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

Clies are Palm OS devices...

[ClockworkPlanet]

... so 400Mhz is overkill. The OS is much more efficient on a Palm device because they're not copying files into usable memory to run them.

Re:Clies are Palm OS devices...

[mcgroarty]

Everybody knows that Mac^H^H^HPalm MHz are faster than PocketPC MHz!

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

[Enfors]

The thing that I don't like about Sony's Memory Stick technology is that, well, no other PalmOS based PDAs use them. The others use a card system called SD/MMC (if memory serves), and those cards are cheaper, etc. There are also many types of non-memory expansions you can get for those PDAs, such as GPS modules, Bluetooth (if the PDA in question doesn't already have it). You can't use these if you have a memory stick PDA.

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.

Re:Sony

[david.given]

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?

128MB Memory Stick: 58.73 UKP (not inc. VAT)
128MB Compact Flash: 30.27 UKP (not inc. VAT)

Both prices from Dabs. (Normally, I buy memory from Crucial, but they don't stock memory sticks.)

So: memory sticks are expensive, hard to get, and only work in Sony devices. That's a pretty fair reason not to use them in my book.

Re:Sony

[tmark]

For many people, one of the biggest reason to buy Sony products is the memory stick. So many of their products use them now and they're all neatly integrated. I, for instance, have a digital voice recorder and mini-dv cam that all use the memory stick, and if I had to go buy a digital camera, notebook, or desktop, it sure would be appealing to get one that could also use these memory sticks.

I'm not aware of many desktops, let alone notebooks that ship with CompactFlash or smartmedia built in, but I do know the Sonys all have them.

Re:Sony

[Ella the Cat]

With 6 in 1 card readers for USB costing around $30 in the UK, its easy enough to transfer data between different card formats, provided you buy one that has a slot for each type rather than a slot or two that multitasks. A PC with a card reader is such a useful machine for sorting out collections of MP3s or photos or whatever, maybe doing a bit of red eye removal, that the apparent disadvantage of going via an intermediate card reader isn't as bad as it seems.

Re:Sony

[NMerriam]

The main reason is that the Memory Stick, in implementation, sucks in just about every way imaginable.

It is bigger than SD/MMC, more expensive per MB than just about any other removable media, slower, and is still maxed out at 128 MBs.

Sony has been promising gigabyte memory sticks for years, and just recently they announced that not only will it be delayed further, but in fact they won't work on ANYTHING but new devices.

I'm the very happy owner of a Sony NR70V, but to suggest memory sticks are even remotely competetive with the plethora of compactflash and SD/MMC available in stores today is ridiculous.

The sooner Sony gives up on this stupid attempt to control storage media, the better off they and their customers will be.

Re:Sony

[puck01]

I've owned a Sony Clie c710 modified to c760 for one and 1/2 years. Being a medical student I work with many others who also own various other palm os models.

Off hand, I have to say the Sony's have done very well compared to their counterparts. Ignoring features, and looking at just durablity, I've personally only had one problem, which is common across all palms. That is occasionlly I have to recalibrate my stylus, usually after I've dropped it or something.

As far as screen problems, I've never seen a Clie with a broken screen after it was dropped....sure it could/has happened, but I've never heard of it personally. OTOH, I've seen numberous palms and a few visors with cracked screens after a fall.

Battery life has never been an issue for me. I make sure I leave it on the cradle at least once a week.

The memory stick, never heard of anyone having any problem with one going bad. Just make sure you get a blue, not a white one, to make sure you never have problems with mp3 playback down the road.

Overall, I've been very happy with the Sony Clie's quality as well as the memory stick, and all my couterparts with a Clie that I have spoken too would say the same thing.

puck

Re:Sony

[cheezedawg]

Sony has been promising gigabyte memory sticks for years, and just recently they announced that not only will it be delayed further, but in fact they won't work on ANYTHING but new devices.

That is not exactly what they announced:
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-980270.html

Certain devices using Memory Stick cards will be compatible with Memory Stick Pro cards natively and others through an upgrade, but some older devices will not. The company will maintain a list on the Memory Stick site that says which devices will be compatible.

They don't have a list of the devices that are compatible up yet, though.

