Handheld Reviews

Sony has done it again. Seriously. I'm not kidding. I've gone through a handful of PDA's in the past few years, and I've found flaws in almost all of them to date, but not the Sony Clie TH-55!!

First and foremost, it's just a sleek modern (...) design, that certainly draws attention. It's very light, fits in the hand very well, and is very comfortable to use. Sony positioned the scroll wheel/jog dial on the back of the palm, conveniently where one's pointer finger might lie when holding the PDA. Just below this scroll wheel is the built-in digital camera, which, when in well-lit rooms, takes rather nice pictures! This is perfect for just capturing cameos or friends acting silly when out and about.

The power switch is in a somewhat odd location, it's in the form of a slide switch on the left hand side of the palm. This takes a little getting used to, since my other PDA's had buttons on the top or bottom, but having the sony's power switch here makes it more difficult to have the PDA accidentally turn on and waste battery power while in your pocket. Another interesting (odd at first) concept is the stylus for this Clie - it lives on the back of the pda, just like other models, but it telescopes when you remove it. This felt a little odd at first, but it becomes natural within the first day you use it. It's an interesting idea, but I'm guessing they had to do that to accomodate the electronics for the camera.

There is a concealed memory stick port on this PDA as well, which I'm told can accomodate a 512MB memory stick? Either way, I just have a 32 MB stick that, in addition to the spacious 32 MB of memory built-in, suits me just fine for taking a few pictures here and there and saving them directly to the mem stick.

If all the stuff I just said wasn't cool enough, check THIS out! YUP, there's more! All those little cameos you take of your friends actin silly, or headshots of your co-workers, you can assign a picture to each entry in your address book!! Gone are the days of looking at a list of names, now you can look at a list of faces too!!

I could rave more about this, but the best thing I could say is get it!! You'll see how much fun it is, and possibly discover more fun items to rave about when it comes time for YOU to review this clie right here on amazon.com. Thanks for taking the time to read my review, and happy Clie-ing.

I have been a long time Palm User, I can't even recall how many I've had. My latest was the M500 which I liked considerably because it was B&W and its battery lasted a month with heavy use. When my first M500 expired I purchased another, primarily because of the light weight and long battery life.

I was very reluctant to try a color PDA, as I feared the frequent need to recharge. The ultimate failure of my 2nd M500 forced me to reconsider, especially in view of the fact that many new apps don't seem to run on Palm OS 4.x.

When I read that the Clié TH55 battery can last 15 days, I gave it a try. I have not been a bit disappointed, the TH55 can indeed go 15 days between charges. (Unless you are a mole who plays Acid Solitaire 23hrs out of 24.)

In writing a review of this product I'm somewhat hampered by the fact that I don't know which of the many useful software features are inherent to Palm OS 5.2 or are unique to the Sony authored software.

I can only say that many of the software capabilities are extremely handy, such as the interconnections between the datebook, freenotes, addresses etc. There are many ways to do everything on this PDA, such as enter text, configure the address book, use freenotes. Most everyone should be able to customize the use of the apps to their taste and needs.

The color screen is of good size and performance, not the best but close, in my opinion. Despite the 123mhz rating, apps don't seem to run slowly, though some may load a tad slowly.

The TH55 fits neatly in my shirt pocket and the plastic screen protector, that almost every review berates, actually serves its main purpose nicely, it protects the screen. I use a tissue or a clean piece of cloth to remove dust and fingerprints if necessary, but believe me that's not the big deal that many seem to make of it. So what if it's hard to see through, it protects the screen from other items in my pocket or on a table, and that is what I need.

My M500s were smaller and lighter than the TH55 but by the time I put them in an adequately protective case, they became bulkier and heavier, to the point that it was a squeeze to get them in some shirt pockets.

In my opinion something that makes the TH55 or any Sony better than any of the many Palms I've had or tried, is the way the Sonys hook up to recharge. I don't care if the TH55 is shipped without a cradle, when I plug it in to charge, it charges. You can purchase a cradle if you want, and maybe I will. The fact is that all the more recent Palms have a very unreliable way of hooking up to power.

To digress; I have had to adjust my Palms perfectly in their cradles and put a weighted object on top, then turn on the unit to see if the lightning bolt is there. Often the power light illuminates but the unit is not charging. Frequently it would take many adjustments to seemingly get it right, only to find that instead of charging overnight the unit is discharged. My Fiancés' Zire 71 is worse, there isn't even a light to make sure you're getting contact.

I love the way my new Sony has a positive locking feel when the charging adapter is inserted, and I know a little jostle can't break the connection.

