Sony Says No More Clie Handhelds

Eight months after exiting the US and European PDA markets, a Sony representative has confirmed there will be no new forthcoming Clie models in Japan. The company has effectively ended all Clie product development worldwide.

In June 2004, Sony stated they would not be releasing any new Clie Handhelds products in the coming fall in the US and that product development and sales would continue in Japan only.

A spokesperson for Sony in Tokyo now says that, The company won't be launching any new Clie PDAs in Japan although it will continue to offer service and support for its users. "What we are doing here is exactly the same as what we did before [in overseas markets]," she says. "There won't be any new Clie PDAs but we are not necessarily exiting the PDA business." As stated in a report on PC World.

Sony is most likely regrouping its efforts behind the upcoming Play Station portable handheld gaming device and and its efforts with Sony Ericsson Mobile phones and telecommunications products.

Sony has been a Palm OS licensee since 1999. The Clie personal entertainment organizer product line, has brought to market some of the most innovative Palm Powered products.

Thanks to Rich for the tip

Article Comments

 (132 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Start a new Comment Down View Full Comment Thread

Bad sign

Ervool @ 2/22/2005 2:28:48 PM # Q

I guess it was an already evident decision from Sony to leave the PDA market, but it reafirms the vision that PDAs are indeed in trouble as a concept and will become a niche product, smartphones being the new trend.

Regards,

Ervool

RE: Bad sign
hkklife @ 2/22/2005 2:40:53 PM # Q
PDAs will never disappear [b] entirely [/b]. That said, I forsee the next 4-5 years bringing about the ultimate reassignment for PDAs from the frontlines of personal mobile tech to the commodity, mass-market <$100 blister-packaged market that Royal, Casio BOSSes and Sharp Wizards occupied for the better part of the past decade. There will always be a need for a cheap Zire-style device for soccer moms, college kids, and salesmen to use for basic PIM functions. However, PDAs mated with keyboards, wireless connectivity, and multimedia has been a tenuous relationship at best so the low-end of the market (again, think Z31/T|E and below) is where things will ultimately settle.

Even though their made a bunch of iffy choices, Sony should ultimately be applauded for trying to invigorate the market (and succeeding to do so from '01 to '03) in the days before smartphones really rose to prominence.

RE: Bad sign
Surur @ 2/22/2005 3:05:46 PM # Q

Not PDA's. Palm OS PDA's in particular. Palm IS dying. Win CE PDA's are doing quite well, especially in Europe.

In 5 years time people will wonder how Palm lasted so many years against MS, and the remnants of Palm will (like the remnants of Be) sue in a bogus anti-trust suite.

How's this for a prediction. PalmOne bankrupt by June 2005.

Surur

RE: Bad sign
EdFrmBrighthand @ 2/22/2005 4:09:40 PM # Q
Sony did a poor job of being a handheld maker. Its initial Clie models were lame. Later, it got more serious and developed some very good models. I'm talking back in the T665C days. It was way ahead of what Palm was putting out, and prices were good.

However, Sony spooked many buyers by refreshing its line every couple of months. People were afraid to buy because they new something better was always just around the corner. Also, this meant Sony had to pour money into R&D.

Later, Sony got too aggressive with its designs... and too expensive. The NX80V was a great handheld, but there just isn't much market for $600 handhelds. And the UX50 wasn't even a good handheld, and cost what a laptop does.

And finally, Sony was a victim of in fighting. The company has been losing money, and the Clie line was cut to save costs.

All I'm trying to say is, don't read too much into this. Handhelds will survive; handheld companies that shoot themselves in the foot won't.


-----
Editor-in-Chief
Brighthand.com

RE: Bad sign
rsc1000 @ 2/22/2005 5:20:40 PM # Q
>>However, Sony spooked many buyers by refreshing its line every couple of months. People were afraid to buy because they new something better was always just around the corner. Also, this meant Sony had to pour money into R&D.

>>Later, Sony got too aggressive with its designs... and too expensive. The NX80V was a great handheld, but there just isn't much market for $600 handhelds. And the UX50 wasn't even a good handheld, and cost what a laptop does.


Bingo.

RE: Bad sign
Surur @ 2/22/2005 5:20:55 PM # Q
Who keeps deleting my very informative graphic, illustrating the downwards trend of PLMO's stock price over the last 3 months, and projecting their demise in another 3-6 months?

And why?