Re:Sony

[NMerriam]

Given the timing/context of the message and previous announcements, it has been generally assumed that nothing prior to the NX series of handhelds will be compatible, meaning that anything older than about 5 months is no good. The new MS format apparently requires more processing power to run, but you're right that they haven't confirmed what is and isn't good yet. The fact that the Memory Stick Duo exists (a two-sided memory stick of 128MB on each side) is a pretty good sign that the incompatibility is more wide-ranging that a software patch.

Re:Sony

[binaryDigit]

Because memory sticks are ludicrously expensive compared to other formats

Quick look on pricewatch shows the cheapest 128mb MMC/SD card at $53, the cheapest 128mb memory stick at $57, hardly "ludicrously expensive". Plus, if you're buying a $800pda, how many memory cards do you need, and is a $4 differential in cost (or even $10) worth not purchasing the entire pda?

I own two CE devices that use electronic memory, an Olympus digital camera (smartmedia) and Sony camcorder (mem stick). The media they used was extremely low on my totem pole of "features" that influenced my decision to buy. Things like image quality and features factored WAY more heavily. Now had it boiled down to two devices that were basically the same and one used one format and the other used another, THEN I would probably lean toward using a more "common" format, but that hasen't happened yet. Esp. with SmartMedia, it was a struggle early on. But then again I'd much rather have inconvenience (and perhaps a bit more cost) to get a "superior" product in those areas that are most important to me.

Re:Sony

[Enfors]

Acer [acer.com] makes some PalmOS based PDA's that use Memory stick.

All right, I stand corrected. But my point remains - SD/MMC is the de facto standard for PalmOS based devices, meaning you have more options if your PDA can use them.

Acer [acer.com] makes some PalmOS based PDA's that use Memory stick.

Which leaves us with a total of 1 producer to buy these items from. 1 producer = no competition. And thus, memory sticks are indeed more expensive than their SD/MMC equivalents.

In fact, you might be surprized at the number of devices that support memory stick [memorystick.com] (Kenwood, Pioneer, Samsung, HP, Fujitsu, NEC, Alpine, Konica, Mitsubishi, and Sharp are among the companies that make memory stick devices)

Right, but I'm not interested in those. I'm a PDA guy. (Note that my original post began with "The thing that I don't like about MS...")

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

Re:Integrated "PDA"

[Dionysus]

Both Ericsson and Nokia have new phones that integrates lots of PDA features. Of course, most of those phones aren't available in the US.

Re:Integrated "PDA"

[mesocyclone]

I have an older integrated phone/PDA (Kyocera smartphone). I got it to eliminate the need to carry two information widgets in my pocket.

The display on this thing sucks (IMHO if it ain't bright and probably color, it's hard for this old guy to read). BUT... I don't use it that often as a PDA. It's there when I need it, but like many Palm users, my Palm desktop (in this case running on [asbestos on] windows [asbestos off] ) is my true personal organizer.

But having a synched copy of all of my data in my phone is extremely handy.

Unfortunately, given the stupid fragmentation of the US cellular market, and the forced practice of buying your phone from the service provider, there aren't enough choices out there. I would like a new, smaller phone/PDA but QWest doesn't have them (gratuitous factoid: "QWest Sucks generates 37800 hits on google).

Furthermore, qworst informs me that the market doesn't seem too interested in pda/phones - consumers are more likely to have phone/lames... errr phone/games than phone/PDA's. And since the market is so fragmented, only the largest demographic groups get what they want.

On top of that, some of the cool PDA/phone combos don't do analog. That means that if you leave the big city, your phone is dead. Here in Arizona, where my favorite drive to the mountains has a 90 mile stretch without NO stores or gas stations, this is a non-starter. And of course when I go tornado chasing every year in the midwest, analog is needed most of the time.

(Okay... you wonder why I still have QWorst when I think they suck. It's because they are my home phone carrier and thus are the only people who can give me totally automatic one number service. If you call my home-office number and my cell phone is turned on, the cell rings. If the cell is off, the home phone rings. Very cool!)

Re:Integrated "PDA"

[Dionysus]

Sony-Ericcson's T68i is also available from AT&T (I have one). It has the camera module, and some basic PDA features (like reminder, notes, calendar). But as far as I know, none of the first and second generation Nokia camera phones are available here in the US (nor the more PDA like phones).

Also, I think my brother mentioned a third generation camera phone from Sony Ericsson.

Both the T68i and I suspect, T62u are fairly old phones.

