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Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Review
securitas writes "In case you can't wait until September to find out what it's like, Walt Mossberg reviews the Sony Clie UX50 (as previously discussed). He likes it, but with reservations. The keyboard lacks predictive text (unlike the Handspring Treo and RIM BlackBerry) and the Clie Mail e-mail software can't read graphical e-mails and has poor attachment support. The audio player only reads files from a particular directory. He likes the 802.11b WiFi and loves the 450x320 screen. The biggest problem? The $700 price tag ($600 for the non-wireless UX40 model) - equivalent to a low-end laptop - especially since it doesn't come with a Memory Stick. If you can read it, here's a Japanese Clie UX50 review and PalmInfocenter press release rewrite."
With new small input devices, and things like 7.1 surround sound being implemented in portables (new ps handheld) all we need is a better way to display output and pdas could potentially replace pcs.
Currently I don't own a pda, because I really don't think I would use it. The technology is cool, but coolness doesn't justify the price tag. However, if the current trend continues we could have a device that could be used as your primary computer in a few years. Think talking on the phone while driving is dangerous? Imagine talking on IRC.
Visualize the world of wine
i skip the article. :)
Could it play Quake 3? No? Then it WON'T replace PC's.
That issue a shampoo about thesis lack of predictive texture one thesis keyboard. I ample using predictive texture right now and I think it's great!
Sure it's a nice device, but I agree with Mr. Mossberg... it's too expensive. For $700, the price of a low-end laptop, I'd expect a lot more. Maybe someone would like to buy me one and I wouldn't have to worry about the price?
Who buys this crap? I mean yeah, it has the name SONY on it, but you can go buy a pocket PC on ebay for under $200 now...and it has more RAM and WiFi built in!
Has anyone else heard that story? I heard it 10 years ago, and it still hasn't happened. All together now; "No portable computer will ever replace the desktop you have at home." Oh, and as far as your 7.1 sound in the PSP, that only means that it has the capacity to implement it. It still only has 1 tinny speaker, 2 if you're lucky, and if you really want 7.1 you will be tied to a tv, and that defeats the purpose. As for the rest of your comment, I don't currently own a pda either, but i really wish i did. Certainly not this one, as the price is pretty outrageous. But replace a desktop? These things won't even replace a laptop.
I have no regrets, this is the only path.
My whole life has been "UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS"
As we continue to move add with technology, let's not forget that the all of this comes from somewhere after all. It's the programmers, the designers and the users that make up the bulk of what we use today and though we are constantly dicated by doctrine (ie advertisements, public speakers and the like) ultimately it's the masses that dertermine what is useful. It's not the number of features that matter... it's the usefulness.
Football Sports Contest - Win $500 for having an e
We all know that PDAs and mobile phones has been on the convergence path for a long time, with PDAs trying to be phones (O2 XDA) and phones trying to be PDAs (SonyEricsson P800), so I'm very surprised that Sony didn't include phone features into this uber PDA. Afterall, it seems like the perfect way to SMS (QWERTY keyboard) and MMS (large screen). Isn't it all about connectivity? Since it has WiFi, where's the IP-phone feature?
www.rexguo.com - Technologist + Designer
Is that a Sony Clie in your pocket, or aren't you really happy to see me?
I'd rather go in for something heavier and bulkier when chicks're around.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
If you can afford a $700 PDA, I'm sure you can afford a memory stick as well. Unless of course, you have one of those already because the memory stick is an extremely popular (and useful) storage device. Oh wait... nope. How about an SD or PCMIA slot instead since this IS a "mini" laptop.
The keyboard lacks predictive text?
Sounds more like a lack of function in the OS/Software...
The 90's are over, man.
Is that including SCO licence?
Can we build a Beowulf cluster out of it? NO
JESUS when will they get a clue???
___ Shout Central - Crushes your nuts!
From Hamilton to Kingston, from Barrie to Windsor. NYC all the way to Detroit.
There are multiple power stations in this area, does anyone have any information how they could all not be transmitting power?
I got this from CNN's site:
"The New York City Police Department said they were trying to determine what happened. A Con Edison transformer on East 14th Street in Manhattan was afire, CNN learned"
(posted with no karma bonus since I'm OT)
(Funny though, after Microsoft themselves killed their HPC clamshell market and told the world HPC was dead and keyboardless pen-driven PDAs were the future.)
