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New Sony Clie PEG-UX50

webguru4god writes "Sony Japan has just released a killer new Clie, complete with integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a camera, in a small laptop-like enclosure. It runs Palm OS 5.2, has a 65,000 screen, and a built in keyboard! " I've always been a bit skeptical of handhelds that have flip out keyboards like this, but have repeatedly been impressed with the quality of various models of Clie. This might be worth a look.

27 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. Yay! by Eric(b0mb)Dennis · · Score: 4, Funny

    All I need is this and a pack of sidewalk chalk and it's time for some fun I hope I don't get stopped for vandalizing :( ALL WIFI POINTS ph34r my chalk!

    --
    Excuse me, I don't mean to impose, but I am the ocean
    1. Re:Yay! by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Funny

      War-getting-a-ride-from-mom-ing

      But then everyone gets a ride from his mom.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  2. Ouch! by mattrix2k · · Score: 4, Funny

    The handheld body is made of magnesium.
    Better hope it doesn't rain!

    1. Re:Ouch! by guacamolefoo · · Score: 5, Funny

      The handheld body is made of magnesium.
      Better hope it doesn't rain!


      It serves as firestarting tool as well!

      GF.

    2. Re:Ouch! by sh00z · · Score: 3, Interesting

      As others have already pointed out, you probably meant sodium. Magnesium will put on a pretty fantastic show, if you can get it to burn, but as this NeXT-torching geek discovered, that's not quite so simple.

  3. No Graffiti by berkeleyjunk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At last somebody understood people wanted to type on their PDAs instead of learning how to use Graffiti or a soft keyboard. I have a Sony PictureBook and I love it. This is going to rock.

    1. Re:No Graffiti by TedTschopp · · Score: 4, Informative

      There is a keyboard and Graffiti and a new input system which does trainable handwriting recognition.

      --
      Fantasy remains a human right; we make in our measure and in our derivative mode... -- JRR Tolkien
  4. Battery Life by pheared · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sony rates the battery life at 14 days with 30 minutes of typical use per day.

    So, just say 7 hours. Unless of course sustained usage drains the battery faster.

    Either way that's pretty good since my iPaq can now barely run for 45 minutes without a charge. I have a backpaq arriving soon with extra battery capacity so that should help.

    1. Re:Battery Life by zmooc · · Score: 4, Informative

      On my clie NX70V the battery-life varies a lot on the applications used; the cam uses quite a lot, memorystick access as well. Wifi really drains it. So no matter how long they tell you the battery life is, it's utter bullshit anyway since it depends heavily on the application used. Taking pictures and immediately e-mailing them over wifi can drain the battery within half an hour while using it exclusively as an electronic agenda will get you somewhere around the mentioned 7 hours.

      --
      0x or or snor perron?!
  5. You're all pigs! by tevenson · · Score: 3, Funny

    It looks like a laptop for midgets. I guess that's not bad. Even Willow needs to check his email.

    1. Re:You're all pigs! by MikeXpop · · Score: 3, Informative

      Since the linked site is slashdotted, here's a site with pictures I found from 2 seconds of googling.

      Pictures

      --
      Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
  6. Another Article Link by jared_hanson · · Score: 4, Informative

    Another article with more detailed information can be found at infoSync World.

    --
    -- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
  7. What I want to know is by Timesprout · · Score: 4, Funny

    More details and an official US announcement are expected tomorrow (7/18) when Sony's handheld President, Masanobu Yoshida,

    Why did they make him president if he needs someone to hold his hand ??

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
  8. Sony wants ubiquitous wifi by dspyder · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Talking to a wireless engineer at Sony, they are really interested in finding a way of having ubiquitous 802.11 access everywhere. With devices like this, who can blame them.

    Trouble is, he also said Sony wants a piece of the service market offering that access. Seems to me I would stick with being a hardware provider and let the ISPs sort out the delivery. Of course, with Sony being in the content business as well........

    --D

    1. Re:Sony wants ubiquitous wifi by yelohbird · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Sony already owns a big chunk of the Asian ISP market, with ventures for broadband services in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other markets. With their financial leverage, I would not be surprised if they are able to deploy ubiquitous 802.11 (b/g) access in those same markets, where the dense metropolitan population and high demand for tech fads would make it feasible to carry out this project.

      And then, maybe 20 years down the road, ubiquitous wi-fi will finally be "feasible" and make its debut the United States...

