Palm Treo -vs- Palm Centro cell phones

I dropped my 2 year old Palm Treo 650 cellphone into a cup of coffee rendering it forever inert. So off to the Sprint store I went only to hear the bad news. If I don't want a contract then the replacement cost will be $600+ Yikes. given my current state of employment and learning to live on a fixed income I decided that expense for a phone was unjustifiable. So I ask for a cheap flip phone. cost : $ 250. Hmmm. Not much value and I'd lose all my Palm functions. So I ask about a low priced Palm phone. $300 cash bought me a Palm Centro. lot's of function and not much more than a low end flip phone.So I've been playing with this for a couple days and am very impressed. for business users the keyboard of the Treo series is superior. It's larger, better spaced and curved just enough to make using it quick and easy. That said the Centro keyboad is cramped and slower to use but servicable. On the plus side for the Centro is that it provides far better reception in remotr areas. I also like the flat function keys on the Centro better. they are harder to inadvertantly engage (butt dial).The camera on the Centro is better. The Centro has a smaller screen and that is a downside.For a power/business user the Treo series offers better email functionality and better web surfing functionality. it comes at a financial cost and a large size - heavy weight.The Centro is smaller and lighter. It's marketed to text messaging kids and its good for that purpose. I like the form factor as it is very solid feeling and appears to be far more rugged than most flip or twist phones.Honestly I am really starting to like the Centro a lot. FWIW this post was made from my new cell phone. Not sure any cell phone is great for that purpose, but this is adequate in a pinch. There are othe functions I don't understand. Like the TV function. I understand I can watch TV on my phone but I can't understand why someone would think it is a good idea???

The thought that anybody would pay $600 for a cell phone just blows the mind of this electronic retard who has a $20 Trac phone and a $100/year/450 minute "contract" and still has 420 minutes left on it after 3 months.

Sometimes I just feel that the world is passing me by.

Hey, Frank - I like my Trackfone just fine as well -- and the Motorola flip phone I got for free when they switched to digital is an awful lot like the one a buddy of mine just paid $$ for on his sprint account. (OK, his has a camera - but I hate cameras, so that's perfectly OK with me)
That said, I can see a valid business reason for a treo or blackberry - the exec staff at my agency all but sleep with theirs - which means I can reach them by email when they're off site in meetings all day.

Yea Eric, if I was still working for a living and doing a lot of traveling, I might see the point of it but .... I'm not. The only reason I tote one is for emergencies and, believe it or not, Tracfone is the only one that I've found that gives me service at/in the house. In fact, I've never found any place that it didn't get reception. I had At&T for years and it was a complete and utter waste of time.

EastTexFrank said:

I had At&T for years and it was a complete and utter waste of time.

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I don't know if Bob is like me and his phone is his mobile office. I would have to consider myself a power user and my phone is much more than a phone. It literally allows me to have a mobile office with me. I am a heavy user of many of the functions other than simply making and receiving calls. I feel that in my case, these additional functions are a true needs rather than simple wants.

Sorry, but I have zero to contribute about Palm phones. Based on actual useage and experience, I feel that Verizon has a great network but vastly inferior hardware available for power users. It's rather annoying to have to carry a AT&T iPhone for function but also a Verizon phone as to avoid a dozen or so dropped calls during the day.

Dargo said:

I don't know if Bob is like me and his phone is his mobile office. I would have to consider myself a power user and my phone is much more than a phone. It literally allows me to have a mobile office with me. I am a heavy user of many of the functions other than simply making and receiving calls. I feel that in my case, these additional functions are a true needs rather than simple wants.

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I used to carry a Palm and a phone. The Palm powered "smart phones" eliminate the need to carry the Palm unit. And while I am no longer a true 'power' user, the phone contains my office and allows me to have access to pretty much everything I need and everyone I need to be in contact with. It tracks my appointments (which now are mostly where my daughter needs to be when), keeps track of various important dates and events, reminds me of them in advance, its also my notepad, handles my email and keeps my life in order ... oh yea and I make calls with it. Honestly I spend far less time on the PHONE than I do with the other functions.

I've not really considered other brands (iPhone or Blackberry) simply because I have all my computers synced up to work with PALM software and see no need to change to another brand, at least no compelling reason.

B_Skurka said:

I've not really considered other brands (iPhone or Blackberry) simply because I have all my computers synced up to work with PALM software and see no need to change to another brand, at least no compelling reason.

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Now that's pretty danged logical. It's rather difficult to argue against the 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' outlook. I have been paying the price for going against that logic with that laptop purchase a while back.

yeah, just think - you could have bought a tricked out Athlon dual core machine and still had enough change to buy another Sig .223 for the cost of that Mac...

Dargo said:

Now that's pretty danged logical. It's rather difficult to argue against the 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' outlook. I have been paying the price for going against that logic with that laptop purchase a while back.

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The cost to 'switch' can be high, the grief to 'switch' can be high. Especially true in a mixed computer environment. I saw no reason to switch an entire operating system.

Erik said:

yeah, just think - you could have bought a tricked out Athlon dual core machine and still had enough change to buy another Sig .223 for the cost of that Mac...

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While I'm not sure that Dargo's Mac choice was the best, for a typical user, I think a Mac can actually be cheaper in the LONG RUN even if the up front costs are a bit higher. The same can be said for SOME business users. But to switch mid-stream, from one platform to the other, or to integrate the two platforms in the same house/office/etc is not necessarily a cheap or painless process. Much of it depends on the combination of software and hardware that is required to be used in conjunction with the computers.