Two New Handhelds From Sony

MeatWad writes "Sony has announced the SJ33 Palm OS 4 model with a high res color screen and mp3 player for $299. At the same time the FCC has leaked info on the next Palm OS 5 Clie with bluetooth and an integrated keyboard called the TG50. Sony can sure crank out the cool gadgets."

Comments

Longrange bluetooth?

[Anonymous Coward]

I dont know if the sony has got this "longrange bluetooth", but if so - what is its range? 100m compared to 10m for regular bluetooth?

The article mentions an mp3 player

[nizcolas]

but only mentions a memory stick as a media format. The stick mentioned is 4 mb. That's enough space for approximately one song at high quality. The article also mentions the memory stick is incompatible with the new memory pro format.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[waytoomuchcoffee]

but only mentions a memory stick as a media format. The stick mentioned is 4 mb

Where in hell are you getting this? I didn't see it in the articles. Besides, you can get Memory Sticks up to 1GB right now. Did you misread something?

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

Why can't these PDAs have substantial disk space? I realize not everyone would want it because it would be heavier, but there's gotta be a market if they're adding mp3 playback capability to all these PDAs.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[$$$$$exyGal]

Here are the relavent quotes from the article:

The SJ33 uses standard memory sticks although the device doesn't come with one.

The Sony audio player can play MP3 files and ATRAC files from a Memory Stick.

So the parent post sounds wrong about the 4MB stick.

--sex

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[cheezedawg]

The stick mentioned is 4 mb.

No it isn't. The 4 MB is the size of the flash ROM. I don't think I have ever seen a memory stick smaller than 8 MB anyway. This PDA uses a standard memory stick slot.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[puck01]

Sorry dude, I think your getting ROM and memory stick mixed up. Obviously, the moderators did not read the article. Here's the snipit below.

It has 16 MB of internal RAM (of which 15MB are available) and 4 MB of flash ROM.

I never saw any mention of a memory stick, so it probably does not come with one. Since you can pick 128mb up for about $30 on techbargin.com and devsdeal.com, I wouldn't worry about too much.

puck

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

And the largest Memory Stick available is 128MB. Other memory formats (SD, CF) practically start at 128MB. Sony really needs to make bigger memory sticks if they're going to be flaunting multimedia features on their PDAs. 128MB is barely enough for AV files.

OTOH, 128MB for Palm programs is way more than enough. The largest Palm App I've ever seen was ~1.5 MB, most are under .5 MB.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

my 1.3 dscp30 came with a 4mb stick

but you are right, i dont think you can purchase them

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[nizcolas]

Yeah. I did misread it. Still memory sticks still aren't affordably priced for an mp3 player. Compare this to something like an iPod or a Rio and there is a large disparity in the $/mb ratio.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

Besides, you can get Memory Sticks up to 1GB right now

Where? Even Sony's site says the biggest available is 128MB right now.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

The new Memory Stick Pro cards will be up to 1 GB this year (I think 2 GB is on the roadmap). The only problem is they probably wont be compatible with some of the old Memory stick devices.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[JohnA]

Non-pro memory sticks are available up to 128MB. While not 10GB, it's certainly better than 4MB. :-)

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Mac Degger]

Yeah, but try going skiing with an iPod...doesn't work, 'cos there's an actual harddisk in there. FlashRam OTOH doesn't skip, no matter what kind of mogel-field your going down.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Yokaze]

Which is, of course, rightfully moderated as Insightful, and probably Interesting, as you explicitly state, that the article already says it.

No blame on you.

To be a little bit more constructive.
The largest "classic" Memory Sticks are available to up to 128Mb, the larger ones are already Memory Stick Pro (or Memory Stick Select).

AFAIK, the size limitation is not inherent in the technology of the Memory Sticks (the controller is on the stick). It is probably more a problem of usability (low data-transfer) of the classic sticks.

The Memory Stick Pro features a parallel controller, which twentyfolds the theoretically bandwidth. This new controller makes the new Stick incompatible.

The Clie NX and NZ series and some Vaio notebooks are (or will be) compatible with the Memory Stick Pro format, after a software upgrade.

This begs the question, why won't the SJ33 be compatible with the Memory Stick Pro?
Do they produce some retro-version of Memory Stick-controllers for the new SJ33?

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[mithras the prophet]

Yeah, but try going skiing with an iPod...doesn't work

Really?

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[dirkdidit]

You're not suppose to ski with headphones on anyhow. :-)

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Fuyu]

From this cNet article, current Memory Sticks top out at 128MB, but the new cards will come in 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB capacities.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[ez76]

Where in hell are you getting this? I didn't see it in the articles. Besides, you can get Memory Sticks up to 1GB right now. Did you misread something?

The biggest Memory Sticks available currently are 128MB.

256MB and 512MB memory sticks will be coming out this Spring but they will be bank-switched (i.e. a mechanical switch will let you choose which 128MB of RAM you want to use).

Pretty lame.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[default luser]

You're kidding me? Sony should be ashamed.

This would be like Nintendo deciding to put a 4KB limit on cart size with the NES because it's all Atari ever needed.

As it was, the NES was released years after the Atari, so smartly it was much less limited. Most early games used an 8 x 16Kb format, and later roms approached 1Mbit.

Come on folks, even CF has no problem incorporating extremely high density chips with no hassle to the user. If this is the best Sony can do years after CF was inroduced, they had best just go jump off a cliff right now.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Mac Degger]

Heh...where I ski, I usually don't have to bother with other people...not many people on the off-piste I go off :)

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Mac Degger]

First off, that's a snowboarding jacket (recognisable by the padding on the rear...snowboarders spend more time sitting down than actually riding :) ). Second, the way and places I ski, a harddisk would be skipping every second. Mechanical systems just can't handle the vibrations...that's why I need solid state.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[swv3752]

90$ for a 128mb stick? The Lexar and other memory makers might be a little cheaper.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[uradu]

> but the new cards will come in 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB capacities.

And are called MS Pro, and are incompatible with the new handheld, as clearly stated in the article.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[sessamoid]

The solid state memory buffer on the ipod is good for something like 20 minutes before it has to hit the drive again. How many downhill runs can you find where you can ski b*lls to the wall for more than 20 minutes straight? The iPod is very ruggedly built. I've dropped the thing from chest height while jogging onto concrete, and all it got was a few scratches. It was still playing when I picked it back up and plugged by headphones back in.

Re:The article mentions an mp3 player

[Mac Degger]

Seriously? Wow, I'll have to check up on that...if it's really that long, it makes me regret springing for 256mb flash...

Do you know of anyone who has taken an ipod for some hardcore skiing?

Not two, but three..

[ozgurbulbul]

In fact we should not forget sj22, which is basically the same as sj33 without the audio capability.

And as always

[M3wThr33]

With Sony's product cycle, owners of T665's and SJ30's now have discontinued and unsupported devices.

