Lust After The Sony Clie NZ90

V0rtex writes "Once again, Sony is ahead of the game with their new Clie PEG-NZ90. View the specs here. Not to be released until the end of February, this one is packed with some long awaited features since the NX70V such as built in bluetooth and the 2 megapixel camera with flash. Is it really that great? Check out a couple reviews. It would be nice if they would include the faster (400 MHz) version of the XScale processor and step the internal memory up a bit, but this one carries an $800 price tag as it is." Even if it has issues, I think any step towards integrating the vast array of personal electronics (Cel Phone, MP3 Player, PDA, Digital Camera) is a good one. And this looks like the first PDA with a real camera.

Comments

Sony

[papasui]

The thing that holds me back from buying Sony products is their memory stick. If they would use Smart Digital or Compact Flash I'd get one is a heartbeat.

Re:Sony

[binaryDigit]

The thing that holds me back from buying Sony products is their memory stick.

Just out of curiosity why is that? Are you afraid that in a couple of years Sony will abandon the memory stick and leave to stuck unable to get new ones? Do you want to use your memory stick in other devices? Do you just not like the concept of a "proprietary (whatever that means in this context)" format?

Re:Sony

[ackthpt]

The thing that holds me back from buying Sony products is their memory stick. If they would use Smart Digital or Compact Flash I'd get one is a heartbeat.

I've expressed similar sentiment on /. before and got drilled a bit, because Memory Stick has become cost competitive with Smart and Compact. Personally, I use Compact for everything and wouldn't like having to spend the money twice.

I do have some reservations about Sony's quality, as a rising number of reviews are finding problems with Sony's quality. It seems after Akio Morita died the company's focus appears less on innovation and solid quality, more on innovation and maximizing profit drawing on Sony's reputation. I get burned once and I seldom give a second chance. There are so many players in the various tech markets these days.

Has anyone had quality issues with Clié units?

Lastly: This page renders like sh!t in Netscape. How very unprofessional.

Re:Sony

[javatips]

I'm not the original poster but here is my answer to the question.

I have a digital camera which use SD cards, if I want to use the PDA to view the pictures in the card, I need a PDA that can read SD cards.

All other (major) Palm OS manufacturer are putting SD slots in the PDA. Expect to see more devices/software availlable for SD slots that memory sticks.

If I buy the Sony PDA and want interoperability I have to buy other Sony devices.

On the other hand, if I buy a device which use technology that nmany manufacturer support, then my choice as a consumer are greater.

So for me, a Sony PDA is a no go just because of the absence of SD support.

That's unfortunate as they do produce GREAT PDAs.

Integrated "PDA"

[Maeryk]

Check out Sony-Ericsson's new phones. I have the T-62u and it does a lot of these things out of the box, or with an attatchment. It has an attachable 32MB mp3 player, can take a camera, has a calendar, alarm, is synchable with Outlook and features GPRS "high speed" data transmission.

Its a greyscale display, but still has a nice look.. not like the T81i(I think thats the name) which is full color and features a screensaver. (Why in gods name do I need a screen saver on a phone?)

but I think Im going to swing less towards bigass PDA's all-in-ones and more toward smaller phone style ones.

I already have to carry my work-issued two way pager, my Multiplier geek tool kit, and my bungee badge on my belt.. adding a PDA just makes me look a bit too batman.. where adding a phone only causes me to lean to one side a little bit.

Maeryk

great move

[Anonymous Coward]

My digital camera already has a more powerful processor, more memory and a higher resolution LCD display than my Visor. I've often wondered why it doesn't have a larger display and some PDA functionality. It would be great with a telephone as well; that would cut two from the number of devices I carry.

My only problem with such a device from Sony would be the software quality. Several Sony telephones I've had have suffered from regular crashes. Cordless telephones just freeze, not accepting any input until you remove batteries and unplug to reset them. Mobile phones usually tell you which line they failed an assertion in. You have to remove the battery, because the power button doesn't work when the software goes bad. If it was running Palm or even better, Windows powered it would be great!

Re:Clies are Palm OS devices...

[Anonymous Coward]

How does that make the palm FASTER? I.e. when decoding videos or playing mp3:s.

HEAVY!

[waytoomuchcoffee]

The thing is a brick. 10.3 oz? And $800? Come on. Why not get a laptop?

I really, really, REALLY hope Sony gets off this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kick, and release a lightweight, full screen version of the Clie. Hell, I have been using the Palm OS for years, but my Ipaq 1910 is on it's way now, because it is approximately the same size/weight as a Palm V.

Not Bad

[Anonymous Coward]

But I made a laundry list of features yesterday of what I want in a handheld/phone:

Integerated Cell Phone
MP3 Playback
Voice Recorder
GPS
Memory slot (SD, Flash etc...)
Calender/Scheduling etc...
Full operating system (either Linux or PocketPC)
Clamshell design (hate having to use a stupid case)
At least 3 Megapixel Camera with optical zoom

I think we will have this in about 2-3 years and it will cost $500.

Any other features I've forgot?

Re:I like having just one device

[salimma]

Sonys and Apples don't really mix anyway, considering they tend to be the Apple of the x86 world.

Consider that Palm and Handspring provides Mac versions of their software, but Sony doesn't. While you can use the standard Palm Desktop, there probably is no driver for the USB synchronization cable available for OS X.

That said, on the other hand, Handspring does not work well with *Windows*. I am biding my time until my 12" Powerbook arrives - sometime early next week, it just shipped yesterday (yay!) - under SMP Windows XP, synchronizing my Treo tends to crash the computer.

Windows uesrs are paying for Microsoft's tactic of squeezing as much money as they could by prolonging Win9x (read DOS)'s lifespan - most drivers are not tested under SMP conditions. Using earlier ATI drivers I could force the computer to reset by shaking an XMPEG window while it is encoding.

Back to the topic though, I had a Sony Vaio Picturebook last time and must say I am not really that impressed with Sony's build quality, nor their UI design - too flashy, lots of garish 3D silver buttons.

Would be interesting to see if now that XP is out with support for styles, Sony packages a theme switcher and default Sony look-and-feel. Anyone out there has one and can comment?

Actually, the most intersting bit for me

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that it's the first retail device to ship with the Picsel IFV viewer. This thing actually makes the web browsable on teeny screens, and I don't mean by just reflowing it into a 20 character column. Tap-and-drag to pan, tap-hold-drag to zoom freely. Use it once and you'll wonder how you ever got by without it.

Remember that name, you'll be hearing it a lot soon.

System Requirements?

[amichalo]

When will hardware companies learn that OS X and Linux are real world OSes that people who buy their products use?

Check out the "System Requirements":
System Requirements:
* Windows® 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 Professional, XP Home, XP Professional
* Pentium® II 400 MHz with or faster (Pentium III 500 MHz recommended)
* 96MB RAM minimum (256 MB or more recommended for Windows XP)

How is a Linux or OS X user supposed to interpret this info? "Dont' buy this product, it won't work" or "Don't buy this product, you are not an important demographic to Sony"?

There is a better way