      --
      h-t-t-p-colon-slash-slash-slash-dot-dot-org
  9. You misunderstood. by Prince_Ali · · Score: 4, Funny

    He doesn't need to have his handheld. He is the handheld President because he is small enough to hold in your hands. It is really great for when a full-sized Sony president just won't fit in your luggage.

  10. embarrassing question by AssFace · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One of the owners of the company I currently work with has taken me aside many times and has me on a quest for what I think is the unattainable... mainly because the idea is retarded.

    But I have to ask, since this seems about like the perfect place to do so. Or instead of asking - maybe I should just describe what he wants and enthusiasts can chime in.

    He wants a handheld device. He loves Sony products, and hates Handspring products. He has no real reasons or logical justification for this as far as I can tell - but he isn't going to change.
    He wants something that will keep track of all of his appointments. He wants something that can play mp3s.
    Ideally it would also have a camera and a phone in it, but that isn't necessary.

    But what he *really* wants... and this is the part that I find amusing - he wants this thing to have a phone jack in it.
    For two reasons - the first reason is so that he can put a phone line into it and record conversations. For some reason he thinks that there is a large demand for this, just because he wants it.
    He also wants this thing to be able to check e-mail - but he doesn't want to pay cell phone charges for checking e-mail, and bluetooth and wi-fi are out because he wants to travel the globe with this thing and plug into the phone lines at hotels and then dial up and check his e-mail. Via the modem jack of course.

    I thought I had him sold on the cool Neuros, but then this phone jack idea occurred to him and he is now focused on that.

    The worst part is that he finds the fact that it doesn't exist and that nobody else would want this a personal failing on my part.
    As if I'm just not trying hard enough.

    I feel like telling him that if he clicks his heels together, rubs a lamp, and also *really* believes in it, then it will happen.

    Anyway, anyone know of such a beast to exist? (he has a laptop, but apparently that is "too bulky" - so that solution is out - and I know that Handspring has plug-ins for all of that stuff, but he hates Handsprings and refuses to ever own one)

    --

    There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.
    1. Re:embarrassing question by British · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Find a PDA that has a standard "mic" plug on it, and go buy a telephone convo recorder at Rat Shack. That might work.

      Or if you want to be more enterprising, open up the recorder, and put shorter cords in it so it won't tangle up with his other things..

      Then find a way to mass-produce them and sell them at a high price so other people like your friend will buy them.

    2. Re:embarrassing question by kinnell · · Score: 4, Funny

      You have clearly been given a special assignment to spend your whole day surfing the internet, checking out all the latest cool gadgets for your boss. Keep him interested as long as you can.

      --
      If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
  11. Re:capacity... by fluxrad · · Score: 3, Funny

    Your iPod has 30GB of RAM???

    Holy shit!

    --
    "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume
  12. Nifty but what's the price? by anagama · · Score: 5, Insightful


    If this thing tops $500, won't people start just looking at a laptop?

    It's neat and all in a gadgety way, but PDAs need to be small and light so they fit in your pocket. The problem of course, is that when they are tiny, data input is a bear - and it always will be till voice recognition/mind plugs replace grafiti and thumboards.

    --
    What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
  13. but wait, check this out: by ed.han · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "welcome slashdot visitor! you have been redirected to a ligher version of our article in order to conserve bandwidth and keep the site running smoothly for everybody. this is the whole text of the article, if you would like to read the story along with our reader comments, please click here."

    slashdot provides anti-spam armoring, and the sony site apparently offers anti-/. effect armoring?

    ah, if only i could find a way to bring that full circle, my karma would be mighty indeed...

    ed

  14. Zaurus by pergamon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Ooh. I feel my previously-unwavering desire for a Zaurus 760 beginning to wane...

  15. Smartphones by erixtark · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Kind of makes you wonder, once again, what Sony will do with Sony Ericsson and its' smartphones, such as the P800. The PDAs and the smartphones are getting more and more similar. Seems kind of foolish for Sony to have different strategies (not to mention different OS platforms - Palm and Symbian OS) for the two.

    So far Sony is using Sony Ericsson to keep one foot in the mobile phone market, which is pretty much controlled by the operators (who Ericsson has steady relations to). This won't last forever, however, as the two markets merge and wireless internet access becomes transparent.

    Then, as with the PC market, developers and content makers will be ones leading the market. They will choose the platform that provides the greatest leverage for their applications. If that platform is Palm OS, Symbian, Java or .Net remains to be seen. I guess that's what Sony's waiting for.

