Sony Clié SJ20

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retrograderetrograde
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Ok, I know this model is no longer sold by Sony but I have never owned a PDA before and for my first foray into the world of handhelds (which I have been holding off on for a long time) I don't want to spend a lot of money: I should be able to pick up a second hand or refurb model for little money.



I haven't made a purchase yet but I am wondering if it is worth spending the little extra for the SJ20 or whether I should even go the even cheaper route of an SL10 or older Palm. I have heard conflicting things about the white backlit monochrome screen on the SJ20: many/most say it is "the bomb" but there have been a few dissenting voices who seem to think it is fuzzy or blurry. Also ghosting issues but I'm not too concerned about that and one review which claimed "burn in" on the screen even after a few hours of leaving it on!



So any AI people have this Sony Clié and want to give me their personal review or just comments on the screen or whether you would have preferred to hold off for a colour model or whether it is too slow for some applications or whether it doesn't turn enough heads



I still haven't made up my mind entirely on this so any thoughts or comments appreciated

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    drcreationsdrcreations Posts: 104member
    My wife has the SJ20 and she loves it. The backlit screen does a great job. However, I bought the SJ30, which is now called the SJ22 and I have no complaints. The color screen on the SJ30 is awesome! If your looking for a place to get the unit, check here :



    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...u=S08-9504%20P



    I use these guys whenever I want to find good deals.



    Take Care
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  • Reply 2 of 4
    retrograderetrograde Posts: 503member
    DrCreations thanks for the advice and the tip-off on TigerDirect



    To be honest I would love to get a new SJ22 and the colour screen would be fabulous but I am totally new to the world of PDAs and so really just want to buy preferably a second-hand cheap PDA to start as I'm unsure how much I will end up using it in the end and what value it will be for my work.



    Basically this will be a tester unit for me and if all goes well I will consider a top-notch model sometime in the future.



    Glad to hear the backlight works well. No sign of screen burn in after you turn off the SJ20 though? No one has mentioned it except one European site: InfoSync that discusses the burn in here. Here is a segment:



    Quote:

    The SJ20 is also the first display we've seen since around 1985 that suffered from screen burn in. Leaving an image on the screen for only a few hours (the length of our battery burndown test) left a residual image in the liquid crystals that lasted for several more hours. The effect is not permanent, but we have never seen that sort of behavior in a handheld before.



    The above review is really quite a negative review overall and I'm wondering if any of the parts of the review ring true for your or your wife... or anyone else who is using an SJ20. Other reviews however seem to be generally positive and applaud the SJ20 so this might be an anomoly?
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  • Reply 3 of 4
    drcreationsdrcreations Posts: 104member
    HI,



    Well, in the nine months that she has had the unit, she hasn't experienced this at all. I wonder if it was something the older units did? You know, you might also want to check out BestBuy and see if they have any OpenBox Clie's.



    Take Care
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  • Reply 4 of 4
    retrograderetrograde Posts: 503member
    I'm really glad to hear that your wife hasn't noticed any burn in with the SJ20. The review I linked to above is the only mention I can find for this problem anywhere on the net and so my guess is that they must have had a dud machine or something. All the other reviews rave about the screen and its white backlight (although most mention ghosting which I don't think will bethor me too much in any case).



    I checked out the BestBuy site and found SJ20s for sale for something on the order of $125 but you can get refurb units direct from Sony for $110 so that seems the best route in online sales so far.



    Thanks again DrCreations for your advice and insight
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