Surur

RE: Bad sign
Admin @ 2/22/2005 5:45:40 PM # Q
your "link" keeps coming up as gibberish
RE: Bad sign
Surur @ 2/22/2005 5:52:56 PM # Q

Hello, you just had to say so, you know.
Must be a mime type thing.

Try

http://surur.sytes.net/index.html

Surur

RE: Bad sign
drw @ 2/22/2005 7:26:37 PM # Q
A year ago we didn't know about the unsatisfactory nature of OS 6. Perhaps Sony saw a level of confusion at PSRC that they couldn't deal with.

Note for self for future "I told you so": Sony will switch to the pocketpc camp.



---
David

RE: Bad sign
Roberto_tores @ 2/22/2005 7:58:18 PM # Q
Not just Palm Os. Check out the PPC world. Toshiba, Casio pulled out HP bought Compaq thus killing the jornada. Now the only significant PPC is the Ipaq.

If you check current Ipaqs they are lackluster simmilar to last year models but now with ugly boxy bodies, unlike the 1900 series. Now they are making a Treo like PPC Phone.

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/22/2005 8:11:47 PM # Q
"And the UX50 wasn't even a good handheld, and cost what a laptop does."

You’re part right. It wasn’t a good handheld, it was a great one! Have you ever OWNED a UX-50? I'm still using mine after a year and a half, and unfortunately I still don't see anything on the horizon that can replace it. It is, in my opinion, the best Palm PDA released. Go find me another palm with wi-fi, Bluetooth, a built-in usable keyboard, a Hi-Res+ screen, camera (video and still), multi-media capabilities (including voice recorder, video, & MP3), that can also be used in tablet form. Sure, it wasn’t perfect (MS, cost), but it was great.

I’m not a Sony nut (I have a huge list of things I hate about them), but they are responsible for nearly all of the substantial innovations in Palm OS handhelds: Hi-Res and Hi-Res+, color, MP3 and other multimedia playback, not to mention some form factor innovations that were somewhat successful. (Landscape is great!) What real innovations has Palm givens since Sony’s exit?


Is Ed from Brighthand REALLY this dense? Wow.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/22/2005 10:08:53 PM # Q
RE: Bad sign
EdFrmBrighthand @ 2/22/2005 4:09:40 PM

Sony did a poor job of being a handheld maker. Its initial Clie models were lame. Later, it got more serious and developed some very good models. I'm talking back in the T665C days. It was way ahead of what Palm was putting out, and prices were good.

Its initial CLIE models were lame, huh? That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever seen posted here at PIC. And considering all the verbal diarrhea spewed by Mike Cane over the years, that's saying a lot. Compare the S300 and N710 to what Palm had available when those models were released and suddenly Ed from Brighthand is revealed to be a clueless fop.

However, Sony spooked many buyers by refreshing its line every couple of months. People were afraid to buy because they new something better was always just around the corner. Also, this meant Sony had to pour money into R&D.

Of course. Far better to avoid innovation altogether like how Palm did for years. Or release "stunning" innovations like what we saw when Palm added memory to the III -> IIIx -> IIIxe etc to create its dramatic new models. Yes, spending on R + D in a new market segment is always wrong.

Later, Sony got too aggressive with its designs... and too expensive. The NX80V was a great handheld, but there just isn't much market for $600 handhelds. And the UX50 wasn't even a good handheld, and cost what a laptop does.

The UX50 wasn't even a good handheld, huh? Strange how many of the most experienced, knowledgeable Palm users in the PDA community feel the UX50 remains overall the "best" PalmOS PDA ever released. But what do power users know? By the way, a Ferrari can cost as much as a house - guess they "aren't even a good car", right Ed? Get a clue, Buddy.

And finally, Sony was a victim of in fighting. The company has been losing money, and the Clie line was cut to save costs.

All I'm trying to say is, don't read too much into this. Handhelds will survive; handheld companies that shoot themselves in the foot won't.

Sony HAS been losing a lot of money from some divisions (e.g. TVs) due to poor product planning over the past two years. Last year, some camps within Sony pushed aggressively to refocus the company and consolidate their product lines. It's understandable (but inexcusable) that with PSP coming, CLIE was felt to be expendable.