OK, so the camera is a lousy "Camera" but if you use it as another reviewer mentioned, to record a price tag, a spec sheet, or to give someone an idea of how something looks, it can be invaluable in saving lots of writing and talking. There are PDAs with better cameras, they are still poor cameras. I don't recommend chosing a PDA based on the quality of it's camera, at least not today.

It would be nice to have Bluetooth, but I've had to make worse compromises in the past. The only thing that upsets me about it, is the arbitrary way it was done. Seems that Sony's "Suits" know that many Americans will go right out and buy the next iteration of the TH55, ditching this one, because it will then incorporate Bluetooth. I guess Europeans are more frugal about things like that.

The best thing Xerox ever did for Palm was to cause them to develop Graffiti 2. G-2 is much improved over G-1 and very easy to learn. For example, I found it very annoying and often confusing to perform an upstroke before writing a capital letter, and two upstrokes for caps lock was often too much for my multiple dead pixeled brain.

Writing caps on the dividing line is just too easy. And now X's and K's write like they look and won't be easily confused. It only took me a few attempts to completely learn Graffiti 2, most of you can probably catch on even faster.

My only real disappointment with the TH55 is the Stylus. Come on Sony you can do better! I use a Ballpoint Pen/Stylus combo which I keep in my shirt pocket. The Palm Styli were perfectly adequate. So score one for Palm, they still lose overall though, IMHO.

To summarize: why should one buy the Sony Clié TH55?

-Compact size with only a small compromize in power
-Much better than average color screen performance and size
-Excellent battery charge life
-Palm OS 5.2 and the excellent Sony apps

I reviewed virtually every PDA made and none are perfect, one has to decide which features are important to you and which aren't. As a much more eloquent reviewer stated, "Try before you buy." I couldn't agree more.

All in all, the TH55 is a great little machine. The flip lid is a little klutzy, the on/off switch is a bit awkward to manipulate, and there is no native landscape support. Still, these are minor inconveniences for a PDA that comes with lots of features in a well-engineered little package.

I finally convinced myself that it was worth it to purchase a portable DVD player. I now do not see how I have lived without it for so long. I average 2 - 3 plane flights each week and this unit, combined with my Bose noise cancelling headsets is the first thing I pack. This unit is very easy to set-up and use. The unit is large enough for viewing, but small enough for easy travel. Using a dual headphone jack allows viewing by 2 people. The battery easily provides 4 - 5 hours of play time. A previous review stated the picture quality was poor. This is definitely not the case with my unit. The picture is crisp and clear and you cannot count the pixels on the screen. This unit is highly recommended, especially for anyone who travels on a regular basis.

I bought this for traveling with my little girl when she was 2. (She is now 3 and a half.) Technically, the picture is great. So is the sound from either the speakers or headphones (though if you do a lot of plane travel, noise cancelling headphones are a great idea). The player has been trouble free in 18 months of weekly use.

The added portablility (compared to VHS players) means it's the only option in restaraunts and on planes. We've used it on car trips, plane trips, in restaraunts, we hook it up as a DVD player for our second TV, I hook it up to hotel TVs (if they have a video input jack -- about 50% do), my wife took it to the hospital (to have #2), and I even got to take it on plane trip for myself!

Plop in a DVD and you're much more engaged than a book. Same with kids. We've gone from having to rush through a quick entree-only meal to being able to enjoy a drink, appetizer, entree, desert, AND waiting for the check. Our car travel time has gone from 3 hours (2 hour nap, 1 hour awake) to 4 or 5 (I haven't reached the upper limit yet!). With 5 hours of battery life, there's the potential for 7 hours. If you calculate the savings in motel rooms, this should pay for itself in about 5 years. But throw in the ability to relax, be entertained, have a second DVD player... and it's worth the investment. The only down side is that this will invite conversations from every busperson and waiter in your restaraunt!

This DVD player is THE BEST!! I bought this DVD player after researching all the info I could get my hands on about all brands and sizes of players. I love the one I chose!!! This player lasted through a long car trip (and even down the gravel road to my house) with never once a skip or a problem. I bought a plug-in that goes in the cigarette lighter that I used when the battery ran out. But actually I didn't have to use it much! I also bought a three way headphone splitter so all three of my children could watch from the back seat at once -- and I listened to the radio instead!!! It was heavenly. I would also recommend buying a carrying case that holds the player securely in the car.
Just one note on the sound -- on the freeway the hum of the tires was too loud for my children to hear the sound without headphones. But sound through headphones is amazing!!!! At home we use it without headphones and don't have any problem hearing!!! The picture is great, also. Not a single problem with the clearness and crispness of it! The screen is just the right size, and you soon get so immersed in the movie that you don't even notice it's on a smaller screen!!!! I have a four-door car, but this would work great in a mini-van. The back seat would not have a problem watching the movie -- but you'd have to pipe the sound through the car stereo system so everyone could hear well!!!
Also be informed that this DVD player can't get too hot or too cold, so plan on carrying it with you when you go places -- as it probably should not sit in a parked car in extreme weather!
Love this DVD player!!!