Re:And as always

[jonabbey]

So? The SJ30 uses the same cradle connector as the new ones do, the same memory stick.. what's the problem? The SJ30 even has a li-ion battery that can be removed and replaced if need be. Far more supportable than Palm's rechargeables, if the battery needs changing.

I've had my SJ30 for several months now and I just love it. I don't mind at all that Sony is selling a better one now.. the more they sell, the better for PalmOS and all.

Re:And as always

[binaryDigit]

Welcome to the bleeding edge. Or would you rather that Sony just update their products every couple of years so that everyone who buys their products doesn't have to go through the pain of seeing it updated/more powerful/cheaper?

Re:And as always

[Jonavin]

Except in Sony's case it isn't eveyr couple of years. Sony released somethign like 12 new Palm powered Clies last year. It's not even the end of February in 2003 and we already have 3 announced/released (NZ90, SJ33, TG50). There will be more.

Short of replacing MemoryStick with SD, whatever features you think the Sony units are lacking it will appear in the next model, in a matter of months if not weeks.

Re:And as always

[xombo]

With Sony's product cycle, owners of T665's and SJ30's now have discontinued and unsupported devices.

The worst thing about this troll, is that he is probably right. I have a Sony VAIO, and after 6 mos, it was no longer supported. They are crap, especially the one's from Year 2000. Only 3 years old too.

scared of getting slashdotted?

[vivek7006]

They are redirecting the slashdot users to a special website.

"Especially formulated for slashdotters"

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[lpret]

Actually, this is a great idea. If they got a heads-up, even more kudos.

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[sixdotoh]

kind of takes some of the fun of being a /.er out of it, that feeling of glee knowing you're part of something big, feared (by some), and widely known across the internet . . .

but hey! at least we can actually read the article!

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[Jezral]

They should add intelligent scaling.

Instead of just targetting visitors with referer=slashdot.org, the server should detect an abnormal surge in visitor-per-minute and load up the lightweight version of the site.

Shouldn't be that hard to make...

-- Tino Didriksen / ProjectJJ.dk

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh man. Here we go:

#1- A couple hundred thousand sweaty, pasty white geeks is hardly something to be afraid of.
#2- Outside of your little group of circle-jerking pear shaped losers, hardly anybody knows what /. is
#3- If you feel 'glee' when reading the articles on /., I strongly suggest you start concentrating on finding a girl that you can date (note: you mom does not count). Maybe try talking to that skinny girl that smells like cabbage in your engineering class.

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[sixdotoh]

and that makes for the second insult in the same story for me . . .

actually i'm far less geeky than probably the majority of ppl here, and that whole bit was tongue in cheek . . . please! what is your problem!

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[Anonymous Coward]

What is my problem? Listen, buddy. I'm not the one that gets excited about slow loading articles linked from /.

Loser.

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[haroldhunt]

"ligher [sic] version"

Shoot, they are even dropping unecesary consonants :)

Re:scared of getting slashdotted?

[LazyBoy]

Actually, this is kind of disturbing -- varying content based on the referring page.

FCC?!

[sixdotoh]

What is the FCC doing leaking info on new Palms?! I find that hilarious. Well, okay, maybe not *hilarious* . . .

Is this new or do I just not pay attention to stuff like this? Too bad the CIA doesn't "leak" stuff too . . . *sigh*

Re:FCC?!

[nilepoc]

Aren't their documents public information? I believe that is how people are finding them. I know that the blue tooth integration in the new powerbooks was leaked in the same manner, and I remember some handspring stuff getting out like this also. In the case of apple, they pulled the application.

If the documents are not pulic info, then the FCC needs to get to know the ins and outs of a little document called the NDA.

www.nilepoc.com

Re:FCC?!

[sixdotoh]

ah, if they are public information, true . . . the wording of the article tripped me up though. i wouldn't call that "leaking" information. can anyone confirm that it is public info?

Re:FCC?!

[gearheadsmp]

The info and pictures get "leaked" when Sony, Palm, or anyone else who makes an electronic device has it reviewed by the FCC before it goes retail. The info get's entered into the FCC's database, which is searchable from the web. I guess there are people who check the FCC search engine every day for new stuff from Sony, Palm, Sharp, etc.

Re:FCC?!

[Wesley Felter]

The FCC is the best rumor site on the Net. They've leaked PowerBooks, Blackberries, Palms, you name it. I'm surprised hardware companies haven't lobbied to keep those applications secret until the device is released.

Damn it, they're resisting!

[bdesham]

Welcome Slashdot visitor! You have been redirected to a lighter version of our article in order to conserve bandwidth and keep the site running smoothly for everybody.

They won't stand for long -- all /.ers, load browsers and attack!

Re:Damn it, they're resisting!

[vrmlguy]

Actually, I'd like to see the code that PalmInfoCenter uses to implement the "Welcome Slashdot vistor" message. I've thought about doing something similar for another site, and while I understand how to parse the Referer header, I'd just as soon borrow someone's tried-and-true code as develop it myself.

Heck, this functionality should be built into anything using mod-perl, PHP, ASP, etc. to redirect visitors to a static mirror of a page.

Re:Damn it, they're resisting!

[Richy_T]

Of course, the real trick would be to redirect users back to Slashdot and have Slashdot get Slashdotted.

Maybe.

Rich

Re:Damn it, they're resisting!

[abhinavnath]

Although we do appear to have slashdotted the FCC. Good work, men!

DMCA.

[attobyte]

Is this the case of the government violating the DMCA? I think sony should sue them and it will prove a point for everyone else.

atto

Cool Gadgets at a Price

[Foxxz]

I can certainly appreciate the gadgets Sony comes out with. Not only do they have a "cool" factor, but they are useful as well. I also can understand why their stuff is pricey. However, this does not change the fact that I can not afford any of their products I would like. I would like to get their picture book and dual boot windows xp and debian on it. I'm one that likes compact with long battery life. It doesnt need to be a powerhouse computer. The $1700 pricetag is way too much. I can only wait to see what these new PDAs price at.

-Foxxz

Re:Cool Gadgets at a Price

[sixdotoh]

at a Price indeed. Do a quick search on a Best Buy website and check out Sony's overpriced personal cd players! I mean, can you really justify paying $70 for a Sony versus $30-$40 for a different, but still good, name like Magnavox? Of course, you might get some good headphones, or extra little junk, but come on. I don't own Sony anything and haven't had any problems! Then again . . .

Re:Cool Gadgets at a Price

[Moofie]

For what it's worth, I got a great deal on a Sony CD-MP3 player. It's nice looking, (with a red backlit LCD, which I like) compact, and rugged.

I also paid $100 for it, with a car kit. Yeah, I could have probably found something a little cheaper online (I bought it at WalMart) but I'm really picky about user interface, and I wanted to be able to take it back if I hated it.