Re:I like having just one device

[binaryDigit]

Good luck fitting it into your shirt pocket or purse.

Size <--, Price -->

[ackthpt]

Size <--, Price -->

With this trend I foresee the following:

"Repeat after me: With this PDA I thee wed."

"With this PDA I thee wed."

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.

Re:HEAVY!

[m0rningstar]

I had on of the the early sony NR70s, without the camera (the low res just didn't seem worth it). For me, at least, it wasn't the /weight/ that did , but the size. The thing was just too tall to fit into a pocket comfortably so I stopped carrying it around.

(That and I never, ever got used to the keyboard. Go go gadget graffiti.)

When in the course of things I filled it with water and it was going to cost over $300 to repair, I started looking around and decided I needed a smaller form factor. This ruled out Pocket PC, etc, and I went back to a Tungsten. It might not have ALL the features, but it was the ones I need, and I carry it.

The large, thick, form factor is an absolute killer for me in these PDAs. (Though that small iPaq mentioned in the parent... that looks interesting.)

incredible

[Boromir son of Faram]

I'm continuously amazed by the stuff they can cram into these little devices these days. And the comment about a more powerful processor had me ROFL...this thing's faster than my PC for glory's sake!

I sometimes question the value of integrating everything. It's cool and all, but I sort of like the modularity of things as they stand. Like if I'm in a meeting I can have my PDA but leave the cell phone behind, and I can go jogging with my mp3 player and not have to bring the camera along too.

Still, I don't think we should be too hasty. If wielded with wisdom and with the desire to defend, the Sony Clie NZ90 could save us from the doom that grows nearer with each dawning day.

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:Not Bad

[fliplap]

Oh cram it. You people have been doing this for years. Everytime something finally satisfies all your bitching you ask for something else. 2-3 years ago you were saying you wanted all that except the 3MP optical zoom camera.

Goto any PDA site, and everytime a new PDA comes out someone says "Oh yeah, I'll buy this when...insert large list of features"

I'm not telling you to stop wanting these things, cause sure, that would be pretty cool, but you can't use "I'll wait fot the next generation" as your reasoning every single time. Obviously you don't need all/any of these things, single out the things you need everyday and go with it. Then go buy high quality stand-alone versions of the stuff you only need once in awhile.

For example, you can already buy cell phones that do mp3, voice recording, calender/scheduling, SD and run PPC. You're going to have to make some kind of sacrifice, thats life. To think that your standards won't be any higher than this in 2-3 years is absurd.

With commands like that ...

[burgburgburg]

It's so much easier to know how I should respond to stories when Editors take the time to specify my emotional reaction. Why can't everyone be this considerate?

Knowing me, I probably would have been bored/vaguely amused if I was left to my own devices. Then where would we be? And since I try to limit lust to interactions with my wife, I totally would have missed the mark on this one.

Thank Cmdr. Taco kids.Thank you Taco

Re:I like having just one device

[Amsterdam Vallon]

My leather European travel bag is not a purse.

/me sobs

*nix.org - Get It In You

Who needs these features?

[NoData]

Look, I'm a Clie owner myself...have the older T615C...Bought it for the crystal clear Hi-Res display that left the m515 in the dust (at the time). But there's something that's really eluded me about Sony's approach to PDAs....

Why would someone want a digital camera integrated in their PDA? Is there some aspect of Personal Digitial Assistance that involves photography?

Personal entertainment...games, digital music, wireless news service...things a person might use daily or to fight tedium, I can understand. But, a camera?

Some similar multimedia features Sony has touted for a while now have also perplexed me. Like having a picture viewer and movie player in your PDA. In what situation do I, when mobile, need to suddenly watch a 10 sec movie clip? Are people really carrying pictures of their grandkids on these things?!

Then I figured it out. Masturbation. The only viable use I can fathom for having the ability to conveniently and surrepitiously carry around tiny movie clips and random digital phots is to satisfy a lonely geek's need to have easy-access porn-at-hand...for when...ah...nature..calls.

I mean, is this the understood, implicit subtext in packaging all this worthless multimedia capability in a handheld/palmtop? (Wow. Even the form factor is masturbatory.)...or is there some other utility I'm missing?

I can only assume the digital camera is for the porn do-it-yourselfer.

Feelin' Trollish,
Me

Re:Who needs these features?

[Maeryk]

I can only assume the digital camera is for the porn do-it-yourselfer.