Sony pushed the envelope in PDAs (spend a few minutes reviewing all of their models and the features they were the first to introduce to the Palm platform). If Sony, the most innovative PalmOS company feels the platform is no longer worthy of investment, it seems obvious that PalmOS is dead. HandEra - the other creative PalmOS company has long since departed. Sony's announcement is the final nail in Palm's coffin. This is a sad day for ALL Palm users - not just CLIE fans. We're all about to get Netscaped in 2005.


-----
Editor-in-Chief
Brighthand.com

It's pathetic to see that an editor of a major PDA site could be so uninformed about such an important issue. You should print a retraction before Brighthand's name is damaged by your comments the way it was by the m505 screen hack.

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=1951






*************************************************************************************

Press release: CUPERTINO, California — February 11, 2005 — Apple® announced today that Steve Jobs will begin selling his own feces to Apple Cultists beginning March 1. Apple's new iPoo™ lineup is expected to easily surpass the iPod shuffle as the company's most popular product. Yes, Apple Cultists can already easily create their own iPoo™, but feces didn't seem cool until Jobs told them it was cool. Remember, kids: the ONLY cool feces is Jobs' highly individualistic, rebellious iPoo™ (coming soon in six different colors/flavors, including the red [hematochezia] and black [melena] U2 GI bleed model)

*************************************************************************************





******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

Long live the CLIE!
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/22/2005 10:58:06 PM # Q
"And the UX50 wasn't even a good handheld, and cost what a laptop does."

You’re part right. It wasn’t a good handheld, it was a great one! Have you ever OWNED a UX-50? I'm still using mine after a year and a half, and unfortunately I still don't see anything on the horizon that can replace it. It is, in my opinion, the best Palm PDA released. Go find me another palm with wi-fi, Bluetooth, a built-in usable keyboard, a Hi-Res+ screen, camera (video and still), multi-media capabilities (including voice recorder, video, & MP3), that can also be used in tablet form. Sure, it wasn’t perfect (MS, cost), but it was great.

I’m not a Sony nut (I have a huge list of things I hate about them), but they are responsible for nearly all of the substantial innovations in Palm OS handhelds: Hi-Res and Hi-Res+, color, MP3 and other multimedia playback, not to mention some form factor innovations that were somewhat successful. (Landscape is great!) What real innovations has Palm givens since Sony’s exit?


Not to mention the amazing build quality of the CLIEs. My S300 could pass for new today even though it's five years old. My UX50 has seen the degree of abuse that would have killed a dozen Palms, yet still it works perfectly. Even Mike Cane recognizes the difference in build quality between his CLIE S320 and any Palm released in the past few years. The cutting edge CLIE features were just a bonus. QUALITY was Sony's most impressive trait and is the reason why more recent model CLIEs (UX50, TH55, VZ90) will be prized by Palm users for years to come. Just as PSION and Newton owners have made do with 5 - 10 year old hardware, I expect a cottage industry to spring up around keeping CLIEs alive. I'm glad I stocked up on CLIEs when I had the chance...






*************************************************************************************

Press release: CUPERTINO, California — February 11, 2005 — Apple® announced today that Steve Jobs will begin selling his own feces to Apple Cultists beginning March 1. Apple's new iPoo™ lineup is expected to easily surpass the iPod shuffle as the company's most popular product. Yes, Apple Cultists can already easily create their own iPoo™, but feces didn't seem cool until Jobs told them it was cool. Remember, kids: the ONLY cool feces is Jobs' highly individualistic, rebellious iPoo™ (coming soon in six different colors/flavors, including the red [hematochezia] and black [melena] U2 GI bleed model)

*************************************************************************************





******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

RE: Bad sign
treo007 @ 2/22/2005 11:18:05 PM # Q
For the record, I don't agree with a lot of what Ed put forth in this thread. That having been said, does anyone, at any point in time listen the ironically named "Voice of Reason"??

Kudos to Ryan for keeping a relatively hands off approach to the forums, but this guy is a piece of work. I haven't seen one intelligent post from the Voice....ever.

I guess I should stop giving him any more pub though, huh?

RE: Bad sign
Gekko @ 2/22/2005 11:32:38 PM # Q

Voice must have just got off his shift at Circus City.



RE: Bad sign
cbowers @ 2/22/2005 11:50:00 PM # Q
"... responsible for nearly all of the substantial innovations in Palm OS handhelds..."