So, even though I'm biased against Sony electronics in general, this is a nice piece of gear.

Re:Cool Gadgets at a Price

[Alan Partridge]

Sony have consistently designed and manufactured some of the finest electronics for the last 40 years. I work in TV, and I can assure you that their design, quality, performance and reliability is second to none.

I wouldn't go anywhere without my Sony shortwave radio and Discman.

Re:Cool Gadgets at a Price

[Moofie]

Fair enough. My experience was colored by a Sony Sports walkman I bought, and it disintegrated (although I did beat the hell out of it...but that was why I bought the Sports model!)

My dad has one of Sony's amps that seems to die at the faintest suggestion of a lightning strike (yes, it's behind a good surge protector).

But, on the third hand, I've got a 17" Trinitron monitor that will certainly be the last CRT I buy.

Re:Yes, and be sure to go buy all these products

[takotech]

Wired just had an article about the conflict within Sony regarding just this topic.

The problem was that they are trying to play both sides of the fence.

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[sixdotoh]

yesterday's technology? maybe. but they probably provide a cheaper, and more functional alternative to pocket pc's. i mean, if you just want something to keep your schedule on and take a few notes with, why bother paying for the pocket pc?

doesn't Palm still have quite the market share? i don't think pocket pc's are that popular

No cell?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sony has some great form factors - the only problem is that its useless to me without cellular data capability. And on top of that, all of these Palm and PocketPC devices have compatibility issues with 3rd party software.

So here I am with my 4 year old BlackBerry - with the integrated keyboard and old chromatic screen - running off of the obsolete Mobitex pager network...and it does about 90% of what I want to do when I'm away from the office - mail and calendar. No it doesn't have a built in camera - no it doesn't pick my nose or wash my car - but it does exactly what it claims. The best part is, I feel safe leaving it around my daughter.

There's no winning in this game. Palm is dying. PocketPC is too complicated. RIM is obsolete. Symbian sucks.

Re:No cell?

[Jeffrey Baker]

I agree that the Berry is damn useful, but if you have a phone with gprs data service and bluetooth, your bluetooth handheld can route through that. Someday someone will make a palm os 5 color handheld with bluetooth, sdio, infrared, and headphones, and i will buy it.

Re:No cell?

[binaryDigit]

Well you could always go with a T68i and bluetooth to the Clie. No concerns about wires and you can keep the T68 in your pocket/backpack/waist.

Re:No cell?

[Speed Racer]

Palm is dying? You're kidding me, right? It's been close to 5 years since Windows CE was introduced. With the full force of one of the most powerful marketing and sales organizations in the world, it has still not managed to bring the PalmOS marketshare down below 70%. Palm got it right and keeps evolving its product to take advantage of new technology.

Re:No cell?

[Anonymous Coward]

>palm os 5 color handheld with bluetooth, sdio, infrared, and headphones

Doesn't the Tungsten T have all this...

Re:No cell?

[Speed Racer]

Someday someone will make a palm os 5 color handheld with bluetooth, sdio, infrared, and headphones, and i will buy it.

You mean like the Tungsten T?
Is Amazon OK?

You will have to supply your own headphones. Let me know if you'd like some recommendations.

Re:No cell?

[Jeffrey Baker]

Right, I forgot the other conditions: someone will also have to make a gprs phone that doesn't suck, and then some phone company will have to make a voice and data plan that doesn't suck. Until it all comes together, I'm watching from a distance.

Re:No cell?

[BlindSpot]

all of these Palm and PocketPC devices have compatibility issues with 3rd party software.

Compatibility issues? WTF? I've written Palm software that runs flawlessly on Palm OS 2.0 right up through 5.0, on a wide variety of devices. (I tell users up front that it doesn't work on 1.x, which was a design choice.)

If there are compatibility issues with Palm software it's because the authors of that software are ignoring Palm's own compatibility guidelines. It's a shame, yes, but don't blame Palm because third party developers can't read documentation that's freely available.

Boo... Hiss...

[TopShelf]

And it has pop-ups to boot. Blech...

Their

[gearheadsmp]

site's moving so slow that it could very well be running off one of those Clies.

I dislike all handhelds and probably always will

[Loundry]

I don't think any handhelds will ever be for me. Sure, I've tinkered with them, and even found them convenient, but they suffer from two big problems:

1. The display is too small.

2. The input devices are too inconvenient/cumbersome.

Unfortunately, fixing either problem in a handheld would defeat the killer app of the handheld: portability. This is why I'm waiting for the device that uses a display that's directly connected to my optic nerve and uses neural-impulse-driven input. Am I right in thinking that this is the logical evolution of personal computing? And we think security is a big deal today. Heh, just wait until I can hack into your optic nerve!

Memory Stuck (tm)

[lastberserker]

No matter what gadget Sony makes next I'm not buying if it only supports sticks. CompactFlash is by far more flexible and cheaper, why should I pay extra to support further limitations of my choice?

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

Boo hoo hoo. I am a compact flash whore. Boo hoo hoo.

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[puck01]

I agree mostly. I wish there was one single flash standard and everyone would use it. Life would be much easier that way. Its frustrating that my digital camera and my palm use different flash memory. I'm sure many out there are confronted with the same type of situation.

The thing I like about MS over compact flash, though, is its size. It is about half the size, and with all these tiny devices coming out, I think that is a real advantage. Plus, its easier to fit a bunch of the memory sticks in my cases than compact flash.

As far as functionality, they are pretty much equivalent now. The only real differences are available memory sizes (compact supports largers sizes currently), form factor, and supported devices. Speed may be another, I hear the MS works faster, but I don't know that for sure.

puck

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

Ditto that. That's mainly why I chose a non-Sony digital Camera. I wanted a 4-5 megapixel camera but there's no sense in getting one if my highest card choice is 128 megs. The card would simply fill up too fast.

Memory Stick Pro is coming out but the prices are ridiculous compared to the other formats. 256mb for 200$? I can get compact flash for half that price. And the 1gig card will be selling for, get this, an estimated $880 dollars.

I think I'd rather buy the archos 20 gig multimedia unit for half that price ;)

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Frank of Earth]

CompactFlash 30.94

Memory Stick 34.99

Chances you'll pay more because Sony usually has the coolest products. I'm not a fan of proprietary memory, but sometimes the Sony products are just too compelling to pass up.

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

The thing I really like is that some of those Lexar Memory Sticks include a green LED so you can easily see in daylight that your Palm is writting to the stick.

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Doppler00]

Check out multimedia cards. They are much smaller than memory sticks and they are becoming more popular in digital cameras and PPC's.

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Doppler00]

Hmm... I wonder if that extra $4 is a licencing fee to Sony? What makes proprietary memory that only works in one brand so compelling? Is it that it encourages one to have to buy more Sony products so they don't have to buy new memory?

