Guide to the Best Applications for Palm Centro

As a longtime fan of Palm, I was thrilled when the company brought a low-budget Smartphone into the marketplace with the release of the Palm Centro last October. Now available on both Sprint and AT&T's networks, the slick new phone is available on both GSM and CDMA networks in the US. (An unlocked GSM version is available in Europe.)

Even with a ton of great features out of the box, there is a ton of great third-party software available for the Centro (and other Palm OS phones). Here's my list of favorite applications that I've used at different times with various phones.

1. Astraware Sudoku by Astraware
For me, this is an absolute must-have. I have spent countless hours playing this one. It's a straightforward Sudoku game, but has the best interface out of the many options.

2. Multiplayer Championship Poker - Texas Hold'em by RealDice
Voted the Best Poker game in both 2005 and 2006 by Smartphone Magazine, this is a great interface that allows you to play Texas Hold'em against thousands of other participants via the web, or against the built in AI. Another great interface, easy to use, and tons of fun.

3. VoiceDialIt by VoiceIt Technologies
This is a simple, easy to use voice recognition software that will allow you to load voice commands for your entire contact list. It sets up really quickly, and updates easily as well.

4. Documents to Go - Premium Edition by DataViz
This is probably the most useful application you can buy if you are using the Centro for any sort of professional usage. Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) as well as PDF files, all on your handheld. A tremendous resource for being able to check out files while you're out and about.

5. SplashID by SplashData
A great password manager, that locks all your information so only you can get it. If you're like me, and you have 15 different passwords for all of your different email addresses, business accounts and bank access, this is a great tool to keep everything handy so you don't have to worry about forgetting them.

That's just a handful of the great applications to make your Centro even more useful. Be sure to check out The World of Milt for other great Smartphone ideas.