Don't get over exited there. Check the timeline (palmevolution.com if need be). Trg/HandEra brought as much or more to the platform as Sony (and beat Sony on a number of features.) And rather than keep things to themselves as Sony tended to, they had already been doing work for other licensees, and continued to. So much of their innovations and or code, propagated to other devices, leaving lasting impressions on the platform (even if mostly uncredited).
-Virtual graffiti
-Landscape mode
-Card slots with a FAT filesystem API - also first with dual card slots
-Playback of native .wav files from that card through a real speaker
-ROM based backup and file management
-Only PalmOS device with built in support for a wide range of expansion card devices (half dozen brands of WiFi cards, any NE2000 ethernet card, GPS, CPDP, barcode (laser, wand, CCD hand scanner, modems, and some others. I love how the review here on PIC in 2001 says "New m500 series and N710C owners are going to have to wait a while for a full range of peripherals to be available" We're still waiting... And far too many of those we do finally have only come with PalmOne or Sony stamped on them.
-Built in voice recording
-First in PalmOS for user swappable lithium rechargeable pack, and only with revert-ability to AAA's
-First high-res non-square screen.
-First PalmOS PDA outside of Japan to sport a jog dial (beat Sony and the N710C by a month)
-First to support ROM updates via card based image files (waaaay back in 1999 no less).


RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 1:18:33 AM # Q
"First non-square hires screen" I'd hardly call going from Sony's 320x320, to 320x240 an innovation. "First landscape" See above. "First jog dial outside of Japan" That still makes Sony the first. "WAV playback" I'll take Sony's MP3 playback, thank you. You're really digging here. Most of the other innovations listed aren't substantial to me. (My subjective opinion.) Handera had their share of innovations in the relatively distant past. BTW, I'm posting this message using a Sony Clie right now. Handera who?

Amen, Brother Bowers!
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/23/2005 2:02:53 AM # Q
"... responsible for nearly all of the substantial innovations in Palm OS handhelds..."

Don't get over exited there. Check the timeline (palmevolution.com if need be). Trg/HandEra brought as much or more to the platform as Sony (and beat Sony on a number of features.) And rather than keep things to themselves as Sony tended to, they had already been doing work for other licensees, and continued to. So much of their innovations and or code, propagated to other devices, leaving lasting impressions on the platform (even if mostly uncredited).
-Virtual graffiti
-Landscape mode
-Card slots with a FAT filesystem API - also first with dual card slots
-Playback of native .wav files from that card through a real speaker
-ROM based backup and file management
-Only PalmOS device with built in support for a wide range of expansion card devices (half dozen brands of WiFi cards, any NE2000 ethernet card, GPS, CPDP, barcode (laser, wand, CCD hand scanner, modems, and some others. I love how the review here on PIC in 2001 says "New m500 series and N710C owners are going to have to wait a while for a full range of peripherals to be available" We're still waiting... And far too many of those we do finally have only come with PalmOne or Sony stamped on them.
-Built in voice recording
-First in PalmOS for user swappable lithium rechargeable pack, and only with revert-ability to AAA's
-First high-res non-square screen.
-First PalmOS PDA outside of Japan to sport a jog dial (beat Sony and the N710C by a month)
-First to support ROM updates via card based image files (waaaay back in 1999 no less).

Why is it that my 1999 TRGpro shipped with a reliable backup utility, while in 2005, Palm's top-of-the-line Treo 650 and Tungsten 5 have no such built-in ability? Ridiculous.


Unlike Sonyu, TRG/HandEra was about open standards and maximizing functionality through pragmatic solutions. (How could you forget the biggest advance of all: AutoCF? FFS/AutoCF and TRG's CompactFlash slot put the TRGpro so far ahead of the competition in 1999 it was ridiculous. Going to a TRGpro from a Palm IIIx was truly a quantum leap forward.

The dual expansion, VG and screen rotation ability of the ill-fated HandEra 330 were also visionary, but by then HandEra was living on borrowed time.






*************************************************************************************

Press release: CUPERTINO, California — February 11, 2005 — Apple® announced today that Steve Jobs will begin selling his own feces to Apple Cultists beginning March 1. Apple's new iPoo™ lineup is expected to easily surpass the iPod shuffle as the company's most popular product. Yes, Apple Cultists can already easily create their own iPoo™, but feces didn't seem cool until Jobs told them it was cool. Remember, kids: the ONLY cool feces is Jobs' highly individualistic, rebellious iPoo™ (coming soon in six different colors/flavors, including the red [hematochezia] and black [melena] U2 GI bleed model)

*************************************************************************************





******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

RE: Bad sign
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/23/2005 3:14:03 AM # Q
Handera who?

