Love my new non-iPhone Centro SmartPhone

I've had a Web-enabled mobile phone for years, and didn't see the need to trade up. Then I got my first smartphone last week....

...and I've seen the light! A device with a real OS, as opposed to a cell phone with a Web browser & camera, sure makes a difference.

I managed to withstand the iPhone hype, instead going for the great value of a Palm Centro. OK, one might quibble about whether Palm OS is a 'real' OS -- or, more accurately, a real OS for 2008. But hey, at $99 after rebate including access to high-speed Web (bet it's at least as fast online as an iPhone, and probably faster), e-mail, camera, video camera, touch screen *and* QWERTY keyboard, organizer, calendar, music manager (yes you can import your own music, unlike my last Sprint Samsung phone), microSD expansion slot, IM, SMS ... it does what I need it to.

I love the fact that there are dozens of customizable soft keys, for one-touch access to tasks ranging from speed dialing to texting someone, e-mailing a specific address or going to a certain URL. In fact, you can map any task like that to a specific hard key on the keyboard, so by simply typing, say, W, I now head straight to the local weather page on accuweather.com.

At three times the price, the iPhone does have a much cooler UI. However, the Centro UI works just fine for me, especially since I've had other Palm devices for years and am used to the interface. And I like the Sprint family data plan.

While not a lot appears to have changed in the Palm interface, I was happy to see one important update: The Centro, unlike my earlier Palm devices, will sync on a Windows XP Media Edition machine.

Main Centro downsides so far: Keyboard is tiny, so I've had to get used to fingertip typing instead of full thumbs (could have gotten the larger, pricier Palm Treo or a BlackBerry, but I wanted the slimmer Centro form factor); and, astonishingly, there's no "go back" key on the device.

But I'm willing to put up with all that for my next 2-year contract to get speedy mobile Web, e-mail, organizer, music, camera, photo organizer and more in one device. Oh, and the phone sound quality is pretty good, too.

As David Haskin concluded: Centro is "a pleasing device that its intended audience -- newcomers to smartphones -- can easily embrace with enthusiasm."