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[cheezedawg]

Actually, memory stick devices are made by dozens of companies (companies like Kenwood, Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Acer, Fujitsu, Samsung, HP, and Lexmark).

And I doubt the $4 is the licensing fee. According to memorystick.org, the licensing fees to develop a memory stick product are 500,000 Yen/year (about $4,000) with no running royalty.

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

The fees for CompactFlash licensing are between $2500 and $5000/year, so memory stick licensing is actually cheaper sometimes.

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Doppler00]

yes but can companies like HP or Cannon use memorystick technology in there products without paying licencing fees?

Re:Memory Stuck (tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

No, but you can't use CompactFlash technology in a commercial product without joing the CompactFlash association either. So whats the difference?

He's half-wrong...

[TopShelf]

The SJ33 upgrades the SJ30's 33MHz processor to the 66MHz Dragonball Super VZ running Palm OS v4.1. It has 16 MB of internal RAM (of which 15MB are available) and 4 MB of flash ROM.

The SJ33 uses standard memory sticks although the device doesn't come with one. With the focus on music playback, Sony might want to consider bundling offers because users are definitely going to need one. It is not compatible with the forthcoming Memory Sick Pro format.

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[Anonymous Coward]

it's not just you. A lot of people belive Microsoft.

Bloating is not the same as better.

Insightful???????

[Dot.Com.CEO]

I beg your pardon mods, but thiscomment is not insightful. It is, in fact, uninformed and irrelevant. Sony has been one of the first companies out there to do something about digital rights management in an unintrusive way. The drm that comes with my net-md is completely transparent to me and, frankly, I cannot imagine how the hell someone can be inconvenienced by it. You, for philosophical or ethical reasons might be against Sony in the greater plane of things, but they have been CONSISTENTLY putting out EXCELLENT quality gadgets that work seamlessly with one another.

Sony are one of the few companies out there that make gadgets that people drool over AND are happy to own - the novelty does not wear off in 5 minutes. I feel they should be applauded for that. Anyway, if you are so vocal about the DMCA go out and vote against the congressmen who voted for it, don't sit there writing half-arsed one liners on /.

Re:Insightful???????

[hackwrench]

unobtrusive is just a synonym for collaborator.

Re:Insightful???????

[sixdotoh]

It's a poor anonymous coward, leave off. I agree that it was a poor mod, but let the mod's waste their own points (says the person who has never mod ;)

Re:Insightful???????

[Anonvmous Coward]

"I beg your pardon mods, but thiscomment is not insightful. It is, in fact, uninformed and irrelevant. Sony has been one of the first companies out there to do something about digital rights management in an unintrusive way..."

As long as you use Sony's products. Face it, they're worse than Microsoft. The only difference is that Sony's not as visible in our world as MS is.

Sony makes sure that you play by their rules. I'll give you an example: What's the standard format for a memory card on a Digital Camera? Compact Flash. What type of memory cards do Sony Digital Cameras use? Memory stick.

You can accept Sony if you like, but they're about as proprietary as you can get. For digital rights, that's Not Good(tm).

Re:Insightful???????

[homer_ca]

Do you mean unobtrusive DRM like in this review? The NetMD walkman is upload only and it won't play MP3 files directly. The bundled software converts it to their OpenMG format which is copy protected AND you take a big hit in sound quality because you're converting from one lossy codec to another AND it slows down uploading unless you want to duplicate your music collection in OpenMG files. If you think that's annoying, that's only after their 1st generation of players flopped badly due to even more intrusive DRM. Try googling for a review of the Sony Music Clip.
I'll admit that Sony has good design and their CRT televisions have good picture quality, but overall their build quality has gone downhill especially on their stuff not made in Japan. It's not crap, but it doesn't justify their higher prices compared to other consumer electronics makers either.

Re:Insightful???????

[NanoGator]

"Sony makes sure that you play by their rules. I'll give you an example: What's the standard format for a memory card on a Digital Camera? Compact Flash. What type of memory cards do Sony Digital Cameras use? Memory stick."

Kind of reminds me of what happened too Sony's CD-Drive peripheral for the Super NES. If memory serves, they wanted to make it a Sony unit that just happened to play Nintendo cartridges. The deal fell through partly because Nintendo wasn't about to hand their brand name over to Sony. The battle of the egos resulted in no CD for the SNES and the Playstation.

I have no doubt about what you're saying. Sony's very agressive about keeping the competition out.

Re:Insightful???????

[Anonymous Coward]

It occurs to me that you probably have some interesting ideas to share by that your ability to communicate (in this forum) is crippled by your tenuous grasp of English.

I personally would like to understand what you're trying to say so I implore you to improve your English skills.

Re:Insightful???????

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless you buy a Sony mp3 player and then can't rip a new Sony cd with copy protection?

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[jonabbey]

Palm's in the middle of a technology transition.. PalmOS 5 runs on ARM, and PalmOS 6 is due to have a whole new code infrastructure for new software development.

I like my PalmOS Sony with LauncherX far better than the PocketPC systems I've seen. Light, fast, cheap, better screen than many PPC's, easier interface. What's not to like?

Sony Ericsson 3G Phone

[erixtark]

Let's not forget the Sony Ericsson 3G phone announced today.

It'll be quite interesting to see if and how Sony merges their PDAs with their cell phones. Perhaps this one hints at their future strategy.

SOMEONE seems to be getting a clue

[Lord_Dweomer]

what with the redirecting and all......makes me feel special, kind of like how people with extreme power feel.....like when they could destroy an entire server simply by posting a link....

What about syncing cross platform?

[Sophrosyne]

All you Linux guys don't get mad at me for brining this up... I guess it is a common concern. But can I sync this on my mac?... I would be very interested in replacing my m125.
So anyone have any idea if I could sync this on my mac? what good is accepting a standard such as bluetooth if you can't sync on all sorts of different platforms? I heard there is some third party software you can use to sync your clie... will it work with bluetooth on the mac?
Anyone that has any insight into getting this working on platforms that don't include windows post a reply- I doubt i'm the only one who's curious.

Re:What about syncing cross platform?

[gelstudios]

the third part software for clie syncing is called "the missing sync" an you only need it for some of the older clie's, ive used a peg-sj30 with the hotsync software from palm.com, and isync (and ical)

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[mog]

I think that part of the problem exists in the very reason you site to say that there is no problem. Palm devices are very functional. That's what they're really designed to be, and that's what they do very, very well. What this means is that my Visor Deluxe serves my "schedule and notes" needs perfectly. I can't envision ever feeling the need to "upgrade", at least until the thing mechanically dies. Palm devices have their market, but it isn't one that ever really requires upgrading to function well.

And why so little base memory?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't see why these handhelds have so little RAM. 16MB? My handheld MP3 player has 128MB, expandable to maybe 640MB. Can a DragonBall address anything more without resorting to special tricks?