First things first, this thing is huge! I'm used to carrying around the Clie-N760 in the front pocket of my scrubs. Great for quick and easy access, however, the Clie-NX70 feels heavy and uncomfortable.

In addition to the size and weight, the clamshell design (which seems kind of cool at first and offers those grafitti illiterates a keyboard) slows you down by hiding your quick buttons.

Another negative is the co$t. If you have any experience with handhelds you know that they just don't last, so it's hard to justify spending a large amount on what is basically a disposable item. Don't expect to get more than a year or two out of any of these devices if you use them regularly.

My last complaint is that there is only a minor memory boost; only 11mb (available) memory!

On the plus side, the large footprint does give you a great big screen, and the slide away graffiti area is functional and slick.

Sony throws in some cute things like a .3 camera (very poor performance), a voice recorder, and some software freebies like Documents to Go, and Clie memo which is a sort of post-it-notes free writing program.

The only thing I noticed about OS5 was that standard JPEG pictures can be read.

The major fix for me is that audio can now be played in the background; you can listen to your mp3's while clicking around on this and that =)!!! You can also change your playlist on the memory card.

Although the tried and true palm interface is still there, out of the box it defaults to the new Clie launcher. It looks cool and after a week or so of tinkering with it I have found that it not only looks refreshingly new but that it is just as quick if you can use your thumb on the jog dial and the back button to navigate.

Battery life seems spectacular. Click around all day with little loss of power.

I only give it 3 stars because even though it is great and cool and one heck of a handheld, for me it is too big and heavy and the clam shell/keyboard design is cumbersome and frankly unnecessary. When something like my Clie N760 gets OS5 I will be back adding it to my shopping cart.

The Clie NX70 is a bigger (320x480), brighter palm-OS based PDA with a lot more -- exactly what you'd expect from a Sony. Navigation among applications can be done with the traditional touch interface, pull downs, buttons directly to core functions or with the selector wheel.

Data input is done through graffiti or the built-in keyboard. I found the keyboard somewhat useful for quick jobs, especially while I've been learning the weirder letters in "graffiti," but any time I had to do upper case, punctuation or numbers, it's a pain because there are odd key combinations or locations.

The audio player works well, but you really need additional memory, otherwise you're limited to one mp3. Memory expansion is through Sony's memory stick format, which is unfortunately limited to 128Mb (compared compact flash, which can go higher). There is an additional compact flash slot, but it only supports Sony's network card.

The camera is a novelty and, in my opinion, not worth the additional 100 bucks over the NX60 model. Pictures max out at 640x400 and require perfect lighting. Any movement and you get blur.

The remote control is truly cool and supports Sony and select non-Sony TVs, stereos, DVD players and VCRs. It was really easy to set this up to control my hodge-podge entertainment center with a 12-year old RCA TV and a 8-year old Magnavox VCR.

The biggest weakness is in the PC software supplied. The installation program is a demo sheild front-end, and presents you with over two dozen things you can install on the CLIE or your PC. It's really confusing and requires administrative priveleges on your Windows box -- this presents some difficulty in an environment where my IT department has things locked down.

Installation of the core Palm desktop on Windows XP directed me to Sony's site for an unspecific patch that I never could find. (Indeed, finding software updates was at least a half dozen clicks away.)

After the Palm desktop was installed, I was faced with a laundry list of additional options, with no guide as to what was important. For example, a really important one: Windows XP also needed the memory stick driver operating so it would recognize the stick as removable storage when the Clie was connected. On the other hand, there was also a lot of clutter like "8 ways to relieve stress."

I think it's pointless to go on and on when writing a review so I'm gonna keep this short:
The Sony clie peg-nx70v is one wonderful piece of equipment.
I found that I extremely liked some of it's features like the compact design with the rotating screen, the thumb keyboard, the icon lay out, the camera/video recorder, and the voice recorder.
However, I rate it only good not great because of the annoying weight, how prone it is to being damaged, it's batery which tends to die rather quickly, and it's price.

Overall, I recomend the Sony clie peg-nx70v to most anybody!

