Blog Navigation

iPhone 3GS vs. Palm Centro

Before Apple even dreamed of entering the mobile space, Palm was the king of PDA smartphones. Now, the two companies are in somewhat of an intense rivalry, with many cell phone users torn between the latest iPhone 3GS and the Palm Centro, a slimmed down, updated version of the popular Palm Treo. These phones are fundamentally different, so there will be a lot of subtle differences, but we’ve highlighted some of the major differentiators here – some of which may be dealbreakers for you:

Cellular Network

This is the big one and the obvious one. As of now, AT&T is the home of the iPhone and depending on where you live, that might make the entire decision for you. New Yorkers and San Franciscans have notoriously spotty coverage for their iPhones with little relief in sight. We recommend checking out the AT&T Coverage map before deciding.

The Palm Centro, on the other hand, is available with Sprint, AT&T, Verizon and unlocked, meaning you can take it just about anywhere.

Bottom-line: if you can’t tolerate AT&T, go with the Palm.

Email and Messaging Support

Both phones support IMAP, POP and Microsoft Exchange and are pretty evenly matched when it comes to accessing email. The Palm Centro ships with instant messaging clients for AIM, Windows Live and Yahoo. With the iPhone, of course, there’s an app for that.

Bottom-line: Both phones have what it takes, software-wise, to keep you connected. But what will matter more in terms of messaging and email is the keyboard.

Keyboard

Another impossible to miss difference between the iPhone and the Centro is the keyboard. The iPhone has a soft keyboard only which pops up on the touch screen in landscape or portrait mode. The autocorrect is fairly proficient, which is good, because you’ll be making a lot of mistakes.

The Palm Centro, on the other hand, has a physical QWERTY – but it’s tiny. If you’ve got big thumbs, you’re probably still going to have trouble with the Centro’s keyboard.Longtime Palm users, however, are very happy with the Palm Centro’s keyboard.

As a society of smartphone users, we seem to be adapting better and better to virtual keyboards – and the iPhone’s is definitely superior.

Bottom-line: The iPhone has one of the best virtual keyboards and the Palm Centro has one of the most cramped physical keyboards. If you’ve gotta have that tactile feel of a physical keyboard, go with the Centro. But the iPhone’s keyboard does a great job after you get the hang of it.

Multimedia

This is no contest. The iPod has dominated the field for music and video playback ever since it stomped on to the scene and the iPhone follows suit. The 3.5mm headphone jack allows you to use any set of headphones with a standard plug and the built-in speaker is passable. You also get easy access to YouTube, iTunes and other multimedia apps.

The Palm Centro, on the other hand, has PocketTunes, which is decent but in a different (lower) class than iTunes and the iPod. Plus., the Centro is stuck with the 2.5mm jack which forces you to use an adapter if you want to use a normal pair of earphones. The Palm Centro’s built-in speakers are quite good, however.

Camera

The iPhone 3GS has an impressive 3.0 megapixel camera with camcorder capabilities. Picture quality is pretty excellent, but there’s no zoom (though you can get apps that apply digital zoom and image stabilization). iPhone 3GS also has a built-in video editor, which lets you crop videos for sending right on the phone.

The Palm Centro has a 1.3 megapixel camera, also with a camcorder built-in and 2x digital zoom. In spite of the low megapixels, the pictures are surprisingly sharp.

Neither phone has a flash.

Bottom-line: The iPhone wins in the camera department with its higher megapixel rating and seamless editing features.

Capacity

The iPhone 3GS smallest size is 8 GB of internal memory and it isn’t expandable. You can ratchet up to 32 GB, but you’re also looking at a bigger price tag.

The Palm Centro has a comparitively teeny internal memory of 64 MB to 128 MB. Of course, it’s expandable via a microSD card, which lets you get up to 4 GB. Some people report that the Centro can take larger cards, but it was originally built for 4 GB cards max.

Bottom-line: the iPhone 3GS wins on capacity no matter how you slice it. However, the convenience of microSD cards may sway you. Everything gets moved around via USB with the iPhone 3GS.

Price

Here’s another real kicker. The iPhone is Pricey with a capital P costing you $199 up front and then around $80+ per month for a plan.

The Palm Centro, on the other hand, can be had for as little as $49.99 and can cost as little as $69.99 a month (unlimited data and messaging) with Sprint.

Bottom-line: The Palm Centro is much more affordable.

Data Connection Speeds

The Palm Centro used to have a one up on the iPhone with its 3G support, but now both phones have broadband speeds on cellular networks. However, the Palm Centro does lack WiFi, which the iPhone has.

Bottom-line: These phones are evenly matched in terms of 3G and EDGE speeds. However, the iPhone pulls ahead with its WiFi support.

Look and Feel

One of the iPhone’s main selling points is, of course, the fact that it’s absolutely beautiful, both in form factor and user interface. The browser with its pinch zooming, smooth rendering and overall seamless navigation make it hard to beat in terms of aesthetics and design.

The Palm Centro, while by no means an ugly duckling, can’t hold a candle to the artistic attention to detail lavished onto Apple’s user experience. But that may or may not be important to you.

Bottom-line: the iPhone certainly looks nice, but aesthetics aren’t everything.

Summary

We won’t tell you which phone to buy. That’s up to you and which features you care about. In terms of hardware and flashiness, the iPhone 3GS wins hands down. But the glitz and glam may not be worth the significantly higher price tag and the somewhat disappointing AT&T coverage. The Palm Centro, on the other hand, isn’t as breathtaking as the “Jesus phone” but it will definitely not disappoint in terms of getting things done as well as keeping you entertained.

If you’re ready to dive in to the Palm Centro, now’s a good time – for a limited time, Verizon Wireless has a free Palm Centro. (UPDATE: The AT&T Palm Centro is also free for a limited time.) You can also get a Sprint Palm Centro for $49.99

Share on Facebook

Bookmark It

Tags: iphone, Palm Centro

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 6:06 am and is filed under Cell Phones, Palm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.