Hands-on with the Palm Centro

After months of rumors, speculation, leaks and even a private showing to select members of the press, just about everyone knows that the Palm Centro is coming. So it's probably for the best that the secretive company has finally come clean on the topic of their new smartphone. The Centro will arrive October 14th on the Sprint network for $99.99 (after a 2-year contract and instant rebate). As we previously reported, the Centro features a touchscreen, stylus, QWERTY keyboard and EV-DO support. Contrary to the Windows Mobile rumors, it actually runs Palm OS 5.4.9 and will ship in two colors: "Ruby red" (pictured at right) and "Onyx black" (photo).

So, how does this thing stack up next to other smartphones? DailyTechRag scored some hands-on time with the little guy and while certainly impressive in some respects, this isn't the ultimate smartphone that Palm fans have been waiting for. First off it's thick--significantly fatter than even most BlackBerrys--which makes it kind of hard to pocket. Second off, it's not very wide and while that's a positive in most regards, it leads to the keyboard feeling very cramped. I don't quite agree with Gearlog's assesment that it's "impossible to type on" but it's definitely not as comfortable as a Treo for typing.

Now, having said that, the Centro does have a number of things going for it. The touchscreen is a big plus, especially when using applications like Google Maps. The build quality seems fairly high as well--I definitely wouldn't worry much about breaking this thing. And the EV-DO Internet is mighty snappy--especially if you're used to riding in the EDGE slowcoach. The Centro's biggest selling point, however, may be its price: it's hard to beat a $100 phone that can handle email, SMS, IM, MP3s, PDFs, Microsoft Office files, contacts and schedules. If you're looking for a cheap, capable smartphone, the Centro just might be for you. If you're looking for something svelte and pocketable from Palm, wait for the Treo 500v.

For more on the Centro:
- check out full-size official photos of the device
- and see this press release