 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: Sony Clie PEG-NX80V (Silver) Handheld | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
User Submitted Sony Clie PEG-NX80V (Silver) Handheld Reviews (cont...)Date: 2004-09-03 It's All About Accessories - The Good and the Bad In today's world of electronic gadgets, there are two things that really are frustrating: 1) Once you buy an electronic gadget - it often is obsolete the next day; 2) You often need to get lots of accessories to get the most use of your gadget. On top of that, when you are ready to buy a replacement gadget to replace the one you want - all of the accessories you bought are suddenly no good. Thus, the dilemma I faced when my old Palm IIIc finally showed signs it was nearing the end of its life was what to buy. I had used my IIIc for 3 1/2 years. During this time, I had such accessories as a Leather Case, A Keyboard, and a Travel Charger. Now as I was viewing what Palm (today) had to offer, I discovered that those nice accessories I owned were suddenly no good because none of the new models that Palm offered were compatible with them. Not a happy camper. As I mention above, this isn't a Palm-specific problem, but a problem with consumer electronics - and something companies in the consumer electronics industry have completely taken advantage of the consumers. Enter Sony's Clie PEG-NX80V - this is known as Sony's Personal Electronics Organizer. In addition to being a very impressive unit, it did seem to solve some of my immediate problems around accessories, but of-course introduced a new set of accessory problems I did not imagine. First up the unit itself. It is a beautiful unit that will immediately make a great first impression. It is silver and basically looks like a mini tablet computer. For starters, the unit folds down into its own hard case - so I didn't need to buy any extra cases because this protected the screen (I keep mine in a Day Planner binder, but you still may want a leather cover to prevent case scratches). When you open the unit, you will see a screen and a keyboard - now it looks like a mini laptop. The Keyboard solved my dilemma of having to buy a keyboard (I use mine to enter sales data and really depend on a keyboard - this one works great). Now the cool feature is you can swivel the screen around and fold it back down on top of the keyboard into the traditional PDA view - now its just like a regular PDA. The PEG-NX80V package also comes with a beautiful looking USB cradle in which the back of the cradle is translucent. In addition, the AC Charger unplugs from the cradle and can be plugged into an plug adapter that connects to the unit - now you have your travel charger. Yes, the plug adapter is included. That solved my travel adapter problem (I take it on the road a lot). The unit also has a slot for expanding memory with a Sony Memory Stick or Compact Flash Card as well as connecting a wireless lan card. There are some other impressive features with this unit. First up the stuff you get out of the box. The unit comes loaded with Palm OS 5. Sony also packages their own version of the Launcher Program - which looks very attractive. The Sony Launcher does get some getting used to, but I like it because it looks good. If you can't get used to it, you can switch to the traditional Palm OS launcher. There is a jog dial on the unit for making scrolling lists very easy. To write, the unit comes with Palm's Graffiti 2, but there is something better - the Decuma Input Handwriting Recognition Software. Decuma Input has a utility where you enter your handwriting and then the unit will recognize your writing. I found the change from standard Graffiti to Graffiti 2 a bit annoying. But Decuma Input is terrific and once you get used to it, you won't go back. The unit will allow you to switch between Decuma Input and Graffiti. The unit comes with an application that will turn your PDA into a Universal Remote Control to use with such devices as a TV, DVD, VCR, etc. Finally the unit comes with a built in voice memo recorder for recording quick voice memos, storing them in the unit and playing them back. Only thing disappointing is a very cheap styled stylus. As for this being a Personal Electronics Organizer, it has some terrific features - but also some warnings. For starters it has a Built in 1.3 Megapixel Camera with a flash - its only 1.3 Megapixels, so it won't replace your digital camera. It's a nice feature and you can store pictures and do some cool things like put photos in your address book. Be warned - snapping a picture will consume a lot of power from your battery (especially with the flash) - more than you expect. Be also warned, you MUST have a Memory Stick to export/import pictures with your PC and Clie - thus another accessory. There also is a built in MP3 Player (the unit does come with headphones) and a Movie Camera as well. Using the MP3 unit and Movie Camera does require the Use of a Memory Stick - thus this becomes another "required" accessory. The Data Backup Program does also require the Memory Stick. From looking at the specs, it isn't intuitive you need the Memory Stick for these features. While this is a great unit and it did solve my accessory problems, it created a whole new set of others (namely with the Memory Stick). It is also worth noting to get the Wireless LAN for internet access is a costly accessory as well. However the unit is still very impressive looking and works terrific. Price out what accessories you want and need - then shop carefully. Your bet is to try to get it on sale or for a rebate though to get the most for your money. Date: 2004-07-03 After over a year of daily use... This is my third PDA, the priors were Palm IIIvx, Sony Clie 610C. I really use my PDA all day, so I could justify paying a bit more for a nicer PDA. I have friends with CE based machines and they really don't use them nearly as much as I use mine. Pros: Battery life is very good. I would often go for 3 or 4 days between charges, regardless of the display brightness. If I reduced the brightness, I could go for a week of light use between charges. Cons: Decision Time: There's nothing on the horizon which is even threatening to make this unit obsolete. It will certainly rank with the best for at least another 2 years. Considering that unused NX's can now be bought for aboutUS$300, you really can't go wrong. Highly recommended.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ©2004 SimplyHandhelds, All rights reserved. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