My Palm IIIx still works fine thanks

[bogie]

For a databook/addressbook/variousMobileDB's it still works great and is supported by every OS on the planet. Right now I sync with Evolution and it works very well. Another bonus is the batteries last a long time. I know if I leave it for weeks on end it won't be dead when I go to use it.

I think most users buy these new(read:expensive) PDA's thinking of all the cool things they can do and then over time just end up doing the basics. There are definitely some really cool features on the new PDA's(wireless etc), but before you go blowing $300-$500 on the lastest and greatest consider if you really need those features and if a mini-notebook(more capabilities) or used Palm(just the basics) might serve you better.

BTW anyone else have their car buried in a 5 foot snow drift.

Palm and GPS?

[GlobalEcho]

I know this is somewhat OT, but how goes current integration of Palm and GPS? That is, I know you can buy an amazing little GPS tab for a Palm that plugs into the CF slot, and that you can buy some map software that looks to have good European street info.

But do they work well together? If I use the CF slot for the GPS can I no longer add memory those maps will want so much?

Should I just hope to get the Garmin Palm device (which is not out yet) before I travel this spring, and hope it lets me use third party maps?

And what about those GPS tabs? It looks like at least some of them need to be factory serviced in order to switch between WAAS and Europe's experimental equivalent of EGNOS.

Help a fellow electronics fetishist!

Re:Palm and GPS?

[exhilaration]

I have the Garmin Legend, so I think it's unlikely you'll be able to use third-party maps for the upcoming Palm device (unless you're willing to sacrifice a great deal of functionality).

But Garmin has excellent maps available for Europe, so just budget another $100-$200 for them.

Re:I dislike all handhelds and probably always wil

[gearheadsmp]

1. The display is too small.

If a display that's 240x320 (or 640x480 in the case of Sharp's newer clamshell) is too small for you, then perhaps you should consider getting a VGA-out CompactFlash card and some Video glasses.

2. The input devices are too inconvenient/cumbersome.

Sharp's Zaurus has a decent input method: thumboard. I can type faster on it with my thumbs than I can with Jot/Graffii. If you want to use a desktop-like interface, you can always SSH into a Zaurus with a desktop.

Re:Sony sucks ass

[Neural Assassin]

Agreed. Sony has good INITIAL quality and features...but everything breaks in under a year. I've been a non customer for 2 years now.

Re:Why 2?

[gearheadsmp]

You could do this easily with one. Like the new Sharp clamshell Zaurus, with 640x480 res. Setup an html file with your pixxx in tables, and view it with Opera/Konquerer Embedded. Really easy.

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[Anonymous Coward]

...but they probably provide a cheaper, and more functional alternative to pocket pc's. i mean, if you just want something to keep your schedule on and take a few notes with, why bother paying for the pocket pc?

So you're admitting you have no idea, way to start out out, moron. And if you want something just for PIM functions, then you had better hold onto that old Palm Os 4.0 (non Sony) device. Or did you fail to ntice that this is focused on music playback? You also may want to look at what Palm is dong with OS 5 and up, basically trying to catch up to Pocket PC. You know, all of that functionality that nobody really wants, anyway.

Oh, and on marketshare, yes Palm OS devices have the majority of the market, but where Palm OS is flattening out, PPC is increasing. You "don't think" PPCs are that popular? Jesus, asshat, go read up before posting your ignorant ramblings around. PPCs are very popular and gaining marketshare. The newest sub-$300 devices were the hottest PDA over the holidays (Dell Axim and HP iPaq 1910, specifically). Now all of that functionality is looking ot hit a $199 price point (Toshiba). So we see Palm catching up to last year's PPCs, while the newest PPCs are either pulling in the price or jacking up the integrated technology while holding at the higher prices. You know, all of the stuff Sony is trying to do for the Palm OS.

Is this the end...

[Dragon213]

of the Slashdot Effect on servers? Are we seeing a new paradigim of intelligent sysadmins that reformat their pages for when the link is posted to /.???? The universe will end if the Slashdot Effect is countered!!!

RIAA suggested screen change

[4/3PI*R^3]

The RIAA has announced that it demands that Sony change this screen image to more accurately reflect what MP3s represent to the music industry. That REP OFF must be changed to RIP OFF.

Re:RIAA suggested screen change

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, you're really stupid. Like, so stupid, you ought to go kill yourself right now. That's the lamest attempt at a joke that I've ever seen.

Memory stick - about more than the apps

[puck01]

You are right, most palm apps are small. However, apps are only a part of the picture. I'm a medical student, almost a doctor, and there are tons of medical programs, books, drug databases available for the palm. The books and databases are often as large as 4mb. You can see where I'm going with this as 16 mb fills up fast. You can extend this example to many other professions.

Also, I use my Clie to listen to mp3's since I pretty much always have it on me anyway. Again, a large memory stick is important for this functionality.

As far as size, 128 mb is starting to get small, but a Sony MS is about the same price of all the competition's flash so I don't really complain. It will be nice when they start releasing the larger sizes, however.

puck

Re:Sony sucks ass

[Anonymous Coward]

....and their products are dificult to fix because of hard to find odd ball replacement components. I have had a large screen TV and a monitor with this problem.

Block your referer

[pq]

In mozilla, at least, you can simply zero out the referer header: I got the original version of the articles (slowly), not the "light" version. Under Linux, the file is called:

~/.mozilla/$username/$rand_string.slt/user.js

(and/or prefs.js). Add this line:

user_pref("network.http.sendRefererHeader", 0);

There you go: no referer.

Re:Block your referer

[pnatural]

1. Copy URL to clipboard
2. Start browser
3. Paste URL into address bar

There you go: no referer.

Re:Block your referer

[Tokerat]

I thought step three was "Profit!!!"

Re:Block your referer

[Anonymous Coward]

LMFAO!! That's a good one.

Still not interesting enough for me to upgrade..

[Mac Degger]

I'll only upgrade my IIIc when they come out with something like the SJ33 (preferably with virtual graffiti, but you can't have everything)...but which also incorportaes a cellphone. Or they'd have to convert the Kyocera 7125 to GSM...

But what I find strange is that ever since I had my IIIc I've been saying that the only reason I'd upgrade is for a cellphone/palmOS, highres screen, removable storage device. So when are those idiots in marketing going to allow R&D to make one!?

Re:OT: your sig

[TerryAtWork]

Because I was asked that by a person unclear on the median concept.

Also, this message is not off topic, it's funny. What's up with some moderators around here?

+5 Insightful

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes- this blatent misunderstanding of the article was very insightful. Good job moderators.

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[sixdotoh]

you got me . . . alright, i take the criticism. i admit i have no idea, and yes i'm just throwing my two cents in, "ignorant ramblings" as you call them. the fact is i'm just sitting here at school . . .

as far as the article's concern, true may have been about mp3 playback but this little subtopic . . . not so.

thank ;)

Memory Sick?

