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Beginners guide to getting the most from your Centro
Posted December 10, 2007 1:24 PM by Alli Flowers
Palm's Centro is a sexy, smart little phone. Unlike those who use the Centro's older siblings, Centro owners are not just power users wanting the best smartphone available, although this is still what they are getting, but they want something more.
Because many new Centro users are not coming from a traditional Palm background, we'd like to offer a few tips and tricks so that you can get the most from your Centro experience.
Tip 1 – Get Multimedia Ready
Storage
Buy a micro SD card. Your micro SD card is where you can store your pictures, music, and video so that your Centro can provide you with hours of entertainment.
Music
The Centro comes with PocketTunes Deluxe, a music player that turns your Centro into an mp3 player with a twist. Most mp3 players can play mp3's and a few other music formats, but PocketTunes allows you to stream internet radio as well. You can drag and drop mp3's to your SD card, or you can sync your Centro's music collection to your favorite desktop music player.
Pictures
The Centro also comes with a camera, and if you store your photos and video on your SD card, you won't have to worry about running out of space for a long, long time. And syncing your Centro to your computer will copy all your photos and video from your SD card to your computer's hard drive. No more family pictures in your wallet, just load them from your computer right to your SD card to show them off without the bulk and hassle of carrying photos.
Movies
Ever find yourself with more than a little time to kill? Well you can store full length movies on your Centro too! All you need is a free Palm application called The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP), and you can play videos in most popular formats. To download TCPMP click here. Complete instructions for copying DVDs to your Centro will be published here soon!
Tip 2 – Take Precautions!
Backup your Centro! When you perform a hotsync to your computer, you backup all your important information: your contacts, appointments, tasks, and memos. But that's not always enough. You can safely and securely backup to your SD card automatically with a free application called NVBackup.
Tip 3 – Custom Ringtones
Trick out your Centro with custom ringtones! While you can set a known and unknown caller ringtone in your system preferences, each contact allows you to set a unique ringtone from inside the contact information.
To do so, click on any contact, and look directly underneath the picture (you did put a picture for each contact, didn't you?). Tap on the arrow next to where it says Ringtone, and chose one of the built-in ringtones.
If you’re bored of the built-in ringtones then you can also add your own ringtones by using the free application minitones! Minitones uses the mp3 tunes from your SD card and converts them for use as ringtones. Just be careful not to use too many, because they take up space on your Centro. To download minitones click here. Detailed instructions for using minitones will be published here shortly!
You can always try a more robust ringtone experience, and try one of the great ringtone managers available for the Centro. While not free, each comes with a generous trial period, and has many features beyond mere ringtones. Popular options include Lightwav, PhoneTechnician, or RingCare.
Tip 4 – Get customizing!
The Centro is not only a really cool phone, it is a Palm device, and one of the great things about Palm devices is the availability of hundreds of third-party applications. I've already mentioned a few apps, but I thought I'd mention just a few more of my favorite freebies to get you started.
PhoneSwitch: after an incoming call, PhoneSwitch will either return you to the application you were using before the call came in, or the application of your choice.
Yahdice: variation on the game Yahtzee
Dice 121: another Yahtzee clone
FileZ: this free software allows you to view and manage files on your Centro and SD card, similar to viewing files on your computer.
Earthcomber: free USA maps with a community of users who will help you find whatever you're looking for (works with GPS)
Handzipper Lite: allows you to unzip a .zip compressed file on your Centro when you download or receive via email
Destaller Lite: make sure you remove all the bits and pieces of an application if you decide you want to get rid of it
KeyguardTime+: shows you the time when you turn on your Centro, or hold down one of the hard keys (very customizable)
Mass Transit: Change contact categories en masse
Don't feel compelled to use these apps, but they are all either useful or fun, and best of all free!
Conclusion
Your Centro is not just a cool new phone, it is a smartphone! It can be your source of entertainment, a valuable business tool, or both. Any way you choose to look at it, centrosite.com is here to help you make the most of your Centro experience.
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JustinRayHernandez 09 Jul 2008
These tips were verry usefull. when I first got my centro I was verry dissapointed to find out that I could not directly set mp3s as rintones. But I found this site and found the free minitones app and it helped a lot. I like most about that app is that you can trim the tone right from the device and get rid off the parts you don't like. And as far as the devices ability to download most all software to the phone from the phone is reall great. It has completely eased my min not to have to use active sync or any bb desktop manager just to get simple apps on the phone. I'm so happy with the Centro:)