I've had a very good experience with the pocket viewer. I like the way the various menus are laid out and the included features. Although this device does not allow add-on programs, I really have not missed this feature. The pocket viewer has a good scheduler that supports repeating items and multi-day events. I don't find data entry with the little on-screen keyboard a problem. I can keep up with a friend who uses a Palm with handwriting recognition. The "quick memo" feature is very handy... no more scraps of paper. The long battery life and flash memory (keeps your data without power applied)are good features. The included PC software works as promised. Data can also be transferred from the windows clipboard into the memo area. It's a little awkward to use, but with this feature and the 4MB memory, I have moved a lot of text into my Casio with no problems. It must be pretty sturdy...I've dropped it 3 times onto the floor and it still works! Some things I don't like are that the backlight will only stay on for 15 seconds, and that accessories such as an extra cradle or stylus have been near impossible to find. If you don't need the programmable features of some of the other PDA's this is a good choice. The large amount of memory available coupled with well designed functions works for me. I've been using it every day for about two months now with no problems.

I HAVE USED THIS PRODUCT FOR 3 YEARS IN OUR CARPET BUSINESS. IT IS QUICK TO USE, WINDOWS FORMAT. VERY USER FRIENDLY. I PAID 100.OO FOR MINE AND NOW THEY ARE 1/2 THE PRICE. YOU WON'T BE DISSPOINTED.

I started looking for an inexpensive PDA to help me remember appointments and daily work schedule stuff. I intended to buy either a Palm III or a Handspring Visor, figuring that [it] was a good price compared to all the other prices I'd seen. Thank goodness I searched the Internet. I came across the Royal daVinci and the PV-400Plus, both cost [the same]. I bought the daVinci, and like what it offers, despite a minor glitch it had. You can get an optional mini-keyboard, you can upload new features into it, and it syncs with MS Outlook. Then I found a local store that had the Casio and decided I'd compare them. The Casio is half as thin, doesn't have a mini-keyboard (yet), you can't load new features into it, but it comes with what I needed. The one-handed dial is a bonus for looking up something quickly, and its size makes it easier to find a wallet case for (it'll fit into almost any Palm case). It syncs perfectly with MS Outlook at the touch of a button, using 95/98/NT, whatever. It comes with everything you need right out of the box. I kept the Casio and took the daVinci back the next day, and I've been loving it every since. Several of my friends are now re-evaluating their PDA options. As long as you don't need a PDA you can connect to the Internet with, I highly recommend the PV-400Plus.

The Sony Clie t665 is a really great tool! I have been an active Palm user for many years, and was agonizing over replacing my Palm IIIx. I primarily used it for the address book and calendar, being in the consulting business.

I thought about getting the newer model with the digitalcamera, but thought that it would be too big. I also considered Handspring and Kyocera converged devices.

The t665 is just right. It's small enough that I can easily put it in my pocket. The color screen is absolutely beautiful. I am a new dad, and can carry around pictures of my daughter which is a great bonus. The MP3 player is great, since it's easy to take it on the road.

I was leary that the battery life would be a problem, but I frequently go a few days between charging it up. I don't use the MP3 player every day, so I'm sure that it has an effect. I do look at the photos every day though. I did turn the brightness down, and have the screen turn off after 30 seconds. I purchased a USB synch/power cable from eBay. With this you can recharge from any computer with a USB port. I haven't had to use the cable yet, which is a statement that the battery life is actually better than reported (for me at least).

There are actually some very useful applications that are bundled from Sony. I found a few that I now use every day and I can't help showing the clie off.

I called Sony support for some guidance on which versions of Palm Desktop were support and the best strategy for synching my existing data. I didn't expect much response, but I got through to them within 1/2 hour and they gave me clear directions that worked the first time.

I have finally found PDA bliss. I have used a Palm xe, Palm iiic and now the Sony Clie T665. This unit is fast, good looking, and does what it should. The character recognition is much better that what I have been use to. The display resolution is simply great. I have loaded it with some of my favorite mp3 files and actually use it for listening (you need to buy a MemoryStick). I agree with some of the other reviews about the quick battery drain. But I'm at my desk most days and have purchased a charger for use in my car (not too expensive but a great life saver). The price is right at this date because the high price Palm OS5 units are coming out (too expensive for what I need). For any new PDA I immediately buy three accessories: case, screen protectors, and car charger. If you want a good solid PDA, this is a great unit.

Awesome palm pilot, great for almost any thing, games, camera, movies. Definetly worth the money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I use this wallet with my Handspring Visor and it works great. Nothing fancy here, but hey, it's cheap. Black leather looks nice and is supple enough to fold in half backwards. Little elastic loops hold two spare AAA batteries so there's no excuse to get caught with dead ones. The wallet also has a handy stash for business cards, receipts, etc. The only drawback I've found is that, without the Visor hardcover, it's possible to turn the power on and drain your battery. My solution was to put the velcro on the front of my Visor's hardover and have it held in place by the wallet. This allows the Visor to be held in the wallet screen up or screen down. All in all, a great buy.