Nah! I mean.. thats an added side benefit.. that and suddenly getting rich by adding to the plethora of "upskirt" sites.. but the REAL reason is..

Sony is quietly taking over the world.. through secret underground corporations run by Illuminati, they have their hands in cell-phones, digicams, the companies that provide your cell service, and web hosting companies. Once they hand these to kids, (who now think the inane blog type live-journal.com are the way to go) the kids will invariably run the bill sky-high on the phone/palm that mom and dad got them (and pay the cell bill for). Now they can send blurry black-with-a-bright-spot-in-the-middle photos REALTIME to a webpage and say "Look.. Its Rammstein! Live!" and hordes of people will flock to the site to see it!

Said site, of course, being owned by Sony.. and featuring sony advertising. And a couple of pics of unbelievably hot girls _in_ the advertising, making boys say "wow.. I can chat with her" and girls say "Wow, I can BE her with one of these new blog-cam-phone-pda-turnip twaddlers!"

Its clever... all your PDA are belong to them!

Maeryk

Re:Who needs these features?

[Dj]

Easy reason for having the camera. It works with the address book. When you make a note of someone's address, you can take a snap of them and attach it to their addressbook entry. Handy if you meet a lot of people and just can't remember their names.

Overintegration

[dschuetz]

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.

I agree, but only to a point.

Integrating an MP3 player with my Palm sounds like a cool idea, at least it did when most MP3 players were stuck at 64 or 128 MB of storage. Now that we've got many 20+ gigabyte players out there, a "real" MP3 player will never fit in a PDA (at least not until we can get HD-like capacities in flash or extremely low power drives).

Getting a cell phone integrated is good, for cool factor, but I wouldn't want one. For one, I'd be tied to whatever local providers had service for my particular model. Unless you could trade in a CDMA version for a GSM version the next time I get annoyed with my wireless carrier, then this simply won't fly for many people. Plus, I can certainly see a need to talk on the phone while looking something up -- which you can't do with an integrated unit unless you put it in speakerphone mode (or carry a plug-in earpiece/microphone).

And, finally, maybe this new Clie has a "real" digital camera, but please define "real." Compared to 640x480 2nd generation cameras, maybe it's cool, but compared to modern 4 megapixel cameras? How big is the lens opening (which helps to drive its sensitivity to low-light situations)? How quickly will you drain the batteries when using the flash?

I think it's important to remember what made PDAs, especially Palm-powered ones, so popular in the first place. They filled a need, not for a "laptop in your shirt pocket," but for a quick way to take notes, keep contact lists together, etc. I'd say that as far as PDAs take that same approach to integrated features like MP3s or photos, that's a Good Thing. The PDA approach to these should be to allow users to listen to "an album or two" and to take "an occasional photo of the whiteboard that you just filled with a world-changing idea."

But if they're trying to make a PDA into a "PowerMac in your shirt pocket," then it'll fail. And it should -- there will always be far better cameras / mp3 players / phones available than what's integrated into a PDA.

Hmm.. I'd rather get a ..

[abelsson]

.. Sony Ericsson P800: Cell Phone - check. MP3 Player - check. PDA - check Digital Camera - check. I seriously want one of those :)

Um...

[Some Bitch]

...but this one carries an $800 price tag as it is." Even if it has issues...

For $800 I sure as hell don't want it to have 'issues'. Linux has 'issues', I'm willing to deal with them because it's free. If it cost $800 I'd laugh and ask for a refund.

Re:Um...

[tmark]

Linux has 'issues', I'm willing to deal with them because it's free. If it cost $800 I'd laugh and ask for a refund.

Ahh, but would you laugh and ask for a refund when one of those Linux issues turns up on a >$800 computer ?

Re:What about my zaurus?

[Anonymous Coward]

It shouldn't be! It's cheaper and it rocks. I can write and compile code on the commute in to work, as well as all the usual sh!t you'd associate with a PDA. All while listening to a bunch of mp3's.

You can get a camera for it (but why, when you can get a perfectly decent digital camera), phone Cf card etc.

I'm not getting excited about the sony...

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?

With that in mind

[Kalewa]

Maybe they should include a magenet on the back so it can be attached to the inside of a bathroom stall for hands-free use.

Re:$800?!

