It is a frustrating experience reviewing a new Palm smartphone, and especially frustrating in the case of the Centro. It took a few days for the battery to settle down and the GPS issue has been solved.

The form factor is brilliant and this is the first Palm device, since the Palm V, that I really like the look of. The OS is still the best in the market in my opinion and allows me to do the crucial PIM stuff while many other devices fall flat. The keyboard is indeed small but perfectly usable and overall I was impressed with how quickly I could input data. Call quality is excellent and it genuinely does feel like a phone, rather than a smartphone compromise.

The Centro is a consumer orientated device that on the face of it should do very well- it looks good, is easy to use and has something very special about it. Almost everyone I show this phone to likes it and some 'really' like it. At last Palm has built a phone that people do want and managed to find a design that is different enough to create widespread interest.

I re-wrote this article over and over again as I gradually solved the little niggles that annoyed me at first with the Centro, but have come to the following conclusion. I was sitting at home the other night and just looking at the Centro- it has the potential to become and iconic smartphone and has already produced the kind of emotional response from me that no other phone has in the past year. It's not perfect by any means, but it is special and one of the best smartphones I have used to date.

Clove is now selling the Palm Centro for £179.98 and this is the best price I have seen so far.

On the subject of the Centro here are some select comments from the 247 team and readers-

Me: I'm finding it had to believe that my TyTN II is going to be replaced by a device £300 cheaper. Bizarre but true...

Statto: I've seen enough good reports. I'm flogging my 680 on ebay and assuming it sells, I'll be getting a Centro , and then I'll have to think about whether the Vox goes too as the Centro will be numero uno.

Mike: I never thought I'd say this, but the Centro is tempting me. The one drawback is my usual 'No WiFi, No Purchase' argument and while I think that's enough to stop me buying, the fact that I'm interested at all surprises me.

Philippa: Yesterday I was out of the office and on the train travelling for 6 hours. I took just over an hours worth of calls, took a couple of photos, checked my mail about 30 times, used google maps for about 10 minutes, read the bbc news website for a while, lost at farkle a couple of times and other bits and bobs. I did switch my centro off for an hour whilst I was lecturing but by the end of the day it was at 41% from full. I wouldn't necessarily say that was outstanding but a similar trip recently with the dual was down to mid 20's by the end.

Neil: No Wi-Fi, so, no purchase by me

Murray: Don't worry, you will...you always do.. after I said "Now struggling to find anything wrong with it..."

PDA247 is 6 years old!

As is traditional, we are going to celebrate by holding a competition, and this time you can enter whatever content you like!

It's completely up to you what you send in, but there are some specific areas that are worth remembering. We need a new forum banner (400x45 pixels maximum size) which should fit the current design, we are tempted to try new web site banners (1 for each site needed) and besides those you can send in software, hardware or accessory reviews. You can send in articles about the PDA world in general or maybe a few items that are newsworthy.

Whatever you choose to send in please make sure that you title your email "6th Birthday". You can also enter via the forum thread detailed below. Here's the prizes so far-

To enter please send an email with your entry (entitled "6th Birthday") to shaun (at) mailstm.co.uk or post your entry in this forum thread.

The closing date is midnight (UK time) 21st March 2008, so you have some time to think up a good entry.

Quick question. My Centro would keep the GPRS connection alive all day when I got it, so I installed Power Hero and set it to turn it off after 5 minutes. I decided that I want it on all day, but even though the Power Hero option has been unticked, the Network keeps disconnecting which cause issues running TomTom Traffic.

Any of you know of an application to 'force' the GPRS connection to stay alive?

Vehicle Manager for Palm OS has been released- great to see some new Palm OS products hitting the market- "Having dependable, reliable transportation is something we all need. And when it comes to our car, any breakdown will end up throwing us for a loss of time and money. The best way to avoid problems is to stay on top of “simple things” like changing the oil and rotating the tires. That may be easier said than done…until now.

With Vehicle Manager, you can proactively track all this and more in the palm of your hand. It can handle information about one or more cars. Along with helping you keep track of your car’s maintenance schedule, it also does a great job keeping track of vehicle-related expenses (such as fuel, mileage) and insurance data.

Best of all, Vehicle Manager for Palm OS is something you can carry along with you, enabling you to make changes on the fly instead of waiting until you get home (or whenever you remember to do it after you get home)."

Vehicle Manager consists of four sections (tabs) where you can record relevant information: Details, Insurance, Dealer and Notes.

Along with entering basics such the name of the car, its vehicle ID number, your insurance policy number and coverage details, specifics about the dealership where you purchased your car, you can also be entered into auto repair and maintenance history, fuel, trip, or other expenses by using Vehicle Manager’s simple-to-follow text boxes.

The real value comes once Vehicle Manager has accumulated some history about your car. Then it can help you be more proactive by giving you a reminder when it is time to have your car serviced. It also provides a quick rundown of stats related to fuel economy and expenses incurred.

Phone Technician v3.00 has been released and it now does more than ever- "Powerful Phone Tool for the Treo smartphones! Sound Booster, Funky Ringer - Ringtones from Mp3, Wav, etc. Save Battery -Turn off the screen during calls. Radio control - set radio on & off times."

infoSync has published a comparison of $100 QWERTY keyboarded phones- "A $100 smartphone was previously equivalent with a refurbished smartphone. Now you get brand new QWERTY smartphones for the same price.

Since Palm introduced the Centro at a $100 price point, there's been a significant price drop in similarly targeted Windows Mobile smartphones. We won't speculate whether Microsoft has taken matters into own hands and decreased its licensing fees for this kind of phones, or if carriers are hungry for more data plan customers. It's regardless nice to see a more healthy pricing policy across the market on such mid-range devices nowadays.

A side-by-side comparison of the contenders' specifications can be found here. All three of them features high-speed networking by means of either HSDPA or EV-DO, but we've also put together a comparison between four QWERTY smartphones with EDGE networking (and Wi-Fi on some) that can be found here."

Don't forget that Amazon are offering the Palm Centro for $0.01 after rebates and with an attached service plan. Thanks to Chris.

The Price listed above for this phone includes an instant $250 discount from Amazon.com. You agree to repay this $250 discount to Amazon.com if, during the six-month period following activation, you: (1) fail to pay your balance due each month on time; (2) fail to maintain your account in good standing; (3) disconnect the line of service; (4) transfer the phone to another line of service; (5) change your service rate plan, including canceling or removing required PDA, BlackBerry, or smartphone features after your product has shipped; or (6) use this line of service to replace an existing account with the carrier. The discount is available only if you are activating a new, non-substitute line of service. If you do not follow these rules, you authorize Amazon.com to charge your credit card $250 as reimbursement of the discount without need for further approval. Third-party resellers are prohibited from purchasing cell phones on behalf of customers. **Purchase limit five (5) cell phones per household.**

Today's free eBook is The Support Technician Tango by Daniel Abraham- "By its nature, a self-help book is written by someone who thinks they know what to do and read by someone who doesn’t; there hasn’t been a better setup for the pompous to fleece the credulous since Rome stopped selling indulgences. The saving grace is that the bad advice of the authors is almost always ignored, misunderstood, or abandoned by readers who go ahead and do whatever they would have done anyway. Some people knit lace, some people improve themselves; self-help is a pointless hobby but harmless.

There are, however, exceptions.

In among the hatchet-faced, unhappy women who advise on matters of love, the avuncular sports nutrition PhDs who advise on matters of love, and the Jungian analysts whose advice on love may perhaps pay off their divorce lawyers, there is a deadlier breed."