Comments on: Review: Sony PEG-SJ20, Part II

"This doesn't cripple the handheld or anything but doing backups takes a while. There is a noticeable lag opening applications and eBooks from the Memory Stick but, like I said, this is more of a minor irritation than anything else. I chalk this up to the sort of thing you have to expect from a $200 handheld. You just aren't going to get the same performance you get from a $400 one. "

So are you telling us that an expensive Sony model has a faster running Memory Stick slot? I never read this speed issue before. If it is slow than why use it, the 16mb of ram is enough then for the users who buy this.

Good review.

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"The SJ20 offers a very good monochrome screen and great battery life... All in all, I think it is a very good handheld for its price and a worthy replacement for the S360 in Sony's lineup."

You should compare it to the T415 and it is not really that worthy. With the extra features, design and price of the T415, I think it's a better deal (although they are discontinued).

I do have some comments on the author's review. Personally, I think the screen is famazing. (the f is there deliberately, if you get the meaning). The doubled resolution (coming from an original Palm Pro) is simply astounding. I look at my wife's Palm 500 and laugh. She paid more and got a lot less. With the high res downloadable fonts, my primary use (Docs to Go), and the occasional e-book are simply very, very readable. I'm using my Palm (there I go again. I mean Sony) in an office environment, and I've never wanted a brighter screen. There are six of us here with PalmOS type devices - a Handspring, 2 Palm Vs, and now three Sony SL-10s. That's right. After I bought mine, two of the other diehard Palm Pro users (we basically had only used the basic Palm functions before) went out and immediately upgraded. You can actually do rudimentary reference work out of spreadsheets and presentations, which we find invaluable. Not one of us thinks the backlight is useful for anything. Well, maybe if you're using it in the dark...

The only drawback to high res is when you upon an application like Datebk5 that isn't. It looks like pure hell. So poor, in fact, that I quit using it. It's worthless without high-res. If someone knows how to get high res support, please post as a tip, and I'd be ecstatic.

Also, I like the flip over protector. It's nice that's it's attached, and as a bonus, it's detachable if you wish. The size is a lot smaller than my original Palm, and I find it fits perfectly in my hand, and is much more comfortable to use than my original Palm. That said, the stylus sucks. I had a Cross stylus (you've seen it, has a pen on the other end...) which was a joy to use, but it's simply to fat to put in the Sony.

I have a 128Mb memory stick, and find access is glacial when moving things to it from my desktop. Using Docs-to-Go or PalmReader, I've never noticed a delay, which is I suppose the highest praise. Be warned though, that d/l's will take eons.

Before I get to my summary, please keep in mind that I have no use for color, and I don't listen to music. I'm using this simply as a fancy datebook/calendar, and now as a document viewer as well.

So, here's my summary: personally, after a lot (and I mean a lot) of research, I decided to go with the Sony because there simply isn't another black and white handheld that can compete. Palm doesn't make anything, and neither does Handspring. I've never seen an Acer, so I can't comment there. The high res screen just seals the deal.

I do have a few small complaints that keep the Sony from being perfect: memory stick speed (ok in use though), and stylus.

High points: Screen (!), no recharge (definitely a strike against the SJ-20 in my opinion), plenty of memory, memory stick slot, size, flip protector, and price. I purchased mine at BestBuy for $149, with a $25 mail in rebate, and another $25 free cash card, meaning my total price was about $99. I don't know when the sale is over, but show me another PDA with all these features for $99.

Keep in mind that these are just my rather long winded opinions, and you're more than welcome to disagree.

Thanks. And please let other people know what you're opinions are!

Anyone care to speculate why that is? (And is it possible that they've got an improved screen in the T400??)

sony.de announced the SL10 and the SJ30 but not the SJ20.

I wonder if the SJ20 will be released in Europe?

I was wondering weather the SJ-20/10 have a USB slave or a master ? If its a slave then i cant use it to do anything other than sync (right ?) if its a master, then i probably could add more devices like a usb modem / keyboard etc and control them using the Clie.

I used to check my emails with the Series5... (fast connection... no window-uploading like on DOS-computers...)
-is it possible to connect a modem via cable directly to the sj20?

my other curiosity:
-how do apps like wordthink work with the higher resoulucion ?

thanks and compliments for the complete reviews...

I've just lost my Visor Edge, I loved to be able to walk around with it in my front jeans pocket. It was really slick. I see that the sj20 is a lot thicker, but it is also smaller. Would I walk around with it?