Posted by
timothy
on from the sweetness-and-light dept.
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."
Not two, but three..
by
ozgurbulbul
·
· Score: 5, Informative
In fact we should not forget sj22, which is basically the same as sj33 without the audio capability.
scared of getting slashdotted?
by
vivek7006
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
They are redirecting the slashdot users to a special website.
"Especially formulated for slashdotters"
Re:scared of getting slashdotted?
by
lpret
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Actually, this is a great idea. If they got a heads-up, even more kudos.
-- This is my digital signature. 10011011001
Re:scared of getting slashdotted?
by
sixdotoh
·
· Score: 5, Funny
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!
--
This post was brought to you by the number 584811 and the characters / and .
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!
-- Alcohol and Calculus don't mix. Don't drink and derive.
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
No cell?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
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.
Memory Stuck (tm)
by
lastberserker
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
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?
-- My other Beowulf cluster is... er...
Insightful???????
by
Dot.Com.CEO
·
· Score: 3, Informative
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/.
-- Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Re:Insightful???????
by
Anonvmous+Coward
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
"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).
Sony Ericsson 3G Phone
by
erixtark
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
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.
Handhelds v Gameboys v Graph Calcs v Cell phones
by
Anik315
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
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.
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.
Re:The article mentions an mp3 player
by
ez76
·
· Score: 5, Informative
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:Memory Sick?
by
exhilaration
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
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:Handhelds v Gameboys v Graph Calcs v Cell phone
by
sunspot42
·
· Score: 3, Informative
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?
Slashdot Mirror
In fact we should not forget sj22, which is basically the same as sj33 without the audio capability.
They are redirecting the slashdot users to a special website.
"Especially formulated for slashdotters"
Alcohol and Calculus don't mix. Don't drink and derive.
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
I didn't use the preview button, so get over it!!!!
Mike
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
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.
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?
My other Beowulf cluster is... er...
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 /.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?