Sony Exits US Handheld Market

10999 writes "Today Brighthand reports that Sony will no longer develop and sell Clie handheld models to the United States market. Most certainly that means no more Clies for Europe, too."

Comments

I won't miss it Sony did not keep promise

[CreamOfWheat]

So long Sony, I won't miss the Clie because of what they did to me. I was happy to pay nearly $500 for a Clie NR70V, but when Sony lied to me and told me that one day I would be able to use a 1 gig memory stick with it, they lost me as a customer. I not only quit buying Sony PDAs, I didn't buy a Sony camera, opting for a Minolta with a standard SD card slot. Sony charged premium prices for some very nice models and they were making money on them until the memory stick debacle coupled with their crippled CF slot. I will be happy buying elsewhere from a company that keeps its promises to its customers. So don't let the Memory Stick hit you on the backside when you leave Sony!

fair amount of turnover

[192939495969798999]

This is the second "successful" handheld device I have seen cancelled recently -- I develop for handhelds, and we can't get the ones we've been getting (Thera) anymore. It should be no surprise that some shakedown of the myriad of devices out there would come to pass, but it does surprise me to see a company as large as Sony stop making anything.

Probably going to focus on PSP.

[Viewsonic]

They mentioned several times that they want the PSP to be a multifunction device with PDA abilities, and a whole host of other abilities (MP3, Movies, GPS, etc) other than just being a dedicated game machine.

sony just didn't see the big picture

[2057]

sony just didn't see the big picture, eventually the only PC people will have is a hand-held one, they could've made a killing if they just added a tv-out to their clie models, along with the ability to plug into regular size keyboards/mice, this way for the casual user, one who only reads emails, and checks news online, does reports in word, they could've provided a low-cost desktop alternative. b

Re:sony just didn't see the big picture

[InodoroPereyra]

eventually the only PC people will have is a hand-held one

This is about right. I am not sure if people will only use handheld PCs, but there certainly is a golden mountain waiting out there for whoever comes up with something affordable inbetween a PDA and a Sub-Notebook. That means:

• TV out for screen presentation
• Small and Light (PDA'like)
• PDA functionality (PIM software)
• Laptop functionality (Office suite, Internet apps)
• Wi-Fi
• USB host/client
• Built-in, perhaps foldable full size keyboard
• Decent (800x600) screen resolution

It doesn't need to fit in a pocket, but it should be at least close to that. The Zaurus is the closest thing, and it even runs Linux (which for me is a must). But it lacks a good set of PIM applications AFAIK, and a fullsize keyboard, TV-out and a little more screen resolution perhaps.

Now, who is gonna come up with this beauty ?

Not Surprising

[Synesthesiatic]

This isn't entirely a surprise. Everybody's seen sales slump. Sony, as the article says, will be focusing on the mobile phone market.

I recently ditched my Palm IIIxe for a Sony Ericsson T616. It isn't technically a "smartphone", but it still has a calendar, to do list, phone book (of course). And it syncs perfectly with iSync over bluetooth.

If you want to see the real future of Sony PDAs, look here.

Not surprising

[CaptainSuperBoy]

Sony takes this kitchen sink approach to their portables, which is why I think the first wave of iPod competitors will fail. They jammed every conceivable feature into their handhelds, completely forgetting that the appeal of PalmOS was to "keep it simple." Memory stick, camera, bluetooth, wifi, MP3 player, etc. They're expensive too, compared to other PalmOS devices.

The iPod competitor will fail if they release it in the US. It's too big, it'll cost too much, and basically it has too many features and buttons for the US market.

Well, that sucks

[SilentChris]

I use a Pocket PC (been using different ones for the past few years) but have always been impressed by Sony's innovations. If nothing else, they've provided solid competition for Microsoft. Now, it's essentially MS and a very dwindling Palm leading the PDA charge. So much for competition.

Re:Japanese have all the best toys

[zulux]

The miniature laptops I saw just rocked, and I can't believe they wouldn't sell in the US.


Miniaturizes Japanese product wouldn't survive our warranty expectations here in the us.

For an example:

Japanese Consumer: Drops mini-laptop onto concrete and it breaks. He cries, but then buys another.

American Consumer: Drops mini-laptop onto concrete and it breaks. He cries, calls the manufacturer a demands a replacement, gets none, called the Better Business people and gripes. He then procedes to tell his friends that product "X" is a piece of junk. He get his credit card company to issue a charge back.

There's a lot of hiking/climbing gear that never makes it to the US from Europe and Japan for the same reason.

Re:Dumbasses

[metamatic]

The BlackBerry does not meet my personal needs for a portable computing device.

I want a screen that's as close to paperback book size as possible, and either no built-in keyboard or a fold-over clamshell design with a good size built-in keyboard. Also, it has to connect to OS X and Linux, and not require purchase of Microsoft software. 802.11b and Bluetooth are also big pluses.

I don't want a PDA phone because I want a PDA screen that would result in a phone that's way too large. I just don't get the whole PDA phone thing, in fact. I want my phone to be smaller and my PDA screen to be bigger--fairly basic incompatibility with PDA phones and BlackBerry devices there.