Camera Phone Reviews

Palm Centro

Palm Centro Reviews

CNET Reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "Last but not least, the Centro is equipped with a 1.3-megapixel camera with 2x zoom and video-recording capabilities. Once again, though, like the previous Treos, the camera lacks a flash and any options for tweaking the white balance, resolution, brightness, and so forth. Once you are done capturing your shots or video clips, you can send them to others via Sprint Picture Mail or another online service, or upload them to an online album. Despite the lack of a flash and editing options, picture quality was actually decent. Images had sharp definition, although color wasn't as bright as we wanted."

Laptop Mag reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The 1.3-megapixel camera on the back produced run-of-the-mill pictures with its 2X digital zoom. Video capture is also available, but the low 352 x 288-pixel resolution is nothing to get excited about, On our tests, it performed poorly in dimly lit areas, which is to be expected for a smart phone."

Engadget reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The 1.3-megapixel camera is nothing to write home about -- in fact, it's terrifically mediocre. The performance on the camera and camcorder apps is also sluggish to the point of annoyance, but we've learned to not expect too much in this department."

The Associated Press reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The Centro is Palm's way of fighting back, by making a Treo that's smaller, cuter and cheaper. It's just $99 with a two-year Sprint contract (after a mail-in rebate), making it probably the cheapest smart phone yet. It would have been more interesting if Palm fought back by revamping its outdated software, but if small and cheap are on sale, I'll take it...Remarkably, the Centro makes few compromises despite the smaller size — there's about a third of an inch less of it in every dimension compared with the Treo 700p, from last year. There's no external antenna, making it very pocketable. Its corners are nice and rounded."

PDAStreet reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "Palm is slow to innovate, but when it does it usually turns out appealing designs. At first glance the Centro might not seem like an improvement over the Treo, but it is, and using it is a satisfying experience. It is Palm's latest Palm OS smartphone...The rear holds the lens for the 1.3 megapixel camera, as well as a small self-portrait mirror, and the right holds offers a microSD slot (card not included) to greatly expand up Centro's meager 64MB of memory."

Palm Infocenter reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The Palm Centro includes a 1.3 megapixel digital camera built into the rear of the device next to the speaker grill. It can take photos at a max resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels and has 2x digital zoom. It can also record video clips with audio at a 352 x 288 resolution. The camera quality is pretty standard for a phone-cam. Outdoor scenes and good natural lighting conditions will give you the best results, while indoor and low light scenes will often yield unexpected results (if any)."

PC World does a first-look review of the Palm Centro and writes, "The Centro's unmpressive 1.3-megapixel camera captures images at either at 1X or 2X digital zoom, and it can record a short amount of video. Image quality was adequate but nothing special, and Palm doesn't provide the image-editing tools that some phones with cameras now include."

MobileBurn reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The Palm Centro sports a 1.3 megapixel camera on the back of the handset - no flash. The photos the camera recorded were decent for a 1.3 megapixel camera, though the colors were not sharp at all. One could easily use the pictures for online sharing, but printing is out of the question. Video quality is great for capturing moments as they happen, but don't expect a great deal of quality there, either."

Brighthand has a first Impressions review of the Palm Centro and writes, "The just released AT&T version of the Palm Centro continues on this trail of price-accessible technology. Like the Sprint version, it is a Palm OS smartphone. The design is similar to Palm's Treo models, but in every dimension it is smaller and more phone-like...Unlike other smartphones near this price point, the Centro contains a touchscreen. And its camera, at 1.3 megapixels, gives quality shots in optimal lighting settings."

Treocentral reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "...Regular TreoCentral readers may be wondering: this seems like an awfully rosy picture to paint for a device that is, truly, almost nothing more than a Treo 680 repackaged into a compelling new form factor (although the Centro does have a better camera at 1.3 megapixels). This is true -- if you're a Treo 680 owner and are wondering "should I upgrade," my answer is simple: "Yes, but only if you want a smaller form factor."

MobileTechReview has a review of the Palm Centro And writes, "Though only 1.3 megapixels, the camera did an excellent job with the image processing and we got very pleasing colors and a natural sharpness in well lit scenes. There's less noise in the AT&T version's photos than Sprint's for indoor shots, and indoor shots are acceptable. Photo resolutions are 1280 x 1024, 640 x 480 and 320 x 240. There are few settings available, and these are: effect, date stamp, shutter sound on/off and prompt sound and review period. You can save photos to a card and send them via MMS...There are separate icons for camera and camcorder, though you can switch between the two modes once in the application. Video resolutions are 352 x 288 and 176 x 144, and you can record audio (or not), disable the shutter sound, use a limited palette of effects (normal, black & white, sepia) and save video to a card. Video colors are decent, but there's a great deal of motion blur and moderate noise. Once again, for a $99 PDA phone, we won't complain: the camera is decent and colorizes (outdoor shots only) in a pleasing fashion."