However, the new clamshells are still significantly overpriced when compared to devices in their category (compare to a Ipaq 2215 @ half the price). In the same breath you have Sony pushing devices such as the U101, which is a PDA-like laptop. Granted its 2x the price of the Clie clamshell, but it can run linux and is a fully fledged 'PC'. This race can't go on forever, and more manufacturers are making sub-laptop devices running desktop OS's. I predict that the lifespan of the clamshell Clie' is limited because of this, and it may not be a good buying decision unless you are a current Clie' user with hard-on for the product line.
The best current bets seem to be the Sony U101, Fujitsu 2120, Libretto L5, and JVC subnotes. Alternatively if you want the super-small form factor, go with the clamshell Zaurus. At least you have linux on it and are not left with a device that may die when discontinued!
I have the U101 and a HP 2215. I hardly use the 2215 as of late. Nothing beats being able to run the apps I use on the desktop on a smaller form factor. Nevermind the fact that Microsoft Pocket IE is totally useless.
You should be able to sync to a Macintosh using Mark/Space's The Missing Sync just like I do with my ancient (over a year old!) NR-70v
Being a PC Card (aka PCMCIA card), it was the only one that was an "unconcsious carry." All these other ones are simply too bulky, turning everyone's belt into a Batman utility belt.
The PC Card format is the right size. Anyone else working on a PDA in that format?
There are several reasons that I think this device will be the future of PDA's. 1. Same form factor as a pager. 2. Keyboard which is useable 3. Add a cell phone and a bluetooth headset, and you are golden 4. add a small large capactiy removeable/semi-removeable media and it will be even better. The Pro's for this device: 1. Memory, more memory than any other Clie. 2. Bluetooth + 802.11b = YEAH! The Con's for this device 1. No Hotsync station (but it does have a USB port!!!) 2. No Portrat mode!!!! (WTF, are you insane) ok random thoughts done.
Fantasy remains a human right; we make in our measure and in our derivative mode... -- JRR Tolkien
I've had a new Blackberry 7230 color model for about three weeks now and I haven't seen any sort of predictive text. It does have "AutoText" which does replacement, e.g. it will change "arent" into "aren't" or "htere" to "there".
Is there true predictive text that I haven't found and enabled yet?
___
Cognitive Overflow
more than yo
No it isn't. Everyone will need a PDA in post apocalyptic NY.
Why are you reading this article? Don't you know there's a power outage? Geeze...
They're still two separate devices. I'm looking at a PDA because I want something small and that can fit in my pocket. A laptop doesn't do that, and just because a PDA is approaching the cost of a laptop, it doesn't mean I'm going to want the laptop anymore.
That's like saying the price of a sports car is approaching that of a bus. Well, I guess the bus can carry more people, and has more space... but it's not what I want.
Here's the problem: this device will not catch on, just like most of the other high-power PDAs that havn't caught on, because it does way too much. At the very least, it does way more than the average user will need/want. And for $700!! Why should a somebody spend that kind of money on a tiny device with limited power/resources instead of putting that cash toward a laptop? The expected answer is smaller size, better form factor, extreme portability.
But you know what? This smells just like all of the hype surrounding previous PDAs, WAP phones, now 3G phones, picture-capable, etc.
I want to know when businesses are going to realize that the only thing people want (and more importantly, will use; or even more importantly, what they will actually pay for) is a phone to make calls, a PDA to keep your address book and calendar, and a computer for everything else?
Awwww, thats a better article than a PR rehash
Just as no rational human being would spend $600 on the Treo when it first came out, no one will spend $700 on this. If you wait a few months, after the compant realizes "oh crap, we have sold 2 units!" they will slash the price in half. Early adopters always help pay for high development costs. Also, do not expect PDAs to come even CLOSE to replacing laptops or desktops until nanotech fabrication methods are the de facto standard.
who cares if it can't do attachments all that well, or if it doesn't have predictive text. i think the bottom line is whether it's any good at managing your porn.
Do you think they'll sell barebones versions for $1? Will they give you $699 if you buy after October 15?
Hamster
Yeah, it's $700, but more people like it. PC Mag says yes.
the Japanese article seems to suggest that this unit can play a 2-hour movie.
it goes on to note that "it was smooth."
it seems they were watching Star Wars Episode II.
