Modified Enfora Wi-Fi Sled working with Palm Centro

As usual, when a new Palm smartphone comes out, people want to know if there is some way to get Wi-Fi on the device since no Palm smartphone as of yet has built-in Wi-Fi. So of course this question was asked about the Palm Centro when it was released. TreoCentral forum member FlawIe55 asked how to access Wi-Fi with the Centro in this thread. Several people replied and talked about WiFi cards. I replied also and mentioned the Enfora Wi-Fi Sled that was popular with the Treo 650. Then forum member webdave said that he had gotten an Enfora sled off of Ebay that day and that he’d report back if he could get it to work with the beta drivers/firmware.

Webdave started another thread four days later and he tells how he modified the Enfora sled to work with his Centro:

I picked up an Enfora 650 Wi-Fi sled on Ebay last week. I received it yesterday. I was initially unable to connect the two due to the fit between the Centro and the sled. The device was never able to see the sled. I don’t think the metals contacts on the sled were hitting the Centro. I decided to remove the electronics from the plastic sled. I removed one screw on the sled and was able to open the sled and remove the electronics and battery. Everything is in one piece when you remove it. Once removed from the plastic I was able to connect the two and upgrade the sled’s firmware to the beta version posted in these forums. After that I was able to scan and connect to access points.

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Review: Palm Centro for AT&T - by Dieter Bohn

Look and Feel

The Palm Centro for AT&T (henceforth, in this review, the “Centro,” for convenience’s sake) is a wonder of a little phone. It packs all the power of traditional PalmOS Treos into a tiny, holdable package that’s remarkably easy to use. With all the complaining about the PalmOS getting long in the tooth (myself among that throng), it’s easy to forget: the PalmOS is both surprisingly powerful and easy to use.

When Palm recently revealed some sales data indicating that 75% of their buyers were new to the smartphone market, I fully believed it. If you’ve never owned a smartphone, the Centro is an easy decision to make. Without adding too much bulk or complexity to the device you carry in your pocket or purse, you can open yourself up to a new world of communication without needing to become a smartphone nerd like myself.

…Regular TreoCentral readers may be wondering: this seems like an awfully rosy picture to paint for a device that is, truly, almost nothing more than a Treo 680 repackaged into a compelling new form factor (although the Centro does have a better camera at 1.3 megapixels). This is true — if you’re a Treo 680 owner and are wondering “should I upgrade,” my answer is simple: “Yes, but only if you want a smaller form factor.” Regular readers may want to revisit the conclusion of our original Sprint Centro review, where I covered some of the ins and outs of the “upgrade decision.”

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