Sony Announces N770C

Sony Deutschland GmbH has officially announced a new version of Sony's high-end handheld, called the PEG-N770C, at the IFA 2001 trade show in Germany. It is basically the currently available N710C except with Palm OS 4.1. The PEG-N770C has the same 320 by 320 color screen as the rest of the N series and OS 4.1 means it can display 16-bit color.

The N770C can play both MP3 and ATRAC3 encoded digital music. It comes with the same headphones the N710C does.

Along with the standard built-in apps, it includes PictureGear Pocket and gMovie.

Pricing and availability weren't revealed.

When the German website heise on-line first mentioned this on Friday, they said Sony would also be displaying a digital camera module for the N770C but Sony's official announcement makes no mention of this.

Update: heise on-line, the German website that first carried news on the Sony N770C, now says that Sony didn't actually demo the N770C at the tradeshow. Instead, they just showed a N710C. Still they say Sony expects to have the N770C on the market in Germany near the end of September for 1200 Marks, about $560.

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RE: Ed, you had better delete that bogus Handspring article
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 5:54:02 PM #
So Big Shot, why don't u reveal yourself? Mr. Anonymous
If anyone is in trouble it is Ed's sources not him u moron

Update for n710?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 5:39:37 PM #
If sony has this 4.1 OS already to be RTP why isn't it being released to n710 users? The n770 is just the n710 with OS 4.1. What's the hold up?

RE: Update for n710?
LeshMan @ 8/26/2001 6:38:52 PM #
Technically OS 4.1 isn't out yet since the Clie has just been announced and it is not out on the streets yet.

RE: Update for n710?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 6:44:28 PM #
Huh? Again, if 4.1 exists on a N710C (N770C), it is available. I still question why it is only released on a German website. I mean, if it is official, why isn't there any mention of it on the mothership (www.sonystyle.co.jp)

RE: Update for n710?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 8:09:36 PM #
Because each country has its own marketing group. Sony marketing doesn't think worldwide, it's very country-by-country.

Sony hasn't yet realized that savvy users now know what's happening worldwide. They're still used to their decades of consumer electronics experience that tell them they can release Ultra Cool Gadget in Japan, and release Almost as Cool Gadget 6 months later in the U.S. Doesn't work that way anymore, but Sony hasn't figured that out.

RE: Update for n710?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 8:12:06 PM #
Thereīs a simple solution for the question on why this is a germany first information release - right now in Berlin the "Internationale Funkausstellung" which is a rather large consumer electronics fare is starting - usually a lot of products are introduced at this occasion to the european market - also up to now the only sony PDA officially availble is the old PEG 300 series - (sony hasnīt even bothered to create a german os version - they just translated the manual) and if sony wantīs to get a foot in the german market they have to act quickly because right now pockt pc seems to take the lead in germany. I work with both systems but am running more and more into professionals using an ipaq - since there is no real colour alternative available over here (handspringīs prism has a really low market share due to itīs late introduction and a really limited number of retailers carrying the product (actually itīs only one large chain "media markt")
hoped this was of any help
Bye Nuksta (yup I have to register - but right now Iīm to tired)

RE: Update for n710?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 8:25:28 PM #
Hi there itīs me again - absolutly no romour since I just read the whole story straight from the sony press release - hereīs the link to the release (ok itīs german)

http://www.sony.de/ifa_en/index.html


an even more tired Nuksta is saying good night to ALL PDA freaks

RE: Update for n710?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 8:28:36 PM #
ok ok - itīs me again (Nuksta) - this afternoon an Sony official stated that the OS Version used will be Verison 4.0 and NOT 4.1 - for the complete story follow this link (still german - maybee some babelfish skilled reader may translate it - i could but as I said Iīm to tired - hey this is getting funny) ok hereīs the link: http://www.golem.de/0108/15496.html really good reviev Price will be 1199 DM (aprox. 573 USD)

Night Nuksta

RE: Update for n710?
Ed @ 8/26/2001 8:58:07 PM #
Nuksta, there was never any question of this being a rumor. Did you click on the link in the article to read the Sony press release on the N770C in English?

---
News Editor
RE: Update for n710?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 9:35:29 PM #
If Sony wouldn't be coming out with a 4.x upgrade, some will be extracting the ROM of the 770 to try it on the 710.

RE: Update for n710?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 11:24:33 PM #
I believe the German article says this thing comes with OS 4.0.

Attempt at a translation of the Heise-online article
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 11:42:49 PM #
Electronic giant Sony is displaying the mp3 capable handheld Clié PED-N770C with color display in Hall 18. Sony has already had Palm OS based color PDAs for some time but this marks the their first serious effort in Germany. The PDA, developed for the European market, has a reflective TFT-color screen (320x320 pixels) that can display 65,000 colors. It even plays mp3s as well as ATRAC3 files and comes ready with a brand new version of the OS, Palm OS 4.1. As is usually the case for Sony PDAs, the the Memory-stick slot and the jog-dial are present.

