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Handhelds Hardware

Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Review 74

Posted by CmdrTaco from the hardware-to-lust-after dept.
securitas writes "In case you can't wait until September to find out what it's like, Walt Mossberg reviews the Sony Clie UX50 (as previously discussed). He likes it, but with reservations. The keyboard lacks predictive text (unlike the Handspring Treo and RIM BlackBerry) and the Clie Mail e-mail software can't read graphical e-mails and has poor attachment support. The audio player only reads files from a particular directory. He likes the 802.11b WiFi and loves the 450x320 screen. The biggest problem? The $700 price tag ($600 for the non-wireless UX40 model) - equivalent to a low-end laptop - especially since it doesn't come with a Memory Stick. If you can read it, here's a Japanese Clie UX50 review and PalmInfocenter press release rewrite."
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Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Review More

Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Review

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  • Could replace personal computers (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mjmalone ( 677326 ) * on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:24PM (#6698957) Homepage
    With new small input devices [slashdot.org], and things like 7.1 surround sound being implemented in portables (new ps handheld) all we need is a better way to display output and pdas could potentially replace pcs.

    Currently I don't own a pda, because I really don't think I would use it. The technology is cool, but coolness doesn't justify the price tag. However, if the current trend continues we could have a device that could be used as your primary computer in a few years. Think talking on the phone while driving is dangerous? Imagine talking on IRC.

    • Re:Could replace personal computers (Score:5, Funny)

      by frostbane ( 660953 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:26PM (#6698969)
      Imagine talking on IRC

      Thats why they invented 1337 speak. You can type efficiantly using one hand and a numpad...

    • Heard that before.. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by YomikoReadman ( 678084 ) <jasonathelen&gmail,com> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:31PM (#6699036) Journal
      Once upon a time, there was a portable PC. It was called a laptop. The laptop became more and more powerful, got a larger screen, a more functional, almost desktop like keyboard, and the price began competeing with the desktop. People started to say that it could replace the desktop.

      Has anyone else heard that story? I heard it 10 years ago, and it still hasn't happened. All together now; "No portable computer will ever replace the desktop you have at home." Oh, and as far as your 7.1 sound in the PSP, that only means that it has the capacity to implement it. It still only has 1 tinny speaker, 2 if you're lucky, and if you really want 7.1 you will be tied to a tv, and that defeats the purpose. As for the rest of your comment, I don't currently own a pda either, but i really wish i did. Certainly not this one, as the price is pretty outrageous. But replace a desktop? These things won't even replace a laptop.

      • Re:Heard that before.. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Trevalyx ( 627273 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:47PM (#6699184) Homepage
        Once upon a time, there was a portable PC. It was called a laptop. The laptop became more and more powerful, got a larger screen, a more functional, almost desktop like keyboard, and the price began competeing with the desktop. People started to say that it could replace the desktop.
        Funny thing, that. You wouldn't beleive how many people I know and have worked for that don't have main systems anymore. Just laptops. More and more people are buying desktop replacement laptops that just sit around on the desk, but take up less space and do just as much as the tower system they could have gotten instead.
        Lots of people have skipped getting tower systems lately. They get a brick of a laptop, thinking, "Hey, it's nearly as powerful, and I can carry it around!" Then they realize that lugging around 8 lbs of computing wonder isn't all they conceptualized it to be.
        Of course, I wouldn't say that the laptop has replaced the desktop... Entirely. If you need a lot of power, a desktop is still the way to go, and as of yet, it's no simple matter to build your own laptop... The fact of the matter is, however, that laptops have come a long way, to the point where they are nearly as plentiful as desktop systems... It's not unthinkable that palmtop systems could advance to such a state that they could take up a lot of the functionality of main computers, either through internal resources or calling upon the resources of another, more powerful computer over an as- of- yet- not- present- wonderous suprely fast, globally available wireless connection.