Summary: I bought this case for my Palm Vx and love it! I admit I was skeptical -- but for the price I figured I didn't have much to lose. I'd seen other cases at prices between $... and $..., and I just didn't want to spend that much unless I was convinced I was really getting value for my money. Although not the ultimate PDA case by any means, the Sumdex offers a great combination of usefulness and style at an unbeatable price.

Features: Very good quality leather, zipper and stitching. Compact design still allows room for credit cards, small memo pad, folding green. Velcro strip (included) securely attaches PDA to case. Clean, unobtrusive exterior with subtle Sumdex logo. Elastic battery holders also fit compact pens/pencils.

Drawbacks: Compact design will not hold checkbook or larger memo pad and may not be suitable for larger PDAs (verify dimensions before purchasing). Not reversible -- PDA must be placed on right side of interior. No choice of color (black only). No dedicated window for business cards or other owner information.

General comments: Overall, a great value in a stylish, well-designed case. Recommended.

Chances are, if you are reading this review, you are looking to see if this is the case for your PDA. I say it is! I have a Palm Zire Handheld, and was worried that the [EXTREMELY] flimsy plastic flip top would not protect the screen from scratches. I shopped for a good case that was small, had a wallet, inexpensive, and would protect my Zire. This is great on all counts! I got it on sale here on Amazon.com for about ten dollars.

This case has:

All leather construction
A couple of elastic loops for batteries (which I use for a pen, since my Zire is rechargeable)
Velcro to hold your PDA in place
Pockets for cash, credit cards, buisness cards, memory cards, etc. (One large and two small)
Zipper Closure

On the box it came in, it shows a list of PDAs that it will most definitely fit (and any other one that you may have will most likely fit). Here is what is guaranteed to fit:

Palm Zire
Palm Zire 21
Palm Zire 71
Palm Tungsten C
Sony NX series
Sony TG50
Visor Platinum
IPaq h1900 Series
IPaq h3900 Series
IPaq h5400 Series
Toshiba e750
Dell Axium
ViewSonic V35

My favorite part? The ease of getting to the charger. My Zire has the charger cable and Mini USB ports on top, so I just move the zipper a little and plug it in!

I hope this helps you!

I purchased this puppy for my new Visor Prism - Color. Overall, very impressed with this MP3 Player:

Here are the Pros/Cons:

Pros: Awesome sound quality(better than the Rio 500 I own), Small Size (fits flush into Visor), great user Interface (in color) for the Visor, excellent desktop client software (again it kills the RioPort software)

Cons: No add-on memory, earphones included are weak

Highly recommended

I just received it today and am enjoying the tunes. It uploads music to my Platinum fast (all 64 megs in about 4 minutes) and the sound is crystal clear. This is my first springboard and it was a good one (no pun intended).

Here are the reasons I went with this one over the MiniJam:

1) It fits nearly flush into the Visor. You can put your cover on the front just fine and barely fits on the back due to the fact that the springboard is raised about 1/16 of an inch from the back of the Visor. The MiniJam on the other hand doesn't look like you can put the cover on at all.

2)Although this doesn't support extra memory, 64mb is enough for me. That's over an hour of music. The MiniJam with 32mb costs the same price and then you get to pay extra for more memory.

3)I have issues with the company that makes MiniJam, InnoGear. They were supposedly going to come out with a SixPak module last year that I was totally planning on buying. Then, with no explanation, all traces of the SixPak development and schedualed release dates disappeard. They dropped the ball, I dropped them.

4)SoundsGood comes with a nice case to put everything in.

Battery life
Good battery life. I've noticed a slight increase in battery usage while the module was in use. Somewhat more than other Springboard (SB) modules such as memory expansion modules. Also, when the module is plugged in, it seems to affect the reading of the battery gauge, making it seem like there's less power than there should be. As a result, you may get a low battery warning sooner than you should. This is normal, but if you're using rechargeable batteries, you may want to swap fresh ones, since they have less capacity per charge than normal alkalines to insure you don't lose handheld data. The gauge returns to normal when the player is removed from the slot. My suggestion, if you use your Visor a lot and/or foresee using this player a lot as well, it may be worth your while to spring for nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries. You'll swap batteries more often due to its lower capacity per charge, but you'll get your savings back after a month of usage.

Sound quality
I'm no audiophile, probably nothing to brag about, but the sound quality is good enough for me. Very close to the sound you get on a PC with "average" speakers and sound card. I can't put my finger on it, but the provided headphones sound "tinny", so using a better quality set ought to take care of that. Max volume is more than enough in quieter places, but on a "rickety" subway like the older NYC trains, you'll be almost hard pressed to hear much of anything.

