Palm Centro Battery Review

Following my review of the new Seidio 2200mAh Treo 755p Extended Battery last week I’m delighted to say that an original 1150mAh replacement Palm Centro battery is now finally available in our store as well.

This 1150mAh spare Centro battery from Palm will provide you with an additional 3.5 hours of talk time or 240 hours of standby time – perfect for that extra juice you’ll need while on the go.

Leaving aside the fact that I would naturally like to see a high capacity (1600mAh perhaps) extended Centro battery that could provide up to 30% more capacity (extending talk time to 4.5 hours or more) come out soon, there is one small detail about this and future Centro batteries that is currently a bit different to deal with than all other Treo batteries released to date.

Namely, whereas all Treo batteries share the same six charging connectors positioned to the side of the battery (see image above), the Centro batteries for their part have three charging connectors positioned in the middle of the battery.  The long and short of this is simply that you cannot use either the excellent Palm Cradle Kit or terrific ultrasmall (perfect for travel) Palm Battery Charger to recharge your Centro battery.

It’s possible that Palm will eventually release a new or revised cradle kit and portable battery charger specifically designed for the Centro but for now your best alternative will prove to be the Mobi Battery Cradle or Seidio’s Centro Battery Charger (I will review both separately next week). 

Another option to charge your spare Centro battery is simply to use your smartphone itself along with a wall charger.  Just plug your Centro, fully charge your first battery then remove it and let your second battery charge completely as well – this way you should always have a fully charged spare battery at hand.  It’s certainly not as practical as having a dedicated cradle or battery charger but it works.

If you don’t have a Centro yet then my top battery recommendations for your existing Treo smartphone are:

• Treo 650 and Treo 700p|w|wx: Seidio 2600mAh Extended Battery
• Treo 680 and Treo 750 : Seidio 1600mAh Extended Battery
• Treo 755p: Seidio 2200mAh Extended Battery

Separately, you may also want to see my Editor’s Choice Roundup of Top Treo and Centro Accessories as well as my recent Bluetooth Headset Roundup.

Treonauts are always full of power…