        A lot can change in ten years.
        • Definitly true. Right now, I also know several dozen people looking at laptops over desktops, but most of them are casual users. I don't really see desktops going anywhere as long as there are gamers and DIYers buying them.
        • well laptops and PDA's will "replace"desktops when home servers become popular. I am currently in a house with 3 PC's. We are also wireless. Why woud i need to use a desk top, why not just use a laptop or PDA to surf and run programs off my server?
        • They get a brick of a laptop, thinking, "Hey, it's nearly as powerful, and I can carry it around!" Then they realize that lugging around 8 lbs of computing wonder isn't all they conceptualized it to be.
          I've been toting a 7.5 pound desktop replacement for about 2 years now. Sure, I've still got a phat Athlon system that's twice as fast in the home office, but I rarely use it. I'd much prefer to sit on the sofa in my living room with my Thinkpad in my lap.
        • *More pro-laptop (v. desktop) arguments:

          --If you have a really small apartment, a laptop takes up less room than a desktop. Also, a laptop only uses one electrical socket; my last desktop used 3 or 4 once you had plugged all the crap in (this was pre-USB, though). Sure, you can use power strips, but what a freaking mess!

          --If you don't have a desk, you can't use a desktop. (What am I thinking, this is Slashdot - if y'all don't have room, you get rid of the bed, not the desk...) But try crashing at a fr
      • "No portable computer will ever replace the desktop you have at home."

        Maybe you haven't seen the new Acer Desknote [cybershop.net.au]. Given the amount of people out there still using 15-17" CRTs, this would easily replace the desktop at home. I saw one yesterday at a shop in NZ and almost fell over. The display area is as large as a 19" CRT, and the keyboard vast.

        I certainly wouldn't use it as a laptop (it'd probably set the bed on fire) but as a portable computer it will easily replace the desktop at home.
      • Has anyone else heard that story? I heard it 10 years ago, and it still hasn't happened.

        For several years, people talked about how that year would be "the year of LAN", when ethernet would become standard equipment in offices. The "year of the LAN" eventually did come. I remember waiting years for CD-ROM drives to drop below $300, and reading columns about how CD-ROM's had failed to catch on. We're already at least three years into the wireless "revolution." Even incremental technologies like DVD's, n

      • I heard it 10 years ago, and it still hasn't happened.

        It sounds like you didn't hear that it is happening.

        We hit a point a few years ago where the average computer had more than enough horsepower for the average user's needs. As long as you're just using the computer for web surfing, email, and running productivity applications -- and I think it's fair to say that this is a valid description for perhaos 70% of most computer users today (making up a number, but it seems reasonable to me) -- then a comp

      • Quoth the Yomiko: "Once upon a time, there was a portable PC. It was called a laptop. The laptop became more and more powerful, got a larger screen, a more functional, almost desktop like keyboard, and the price began competeing with the desktop. People started to say that it could replace the desktop." Uhh.... if my memory serves me correctly, it HAS already happened. I believe I heard a news report citing Gartner G2 (or another comparable industry metric service) saying that laptop sales have outpaced de

    • Re:Could replace personal computers (Score:5, Informative)

      by RevAaron ( 125240 ) <`moc.liamtoh' `ta' `noraaver'> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @04:18PM (#6699731) Homepage
      I already have replaced my "personal computer" with a PDA.

      Over the years, I've slowly been moving more and more of what I do to a PDA. The first PDA I had which I used like a small personal computer was a Newton 2100u. On it I could do many things- develop NewtonOS applications, browse the web, SSH/telnet, write and compiled papers with a TeX subset, word process in NewtWorks, admin via VNC, email, Usenet, print my documents via the network or IrDA and play some games. And I could do it all via ethernet or an 802.11b connection without having to ever sync or dock with a Mac/PC. I still turned to my Mac or PC for some tasks- more complex web browsing and coding in Squeak Smalltalk. Since Squeak is pretty much my desktop, I didn't use the MP2100 at home- where my regular computer is- as much as I did when out of the house.

