treo models, the Centro has rubbery, non-slip plastic “bubble” keys, not the rounded chiclet style. While the keys are much-much closer together on the Centro than the Treos, it is the important texture distinction that enhanced my appreciation of the Centro over the Treos: this new keyboard formulation actually helps with fingernail typing, which I suspect persons with even a bit of a ‘nail on each finger will appreciate. Every so often on my Treo 650, I’d notice a finger slipping off of a button surface to fall into the groove in between keys… but not so with the Centro. That’s a good thing, folks.
Centro Display
Based upon my Treo 650 screen response problems, I knew that Treos are confused whenever their screens are covered by screen protector films (in contrast to the original Palm PDAs and the Sony Cliés), especially where there is a lot of dust, fingerprints, or loose debris involved. Reading through the user’s documentation for the Centro, I noticed that it actually advises against using any screen protector films.
The screen resolution is the same as the larger Treos’, but the actual real estate is smaller, giving the impression of a sharper image. Given the comparative small screen size of PDAs and smartphones compared to, say, notebooks and desktops, I was not terribly worried about the Centro’s screen. In fact, unless I held the Centro next to a Treo, I did not notice a dramatic screen size decrease on the Centro. Functionally, since the screen was scaled down at the same ratio, there was no usability impact during my testing.
Centro Operating System
A nice feature is the availability of the Garnet OS on the Centro. Providing a software upgrade/transition pathway from the Treo 650 to the Centro makes sense for people (such as myself) with a heavy investment in Palm OS applications. The current default software provides improvements over the corresponding ones that shipped with the Treo 650, so no surprises there.
Centro Camera Work
Ugh.
It could’ve been better: the camera and vidcam features are about the same as the other Treo models, but by the system specifications, marginally improved over the Treo 650.
An odd thing I noticed with the camera feature is that I can no longer just snap the photo and then start using the Centro for another task. Instead, I have to wait for the photo to appear on the Centro’s screen before going to do something else; if I don’t, the photo ends up with unnecessary shake. It’s as if the electronic shutter in the Centro is deliberately slowed down. This may be a nasty side effect of not having an associated flash. Of course, the software for the camera feature should’ve been able to account for this. This is a small yet significant usability issue.
The Verdict
So, small issues aside, I settled on the Centro, and I signed up for a Sprint [S] plan to go with it. Unfortunately, while signing up for the phone and plan was initially done online (with some problems with Sprint’s online ordering portal with regard to handling credit cards), I had a unduly horrible and lengthy ordeal trying to just get the Centro activated on the Sprint network. Eventually, after a total of 16.5 hours spread across five days, I finally got the phone activated and my billing account corrected.
Warning to Prospective Sprint Customers
Sprint’s customer service has never been stellar, and recently with the dramatic loss in customer confidence and service cutbacks, Sprint customers continue to suffer even more. As with any phone carrier, it is extremely important to scrutinize the customer service quality levels before committing to any contracts or service agreements; with Sprint, even more so now.
The Uncertain Future
In a perfect world, this would be the end of the story. But with a mobile epic of such magnitude, it rarely ends as a happy, tidy, short closure. Selecting the smartphone is one thing; using the device everyday, for both mundane tasks and critical needs, is often something else entirely.
But as the title of this three-part story plainly states, this part of the epic tale is done, gentle readers. It is the end of the Beginning, but not the beginning of the End. 
Fin.
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