External controls
There 4 controls: play/pause (technically play/stop, as when you DO "pause", it actually turns off while remembering where you last were), skip forward one track, skip back one track, and a volume jog dial control. The first turns on and plays the player, or pauses and resumes play. The next two are self explanatory, but further adding that reaching the first or last track will wrap around to the last or first track respectively. Unlike many CD and mp3 players however, there is no search mode available (done by pressing and holding these buttons). The last controls volume, but also can be depressed (like the wheel of a scroll mouse), which will automatically bring up the control screen regardless the current state of your Visor. The jog dial gets you to your desired volume setting after a few flicks, but the controls are just rounded knobs, so you'll have to press hard or use your nail. Also, you may accidentally lift and pull out the head phone jack (mine plugged in wasn't snug, but a little loose) when you try to press the button next to it. It has it's faults, but is still a nice alternative to having to whip out your stylus and cover just to control the audio. One thing I do like about this is the play button will light green (dim or bright) if you set it that way. This takes more battery power, but I recommend it so that you can tell if the unit is on or off, without having to turn the screen on or plug in headphones to listen and potentially draining your power without knowing it.

Software interface
It's simple and intuitive. Similar to Winamp minus the skins and fancy equalizer. You can bring down a pull down menu of all the songs you've loaded, there's an simpler equalizer where you can adjust bass, treble, and general frequency settings (none of which I really used), sliders for volume and track position (volume adjustable through the up and down keys as well), options to view details of mp3 tracks, and set modes of play (repeat, shuffle, etc.), as well as oversized standard buttons for play, stop, etc.

Loading music
Easy enough. All you need to do is ensure that all your music files are indeed mp3 format, drag and drop, and your next hotsync op will transfer the songs over. On the desktop software, it even tells you how much space you've got left before you transfer. Takes about a minute to transfer the full capacity. Pretty reasonable considering it Is USB 1.1.

Stability/reliability
Reliability has been good. I've never needed any tech support, and the thing's never broken down on me before. There have been times where upon plugging it in, I get "module was inserted improperly" or "Module seems hung, please try again". I sometimes get that once or twice in a row. The only time I get it 6 times in a row was when I left it in the car for weeks, in 35F degree weather, which I guessing was due to the cold.

Tech support
N/A as far as I'm concerned. The company is still there, but they've changed their business model. I tried calling them up about months after they changed their ways (this was approximately around summer of '02) and only one guy was there who had a decent understanding of what this product is and does. He wasn't able to answer my question though. Don't count on getting ANY tech support. IMO, this product is well made, so assuming there's nothing wrong with your Visor, tech support won't be needed.

Other notes
First, you can play games, take notes while the music is playing simply by hitting the home button. You actually need to hit the 'stop' button either internally or externally to actually turn it off. You could also leave the screen off to save battery. Next, you don't have the option of rearranging your playlist on the handheld. You need to do that before you load the music on there. Finally, only 64MB of nonexpendable memory? That makes this best suited for workouts, grocery shopping, and "low-end" users. 128MB would've been IDEAL. 4.5 stars is my actual rating, since there are some trivial issues with this, but it does deliver what it says smoothly and acceptably.

I have used PDAs for a few years, starting with a basic Palm 100. I received my Sony Clie as a gift for Christmas 2002. During the first year, the cable started to fail to charge up the device and I sent it away to the Sony workshop. It was fixed on the second attempt under warranty (apparently it needed welding and I was not impressed with the service). However, the same fault has recurred and I gave up and bought another PDA, chancing another Sony with a 2-year guarantee. Guess what? The new cable charges up the old PDA no problem. Also, I wonder if anyone else has a problem with displaying pictures from a Sony memory stick - my PDA shows a pixillated mess!

The Sony is a great value for those who don't need all the fancy bells and whistles. Think about what you really need in a PDA. Do you really want [an expensive] address book?

Pro's: Clear, crisp color screen, small size, stylish, Palm OS, rechargeable batteries, durable feel

Con's: Slightly thicker than other PDA's, significantly shorter battery life than advertised (need to charge about every other day, depending on use), cradle sold separately

Recommendations: get a PDA case - the protective cover doesn't stay put, remember to register with Sony to get the 1 year warranty