HandEr-I-gonna-break-my-foot-off-in-your-a$$. That's who.







*************************************************************************************

Press release: CUPERTINO, California — February 11, 2005 — Apple® announced today that Steve Jobs will begin selling his own feces to Apple Cultists beginning March 1. Apple's new iPoo™ lineup is expected to easily surpass the iPod shuffle as the company's most popular product. Yes, Apple Cultists can already easily create their own iPoo™, but feces didn't seem cool until Jobs told them it was cool. Remember, kids: the ONLY cool feces is Jobs' highly individualistic, rebellious iPoo™ (coming soon in six different colors/flavors, including the red [hematochezia] and black [melena] U2 GI bleed model)

*************************************************************************************





******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

RE: Bad sign
twrock @ 2/23/2005 8:27:35 AM # Q
Oh darn, cbowers and TVoR got to phoneboy before I could.

I'd still be using my HandEra 330 if the third time I dropped it onto a concrete floor hadn't brought about its demise. (And it survived one drop into a sink of water as well.) With the "unofficial" HandEra OS4 ROM, that puppy was still sweet to use. Not recognizing the huge amount of innovation TRG/HandEra brought to the Palm market is simply ignorant.

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 10:55:47 AM # Q
"I'd still be using my HandEra 330 if the third time I dropped it onto a concrete floor hadn't brought about its demise. (And it survived one drop into a sink of water as well.) With the "unofficial" HandEra OS4 ROM, that puppy was still sweet to use. Not recognizing the huge amount of innovation TRG/HandEra brought to the Palm market is simply ignorant."

Wake up and read my post again. I recognized that TRG/HandEra brought a lot of innovation to the market. My statement “HandEra who?” was referring to the fact that they exited the market long before some of the more impressive, more recent advancements came about, and therefore their most recent device doesn’t compare to Sony’s most recent device.

Also, not recognizing the huge amount of innovation Sony brought to the Palm market is simply ignorant.

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 11:05:34 AM # Q
"HandEr-I-gonna-break-my-foot-off-in-your-a$$. That's who."

VOR, your first posts made sense, and had something to contribute. Now I'm starting to see why so many people here don't like you.


RE: Bad sign
cbowers @ 2/23/2005 12:49:02 PM # Q
""First non-square hires screen" I'd hardly call going from Sony's 320x320, to 320x240 an innovation."

Then you haven't considered the difficulty, and the out of the box thinking that it required to implement that in 2001 for the Palm platform. Hence why it falls below your innovation radar.
Also, you've also obviously not ever held a Handera 330. Compare the PIM apps, and you'll see that you can get almost twice as many lines of content on the large bright 330's 240x320 screen than you can on a 320x320 device.

""First landscape" See above."

Now you're not even making sense. It's something we take for granted on the likes of modern PalmOS devices with 320x480 screens. Contemplating that, and implementing it 4 years ago as an example to later PalmOne and Sony devices, *that* was innovation.

"WAV playback" I'll take Sony's MP3 playback, thank you. You're really digging here. Most of the other innovations listed aren't substantial to me.

Widen your focus man. Who cares how important a feature it was to *you*. It's about how visionary it was and challenging to design hardware around and inject code into the OS for features that we take for granted today, long before the big guys finally agreed how lame their feature sets were in comparison, and became "also have's". Especially given the likes of Sony and to a lesser degree Palm. Easy for them to bring in those features, shameful that they didn't until shown up by a smaller more innovative company.

No one gives a flip about what *you* think is a valuable feature. I merely posted those first (both significant and minor) that HandEra brought to the table (never mind the coding and hardware they brought to Palm and other licensees before and after). The point remains that most of that list is expected in a device today, at least by this readership. Reference the T5 dissention.

"Handera had their share of innovations..."
And I'm making the point that you're failing to recognize (or misapproriate to Sony) the lion share of those.

"...in the relatively distant past"
All the more shameful to PalmOne and Sony that it's taking them this long to catch up.

"BTW, I'm posting this message using a Sony Clie right now."
This is to surprise me? I and my wife, both my parents, a grandfather, and a best friend, still use Handera 330's. A device released in 2001 was *that* good. I'll be impressed with you and your Clie if you're still using it in say another 3 or 4 years.