[salimma]

Extrapolating, you earn about $100k a year.. and you spend 5 bucks on glasses? Dang :p

Actually I buy my glasses when I visit my parents in Indonesia. They turn heads and costed only $50 :p

You know your a geek when..

[norcal]

... you Lust After The Sony Clie NZ90 and you have 'been' with more PDAs then girlfriends

Good to see the new camera, but...

[Chris Canfield]

Well, chalk another missed opportunity to Sony... While the rest of the world is clamboring for cellphone PDA's like the sidekick, Sony continues to work on the camera aspect... now so much so that the PDA has exceeded the cost of a 5mp camera. It is also up to a hefty 10 oz, from the previously high 8 and the SL-10's reasonable 3.6 oz. While the previous NR-70 bled cool, this one (ironically) just looks cheap. The camera doesn't have a lensecover, a problem with the overall design that doesn't hamper a 320x200 camera very much. They have re-designed the keyboard to be ugly, I mean functional. Being in the NR-60/70 style, it is longer than your average PDA... 6 inches long. That's up 1/2 inch from the previous camera model, and a full inch taller than your average PDA. It is also a pocket-filling 1" deep. They have changed the L-Ion from an internal to an external, an overall positive engineering move.

I'm a little disappointed with this release... Many of us are breathlessly awaiting an Ericson / sony style crossover, in the hopes of picking up a very stylish, very functional treo mp3 equivalent.

NZ-90 Demo

And for comparison, the NR-70

Fortunately, as with any new Sony release, this should push the price of the rest of their line down a bit... You can charge a premium for the latest and greatest, but you have to back off when you release something later and greater. Let's hope they back away from that black magnesium.

Free Leather Case!

[rot26]

Woo hoo!

How can they afford it?

I noticed another great deal the other day too.... new Ferarris are coming with FLOOR MATS!

Clies are emulated Palm OS devices...

[iamacat]

Don't forget that the thing has an ARM processor but most of the user code is written as 68K and emulated on the device. There is a way to write some code as ARM, but it's pretty painful (no global variables, C++ features or debugger). This got to be more overhead than copying some files into memory.

Re:Clies are emulated Palm OS devices...

[ardiri]

> of the user code is written as 68K and emulated on the device

damn.. i had moderator points - but, i figured my input in this story was better than moderating it :) as for how the OS5 devices run, i have posted a few stories in the past to /. and, a few of them are here in other stories:

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=35839&cid=38 73 166

and, some other postings specific to native code in the ogg/vorbis threads. [maybe of interest - more specific to development of native arm code]

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=46474&cid=47 87 743
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=46474&cid =4787 183

as a developer, having 400Mhz is nice. we have a 3D engine (raycaster based) running on 68k units, and, we were able to seriously enhance it for arm units:

http://mobilewizardry.com/board/viewtopic.php?t= 13 4

its been solely possible due to the extra processing power. while some may argue its only an emulated system - the extra Mhz means palmos can do pocket pc stuff :) - having 400Mhz would give us even more fun stuff to experiment around with. the real issue we are running into is the differences with ARM implementation, mainly OMAP and XScale. sony adopted XScale, Palm adopted OMAP. there are some slight issues between the two, which, gives different 'running speeds' for native arm code.

> There is a way to write some code as ARM, but it's pretty painful

it is not painful to write ARM code :) it just takes a bit of thinking and good design. we have been writing ARM code for palmos way before the pubic devices were available - it was fun figuring out how native arm code works and rebuilding cross compilers :)

Re:Clies are emulated Palm OS devices...

[agallagh42]

For the Cut'n'Paste impared:

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4

Was that so hard?

Re:Clies are emulated Palm OS devices...

[mlyle]

we have been writing ARM code for palmos way before the pubic devices were available

Just when did the pubic devices become available?

400MHz?

[afree87]

Dude, that Palm's going to be faster than the desktop I'm writing this at.

Re:I like having just one device

[Alan Partridge]

nonsense - my PEG-SJ30 works just beautifully with Missing Sync on my G4 - you even get a little iPhoto plug-in that allows you to export albums to .PGF for the Clié.

Nice action - highly recommended.

Integrating cams, PDAs, Cell Phones, etc. Sucks!

[Kymermosst]

I'm personally annoyed by this integration of digital devices. I want discrete components.

I don't want a cell phone at all.

I do want a digital camera, but I want interchangeable lenses, etc. I bet this PDA doesn't have that.