[tcdk]

It is not compatible with the forthcoming Memory Sick Pro format.

I'm sure that they did that on purpose.

I for one will never you a gadget that uses memory stick. Sony needs to open up the standard or forget about it.

Memory stick is way to expensive and have way to many broken promises behind is (1Mb sticks should have been here last year, and now people will never get them, as they will be mem-stick-pro).

Re:Memory Sick?

[exhilaration]

Though I too have huge problem with propietary memory (I have an existing investment in compact flash cards), the quality of Sony's products leaves everyone else in the dust. I look forward to purchasing the P800 once it's available for a low enough price in the U.S. And anyways, the memory market is already so fragmented - CF, SD, MMC, Memory Stick - it's hard to fault only Sony.

Re:Memory Sick?

[Alan Partridge]

...you left out the Smart Media that my (otherwise excellent) Fuji Finepix 601 uses!

Props to Palminfocenter..

[Frank of Earth]

.. for creating a function that auto senses links from /. so the site isn't /.'d

At least I'm guess it's autosensing.

Thanks

[Sophrosyne]

Thanks- It's interesting that on the side of the box that they fail to mention Mac support... but now what kind of options do linux folk have?

Gadgets?!

[drendite]

In Soviet Russia, cool gadgets crank out YOU!!!

Re:Gadgets?!

[Forgotten]

Looks like the auction is over.

How much did you have to pay? Just ballpark for curiosity's sake.

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Palm OS is lagging. I remember a few years back they had somewhere near 75% of all PDA owners and PPC had 5%. Now Palm is down to 60% and PPC is up to 15%. What I don't like about Palm is where they are going. I like the new OS and the brand spanking new hardware, but they charge you an arm and a leg for it! Let me rattle off some numbers for you...

Palm:
175 Mhz TI OMAP processor
16 MB RAM and 4/8MB (location specific) non user accessable Flash ROM w/o JackFlash or something
320x320 16-bit TFT display
SD expansion slot
$400 right now (was $500)

Dell Axim X5
300 Mhz Intel XScale
32MB SDRAM and 32MB *accessable* Flash ROM
240x320 16-Bit TFT display
SD and CompactFlash Expansion
$224 until today, (Tuesday. Wait a while, Dell will have rebates :-) ) STARTED at $250

Now, I dunno about you, but the Dell looks mighty enticing. I know that Palm Software is optimised for the slower processors, but LOOK AT THE COST! If I can buy 3 times the hardware for half the cost, you know I will. Even if Big Redmond makes the software and it is hardly optimised for the processor. I think of the difference in power on these little machines like the Mhz Myth Jobs always talks about... Five years ago, you could argue it, but today? No, a 1Ghz PowerBook (though nice and speedy anyway) just cannot out-perform a 2 Ghz AMD. It won't happen. Likewise, with all their speed enhancements (mostly just very good programmers, kudos to them for this), Palm's 175Mzh processor is going to have a hard time at the race track trying to beat a 300 or even 400Mhz XScale... especially when most of the software is now running in emulation.

I am sad to say this, but I have been a happy palm owner for 3 years, but when someone can sell a PPC for $225, I'm there.

Say, would anyone like a Palm IIIc for $225? It includes a Stowaway Foldable Keyboard...

*Note: all prices USD

Re:Sony sucks ass

[binaryDigit]

That's funny we have

1 12 yo color tv
1 5 yo vcr that gets a lot of use (kids)
1 4 yo 29" tv - pro model (i.e. monitor), used every day
1 4 yo 19" tv - same as above
1 PS2 - used almost every day
1 1 yo minidv camcorder
Various other and sundry Sony items (cd roms, stereo, walkman, etc)

The only non working Sony item we have is one of the 19" tv/monitors that I got in non working form.

Now with as many products as Sony sells, you can ALWAYS find people with both good and bad experiences, but I personally have had excellent luck with their products. The only Sony items I don't buy are high-end hi-fi, just because the sonic quality is marginal (except for some of their higher end dvd players).

Sorry to hear that you've had problems, but if you've found alternatives that make you happy, then more power to ya.

Clie T665C

[Anonymous Coward]

I just purchased a T665C this weekend. The specs look about the same for both products, except the T665C came with a cradle. Is there any reason that I should consider returning the T665C for a SJ33? They are both $299

Re:Clie T665C

[digitalgimpus]

To me it looks like they are renaming the line (by making a slight mod) so that they can introduce something more expensive as their mid level product.

Ultimate PDA

[Frank of Earth]

has:
- MP3
- Expandable storage
- Color
- keyboard
- Cellphone
- some type of belt clip/holster
- flat rate for internet service
- OS: Palm or WinCE. Most would probably prefer Palm
- Nice to have webcam

One could pair the new Sony TG50 with the Sony T68i cell phone [free with rebates] with built in bluetooth. However, the limited factor here is T-Mobile doesn't offer a flat rate for internet service. Personally, I don't want to be constantly worried about going over my usage limit.

Or you can wait for the new Hitachi, but the size is pretty big and who knows how much the service plans would cost. If through Sprint and they have a similar rate as the Treo 300; very promising! As long as you can get over WinCE

There is also the Sidekick which I almost bought. Thankfully I decided to swing by compusa first to take a gander at the size. The thing is a brick! What is really cool is that you get unlimited internet access for the first year and you can do some cool hip logging which also includes support for sending small pictures. Very inticing, but the product is just way to big, is grayscale and seems to have some serious bugs as a cell phone [doesn't ring!]

My plan was to wait and wait for this magical all in one device. However, I need a cell phone and I finally bit the bullet and got a Treo 300 It lacks expandability so I could never use it as a mp3 player, but it will suffice until the next series of Treos are introduced. With the unlimited flat rate for internet access how could I go wrong? Not to mention you can use it as a wireless modem

I think the cell phone/pda market is definately going in the right direction and I hope by the end of the year, there will be quite a few products out there that I can label as an "ultimate pda".

One small note. The Palm Tungsten W will include many of these features, but in order to use it as a cell phone, you must plug in the headset. This is just retarded. Imagine getting a phone call and having to fish around to plug in your headset?

Lets just hope that the new Treo's are build on PalmOS 5.x and will include expansion [mp3!] Shortly there after, you should see my Treo on ebay for a good price.

Re:Ultimate PDA

[u19925]

has: > - MP3 > - Expandable storage > - Color > - keyboard > - Cellphone > - some type of belt clip/holster > - flat rate for internet service > - OS: Palm or WinCE. Most would probably prefer Palm > - Nice to have webcam i for one, don't care for cell phone, keyboard, color, clip, flat rate internet etc. so my list is: 1) voice recorder 2) 802.11b connectivity (either built-in or through compactflash card). The reason for compact flash card is so that it can be used with other devices including laptops. 3) mp3 4) decent price 5) expandable storage via compactflash Unfortunately, no pda with above feature is available for less than my budget of USD 300.