      Since the MP2100, I've had a few other PDAs. For the last year, I owned a Jornada 720 [geocities.com] that became even more my main machine. On it, I could do all of the stuff I listed above that I did on the Newton, and more. I no longer had to turn to the iBook for some web browsing- IE for WinCE [1] handled the vast majority of webpages without any problems. I could even run Java applets. I could also do all the Unixey stuff I wanted as well- write and run Perl/Tk apps, as well as write non-gui apps in python, ruby, REBOL, and others. And, with the switch to Windows CE, I was also able to develop, compile, test and run code in Squeak Smalltalk- all on the device. The J720 has a nice keyboard, something on which you can touch type. After a couple days of first getting it, I was able to type just about as fast as I could on my desktop.

      And just recently, I've obtained a Sharp Zaurus SL-C760 [dynamism.com]. For one, it has a 640x480 screen- incredible. Awesome for web browsing. I have Opera and NetFront on it, and both (via wifi or usbnet) load pages about as fast as I'm used to on a desktop on IE or Safari. And luckily, I can still do Squeak on this machine. And thanks to the wide memory bus and fast CPU, Squeak is damned fast- thanks to Dynapad [sf.net], a Squeak-based PDA environment is available now. Like the SL-5x00, software is pretty spotty for the Zaurus, but I don't need anything from the Qtopia environment other than a web browser. It's kind of funny- I had more well adapted Unix ports running under Windows CE than I can find for the Zaurus under Qtopia. Sure, it's easy to just do a recompile and run the app under X11 or the console, but the interface is entirely ill-suited for the device.

      Yes, the Zaurus C760 is very expensive. But since I've had it, I've pretty much given my girlfriend the iBook. Unlike the J720, which had a really good keyboard (Psion quality), the C760 has a thumboard. OK for entering names and dates, but not for much more. So I bought a PockeTop keyboard [pocketop.net] and am now back in business using this PDA as my main computer. What more can I ask for? It runs Squeak pretty damned well and has the most full-featured and fast web browsers you can get on any PDA, and one of the best browsing experiences I've had on *any* computer.

      This school year will tell whether or not the Zaurus cuts it, but I have high expectations. With the new version of qpdf, I can finally read the articles I get from professors, which was a *huge* barrier when I owned a SL-5500.

      I went through a few other PDAs in between- an iPAQ 3150, Sharp Zaurus SL-5500, and a Dell Axim X5 Basic. None of them could cut it. The SL-5500 was a huge disapointment in a number of areas- screen was total shite, battery life horrible, and there are few decent applications. The Axim was a good machine, but after having been used to bigger screens for my whole PDA career, I just couldn't downgrade to a wee 240x320 screen. (although the Dell has the brightest and sharpest 240x320 screen I've seen!)

      M
    • With real laptops getting to be cheaper than high-end PDAs [insane.com], I don't see why anybody would want to spend so much on a PDA.

  • Whenever Slash mentions PDA's for $700 dollars... (Score:3, Funny)

    by DRWHOISME ( 696739 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:27PM (#6698980)
    i skip the article. :)

  • But... (Score:4, Funny)

    by eightball01 ( 646950 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:27PM (#6698989)
    Could it play Quake 3? No? Then it WON'T replace PC's.

  • predictive text (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:29PM (#6699003)
    That issue a shampoo about thesis lack of predictive texture one thesis keyboard. I ample using predictive texture right now and I think it's great!

  • Laptop replacement? (Score:3, Funny)

    by photoblur ( 552862 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:30PM (#6699029) Homepage
    Sure it's a nice device, but I agree with Mr. Mossberg... it's too expensive. For $700, the price of a low-end laptop, I'd expect a lot more. Maybe someone would like to buy me one and I wouldn't have to worry about the price?
    • "Sure it's a nice device, but I agree with Mr. Mossberg... it's too expensive. For $700, the price of a low-end laptop, I'd expect a lot more. Maybe someone would like to buy me one and I wouldn't have to worry about the price."

