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."

Comments

Heard that before..

[YomikoReadman]

Once upon a time, there was a portable PC. It was called a laptop. The laptop became more and more powerful, got a larger screen, a more functional, almost desktop like keyboard, and the price began competeing with the desktop. People started to say that it could replace the desktop.

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.

Re:Heard that before..

[Trevalyx]

Once upon a time, there was a portable PC. It was called a laptop. The laptop became more and more powerful, got a larger screen, a more functional, almost desktop like keyboard, and the price began competeing with the desktop. People started to say that it could replace the desktop.

Funny thing, that. You wouldn't beleive how many people I know and have worked for that don't have main systems anymore. Just laptops. More and more people are buying desktop replacement laptops that just sit around on the desk, but take up less space and do just as much as the tower system they could have gotten instead.
Lots of people have skipped getting tower systems lately. They get a brick of a laptop, thinking, "Hey, it's nearly as powerful, and I can carry it around!" Then they realize that lugging around 8 lbs of computing wonder isn't all they conceptualized it to be.
Of course, I wouldn't say that the laptop has replaced the desktop... Entirely. If you need a lot of power, a desktop is still the way to go, and as of yet, it's no simple matter to build your own laptop... The fact of the matter is, however, that laptops have come a long way, to the point where they are nearly as plentiful as desktop systems... It's not unthinkable that palmtop systems could advance to such a state that they could take up a lot of the functionality of main computers, either through internal resources or calling upon the resources of another, more powerful computer over an as- of- yet- not- present- wonderous suprely fast, globally available wireless connection.

A lot can change in ten years.

Re:Heard that before..

[blitziod]

well laptops and PDA's will "replace"desktops when home servers become popular. I am currently in a house with 3 PC's. We are also wireless. Why woud i need to use a desk top, why not just use a laptop or PDA to surf and run programs off my server?

This market will be driven by the users

[Yxes]

Let me start with a quote from Tom Robbins author of "Still Life With Woodpecker"

When she was a small girl, Amanda hid a ticking clock in an old, rotten tree trunk. It drove woodpeckers crazy. Ignoring tasty bugs all around them, they just about beat their brains out trying to get at the clock. Years later, Amanda used the woodpecker experiment as a model for understanding capitalism, Communism, Christianity, and all other systems that traffic in future rewards rather than in present realities.

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.

no phone feature?

[rexguo]

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?

bah..

[kaan]

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?

Price & Miniaturization

[cloudless.net]

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!