The Palm Centro's full QWERTY keyboard makes it easy to type text messages, IMs, and e-mails.

With BroadbandAccess Connect (subscription required), you can use your smartphone as a modem for your notebook when you connect the two using a USB cable--or open a Bluetooth connection--enabling you to access the Internet or your company intranet. The tethered modem capability is ideal when you're traveling and need to use your notebook to check email, access corporate networks, or download large files like presentations and reports. And with BroadbandAccess Connect, you won't have to buy an extra PC Card or other devices.

Verizon's Wireless Sync always-on email service (subscription required), you can stay connected and get the job done while away from the office--without a delay and in a secure environment. Email is delivered to your device in real time across the National Enhanced Services Rate & Coverage Area, and you get the ability to forward large attachments via email as well as access both your personal and corporate emails on one device. Wireless Sync offers strong security with AES encryption (Advanced Encryption Standard) technology so that unauthorized parties cannot access or alter application data transmitted over wireless networks.

Phone Features
The Palm Centro boasts a sleek, rounded housing that measures a mere 4.2 by 2.1 by 0.7 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 4.2 ounces. It's notably smaller than many competing smartphones, yet doesn't sacrifice functionality at any point along the way. It has a large 320 x 320-pixel touchscreen (up to 65K colors), which offers a crisp resolution for photos and videos. And thanks to the full QWERTY keyboard, you can say L8R to those tricky keys on your old cell phone.

The Palm Centro offers a ton of ways to stay in touch with friends, whether you're firing off a quick text, instant messaging, shooting an e-mail to the office, or using that old-school standby: a phone call. From a phone perspective, the Centro lets you dial people right from your address book, set up three-way calls from the touch of a button, or use the speakerphone to talk hands-free. The keyboard, meanwhile, makes it a breeze to type complete messages whether you're sending text, pictures, or even audio or video clips. Plus, the Centro keeps all your messages in a chat-style view, so it's easy to keep track of the conversation.

Want to keep up with all the latest gossip when you're away from the computer? Turn to the Centro's instant messaging functions, which support all your buddy lists on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and others. Similarly, the Centro lets you access your personal e-mail accounts, such as Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo. As a result, you can reply to invites and answer e-mails when you're out and about.

The Centro is the smallest smartphone yet from Palm.

The Palm Centro includes a complete organizer for keeping track of all your daily, weekly, and monthly responsibilities. The contacts list gathers all your friends' phone numbers, addresses, and more, while the calendar keeps you from missing upcoming meetings, events, and parties. You can even enter a friend's birthday in the contacts list and will automatically show up in your calendar. As with the best organizers, the Centro also offers a to-do list that lets you check off items when they're complete. As a result, it's easy to keep track of what you did and still need to do. And should you come across a tidbit that doesn't have a logical home, simply turn to the memo function, which lets you store random information such as hot spots in Vegas or the names of movies you'd like to rent. Say goodbye to carrying around crumpled scraps of paper in your pocket or purse. Finally, it's possible to save a copy of all those names, numbers, appointments, photos, and videos on your computer thanks to the sync function.

Whether you want to take pictures, play videos, or listen to music, the Centro has got you covered. The 1.3-megapixel digital camera (with a 2x digital zoom) lets you shoot pictures and send them to friends, store digital albums, or shoot videos. The built-in MP3 player, meanwhile, lets you take your tunes everywhere you go. With 64 MB of storage, there's plenty of room for your playlists, plus you can add up to 4 GB more with an optional microSD card. And thanks to Pocket Tunes Deluxe, you can play the songs you downloaded from places like Rhapsody or Yahoo.

Other features include:

• Download, view, and edit Word and Excel compatible files with Documents to Go
• Rehearse PowerPoint presentations and consult important PDF files on the go
• Palm Operating System 5.4.9
• Bluetooth version 1.2 with the following profiles: HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), DUN (dial-up networking)
• Hearing Aid Compatibility = M4/T4