Palm Centro 685
Key specs
Critic consensus
“At only $99, the Palm Centro is a bargain for first-time smart phone users, but you get more with Sprint’s version, which packs more speed because of its EV-DO connection. We also like the $99 Samsung BlackJack II from AT&T better than the Centro because it supports 3G and has a larger display and keyboard. But if you prefer the Palm experience to Windows Mobile and you’re not leaving AT&T anytime soon, this Centro is a decent choice.”
“The Palm Centro is like the friend you call when you need to be bailed out of jail: Reliable, smart and capable of getting the job done. But its dependable nature also means it's not exactly the handset you want to party with.Now offered by AT&T in a GSM flavor, the pocket-size, easy-to-use Centro handles messaging (IM, texting, personal and corporate e-mails) and light office tasks with graceful aplomb. Apps like viewing PDFs, creating Word files and listening to MP3s are handled swiftly and easily. Simple web pages (like craigslist) loaded quickly but bright colorful ones (like Wired.com's) stalled and hiccupped on the Centro's screen.”
“The nice thing about running a little community blog wirelessnorth.ca is that every so often companies, or rather their PR reps, send you some pretty neat new stuff. Unfortunately, this is not so much one of those times. At long last (and sorry Palm), here is our review of the Palm Centro. Rogers released this little guy with a certain amount of fanfare earlier this fall (coincident with this same device already moving to the year-old bargain bin at any of the US carriers, but we digress). For the GSM carrier that has to have everything, it makes an (evil sort of) sense to bring out Palm’s latest flagship too. For anyone trying to keep track, Palm Centro is basically the same “smart” phone Palm has been producing for the last 5 years just in a different plastic package (like imagine if Motorola stubbornly made the exact same flip phone for years and years while the rest of the industry move on and on, but worse). Which is to say this palm is chunky, has stylus, a painfully low resolution screen, and a Palm operating system that draws a lot of design cues from windows 3.11. But if you don’t like the windows 3.11 desktop there’s, bizarrely, a second desktop home screen, carrier branded with redundant buttons on it.”
“For starters, the AT&T version runs on GSM/EDGE networks - all four of the major GSM frequency bands, that is. What is lacking, though, is 3G support of any kind, something that the Sprint Centro had thanks to EV-DO compatibility. So while AT&T Centro users can roam the globe and get a signal most anywhere, they will be limited to relatively slow data rates. That might be a good tradeoff for folks that travel internationally often, but it could make AT&T's Centro a harder sell for those people that tend to stay in North America.Apart from that, pretty much anything the Sprint Centro can do can be replicated by the new AT&T version. pTunes is included for music playback, the camera can shoot still photos as well as video clips, and Documents To Go is included for viewing office docs. If you want to learn more about the Palm Centro, I recommend that you read our review of the Sprint version and just keep in mind some of the differences mentioned here.”
What people say
This phone is a complete piece of crap. While it has plenty of shiney little features to keep you occupied for a short time, it has a clunky interface, a jerky touch screen that pretty much MANDATES the use of the stylus, your finger is too large to accurately push anything on the screen, and a b...
I have had this phone for almost a year. It is small and fits nicely in my back jeans pocket. I am female with average size fingers and find that I hit the wrong buttons frequently when texting due to the small buttons. Not a big deal to me. I like the white color because it is very easy to find....
I got this phone when they first started to get big (a little over a year or so ago)... This was my first smart phone... unfortunately it's not so smart after all. I paid out the yin yang for these phones (my husband and I both got one his in black)... The first day naturally it was a new gadget ...
In Depth
Despite various cosmetic changes and a slimmed down overall footprint, the Palm Centro 685 is essentially still just a Treo 600. That means, as critics are quick to point out, that it is running on an antiquated OS, in this case the OS 5.4.9.
That being said, the Centro 685 is the least expensive keyboard smart phone ever, and for customers who have never “learned” a prior OS, this represents an arguably fair deal. In addition to being able to surf the web, send and receive email, text and organize your calendar, there is a large library of third party applications that can go a long way to enhance your experience.
After a brief exclusivity agreement with Sprint, the Centro 685 is now available on the AT&T Wireless network. Unfortunately, it runs on the EDGE network, which is a full generation down from the 3G speeds it runs on with Sprint. This will slow the web experience down.
Among the Centro 685’s more interesting features is a dedicated switch that turns the ringer on, off and to vibrate. No need to pull up menu options just to switch to silent mode. The device also sports a large, 320×320 pixel display, which you can interface with either through the included stylus, touching the screen with your finger or using the keypad to select commands.
The large display leaves little room for the Qwerty keypad, which is small and appears crunchy and compromised. As with any keypad, it is a matter of personal opinion as to whether it is difficult to use, but clearly it is a far cry from, say, the spacious Motorola Q9.
Talk time is rated at 4 hours, and standby time at 300 hours. It comes with 64MB of on-board trans flash memory and supports up to 4G of external memory.
While there are many smart phones available that have modern, compelling user interfaces and optimized operating systems, few can compete with the list price of the Centro 685. The tradeoff in this case is getting a great price but having to tolerate an OS that can be cumbersome and limiting at times.
What people actually want to know
When was the Palm Centro 685 released?
The Palm Centro 685 was released on February 19, 2008.
How long does the battery last on the Palm Centro 685?
The Palm Centro 685 has a 1,150 mAh battery.
Does the Palm Centro 685 have a headphone jack?
Yes, the Palm Centro 685 has a 2.5mm headphone jack.
Where can I download the Palm Centro 685 manual?
You can view and download the Palm Centro 685 manual on our dedicated manual page.
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