Comments on: Sony PEG-N610C and PEG-S320 Revealed

One other feature I'd like in my next PDA: 16 MB of memory. I don't like putzing around with slow, inconvenient secondary memory. I find this totally inconsistent with the Palm "simplicity" concept. But ever since I hooked my Palm Vx to the 'net, I've been short on memory.

The only real question left will be, what become of Handpring. I hope they survived. I kinda like that little company, tho' their design is kinda girlish.

heh.... can't have everything.

How does that help the enterprise market they want to capture? I hope the m3xx series has color too, so we don't need to pay a high premium for a color device.

Violet? As if the silver model with all that chrome wasn't flashy enough. Sony is obviously going for the college/HS student and the "who cares, everyone already knows I'm a geek" markets.

Most of us are in business. We have to look mature and professional. I don't need a flashy toy.

Sony will NOT beat palm out of the business market with these "color Gameboy's with MP3." And that is the biggest market.

You folks sounding the alarm are full of it (or maybe you're geeks!)

I wouldn't date ya'.

Claire

1. the 610c will sell well, and is a real threat to the 505 IMHO. It meets my main complaint which was I didn't want MP3 so didn't want the extra baggage. The higher resolution screen would also be a plus for displaying pictures (something the 505 does poorly due to resolution). I would be interested in getting a better understanding of the high res screen's impact on speed of the unit and battery life.

2. Overall design still goes to the Palm V/505, of course style is mostly personal taste. I never liked the boxy Volvos, and I don't like the square Sonys. I don't even like the square silk screened buttons.

3. I like having at least 2 colors to choose from, although this is an inventory issue. I guess I could always get a black IBM workpad.

4. Sony really is the only Palm OS vendor to date that can match the marketing and R&D budget of the Compaqs and HPs of the world. I believe that Sony makes the Palm world stronger, and Palm is lucky to have them in their camp.

5. Palm's licensing strategy is beginning to work, as there is innovation, greater market share, and license revenue from their approach. Apple has never been more than a niche player as they have refused to give up hardware sales for these benefits.

6. So far, I still prefer my 505, but the 610c is making me look up.

7. Sony has the WORST naming convention in the Palm market! I think that Handspring wins in this area.

If any of you are at the expo ask Sony...When will the ms be true plug and play, when can apps be run directly off it and what type of third party development is going on?

--Charlie

The 320's accessory list includes both a serial and a USB cradle, while the 610 can only use a USB cradle (at least if the Sony web site is anything to go by). Do you think the 320 will use the same hardware as the 300, thereby having the transmission speed of a serial connection despute the use of USB? If so, the 610 looks like it is even better value (has a cradle, higher transfer speed, high res, and colour).

Just an aside: anyone who thinks Palm of Handspring or anyone else is out for the count has no concept of how the market works. Those who slam the Edge have probably never tried it: the unit is built a whole lot more solidly than any other PDA out there. It's solid screen feels a lot better, for example. There's a niche that will pay for that, just as there is a niche that will pay for the HandEra 330, the M505, or any other PDA. Palm may have a troubling quarter or two ahead of it, but to count them out is ridiculous. Palm is still the company that your average user knows about...remember, those of us reading this board are the minority of PDA consumers.

Firstly, Sony needs to convince the general non-tech market that their Palm devices are better than a Palm-branded Palm. That's the first challenge of any of the Palm licensees, and it's a major one. There are people who still refer to Palms (and sometimes to Pocket PC's) as "Palm Pilots", and that name has been done away with for years. (Don't laugh - I know a few.) Palm has made a name for itself that provides significant confidence to the non-tech public looking to make a purchase. Sony is still mainly synonymous with audio. They'll have to build a brand awareness in their PDA technology before they can begin to think about overtaking Palm.

Secondly, Sony will need to ensure that their distribution channels make the devices as pervasive as Palm's. Palm has done well to make their own devices as in-your-face as possible. And the third party branding programmes are not such a bad idea. And if you think that the only third-party branded Palms are the Schiffer and the Jordan, think again. Check out http://www.healthetech.com/ for another third-party branded example. These programmes may contribute small sales numbers, but they make the Palm-branded Palm a more widely available Palm, and a Palm that reaches the consumer at his particular point of need (or want).

From a marketing standpoint, Sony has a lot of homework to do. Handspring had to do it with their "Visor Is" campaign, just to make a name for itself. Sony, despite the power behind their name, will have to do something similar to signal their major entry to the PDA market.