Re:Ultimate PDA

[Frank of Earth]

Your perfect PDA will be available to buy for 300 bucks on eBay exactly 2.5 years after it's release. ;-)

Re:Ultimate PDA

[Anonymous Coward]

Other than the OS, it sounds like your ultimate PDA already exists in the form of the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500.

Handhelds v Gameboys v Graph Calcs v Cell phones

[Anik315]

Anyone notice a messy convergence in the functionality of all these devices?

Nintendo has been pretty consistent about generating a portable device with one clear and strong purpose, and at that it has been extremely successful.

Alot of these products I see coming out try to do lots of things--in a mediocre way. Without a clearly defined market, these are pretty much "cool gadgets" for people with loose cash. I don't see people using one handheld device to do 20 different things.

Are these companies experimentally sticking things together in combinations just to see if they'll sell? What I would rather see is companies spending more on generating killer apps with strong and focused purposes. (comme the Blackberry)

When people buy cars with DVD players, they're don't hop in to them when they want to watch movies. And it's great that my Palm can play mp3s, but I'll stick to my 20gig iPod.

Re:OT: your sig

[Anonymous Coward]

Because I was asked that by a person unclear on the median concept.

Your post was neither on-topic nor funny and whether the sort is ascending or descending is immaterial.

Re:Sad news ... Stephen King dead at 54

[The Zody]

can someone explain why this hoax still survives? wouldnt it be more fun to chose random authors instead of the same one every single time?

Still only 16 MB?

[Anonymous Coward]

Am I the only person wondering why folks making Palm devices don't put that 1.8" hard disk from Toshiba in there?

Apple's iPods hold 5-20 GB. It seems silly to me that the Palm folks are about adding MP3 and digital camera capabilities to Palm devices, and yet still only have 8 or 16 MB of RAM.

Put a 5 GB disk on a Palm, and Firewire or USB2 for faster syncing, and it'll even double as a small portable hard drive for backups or transferring files between computers. Heck, a 1.8" disk would probably even fit in that expansion slot on my Visor.

What? No Camera?

[Anonymous Coward]

Everything else from Sony seems to have a built-in camera. Why should this be the only sensible device from Sony?

If I want to use a camera, I use my EOS Elan II (film) or my Canon G2 (digital).

I don't want a camera built into my cell phone/pda/watch. Now, a CF card, cable or dongle that connected my camera to my cell phone and allowed me to email photos taken with a real camera would be useful!

Re:Longrange bluetooth? Bah humbug

[ketilf]

Bah, who needs a new bluetooth when Ultra Wideband can do it better anyway?

Or is that what they are going to call it?

Re:Is it just me.. ?

[LordBodak]

Saying that a "1GHz PowerBook just cannot out-perform a 2 GHz AMD" shows that you just don't know how computers work. When the instruction set is different, clock speed comparisons are COMPLETELY irrelevant. The same is true of the ARM v. XScale. Maybe the XScale will outperform it, but the only way to tell is to benchmark it-- not to blindly compare clock speeds.

"Memory Sick Pro"

[xintegerx]

You know the slashdot effect costs money when articles shave LETTERS from the article to save bandwidth.

sony keyboards

[krokodil]

I've had a Clie for a year and Keyboard there sucks. Keys organization is bad, they are hard to press, labels are not clear enough.

Now I have Treo. Even though overall it is not so good as Clie, it have very usable keyboard (stolen from blackberry I heard).

So, if keyboard is important for you - look at Handspring Treo.

Hmm...

[otis wildflower]

... no internal GPS or WiFi, no natural-language HWR or voice recognition, no internal HDD for DivX playback, proprietary Memory Stick garbage..

Color me unimpressed...

ps: anyone know of a bluetooth wireless GPS receiver? Could be handy...

Re:Hmm...

[The J Kid]

Color me unimpressed...

Yeah, me too....doesn't even support Ogg/Vorbis !

Crappy Sony :P

Dragonball CPU?

[the_real_tigga]

I was really pleased by the CLIÉ SJ33, until I came down to "Memory and Processor", and almost choked on the line

The SJ33 upgrades the SJ30's 33MHz processor to the 66MHz Dragonball Super VZ running Palm OS[...]

Who in their right mind would name a Processor after a crappy TV series? And even more disturbing, who would want to own one??

A: Hey, nifty handheld. What's it runnung?
Me: Ya know, Palm OS4 and it's got a Dragonball Super...
A: I seeeee! (rofl)

Re:Dragonball CPU?

[murgee]

Hey now, my SJ20 has a DragonBall in it too.. it's *REALLY* fast after it switches to SuperClie-an mode.

Re:Dragonball CPU?

[Cloud K]

Better than a PokéPC anyway ;)

Re:Dragonball CPU?

[Frac]

And even more disturbing, who would want to own one??

Perhaps the most disturbing is that you don't know that every single Palm OS-based PDA (before Palm OS5) uses the dragonball processor.

TRT: who would want to own one? *chuckle* *chuckle*
F: you idiot, millions and millions already do. (rofl)

Fine, I'll spell it out

[hackwrench]

Sony is making their DRM unobtrusive. DRM is bad. By making their DRM unobtrusive, Sony is collaborating with the enemy, though some would say Sony is the enemy.

What is Sony's OS update record like?

[torpor]

I just got an NX70V, anyone know what Sony's update track record is like? Will this thing survive up to PalmOS5.5/etc?

I figure soon enough, it'll be running Linux. I'm not worried so much, but it'll be interesting to see what happens.

The Clie's are pretty trick hardware...

Yup.

[Dolemite_the_Wiz]

My thoughts exactly.

Alot of these products I see coming out try to do lots of things--in a mediocre way. Without a clearly defined market, these are pretty much "cool gadgets" for people with loose cash. I don't see people using one handheld device to do 20 different things.

Trust me, you're not the only one with this opinion. A Recent Wall Street Journal article touched on this very same thing. The article noted that what may work in Japan for phone sales and assorted (software or hardware) accessories, won't necessarly work in the rest of the world.

Dolemite

Axim...

[Wiwi Jumbo]

I just can't see these compaired to a Dell Axim... sure it's PocketPC but it's features vs. price is great.

I'm just wondering if I should get one now or if Dell's planning on a new version any time soon. (Wouldn't mind Wifi or BT, then it'd be completely sold!)

clie tech support

[Anonymous Coward]

well thank you / i work tech support for sony and we had no clue as to this new line-up. I e-mailed this to all the agents so whan a cust calles in we dont look to much like fools and say what are you talking about new clie??? -- tks /. your my hero

Re:Handhelds v Gameboys v Graph Calcs v Cell phone

[sunspot42]

The problem is, these all in one gadgets tend to do everything POORLY, and for a lot of money. I just replaced my old Handspring Visor with a Palm Zire, because I didn't want to blow $300+ on a combo cell phone / handheld that'd I'd probably just end up losing 6 months down the road. The Zire only set me back $75 on Amazon after a rebate, and even though it offers nothing in the way of functionality over the old Handspring (apart from faster synchs - it's USB - and a rechargeable battery that lasts forever between charges), it does everything I need.