Wired reviews the Paml Centro and writes, "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...No WiFi or integrated GPS (a Bluetooth GPS receiver is optional). Short three-hour battery life. The 1.3-megapixel camera captured crap-quality photos. Plastic housing feels like it could be busted by a strong wind."

Brighthand reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "...on the rear of the Centro sits a 1.3 megapixel camera. Compared to the Treo 680, the camera's shutter speed was greatly improved. However, picture quality did decrease. Photos from the AT&T Centro had a blue/purple cast in most lighting settings. Nevertheless, you could snap as many pictures as the 68 MB of internal memory, or up to 6 GB microSD card could handle. The camera features a neat 2x zoom that doesn't do a bad job, but then again, except for the very high end, cameras in mobiles are just OK."

Pocket-lint reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "In performance the phone is okay, but not the zippiest smartphone we've seen and you are talking basic here rather than cutting edge stuff, but then with a £200 pre-pay price tag you get what you pay for...That price tag has affected the tech specs as well, while you get a microSD card slot there is no 3.5mm headphone socket, no Wi-Fi, no 3G, no Bluetooth 2.0, no Java and no flash for the 1.3 megapixel camera, all tech we are sure the "youth of today" probably want."

Trusted Reviews has a review of the Palm Centro and writes, "The camera is way back in the dark ages. I've been saying for some months now that 2-megapixels is entry-level for a smartphone, and along comes Palm and slaps a 1.3-megapixel camera in the Centro. With no flash and minimal effects and settings the camera is way behind much of the smartphone opposition."

PC Pro reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The relatively slow GSM/EDGE data connection and small 2.2in screen ensure that web browsing isn't a particularly enjoyable experience. The lack of Wi-Fi and GPS means it's not the all-singing smartphone that the TyTN II is...But if you're looking for a compact email phone that offers ease of use and simplicity coupled with a reasonable SIM-free price - just £153 - it's a good choice."

CNET UK reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "On the consumer front, there's a basic 1.3-megapixel camera that doesn't do anything spectacular. You can shoot pictures and video and send them to friends via Bluetooth, email or MMS. Palm hasn't included an LED photo light or a xenon flash, which is unfortunate for those wishing to take pictures in less than sunny conditions."

PC World reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The device's 1.3-megapixel camera captures images with up to a 2X digital zoom, and it can record a short amount of video. Image quality was adequate but nothing special, and Palm doesn't provide the image editing tools that some camera phones now include."

Australian PC Authority does a first look review of the Palm Centro and writes, "Centro is the first Palm smartphone since the 680 to run Palm OS (OS v5.4.9 Garnet) rather than Windows Mobile, and it features the 680's 312 MHz Intel processor. It offers consumer-friendly features such as threaded SMS, PocketTunes, a 1.3 megapixel camera, video capture and Google Maps integration with the address book...Palm's new Centro is a stripped-down smartphone with a tiny QWERTY keyboard and a tiny price tag. It's a pre-paid phone only available from Telstra, which makes sense because it's not 3G so you'll get the best data speeds from Telstra's EDGE network. It features Bluetooth 1.2 and IR but no wifi, which the target market probably doesn't want anyway."

CNET Australia reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "On the phone's box there's a picture of three sassy, suitably photogenic lasses, primed for a night on the town, snapping a photo of themselves on their Centro with the tag-line "your shortcut to happy hour". How they managed to take that shot of themselves is beyond us, as the Centro's 1.3-megapixel camera can charitably be called basic, at best. Capable of taking both stills and video, the camera has a self-portrait mirror and best left for taking photos of friends for easy caller identification ... in good light. With no flash, any ideas that you'll be capturing your friends' drunken escapades should be banished."

InfoSync reviews the Palm Centro and writes, "The audience for an unlocked phone is a special bunch, and we wouldn't recommend this phone as an alternative to a carrier-sponsored version if you don't mind signing a new contract. But if you need the unlocked option, the Palm Centro still makes for an appealing, small smartphone. Everything on the inside screams 2006, but the Palm OS worked pretty well then, and it still works well now. It isn't getting any prettier, and the Web browser is practically ancient by today's standards, but for calling and e-mail, the phone is solid. We recommend trying it before you buy, because the small keyboard might stymie even medium-sized fingers, but if the size fits, go right ahead."

PC Mag reviews the Palm Centro (Verizon) and writes, "Multimedia capabilities are also very limited. Pocket Tunes works well as a basic music player, but you can't listen wirelessly over stereo Bluetooth. You can sideload media via the handset's microSD slot, which works with cards up to 4GB. There's no built-in video player—grab a copy of the discontinued, yet still available and free, TCPMP for that. You won't find mobile TV or over-the-air music options, either. The 1.3-megapixel camera has no flash or autofocus; it takes usable, well-balanced photos and records middling 352-by-288 video files. A continuous-talk-time test drained the Centro's 1150-mAh battery in 4 hours 23 minutes."