    This new Clie is pretty cool to have while waiting, though. I most certainly want one! :o)

  16. I heard there's already a recall planned... by naner42 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I heard that if you're:
    Using the integrated Wi-Fi while having the blue-tooth disabled
    and touching the casing of the unit
    and standing on carpet
    and someone IMs you
    it gives you a mild electric shock...

    --
    Self realization: I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said: "I drank what?"
  17. Zaurus C7x0 or PEG-UX50? by xeno · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Oh, my heart skipped a beat there.

    I'm expecting delivery of my Zaurus C750 today(!). After a long and relatively constructive affair with PalmOS devices, I decided to bite the bullet and get a device that I could actually do some work on (text & spreadsheet documents, email, browsing), rather than just coordinating the work. The last straw was HandEra EOL'ing their PalmOS hardware just as I was looking forward to turning in my 330 for an upgraded version with a color screen.

    But Sony has never been a viable alternative from my POV. Why? All that proprietary crap. I don't want to get into a PalmOS vs Linux/Qtopia debate (I like both), but the Sony custom menu-scrolling-rolodex thing is just horrid (my def of "horrid" is that it slows down usability and doesn't even look cool), and the screen resolution breaks some of my most useful apps. The hardware is the same: Memory sticks are a "non-starter" as those inside the beltway might say. Sony-only accessories? Nah. I really dig having two standard (CF and mmc/sd) ports, and I'd be hard pressed to give that up. It's nice having extra memory, a communications device, AND a keyboard at the same time, ok? So the 5600 Zaurus seemed like the natural progression. Then the C7x0 series came out, and I could resist no more.

    Now, am I sorry I didn't wait for the PEG UX50? Not at all. The UX50 will likely be in the same price range ($650+/-) as the C750/760's and has the same swivel-screen keyboard setup. Nifty. But the screen resolution of the UX50 is half that of the C7x0, it's got only a small fraction of the user memory, you can't expand with standard devices (CF memory, modem, serial, external monitor, etc), tho the built-in wifi i nice. A 0.3 Mpixel camera is the same as the PalmPix, no? I have one; it's useless. The screen swivels in the UX50, but does not switch display orientation. The only advantage I can see is that it *might* be available in the US with direct manufacturer support before Sharp starts selling the Zaurus here.

    Just my $0.02US.

    J

    --
    I think not...(*poof*)
  18. Product Info by dmccarty · · Score: 3, Informative
    Since the comments on this story have been limited so far to the usual it's-against-my-religion-to-read-the-articles-but- I-think-I'll-post-a-+1-funny types, here some information on the unit from the Japanese product page at Sony:
    • Specs:
      • Sony Clie PEG-UX50
      • 802.11b
      • Bluetooth
      • Sony-developed Handheld Engine CPU (8 - 125MHz on demand)
      • 3.2", 16-bit, 480x320 resolution (locked to landscape mode?)
      • 4.1 x 3.4 x .7" (103 x 86.5 x 17.9mm) and 6.2oz (175g)
    • Wireless connectivity: Comfortable wireless LAN network connection, or Bluetooth with automatic switching (corresponding equipment required)
    • Battery life: 14 days of "normal use" (apparently 30min/day, backlight off) with a LiIon polymer battery. An extended battery is available for 35 hours of continuous use
    • Built-in camera: The camera can rotate 300 degrees and take low-resolution stills (.3 Mpixel) or video (160x112) (w/ audio). It has a digital 3X zoom, white balance, "effects function" (It can possibly be used as a remote webcam via Bluetooth?)
    • Web browser: Can be set to a one-button push (woo! note to Sony: check if Amazon already has the patent)
    • Screen: Wide-screen, bright, video-supported, 480x320, 65,536 colors
    • Storage:Memory stick, 22MB built-in, 16MB "of the substance" (?)
    • Build: Lightweight, magnesium case and chassis with security loop
    • Web browsing:
      • Supports: "Forward," "Back," bookmarks, JavaScript (not all), JPEGs, GIFs (animated, too), PNGs and SSL
      • Doesn't support: Flash, Java (?)
    • Video: Can display video up to 30fps, converting AVIs on your computer to MPEG1 or QuickTime. (Can store 130 min of video on a 128MB memory stick, or 460min--wow, nearly 8 hours!--on a 1GB memory stick)
    • Audio: Support audio playback for MP3 or ATRAC3 formats for appx. 16 hours (?) with the standard battery
    • Software: I won't get into the software because unless you get yours now from Dynamism it's almost certain to change in the US version.
    --
    Have fun: Join D.N.A. (National Dyslexics Association)