An optional camera model for the PDA will be available. So the user can truly enjoy the color capable PDA, Sony will include a small image editing program called PictureGear, a video player gMovie, and the web software AvantGo in the retail version. Sony has not yet released at what price and when the device will be available in Germany.


extract the ROM all you want
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 10:30:37 PM #
The image has no value if we cannot transfer it to ROM. If this were possible, we would have already deleted some garbage apps from CLIE's ROM (using EditROM first and then your magic ROM-flashing solution).

ciaran

there is an official update
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/4/2001 2:41:05 PM #
the u.s. will receive the sony peg n760c in less than a month from now. it will run palm os 4.1 and have the same casing as the 710. just upgrades to the os and audio player...

Thanks Sony!

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 9:17:35 PM #
I would like to thank Sony for lately keeping on releasing the best models.

With all models soon at OS 4.x, I suppose they will now focus on memorystick devices and accessories (and support).

You' are welcome!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 9:59:07 PM #
Your gratitude certainly means a lot to our consumer electronics technology company, however, your feedback is even more valuable to us. Your comments on this and other forums about the importance of higher resolution Palm OS devices as well as acceptance of our multimedia features have led us to innovative new products like the PEG-N770C.

Believe it or not, we follow the dialog among cutting-edge users like yourself very closely from our world headquarters in Japan. Domestic sales are an important part of the Sony heritage, however, the US is the make-or-break market.

I would like to send you a pre-release PEG-N770C unit to get a hands-on opinion from an experienced user. Please email us at marketing@sony.jp with your address so that we can FedEx one to you this week. - Sony Corp.

RE: Thanks Sony!
Davy @ 8/26/2001 10:17:06 PM #
What?

RE: Thanks Sony!
Ed @ 8/26/2001 10:27:51 PM #
In case it wasn't blatantly obvious that the second message in this thread was fake, I'll point out that it is against Sony company policy for any employee to post in public message boards. This occasionally drives the U.S. Sony rep nuts because he can't respond to stuff he reads on here but that's the rule and he has to follow it if he wants to continue to work for Sony.

But he does read this site frequently so he's hearing what you have to say.

---
News Editor

Sony... we are not happy just yet!!!
choong @ 8/26/2001 10:29:06 PM #
Sony,
If you really are listening to what we have to say, I sincerely hope you are planning to release an OS4 upgrade ASAP. You will alienate many of your customers if this is not made available.

I have invested a great deal of money in the N710C. I was in Malaysia and flew down to Singapore to buy it. I had to fly BACK because my OS was corrupted!!!!!

I can only speak for myself, but two return flights to Singapore and a 128 Mb memory stick does not come cheap. If my model is to be made redundant by this new European one, I WILL NOT BE HAPPY.

I look forward to seeing what you will be doing in the next few weeks. If you want to e-mail me, please feel free to do so at emailme@andrewchoong.com

RE: Thanks Sony!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 10:38:57 PM #
Uhh, fake anonymous sony dude? You spelled your email address wrong. It should be @sony.co.jp.

RE: Thanks Sony!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 11:03:24 PM #
Yes, I would like to say I am the real fake Sony Rep! Please keep glorifying Sony, myself, and everyone else you can think off.. Also, we have just discovered "warp speed" and plan to build a "Starship" Sony within the next 5 years. Our "tricorders" have not discovered other intelligent life out there, but we are proud to say we found total idiots and many discounted Memory Sticks on the Alpha Centauri Star System... We have reason to believe we found a Handspring Prism II on Rigel IV....


RE: Thanks Sony!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 6:45:53 AM #
I'm the original poster. Just to let everyone know and cofirm that the sony guy is a fake, here is the bounceback I got:
-----------------------

The original message was received at Mon, 27 Aug 2001 01:08:07 -0400 (EDT)
from root@localhost

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<marketing@sony.jp>

----- Transcript of session follows -----
550 <marketing@sony.jp>... Host unknown (Name server: sony.jp: host not found)

Final-Recipient: RFC822; marketing@sony.jp
Action: failed
Status: 5.1.2
Remote-MTA: DNS; sony.jp
Last-Attempt-Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 01:08:10 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: test email
From: My Name <my@email.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 01:09:03 -0400
To: marketing@sony.jp

please respond

RE: Thanks Sony!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 6:50:48 AM #
That just proves that there are kids that reply here :)

RE: Thanks Sony!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 12:34:00 PM #
OK, I'm the guy who posted the original fake Sony reply. IT WAS A JOKE! I just thought it was funny that someone wanted to thank "Sony", here, for releasing the best models and felt it would be amusing to reply in an equally ridiculous manner.

I should have known that something tragic would happen.

RE: Thanks Sony!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/28/2001 12:20:24 AM #
What is the plan for wireless internet access? Will there be a sled for the 770 or a new full featured unit.

RE: Thanks Sony!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/27/2001 6:45:15 PM #
This most likely isn't the correct thread for this, and I apologize if that inconveniences anyone. I'm a university student from Toronto, Canada, and I recently started a business that sells computers/electronics. I would like to add PDAs to my inventory, but I'm having a LOT of trouble getting in touch with a Sony distributor (for CLIEs). Any help in terms of whom I might contact would be greatly appreciated at ajaykrishnan@hotmail.com
Thank you.