"Handera who?"
Aren't we myopic today. This article lumps the Clie line in the same coffin. Already you can go into a best buy hear "Clie who? Sony made PalmOS devices?"

RE: Bad sign
mikecane @ 2/23/2005 12:49:31 PM # Q
>>>And considering all the verbal diarrhea spewed by Mike Cane over the years, that's saying a lot.

He just *knows* how to flatter, doesn't he?

>>>Even Mike Cane recognizes the difference in build quality between his CLIE S320 and any Palm released in the past few years.

This is true. Even with the added expense of MStick, if I could get that TE hires screen, fast CPU, and *128MB* of RAM into my S320, it'd be a great device.

BTW, my S320 is about 4 years old now. It could *not* be mistaken for new. The silver has rubbed off one side. I guess this *shows* who *really* uses their CLIE...

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 1:21:29 PM # Q
I forgot to mention, I agree with you guys that Sony not releasing their APIs was a lame thing to do.

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 1:28:35 PM # Q
Cbowers, you seem to be taking this personally. I didn’t mean to offend you. Do Handeras have feelings?

If my math is right, 230x320 is lower resolution that 320x320. Being able to fit more into that smaller screen due to smaller fonts and layout is great, but not that impressive a development, regardless of the programming difficulty that went into it’s development. Maybe they did have the first landscape by changing the shape of their screen, but Sony has better landscape at 480x320. They achieved their landscape by increasing the scope of the screen rather than reducing it.

“Who cares how important a feature it was to *you*… “No one gives a flip about what *you* think is a valuable feature.”

Good question, but you’re wrong. Any company who wants to make money cares what features are important to me. There are tens of thousands of people like me. I’m the consumer with a large disposable income. I’m the consumer who used to buy a new PDA at least once a year, usually more often. I’m the consumer who was buying $400, $500, and $600+ PDA’s, not just the entry level model. I’m the consumer who, if Palm, Sony, Handera, and other companies had more of, their PDA business would be booming.

Secondly, why should my opinion be any less or more valuable than yours? Is devaluing my opinion your way of making yourself feel more important?

WAVs on a PDA were cool, but who wants that? 40 MB WAV files are too cumbersome. WAV playback isn’t important to the masses. MP3 playback is. That’s what sells devices. Selling devices is what keeps companies producing them.

I guess we’re not seeing eye to eye because you seem to value how visionary or difficult it was to develop new features. I value how useful and desirable these innovations are to mass consumers, not how visionary they are.

When I mention using my UX-50 to post, I’m not bragging about the durability of the UX-50, but it’s capability. Handeras are durable, but can a 4 year old Handera be used to post blogs using a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection, (not to mention a dozen other things) out of the box? That’s the point.

I have nothing against you, or Handera. Of course Handera and Sony are in the same PDA coffin. That’s the fact I’m lamenting. No myopia here. “Handera who?” means they left the market much longer ago than Sony. That’s where Sony is headed too, sadly.


RE: Bad sign
EdFrmBrighthand @ 2/23/2005 2:02:02 PM # Q
The_Voice_of_Reason wrote:

> Have you ever OWNED a UX-50? I'm still using mine after a
> year and a half, and unfortunately I still don't see
> anything on the horizon that can replace it. It is, in
> my opinion, the best Palm PDA released.

The tiny screen crippled the usability of this device, and the switch away from the Sony standard connector meant that too many accessories were unusable with it. Sony's refusal to add both portrait and landscape support meant that table mode was pretty much a waste of time.

If this is the best Palm handheld you've ever seen, you really should get out more. Both the T3 and the TH55 are superior to the UX50.



-----
Editor-in-Chief
Brighthand.com

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 2:40:50 PM # Q
Again, have you ever owned a UX-50? I owned a T3 at the same time as my UX-50, and sold it. Where’s the wi-fi? Where’s the hard keyboard? Where’s the crappy camera? ;) (VGA = crappy camera)

Bluetooth gives connectivity to plenty of accessories. A hard connection is so 20th century. I hotsync via wi-fi at home, and Bluetooth at work.

The UX isn’t perfect. A larger screen would have been nice. I thought the absence of portrait mode seemed like a negative, until I got mine and started loving landscape. I have apps that go into portrait mode, but landscape mode is more natural for human field of vision, so I never use portrait. Using the UX in tablet landscape mode is plenty comfy for my hands.