I want an MP3 player. I don't want a cell phone with it. When I'm listening to music, I don't want the bloody phone to ring.

I want a digital camera. I don't want to take my PDA on vacation. What good is a PDA in the middle of nowhere when you're camping?

I do NOT want a built-in camera on every single digital thingie I own.

I'd rather have all these things separate, and better, rather than integrated into one-size-fits-all piece of shit that is more "cool" than it is "useful."

Re:No -- it's Sony's history that stops me

[MickLinux]

I just have a habit of not buying things from companies that turn evil.

I'm a Mac person, and remember the Sony CDs that break Ibooks. So I decided "Sony's out".

Within the next 6 months, I noticed reports of Sony quality being down, so I don't regret my decision either.

In line with that, I also dropped HP from my list of "good companies" when Lucent's marketing manager was hired as their new president, and all the old management fled. Lucent, if you remember, came up with those wonderful closed architecture WinModems that -- as it later turned out-- died within a year due to quality problems. Now, as it turns out, I find that HP has been short-filling their inkjet cartridges.

Same kind of decision about Sears. When their middle managers had to sue their upper managers for firing them when they refused to continue to attend Scientologist courses that said "cheat the customer..." I decided it was time to give my business to other companies. In the following years, I did not regret it.

It's just too bad that with all the fluid hiring and firing, and stock changing hands, it's a bit hard to keep up with what companies. But when they go bad, it's usually permanent. So once you find an apple going bad, it does make sense to throw it out.

That's simply not correct

[Just Some Guy]

That may be true if you only want to run an addressbook app or manage your schedule. However, a 400MHz CPU would be darn nice when it comes to compressing pictures taken with the built-in camera, or playing back MP3s, or trying to perform and other traditionally CPU-intensive task.

The relative efficiency of the OS isn't the issue; the complexity of the desired applications certainly is.

Re:I like having just one device

[salimma]

Ah, nice to know. Note that I said 'probably'. And you do have to pay for it, which makes the Mac a second-class platform to use a Sony Clie with.

For those on OS X, find the required software here:
Missing Sync

and Linux:
Pilot Link

How about a screen?

[Preston Pfarner]

With a 2 megapixel camera and a 0.15 megapixel display, does anyone else think that PDA makers are concentrating on the wrong features?

Porn at your palm!

[DVega]

"Then I figured it out. Masturbation. The only viable use I can fathom for having the ability to conveniently and surrepitiously carry around tiny movie clips and random digital phots is to satisfy a lonely geek's need to have easy-access porn-at-hand"

From Sony Product Information Page
"Sony's exclusive Jog Dial navigator allows you to access images, phone numbers, notes, even video clips, while keeping your other hand free"

That really makes sense!

20 Hz frequency response - schweeet!

[morcheeba]

From the spec sheet...

> Audio/Voice
>Audio Frequency Response: 20hz
>Recording: ATRAC3/MP3(playback), ADPCM(voice >recording)
>Sampling: 44.1 kHz(ATRAC3, MP3)
>Output: Headphone jack / stereo mini jack

Great if you want thumping bass, without any other annoying frequencies, like 0-19 Hz or 21-20000 Hz!

Re:$800?!

[TheRaven64]

I preffer you use a built in PAA (Personal Analogue Assistent, or 'brain' for short). Sure, it crashes a lot, and frequently loses data, but it doesn't weigh any more than I carry around anyway, and I never forget to take it with me.

Lust After The Sony Clie NZ90

[Anonym0us Cow Herd]

Even with the lust, there are specific compatibility problems. I am still unable to get an AIBO to mate with a Clie NZ90 using its big memory stick.

The Sony Ericsson P800 is close

[pointwood]

You should take a look at that - nearly the only negative thing about is of course that it uses memorystick :(

It was mentioned here a few days ago I think, but you can see a good (p)review here: http://mobile.burn.com/review.jsp?Id=141

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

Not Enough Memory

[IHateEverybody]

The newest version of the PalmOS, version 5, allows PalmOS devices to have more than 16MB of RAM. But so far only the Garmin iQue 3600 has added more RAM. As drool-worthy as all of the NZ90's stats are, the measely 16MB (only 11MB of which are available to the user) feel like a deal breaker. Granted the Memory Stick slot makes the extra RAM less necessary but still....