Still waiting for OS 4 update for Palm IIIc as well

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/26/2001 9:45:42 PM #
See above.

RE: Still waiting for OS 4 update for Palm IIIc as well
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 3:07:37 PM #
According to Palm Inc. OS4 update for Palm V and III series (excpet IIIe) will be available this november, please take a look at
http://www.palm.com/software/palmos4.html

If sony do this, I will never buy anything from them again.

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 1:21:46 AM #
Just got 710c last week. One of the important buying factor is there are lot of rumors about upgrading OS from 3.5 to 4.0. Even from the sony guy (get the info from this site)... So, if they release 770c, what will they do with 710c... Still sale it in cheaper price ? I think we can find the way to use 770c program or ROM with existing 710c. So, it is not wise to do that. What about discontinue 710c? People who buy this also don't want their new PDA to be outdated like that... So, in any cases, I will never buy anything from SONY ... NEVER !

RE: If sony do this, I will never buy anything from them again.
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 4:44:50 AM #
I would have to say they will drop the price on the N710C to $459.00 and charge $20.00 for the upgrade. They will probably charge $499.00 for N770C. Since the N770C is essentially a 710 without 4.0, they will be able to move both products with this plan. The upgrade will be available before the N770C will.

RE: If sony do this, I will never buy anything from them again.
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 7:57:57 AM #
Gee, you should have bought a Palm m505. At least you knew it was 16 bit color right out of the box, and not some rumoured upgrade to 16 bit color in the future.

It looks like if you want to upgrade to 16 bit color it's going to cost you another $500 for the upgrade. I guess you can pass the old one on to your spouses and tell them how it is the greatest PDA ever to hit this side of the galaxy, and that's why you are giving it to them for the inferior N770C

RE: If sony do this, I will never buy anything from them again.
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/28/2001 11:45:58 AM #
somoene's trying to compensate for their inferior screen....

RE: If sony do this, I will never buy anything from them again.
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/28/2001 12:06:44 PM #
You guys have no idea what you're talking about. I own a Visor prism since 4 months ago, and I run it always at 256 colors (using chrome) ; why? because 16bit crashes lots of apps. The only two programs I run in 16 bit color mode are Zap2016 and AlbumToGo (fortunately, the prism itself changes the color depth when necessary). Wordsmith has some kind of trouble with finetype at 16bit color, and so do lots of apps... so do not bother yourselves so much... an update will come, that's sure, meanwhile, enjoy your 320x320 resolution and your mp3!

(the clie doesn't sell here in spain)

RE: If sony do this, I will never buy anything from them again.
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2001 7:41:57 PM #
People, people, people. Do your Homework. An upgrade for the N710c is on it's way! The N770c Is just the European version of the PDA. Read here http://www.infosync.no/en/news/n/459.asp and here http://www.infosync.no/en/news/n/548.asp

Smells like Vapor-Ware

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/27/2001 9:47:56 AM #
Hi,
heise.de just announced that they are just showing an American N710c on IFA. The N770c will be available in September and will cost 1200,- DM (approx. $560). I think I will buy mine at PalmSource ;-)
Cheers
Markus

RE: Doesn't smell like Vapor-Ware
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2001 4:14:38 AM #
Did a little research:

An m505 sells for DM1150,- in Germany (www.pdashop.de).
Which means that the Sony is a little more expensive but not much.
In the Netherlands, an m505 costs about hfl 1350,-
So the Sony will cost hfl 1400,-/1450,- right?
That is the price for an iPaq! (www.pdashop.nl)

From a Sony point of view it makes sense to ask this much for a top pda (does it?).
From my wallet's point of view, I'm not so sure anymore. Why not get an iPaq and join the rest of Europe?

RE: Smells like Vapor-Ware
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/12/2001 8:13:26 PM #
Why not get an m100 @ $100 and join the rest of the world?

NOW do you believe me?!

mikecane @ 8/27/2001 10:17:10 AM #
For all of those who excoriated me when I spread the word that the N760C would be in the US shortly -- well, there's the N770C!

NOW do you effing believe me?! NOW do you see that when I say I *saw* something, I *mean* it?

RE: NOW do you believe me?!
mikecane @ 8/27/2001 10:19:43 AM #
Geez, I'm also waiting for PIC to announce that the excellent Palm de Cool site went down -- despite the fact I told them about this way before PalmStation posted it! (Yes, Ed, I am in a baaad mood.)

Importing a N770/N610

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2001 10:06:55 PM #
I'm sorry to say that i live in the UK, and have to wait an eternity for anything to be released here. :( Seeing that the 770 is 'announced' to be released in europe in about a months time (meaning about 2/3 months before anyone here will be able to get there hands on one...) i'm thinking of mail (internet?) ordering from the US.
Does anyone have any experience of this? Any recommended retailers? Am I covered by warranty? (like with VAIOs).

Yee.

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