The TH55 is superior? Where’s the keyboard? Where’s the Bluetooth? You are the one who seems to be a Sony nut. How can I be the biggest Sony nut you’ve seen in years? I’ve owned 9 Palm brand PDA’s, two Sony’s, a Compaq, and an HP. (Palms include US Robotics and 3Com) I have a long list of things I hate about Sony. If I’m the biggest Sony nut you’ve met, maybe you’re the one who needs to get out more. :-P


RE: Bad sign
EdFrmBrighthand @ 2/23/2005 4:06:14 PM # Q
So phoneboy, what you're saying is you and The_Voice_of_Reason are the same person. Very interesting. I think that's something that readers of this site should be aware of.

-----
Editor-in-Chief
Brighthand.com
RE: Bad sign
EdFrmBrighthand @ 2/23/2005 4:34:11 PM # Q
I imagine some of you who are following this thread are somewhat confused. I'll try to explain.

In one of his posts to me, The_Voice_of_Reason said he wasn't a "Clie Nut." Because his responses to me were so rude, I admit I lost my temper and said he was the biggest Clie Nut I had seen in a long time. I immediately regretted this and sent an email to Ryan asking him to remove that part of my response.

phoneboy responded before Ryan had a chance to delete my comments. Much to my surprise phoneboy wrote back in such a way that it made it clear that he and The_Voice_of_Reason were the same person.

I've made it clear who I am. Can you believe anything said by a person who has to create multiple identities to support his position?
.

-----
Editor-in-Chief
Brighthand.com

RE: Bad sign
jamesgood72 @ 2/23/2005 4:54:50 PM # Q
Ed, I've admired most of your articles, but think you are off whack with the UX comments. I too find this the PDA that has the best mix of features in the whole PalmOS world. The keyboard alone can sell this device - it's possibly the only usable keyboard i've seen on the a PalmOS machine. I know own a Treo 650 too, but that keyboard is inferior to the UX's. The small screen argument is pretty much a moot point. I like a small high-density screen, and miss the 480 width on the Treo. However, I do admit it would have been much nicer for the screen to fill the case size, but you can't have everything.

How can the TH-55, and the T3 be better than the UX when they don't even have keyboards? The keyboard puts them in a different category in my eyes. I'm quite proficient at Grafiti, but the size of the emails and notes I used to write on the UX were way beyond my Grafiti abilities.

I will miss Sony's inovations, I think it's a very sad time for PalmOS. I don't think PalmOne will be gone by June however, whomever suggested that! Ever heard of the Treo? That thing is getting best gadget awards and best phone awards all over.

-James.

RE: Bad sign
Gekko @ 2/23/2005 6:20:15 PM # Q

Voice will be back later after he gets off his shift at Circus City.



RE: Bad sign
EdH @ 2/23/2005 6:42:10 PM # Q
EdFrmBrightnhand said: Sony did a poor job of being a handheld maker. Its initial Clie models were lame. Later, it got more serious and developed some very good models. I'm talking back in the T665C days. It was way ahead of what Palm was putting out, and prices were good.

Voice_of_Reason said: Its initial CLIE models were lame, huh? That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever seen posted here at PIC. And considering all the verbal diarrhea spewed by Mike Cane over the years, that's saying a lot. Compare the S300 and N710 to what Palm had available when those models were released and suddenly Ed from Brighthand is revealed to be a clueless fop.

S300 and N710 huh? Yeah, that'd be relevant if those were the initial Clie models. http://www.pencomputing.com/palm/Pen36/sonyclie.html ring any bells? Boooooorrrrrring



RE: Bad sign
cbowers @ 2/23/2005 7:02:02 PM # Q
Plonk.

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 7:18:53 PM # Q
Now I feel really insulted! :)

For the record, I am NOT, repeat NOT the "voice of reason." I agree, this thread is quite confusing. Some of what was quoted from one of his postings, was actually him quoting one of my earlier postings. (You were quoting him, quoting me. Those words were mine from my first post in this thread.)

Additional proof that I'm not Mr. Circuit City: Out of the blue he said something very rude to me about somewhere unsanitary he’d like to stick his foot. Sounds like he has some personal issues he needs to deal with. Then I made fun of him by saying that I understood why he’s not well liked at this site.

Back to business: Thank you jamesgood72. I agree that the keyboard is my favorite part of the UX. I’m pretty good at Grafiti after 9 years of using it (better than any palm user I know), but entering text on the UX keyboard after just 1 1/2 years of practice is much faster that Grafiti could ever be. Also, Bluetooth and wi-fi are essential for my needs.