Overall: great mid-priced model, best display out there

Why I bought this PDA?
1.This is smaal and attractive. looks better than any other PDA. made with unbrackable plastic.
2.Screen is superb. in my opinion best..just best.
3.Best battery life(this is my third PDA. I have used T615c, and T665c. But I can say that the battery life in SJ30 is superb. I was really upset with my T665c.
4.My friends told me that I should have waited till last of October, becoz now OS 5 is ready to be launch. But in my opinion this OS is enough for my use. processor is 33mhz....good enough. sony drops their model easily...and I found that this was the model, I was looking for. I like clean shapes, that's why I bought GRX series sony laptop. and that is why i bought SJ30 too.
Now read my viwe in detai and i'm sure after reading this you will love SJ30.
MY DETAIL OPINION-
This is a real winner from Sony; it's color screen is clearly the best in the industry. Why? Sony supplies the LCD screen to palm, handspring, HP, Compaq (now HP), Toshiba, etc and of course has reserve the best screens to use in its own organizers. This is easily verified by comparing units in Best Buy, CompUSA, etc. Make no mistake, if you want a pure productivity tool; this is one of the best Palms (in this case I am using Palm to decsribe all PDAs including units that use PalmOS, Pocket PC, Psion, etc) you can get. It is very fast in all day to day usage (please ignore the 33MHz to 206MHz comparison of some Pocket PC troll; the Audiovox Maestro he mentioned may have a faster chip but when it comes to real program switching for example, it is painfully slow. Don't take my word for it either, try it out in a store for yourself. I must admit though that the 206MHz chip processes audio and video files properly and that's why listening to music or watching video is possible on a Audiovox Maestro. However, battery life is then naturally shortened and who wants to watch a 2 hour movie on a 3.5" screen?) Backl to the review; it's true that Sony has cut some corners in making this unit; the body is made of plastic but I find it of high quality and will stand up to good use. The short lenght of the unit makes using the scroll wheel a little difficult for me and I also find the scroll wheel slightly difficult stiff. However, I expect this stiffness to go away with time. The datebook, todo list, address book are simple to use for most computer illiterate; for the advanced users there exist Datebk5, Supernames shareware programs that you can install that will let you customize to your heart's content. All in all this is a great organizer. I suggest that is you want to buy it to test drive it in your local store and at leat compare it with a few other models. As of now (Sep 26,2002) the Sony T615 and T665 are still available for comparable prices so you may want to check those out too..but remember battery life in both the models are really bad.

this was the second Palm I owned, and was a closeout model, and it was terrible. Battery life is non-existent unless one week counts. In fact was away from unit for a week and not only were the batteries completely dead, but lost all data. I love the convenience of a PDA, just not THIS PDA

I've spent 6 months with the Palm VII my wife bought me for my birthday and I'm satisfied with it.

In spite of being a disk pig who has used up over 4 Gigs of space on his laptop with data and programs, I've had no problem living within the 2 Meg memory of the VII. My favorite add-on programs are DateBook3 and STRIP, which I use to store passwords. I still have room for Tealdoc, a couple chapters of a book, and hundreds of contacts and reminders.

I have installed dozens of web applets, but I'm not a heavy user of the Internet and rarely exceed the lowest rate of $9.95. The web clipping applets are very stingy with data, making them economical to use even with the relatively expensive per byte rate. I've found Internet access especially useful for checking traffic conditions, getting weather reports, and checking on arrival times for planes when meeting someone. I also use the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and sometimes use the GoNetwork translator as a 5-language foreign dictionary. Want to know what's playing in your neighborhood, but you don't have the newspaper? Look it up on your Palm on Moviefone.

The VII really comes into its own when travelling. Having access to driving directions or phone numbers is a big convenience, and when returning to DFW, it helps to be able to tell the taxi driver what gate your flight is leaving from so you can be dropped off at the correct terminal building. Even if you do your reticketing through the airline or an agent, it is useful to pull down a schedule first. Ever been in a hotel room without "USA Today" and not known what was on TV? Look it on your VII with Rick-T-Land.

I rarely use iMail, and normally limit it to outgoing messages. I've configured it so my return address is my normal work address, and only give my palm.net address out when I explicitly want someone to address mail to my PDA. (I have such a heavy volume of mail that it would be hopeless to ever use a Palm to read it). It's cool to send a message home when you are waiting to board a plane. Although I used Amazon's applet to buy a book once, I don't trade stock with my Palm. It might be useful to buy entertainment tickets, but I never have.

I assume that someday I will need more than the 2Megs available in this device, but by then, there will probably be some newer color version (at a premium price). For now, having access to the Internet makes up for the reduced memory. You don't need to download that foreign language dictionary--just query one on the web. If you finish the book you brought, download another one.

The VII really comes into its own when you are outside of the office, or don't have immediate access to a web browser. It also has major prestige value. The next time you get into an argument over what movie Minnie Driver was in before "Good Will Hunting," you can be the one to whip out the wireless PDA and impress your friends by finding the answer on the Internet Movie Database.

To be honest, I think most people won't have the quality of their life greatly affected one way or the other just by having a Starbucks locator hanging from their belt, but it is fun. Not everyone will be able to live with the memory constraints of the VII, and it can't synch with your laptop using the IR port (carry the synch cable in your laptop case). I still have plenty of RAM left, though, and I have lots of calendar entries, notes, and contacts that I synchronize with Outlook. I'm very pleased with the Pocket Mirror synchronization applet, also. I was able to drill down into the configuration and set it so that the categories I had already defined on my Palm were uploaded to Outlook on my laptop. Very convenient.