      Just remember that you can't put your laptop in your pocket.

    • Re:Laptop replacement? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by skamp ( 559446 )

      For $700, the price of a low-end laptop, I'd expect a lot more.

      Maybe you would rather expect to pay a lot less for it...

      I'm still waiting for a handheld with the features of a laptop (hard drive, wi-fi, stereo I/O...), without any embeded keyboard: my sub-notebook has a much better one than those found on such devices. In other words, I want a multimedia handheld with strong audio and video capabilities, that I can bring on vacation and use as a graphical remote control as well.

  • This market will be driven by the users (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Yxes ( 7776 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:33PM (#6699058) Homepage Journal
    Let me start with a quote from Tom Robbins author of "Still Life With Woodpecker"

    When she was a small girl, Amanda hid a ticking clock in an old, rotten tree trunk. It drove woodpeckers crazy. Ignoring tasty bugs all around them, they just about beat their brains out trying to get at the clock. Years later, Amanda used the woodpecker experiment as a model for understanding capitalism, Communism, Christianity, and all other systems that traffic in future rewards rather than in present realities.

    As we continue to move add with technology, let's not forget that the all of this comes from somewhere after all. It's the programmers, the designers and the users that make up the bulk of what we use today and though we are constantly dicated by doctrine (ie advertisements, public speakers and the like) ultimately it's the masses that dertermine what is useful. It's not the number of features that matter... it's the usefulness.

    • If only it were.

      Users can only select from the choices "reasonably" available to them. By "reasonably" I mean that most people are busy, they go to one big store and pick something because it's reduced, comes in a nice box or is made by someone they've heard of etc.

      What is on the shelves, and how much space it gets is a hugely complex issue. Politics, stock levels, agreements, margins etc. all dictate what a customer sees and thus influence their choice.

      In an ideal world good products would win, standard

  • no phone feature? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by rexguo ( 555504 )
    We all know that PDAs and mobile phones has been on the convergence path for a long time, with PDAs trying to be phones (O2 XDA) and phones trying to be PDAs (SonyEricsson P800), so I'm very surprised that Sony didn't include phone features into this uber PDA. Afterall, it seems like the perfect way to SMS (QWERTY keyboard) and MMS (large screen). Isn't it all about connectivity? Since it has WiFi, where's the IP-phone feature?
    • Pretty much all of the PDA/phones available now are clunky. Also, in most of the world, the net bandwidth provided by a cellular connection is pretty crappy compared to what you can get with wifi. The real reasons Sony choose to exclude it are unknown, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sony didn't include cellular capabilities in the UX50 for the same reason I don't own any cellular devices yet- they're not just not mature, fast or cost-effective enough to provide them in non-specialized devices. To my know
      • That said, I think it'd be neat if Sony had a third UXx0 model- perhaps the UX60- that did include cellular capabilities.

        I still have my trusty Palm V from 1998 or thereabouts. It is functional, I love the design, and at the $350+ I paid for it originally, it has more than paid for itself over the years.

        I lost my Palm V for a year, starting about 18 months ago. It was under my couch. During that time, I considered several times whether I should replace it, and always decided not to. I was so relieved to
  • It's still small and light enough to travel in a pocket or small purse, but it looks and feels like a little laptop.

    Is that a Sony Clie in your pocket, or aren't you really happy to see me?

    I'd rather go in for something heavier and bulkier when chicks're around.

  • Cost of Memory Stick (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gyrojoe ( 600717 ) <(moc.liamg) (ta) (todhsals+eojoryg)> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:40PM (#6699120)
    If you can afford a $700 PDA, I'm sure you can afford a memory stick as well. Unless of course, you have one of those already because the memory stick is an extremely popular (and useful) storage device. Oh wait... nope. How about an SD or PCMIA slot instead since this IS a "mini" laptop.

  • Keyboard (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The keyboard lacks predictive text?

    Sounds more like a lack of function in the OS/Software...