Many people complain about the price of this PDA. Sure it is expensive, but it does cost a lot of money to develop and manufacture powerful hardware in such a tiny form. A 1GB MemoryStick is more expensive than a 80GB harddisk, but remember you can't put a harddisk in your wallet. Some people want a powerful PDA in their pockets and are willing to pay premium for it. If you don't care about size, keep your desktop and don't complain!
if i can watch TV on it, it's kicks ass..
.-.--
"but take up less space and do just as much as the tower system they could have gotten instead. "
You forgot to mention cost 3-4 times as much as an equivalent desktop system, are significantly less robust, and typically are expensive to repair, and usually impossible once the model is no longer current.
Don't get me wrong; I think laptops are good for people who carry them around, but they're a ridiculous vanity for most people, and its amusing to see the number of corporations that buy laptops, then physically lock them down on the desk. Stupidity reigns supreme everywhere.
And you reveal just how much profit margin is built into these things.. Can't we get cameraless devices & phones any more?? errgh.
I like this thing for the OS and thumb-board alone, but can't pay more than $400.
I'll try to buy one at e.o.l. and replace my other clie then.
*More pro-laptop (v. desktop) arguments:
--If you have a really small apartment, a laptop takes up less room than a desktop. Also, a laptop only uses one electrical socket; my last desktop used 3 or 4 once you had plugged all the crap in (this was pre-USB, though). Sure, you can use power strips, but what a freaking mess!
--If you don't have a desk, you can't use a desktop. (What am I thinking, this is Slashdot - if y'all don't have room, you get rid of the bed, not the desk...) But try crashing at a friend's place and bringing your G5 and 23" monitor.
--If your roommates are making too much noise, you can take your laptop somewhere else (for the hour or two the *&$^":; batteries really last). Now that home wireless networks exist, this is finally worth doing
*More pro-palmtop (v. desktop) arguments:
--Palmtops are still crap, but I recently used my Palm Tungsten to search in and edit a 200 page MS Word document in a business meeting. It wasn't that bad, and took zero time to boot up. Then I emailed the revised document via my bluetooth cellphone. (This may still be easier to do outside the US than inside the US... US telcos really seem to lag behind. I can't do this thru my US mobile provider yet)
--If you travel with a laptop, airport security will often make you turn the damn thing on to "prove" that isn't a bomb or something. (Seems like a bullshit test, though.) They NEVER do that with palmtops
--If your palmtop crashes while traveling, you can just synch all the data in when you get back home in about 15 minutes. Try doing that with a PC!!
...
If you can read it, here's a Japanese Clie UX50 review and PalmInfocenter press release rewrite.
What if you can't read it? Where is it then? This must be that quantum computing I've heard so much about.
The keyboard (should) only send keypress signals. Any intelligence or interpretation of those signals should be a software, rather than a handware function.
To those who suggest these units will never catch on blah blah. There is no way I would carry a laptop around everywhere with me, but I would a PDA. Why are all these devices being bluetooth and 802.11b enabled? Because hotspots are becoming more and more prevalent.
I can pull this pda out of my pocket at starbucks, surf the internet, check my mail all included in the price of a coffee. I don't need to lug around 10 pounds to do it either. Not to mention avoiding costly cell phone bills.
PDA's, laptops and feature rich cellphones aren't for everyone, but that doesn't mean there aren't a market for them.
I just thank god the companies I own stock in aren't run by slashdotters who would love nothing better than to give away all IP for free.
There are too many people here that might understand technology, but don't seem to comprehend the realities of life.
personally, I dont think pda's will replace the conventional computer... they'll just be another accessory to the computer, though mobos are getting smaller and embedded systems are becoming popular.. I think people will still want towers or similar types of cases to modify and add power to..now.. for typical user.. pda's will prolly be another cell phone thing.. for hardcore computer geeks.. pc's will still be a major thing.. and pda's will be a side thing. personally, I couldnt sit there squinting my eyes at a tiny-ass screen all day.. maybe when cd's are are the size of cheerios and hard drives are even smaller and pda's can display holographic displays... then MAYBE.. but we still need the conventional keyboard, becuase really, even if voice command stuff comes into play, you still need keyboards to have manual control. there's just some things that need to stay.
this is actually the way I'm going. Me my bluetooth headset with a t-616(which rocks) Wish me luck