Favorite accessory: Black leather case on a quick-release belt clip.

OK, here is my scoop on this device.. I have seen some people saying that 2MB was not enough memory. BULL****. I have 88 applications on it and still have 900k free, which is a little under half left!.. I am an avid stock trader and use it to make my trades at work. Mytrack and Fidelity both allow you to trade via the palm if you have an account. I have one with Mytrack and recommend them. I also use it for weather, travel directions, email, news, movie times, white pages lookup, shopping comparison, checking flight schedules, UPS and FEDEX package tracking.. This device is SWEET! I had never had any interest in a palm device until I heard about the VII with wireless connection. I have had mine for a week now and can't put it down.. Very handy.. The internet connectivity through palm.net is a bit pricey but I am sure it will come down with time.. Unlimited access is 44.00 month.. They do have other plans available by the amount of data transmitted. Lifting the antenna gets you connected to the net in about 3 seconds.. The web clipping is fine, stock quotes, directions, phone number lookups, email, etc.. Granted this is not an Internet browser but a great second best, the email rocks, when you sign up with palm.net you get a free email account that you can check and send email from the palm.. Very cool.. I guess I only have one minor complaint, there is a bit of a glare sometimes when held at a certain angle.. Like I said a minor issue.. I bought it for the internet access but the built in address book and planner are nice too.. It is a little pricey at 450.00 but I do recommend it to anyone that has an interest in it but needs that confirmation from someone that has it already.. One last note, there are hundreds of applications for it that can be found on the Internet.. Some are shareware and some are freeware, Alot of the good one's are free.. Out of the 88 I have, there is only one that I have to pay for, a stock portfolio manager.. ENJOY!

I got a really good deal on my III, and I'm happy I bought it. However, the Palm V would fit my (and most people's) style better due to its size. 2 meg is plenty of memory, unless your outlook contacts measure in the 5 figures and you must have 50 different applications.

Graffitti is fine once you learn it, which isn't hard. But while the recognition is light years ahead of that Apple piece of junk that I was stupid enough to buy a few years ago (I had to have something), you can't write things down on the fly and expect the system to convert to text. Although I don't have one, I believe there are digital ink applications there which allows one to scribble notes in whatever handwriting you have. As long as you can read it, that's fine.

I have no idea whether Palm compares favorably to Windows CE, but if you judge by sales, Palm runs away with it. The battery life is not what I would like, but its adequate. But if you want a shirt pocket PDA, the Palm V is the only solution.

I'll be the first to say it - I love my pilot. I take it everywhere & it has saved me driving to the office on numerous weekends. I had the Palm Professional too, and have since upgraded to the Palm III. My Palm Professional was dropped numerous times, with minimal damage. I've had my new Palm III for 3 months. I dropped it - for the first time - this morning. It fell a distance of no more than 5 inches to a tile floor and cracked the screen. When I called Support - they informed me that they could a) send out a reconditioned model that I could keep but send my own in return, or b) they would send out an empty box w/a prepaid airbill to return my device for repairs. This would cost me $100 either way. Now, I'm a reasonable person, but paying 25-30% of the original cost for a cracked screen seems a bit high. Seeing as they are the only folks able to repair these things, it looks more like a nice after market than anything else. The support rep mentioned that 60-70% of their calls are for cracked screens. Pilot should re-evaluate the amount of money they charge for repairs of this type - especially if they are so numerous. I haven't decided whether I want to go ahead and spend the money to have it repaired or put that $100 toward another PDA - from another manufacturer. Its a great tool - and if you buy it you'll love it. But be prepared to never, EVER drop it. ;-)

I have been having my PALM II for more or less 1 year and am very happy with it. The handling of directions, appointments, alarms, to-do's, cocktails, even TV-shows is excellent.
The memory capacity is something limiting when you begin to use 3rd-apps (Irda Remote Control emulation, DocuemntsToGo,etc). The back-light is very shining, and its consumption of batteries (alkalines) is fair (1 pair every month).
I bought this one from a friend that boght it from another friend. i'm the 3d owner, but even so, keeps totally useful, no scratchs and good-looking.
It's some heavy and big (it's not a ZIRE!) but for the beginner that wants to wipe out all the papers and the phone book, it's perfect!
A point important to consider is the size of the screen, in my opnion, is a bit greater than the rest, so the fonts appear more clear and you read them easier.
And finally, the price: It's an old model (it's a Classic!) therefore if you can get one of this, just do it!, it's very cheap for their services.
Come to the Palm world = )