  • Hmmm $700... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Chris_Mir ( 679740 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @03:49PM (#6699201)
    Is that including SCO licence?
  • It would seem the new trend is to move PDAs to be more laptop-like with these clamshell devices.

    (Funny though, after Microsoft themselves killed their HPC clamshell market and told the world HPC was dead and keyboardless pen-driven PDAs were the future.)

    However, the new clamshells are still significantly overpriced when compared to devices in their category (compare to a Ipaq 2215 @ half the price). In the same breath you have Sony pushing devices such as the U101, which is a PDA-like laptop. Granted it

  • Glaring error in the report (Score:3, Informative)

    by Fideaux! ( 44069 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @04:02PM (#6699406) Homepage
    You should be able to sync to a Macintosh using Mark/Space's The Missing Sync [markspace.com] just like I do with my ancient (over a year old!) NR-70v
  • There are several reasons that I think this device will be the future of PDA's. 1. Same form factor as a pager. 2. Keyboard which is useable 3. Add a cell phone and a bluetooth headset, and you are golden 4. add a small large capactiy removeable/semi-removeable media and it will be even better. The Pro's for this device: 1. Memory, more memory than any other Clie. 2. Bluetooth + 802.11b = YEAH! The Con's for this device 1. No Hotsync station (but it does have a USB port!!!) 2. No Portrat mode!!!!
  • I've had a new Blackberry 7230 color model for about three weeks now and I haven't seen any sort of predictive text. It does have "AutoText" which does replacement, e.g. it will change "arent" into "aren't" or "htere" to "there".

    Is there true predictive text that I haven't found and enabled yet?

  • Why? (Score:4, Funny)

    by dimer0 ( 461593 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @04:21PM (#6699781)
    Why are you reading this article? Don't you know there's a power outage? Geeze...

  • bah.. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by kaan ( 88626 )
    Here's the problem: this device will not catch on, just like most of the other high-power PDAs that havn't caught on, because it does way too much. At the very least, it does way more than the average user will need/want. And for $700!! Why should a somebody spend that kind of money on a tiny device with limited power/resources instead of putting that cash toward a laptop? The expected answer is smaller size, better form factor, extreme portability.

    But you know what? This smells just like all of the hyp
  • Just as no rational human being would spend $600 on the Treo when it first came out, no one will spend $700 on this. If you wait a few months, after the compant realizes "oh crap, we have sold 2 units!" they will slash the price in half. Early adopters always help pay for high development costs. Also, do not expect PDAs to come even CLOSE to replacing laptops or desktops until nanotech fabrication methods are the de facto standard.
  • Yeah, it's $700, but more people like it [pcmag.com]. PC Mag [pcmag.com] says yes.

  • Price & Miniaturization (Score:3, Insightful)

    by cloudless.net ( 629916 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @08:54PM (#6702377) Homepage
    Many people complain about the price of this PDA. Sure it is expensive, but it does cost a lot of money to develop and manufacture powerful hardware in such a tiny form. A 1GB MemoryStick is more expensive than a 80GB harddisk, but remember you can't put a harddisk in your wallet. Some people want a powerful PDA in their pockets and are willing to pay premium for it. If you don't care about size, keep your desktop and don't complain!

  • if i can watch TV on it, it's kicks ass..
  • The keyboard lacks predictive text (unlike the Handspring Treo and RIM BlackBerry)


    The keyboard (should) only send keypress signals. Any intelligence or interpretation of those signals should be a software, rather than a handware function.

  • MUH (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ShadowRage ( 678728 )
    personally, I dont think pda's will replace the conventional computer... they'll just be another accessory to the computer, though mobos are getting smaller and embedded systems are becoming popular.. I think people will still want towers or similar types of cases to modify and add power to..now.. for typical user.. pda's will prolly be another cell phone thing.. for hardcore computer geeks.. pc's will still be a major thing.. and pda's will be a side thing. personally, I couldnt sit there squinting my eyes

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