:)

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 7:26:42 PM # Q
Question for cbowers: (I'm not arguing, just asking you to educate me.)
You say Handera/TRG developed virtual Grafiti. Are you talking about being able to enter text by writing on the screen instead of the silkscreened Grafiti pad, or are you referring to a virtual Grafiti pad replacing the silkscreened Grafiti pad?

RE: Bad sign
EdFrmBrighthand @ 2/23/2005 7:35:52 PM # Q
> For the record, I am NOT, repeat NOT the "voice of reason."
> I agree, this thread is quite confusing.

Oh dear, you're quite correct. I went back and looked through this long, long thread and "Voice_of_Reason" was quoting you without making it clear. I'm really sorry I accused you of being him. I didn't mean to insult you.
.

-----
Editor-in-Chief
Brighthand.com

RE: Bad sign
phoneboy @ 2/23/2005 8:04:59 PM # Q
I'm just glad I'm not him.:)

RE: Bad sign
LiveFaith @ 2/23/2005 11:08:26 PM # Q
Phoneboy,

I don't mean to add fuel to this fire, nor to try and dissuade you from your romance of the unique UX. Sony's "style" is just perferred by some.

But, I think hammering away at the "ignorance and stupidity" of the guy who used to successfully run this site and now runs another like it with broader appeal is a little over the top. After all, the guy has probably tested personally every handheld dating back to the Sperry-Univac or maybe the pocket abacus.

Whether he personally owned it or whether Sony sent it to him for long-term testing is of little merit. A wise man once told me that "when in the presence of someone greater than you, it's a good idea to listen because you'll probably learn something". Good, bad or ugly, Sony is history ... their not the last one standing.


Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

Ed from DullHand: GET A CLUE, Buddy. Please.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/23/2005 11:37:23 PM # Q
The_Voice_of_Reason wrote:

> Have you ever OWNED a UX-50? I'm still using mine after a
> year and a half, and unfortunately I still don't see
> anything on the horizon that can replace it. It is, in
> my opinion, the best Palm PDA released.

The tiny screen crippled the usability of this device, and the switch away from the Sony standard connector meant that too many accessories were unusable with it. Sony's refusal to add both portrait and landscape support meant that table mode was pretty much a waste of time.

If this is the best Palm handheld you've ever seen, you really should get out more. Both the T3 and the TH55 are superior to the UX50.

a) I never said those words you attributed to me.
b) Anyone with a reading comprehension greater than a first grade level can tell that I was quoting someone else. Yet somehow you were confused. Hmmmm...
c) Connectors change all the time. Deal with it. Exhibit 1: Palm.
d) Most people that actually USE a UX50 for more than the five minutes you were apparently exposed to it don't really miss portrait orientation. (Do you routinely change your PC monitor to "portrait" mode? Judging by the intelligence of your posts here, I suspect the answer may be "Yes"...)
e) The T3 has horrible quality control and is not a good replacement for ANY decent PDA. I'd rather use one of my ancient TRGpros than than that self-destructing piece of sh1t from Palm.
f) Last time I checked, the TH55 lacked a built in hardware keyboard - one of the main features that sets the UX50 above most other PDAs. Also the non-Euro TH55 lack Bluetooth, which many power users find essential.

If you actually USED PDAs rather than yapping all the time, maybe you might learn something here and stop sounding like an ignoramus. I'm shocked to see what you've written in this thread, but it's good we now know the "real" Ed. Take care, Eddy-poo.

TVoR







*************************************************************************************

Press release: CUPERTINO, California — February 11, 2005 — Apple® announced today that Steve Jobs will begin selling his own feces to Apple Cultists beginning March 1. Apple's new iPoo™ lineup is expected to easily surpass the iPod shuffle as the company's most popular product. Yes, Apple Cultists can already easily create their own iPoo™, but feces didn't seem cool until Jobs told them it was cool. Remember, kids: the ONLY cool feces is Jobs' highly individualistic, rebellious iPoo™ (coming soon in six different colors/flavors, including the red [hematochezia] and black [melena] U2 GI bleed model)

*************************************************************************************





******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

Reply to this comment
Start a New Comment Thread Top View Full Comment Thread
Achtung! Only the first 50 comments are displayed within the article.
    Click here for the full story discussion page...

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass: