iPhone vs. iPod touch + Palm Centro

[mrgreen4242]

OK, cell contract is up in August, and I'm looking at my options. Here's the breakdown:

Already have a 16gb touch - love it. Can get a Palm Centro from Sprint for ~$50 after rebates/line credits. Can get 500 anytime minutes, unlimited nights/text/data/m2m/etc for $30/month (Sprint SERO plan).

Alternatively, could add an iPhone to my Mothers existing ATT family plan (she currently has an iPhone). Would cost about the same, $30 per month for the line and iPhone data plan. Probably get about 250-300 minutes of her shared pool (typically enough for me). Would sell/trade the iPod for iPhone, and likely get a "free" phone for add the line, which I would sell to fund getting a 16gb iPhone (instead of an 8gb) or maybe an 8gb iPhone + 2gb shuffle + some accessories.

The pros/cons for/against an iPhone as I can see them (+ = pros for iPhone/cons for Centro+touch, - = cons for iPhone/pros for Centro+touch):

+ iPhone is really nice. I love the touch, adding the camera, data anywhere would be great.

- Would hate to have my phone battery drained by multimedia usage.

- Hate to have my iPod drained by long phone usage.

- Centro IS a nice handheld, and PalmOS integrates well enough with OSX and Windows to be pretty supportable on multiple email services (for work and home, etc). Not an iPhone, but a good little smart phone. Would still have touch for high speed wifi access and multimedia.

+ One device to carry would be pretty convienient (single charger, etc).

- I actually DON'T like the iPhone as a phone - I find it, and almost all other "smart phones" to be a little wide for comfortable use.

- I HATE AT&T. (I actually have had really good service from Sprint, despite their negative image right now. Conversely, I have had terrible horrible service from ATT, both the wireless and land line divisions)

- This is silly, but, iPhone users sometimes come off as a little pretentious. (Sorry iPhone owners! It's not all of you, just some people ruining it for the rest!)

- Mooching off my Mom's family plan is a little lame for someone in their late-20's, but we did just have her first grandkid, so money is a little tighter than it would be otherwise.

+ New iPhone (by the time my plan expires Aug 1st) could be even cheaper and have more features than the current model.

So, it's 3-7 in favor of the Centro/touch combo, but the question is whether the 3 for the iPhone are good enough to outweigh the 7 against... Any opinions?

 

[LotusLord]

Wait for sure until the new iPhone comes out to compare. I'm a fan of Palm devices, so I think you'd be pretty happy with centro, plus you can stay away from at&t. I personally have been happy with my at&t service. I didn't use the iPhone long enough to say if I like it enough to keep it.

 

[DaveF]

Has the Palm OS been upgraded or improved recently? I've used a Palm for the past five years or so. When my current Palm dies, I'll be hesitant to replace it with another Palm. It seems Palm has stagnated -- I've seen no advances since the Zire 72 that I bought three years ago. By all accounts Palm marketshare is plunging, and they've been thrashing about, unable to find a coherent vision (witness the aborted keyboard device from last year). The Centro looks like little more than a cheaper Treo.

In contrast, Apple and its iPhone -- though not a true PDA yet -- has replaced Palm as the visionary for handheld computing. The iPhone seems to couple telecommunications and personal computing far more organically than Palm has in even with their substantial lead.

I say wait until the AppStore opens -- if the PDA-type programs you want are available on the iPhone, I think that's a good way to go.

Conversely, spend some time with a Palm and see if you enjoy using it. You already know how your iTouch is, so you'll have a good comparison.