On the devices themselves, the 610C is a fabulous device, and among techies, will give the M505 some trouble. The device's look and style is unmistakeably Sony - it's flashy and it's heavily branded (Look at me! I'm from Sony!) - although this may not sit well with some people. The technology is cutting edge - 65k 320x320 colour screen, Palm OS 4.0, USB HotSync, lithium polymer batteries (Significant!), etc. And it's all obtainable at a great price.

One has to wonder though what market they're aiming for with the 610C. Sony has reduced the feature set by removing the audio capabilities of the 710C, making thie 610C less of a strictly multimedia device. Multimedia software is still bundled in gMovie and PictureGear, but no Office type software is included in the package. Palm bundles Office-to-Go. Handera and Handspring are including their own partners' Office suites. Whither Sony? Of course it could be argued that these could be a matter of personal taste and purchased later, but that adds 40 to 60 bucks for word processing and spreadsheet capability.

The S320 is also a nice device. However, if it comes with the older, greener screen, it is not as compelling a purchase as the M105, against which it competes.

Additionally, the older screen probably means a glass digitizer layer, as opposed to the plastic digitizer that appears on all monochrome M-series Palms. The plastic digitizer makes the device much more rugged from the outset. I've seen posts in Palminfocenter that attest to the abuse that the M10x takes.

The question remains, does Sony want to create a Palm killer, or just a very competitive device?

If Sony creates and markets a device that kills off Palm Corporation entirely, they could buy Palm at a bargain basement price. Dependent on when it happens if it does, Sony will have to pay the U.S. Government the tax dollars that 3Com didn't when Palm was spun off as a separate company. One of the conditions of the spin-off was that the purchaser would pay all of the taxes due if Palm was purchased by a third party before a specified period of time.

If Sony were to create and successfully market a Palm killer, and Palm dies, then the Palm OS will die if someone doesn't buy the software division or the patents and continue development. Does Sony then migrate all of their work to PocketPC or to Linux? Sony has invested too much in the Palm OS bite the hand that feeds it.

On another matter, on Palm's innovation, let's look at some of the minor enhancements that have come to the core Palm OS over the years:

1) Tap on the titlebar to activate the menu - formerly a hack

2) Combined appointment/to do screen in the Datebook application - a feature found in most third party datebook application before it was incorporated in the OS

3) Pop-up clock application - formerly a hack

4) Notepad application - remember Diddlebug?

5) Flashing alarm - remember Talelight? Not widely used, but clearly useful.

Palm clearly utilises user and partner innovation to build and tweak features in their OS and devices. The aim seems to be to bring the core feature set nearer to perfection. TRG debuted add-on storage with CF, and Sony has preferred their memory stick. Palm themselves have selected smaller and potentially cheaper SD/MMC, building on innovation that their partners have done already.

In the M50x series, Palm has decided to stick with the tried, tested and true Palm V form factor and make it better. You can't fault them for that decision. They've done enough revolutionary things in the product line by changing the connector *again*.

Finally, to the commentor who indicated that the M50x will feel wide in the palm of the hand when compared with the Sony, the reason that most pagers are wide as opposed to long was to make them easier to hold. Which is a more natural pose for the hand - flat out or with the fingers arched? A posture with the device resting against the flesh of the palm along the line of the thumb, with the fingertips providing a gentle grip along the other edge is more natural to hold a flat device than a more cupped hand. The device rests better and the hand is more relaxed. The concave curve on either side of the m50x, and the M10x as well, also makes for a more natural grip them the straight edges on most other PDA's. Palm has done their homework.

Will Sony do theirs?

M500:
+ slightly smaller (.26 ounces)
= uses mmc/sm cards instead of ms (preference)
- 200 bucks more expensive!

they seem to be equivalent in almost every other area (speed, memory, battery type, infrared, usb). Am I missing something?

The comparison against the M105 seems skewed as it seems to me (again pardon me if I'm making some stupid mistake) that the M105 is clearly inferior, using OS 3.5, no memory expandability, serial, bigger, cheap plastic case, non-upgradeable Flash memory, uses AAA instead of Lithium Polymer. So given this I don't understand why everyone is comparing the S320 against the M105 instead of the M500, which square up much more evenly.

Of course the M500 costs twice as much as the S320, but given that they have compareable features, it seems silly to compare the S320 against the much inferior but similarly priced M105......

Think I might have to get myself one. Anyone want a slightly used M505?

eKennedy