Comments on: Sony Announces GPS Module in Japan

http://www.transplantcomputing.com/

Talk to Steve Emery, very cool guy.

If your model is past in their opinion (which could only be a few months old), they'll leave you hanging. I can't imagine why anyone would buy a PDA from Sony no matter what the feature set is. They are not a PDA company, they are a consumer electronics company. If you don't like it, throw it out and buy a new one is their philosophy.

In the past, PIC was a good place to get quick info. Unfortunately a lot of other posters are doing their best to make this site the new PalmStation, with the anti and pro-Clie groups leading the charge.

Sorry Original Poster, but I'm not sure what you expect. Someone had already replied to your post and said it was a software issue, and I agree. Either Sony's map software doesn't work on the S-series or the driver doesn't work on the S-series. In either case, it sounds like Sony isn't willing to make it compatible for the S-series. In my opinion, that means they aren't supporting the S-series. I suppose there is some remote possibility that the S-series MS hardware can't handle certain types of IO cards, but I find that hard to believe. It is also possible that the S-series can't provide enough power to run the GPS. If it is a hardware thing, that is poor product planning on Sony's part. I've looked at the S320 and certainly expected it to be compatible with these types of MS devices. I also didn't buy one, because this is exactly how I figrued Sony would handle things.

This might not be available outside of Japan anyhow, so don't get so wound up about it. These forums are for discussing news, not technical support forums.

www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=2572

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News Editor

I think sooner or later you can access anything in your area, access an mp3 from a nearby computer or car, watch video, transfer files, order from a nearby fastfood, etc., all from a sony device :)

I don't want to carry another device if I can have radio functionality on a memory stick. I carry MP3 on one stick which means I'm carrying headphones already.

Yes, to be able to listen to late breaking news on my Clie still sounds like a good idea; no bulk; and I would pay $25 for it.

Message me via ICQ and join our nightly game of Soldier of Fortune happening at my IP address.

... maybe, just maybe, surrender its production(hardware) line and focus on software development is a smart move...

This GPS is not going to sell well in US, I am pretty sure.

It really depends how you use your GPS.

50 min. is quite short. You would rather use additional
batteries for much longer time in many cases.

Actually, they have had substantial layoffs, but they're still open. Take a look at http://www.geodiscovery.com I think the point that the original poster was trying to make is that GPS has been available for the visor for years, and that there are quite a few options out there, not just one.

An additional point that I would like to make is that these GPS moduls work with ALL visors, not just the most recent (Neo and Pro). The fact that the new MS add ons that are comming out right now (camera and GPS) only work with the newest CLIEs would really piss me off if I owned one that was released last year.

The point I was trying to make is that Sony PDAs have always had the memory stick slot in there and yet the new memory stick add-ons only work in the most recent ones.

I qualified my statement by saying that springboards fit into all Visors. The Treo is not a Visor. If you visit http://www.handspring.com you won't find Treos listed under visors. The Treo isn't even a PDA, it's more than a PDA. Jeff Hawkins kept referring to them as "communicators" in his Keynote rather than digital assistants.

To be perfectly honest though, if these features were on a GPS springboard, I certainly would not buy it. The fact that it relies on internal memory and the very short battery life make it very poor for use on hiking trips.

While the T600C is on the top of my list for a next handheld (which would mean I can't sell my Platinum), the lack of diversity in the expansion options worries me. Though springboards are a tad on the expensive side, okay in some cases WAY over on the expensive side, at least they are a diverse bunch with mulitple options for each kind of expansion. Another thing that worries me about Clies is the fact that Sony seems to undercut their top of the line PDAs almost every 3 months. This is almost the opposite extreme from Palm and Handspring that release new devices every 6 months or so, top-of-the-line or not.

As far as Treos go, they are a different product line. Handspring is allowed to make what ever decisions they want to make with their products. The introduction of the Treo doesn't end the visor line and by extension, the sprinboard slot. I also disappointed that it doesn't include a springboard slot but I can see why they didn't. Springboards are large and that is incompatible with the small size of the Treo.

Jason

I think this is a software decision. That is the software
that comes with the gps module doesn't want to
run on S series.
The reason I believe is its screen resolution. A map
looks quite different on a hi-res screen than on a low-res
screen. It is much better on hi-res screen.

As the hardware, they all use the MS port and should work just fine.

If the GPS module is NMEA compliant, which I believe is as Sony's GPS chip is NMEA compliant, other companies
may make software that uses the GPS on S series.
But consider how many S Clie has been sold, there is probably not a bid interest out there for this.