I do think there would be be a market for an inexpensive combo device that's a combination iPod, cell phone and organizer, though. It would be nice to cut down on the number of gadgets you have to carry around, and the organizer's display (and OS) would come in handy for manipulating playlists on the jukebox. Unfortunately, I don't think we're quite at the point where such a gadget could be offered for a reasonable price (under $300), but by this time next year, who knows.

If Apple were smart, such a gadget could be their next killer consumer product. Do they still own the Newton OS?

MORE Interesting: SONY HANDHELD WIFI FILESERVER!!

[Anonymous Coward]

hmm... their palm announcements are hardly as cool as their other announcement (thanks glenn fleischman):

Sony's Wi-Fi equipped pocket Web server:
GadgetWatch identifies (and offers an English explanation of) a Wi-Fi-enabled portable fileserver! Nifty. 70,000 yen.

A step backward?

[uradu]

This new one looks much cheaper and piggier than the SJ30. What's with the cheap NON-REMOVABLE plastic cover that will inevitably break off during the first week? Sorry, but the SJ30 looks much better.

Re:A step backward?

[Anonymous Coward]

The cover situation looks horrible! Why the hell are they doing that? I like the leather flip cover on my SJ20.

I hope they didn't change too much from the SJ20/30. I tried the PEG-T665C at Costco, and the scroll wheel is horribly designed - it is sharp against your fingers!

At some point, my SJ20 will probably break down, and I'll have to get one of these new models. Unfortunately.

SJ30

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in Tokyo and was aware of the release of the SJ33 a few weeks ago which is why I just went out and bought an "old" SJ30. Sony tries to run "old" stock out as fast as they can and so just two weeks after the release of the SJ33, SJ30s were hard to find. I bought mine for Y24,000 and its the best thing... I love it.

If I wanted to buy the do everything models there are plenty to choose from, but like, I've got a real digital camera already and an MP3 player so what's the point?

You guys may not be aware of the rebirth of the Docomo FOMA (let's call it FOMA Mk.II) which we are getting blasted with commercials for. I must say the new phones have quite respectable cameras in them, many with zoom lenses, naturally wireless internet etc etc etc....

Re:I dislike all handhelds and probably always wil

[burns210]

I own a pocketPC jornada 547. It is sorta cool, but I not something i need.

What is holding it back, in my opinion, is the lack of a killer app. Wether it be a better input method(speech, or more likely, freehand input(newton?)) or cheap internet(cellphone/bluetooth). Porting a desktop app to a pocket is great and all, but pocketWord just feels funny. Maybe something that really belongs on a handheld and not some bastard child of a real app.

treading water

[g4dget]

No matter how many variations they come out with, Palm OS 4 and Palm OS 5 still are pretty limited: you only get 16Mbytes of memory, a lot of application code runs in emulation, there are lots of places where things are essentially 16bit, and the window system is pretty primitive.

Palms are nice for scheduling and TODO lists. But for that, a $90 Zire is good enough, and it's also small and light. I wouldn't buy anything more high-end at this point, until Palm OS 6 comes out.

Memory sticks are dead

[Anonymous Coward]

Typical japanese. They only think of what gadget will sell today.

That's why all their stuff is toys. Fun, clever, but toys.

Muahahahaha

[Viceice]

Speaking of PalmIII, I ordered The Clie SJ33 just last week to replace my PalmIIIxe, and it's due to be delivered today, how not to have a sotry on Slashdot about it too. :)

By the way, webpage fo rthe SJ33 is here.

http://www.sonystyle.com.my/clie/app/sj33/index. js p

virusmyth

[Anonymous Coward]

The "HIV==AIDS" hypothesis is the biggest medical fraud in human history. http://www.virusmyth.net/

Even if everything on that site were correct, what is wrong with practicing safe sex and informing your partner of your HIV status so that they can make their own informed decisions?

And scientifically, HIV infection is closely correlated with the development of serious illnesses and death about a decade later, as cohort studies that have followed hundreds of individuals from before seroconversion to death have shown. Furthermore, treatments do seem to have some overall positive effect on survival (but nobody disputes that they have very serious side effects, and it's certainly perfectly reasonable to choose not to take them). Whether HIV is merely a marker, a co-factor, or the sole cause of disease or death is academically interesting, but it has little bearing on public health policies and treatment; policies and treatments are based on demonstrable outcomes in controled trials, not on hypotheses.

Scientifically, the pieces actually fit pretty well together; HIV is much better understood at this point than most other viral diseases. But such understanding may not result in treatments; some things just aren't fixable.

Re:Ultimate PDA-retarded headset?

[panurge]

Try writing on the thing when it's pressed against your ear. Difficult, no? If you have trouble with handsfree cables (no, I don't like them much either)I rather assume the W will work with a Bluetooth headset, a much neater option.

Re:Yes, and be sure to go buy all these products

[Anonymous Coward]

Or pay for the lawyers to go after the Aussie Uni's!

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/18/ 03 6207&mode=thread&tid=141&tid=146&threshold =-1

Cool?

[RAMMS EIN]

...Sony can sure crank out the cool gadgets...
Oh yes. If only they gave up on only supporting their own, proprietary, incompatible, expensive, Evil and Rude memory sticks I might even consider buying one. CompactFlash, dammit!

---
Don't drink and derive.

thx!

[the_real_tigga]

I was thinking about googling for that just before I posted, but then I thought, no, even though the "Super" part hints an earlier, non-Super version existed, some /.ter will surely have the kindness of pointing that fact out to me.
Personnally, I find that lack of unpredictablility disturbing.
But, then, no I don't.

Re:Handhelds v Gameboys v Graph Calcs v Cell phone

[RyuuzakiTetsuya]

I've futzed around with a few clie's at fry's. I don't see how they're failing in the least bit trying to do multiple things. It does PDA things correctly, it stores address, phonebook and other organizational data, and it also plays MP3s well. It also has a gamepad attachment so you can play games with it. I honestly don't see the problem.

Convergence doesn't necessarily produce poor versions of each individual device, it just makes that a much more likely case, but with something like MP3s, simple games, and of course, organizational and real work, there's just enough CPU power and memory that any hand held can do these properly, the only thing it would lack would be storage space for MP3s.

Re:Handhelds v Gameboys v Graph Calcs v Cell phone

[salimma]

They should still do .. Steve Jobs cancelled its flotation on the stock market before finally disbanding the division, so they should still own all the rights to it.

But since Apple just outsource the OS for the iPod, who's to know they won't just license PalmOS for such a combo device?