Sony Clie TH55 - looks hot

outsider · February 4, 2004 9:24PM

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_th55tj37/th55.html

- OS: PalmOS 5 (Ver.5.2.1)

- CPU: 123MHz SONY Handheld Engine (same as the UX-series)

- Memory: DRAM - 32MB / ROM - 32MB

- Display: 320x480 / 65536 colors

- WiFi: 802.11b

- Clie Organizer

- 0.31 megapixel - digital camera (640x480 max. resolution)

- MQV (Quicktime), MPEG-1 Playback

- Voice Recorder

- No mention of Bluetooth although some images do have a Bluetooth LED.

- 2.89 in x 4.78 in x .62 in (approximately)

- Comes in Black or Red

Has almost everything I need in a PDA. Anyone have any other suggestions for a PDA. I am seriously in the market now. With my promotion I need to get 'organizized' instead of using dozens of post-it notes, if you know what I mean.. Thanks!

edit: Oh yeah... The price in Japan will be 39,800 Yen, which is about $375.

cosmonut · February 4, 2004 9:50PM

That's my next PDA.

eugene · February 4, 2004 10:18PM

At what point is the average person going to be carrying no fewer than 3 crappy cameras with him at all times? Looks about the same as the Tungsten T3, though a little bit more stylish I suppose.

outsider · February 4, 2004 10:27PM

With built-in WiFi though. Even if it doesn't have BT, this is the deciding factor for me if I had to choose between the two.

torifile · February 4, 2004 10:33PM

AFAIK, the US model will not have BT, only wifi. After getting used to have BT in my T3, I actually don't think I would trade it for wifi. Why? Because surfing on the palm isn't great. Regardless of the speed of it, the experience just isn't pleasing and if I'm in an area with wifi, I can use my powerbook. I use my t3 to check my email hourly through my t610. I can do it anywhere with ease. And text email is much more suited to the handheld. It's a nice combo of functionality.

torifile · February 4, 2004 10:37PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eugene

At what point is the average person going to be carrying no fewer than 3 crappy cameras with him at all times?

Point well taken. I don't understand the push for sub-mega pixel cameras that take up battery life and space. The only reason my phone has a camera is because it has all the other features I want. I could lose the phone and not worry about it.

Quote:

Looks about the same as the Tungsten T3, though a little bit more stylish I suppose.

Not true. The OS and resolution are the same. The proc is considerably less speedy and it has half the ram. The T3 has 64 megs of ram (52 usable) and it's absolutely spacious. Also, the T3 has mac compatibility out of the box.

eugene · February 4, 2004 10:58PM

Quote:

Originally posted by torifile

P

Not true. The OS and resolution are the same. The proc is considerably less speedy and it has half the ram. The T3 has 64 megs of ram (52 usable) and it's absolutely spacious. Also, the T3 has mac compatibility out of the box.

Well, I don't know about how the CPUs stack up (higher clocked Xscale vs the lower clocked Sony's), but that was my main point. The T3 has practically everything the Clie has, and its been out for months already.

torifile · February 4, 2004 11:07PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eugene

Well, I don't know about how the CPUs stack up (higher clocked Xscale vs the lower clocked Sony's), but that was my main point. The T3 has practically everything the Clie has, and its been out for months already.

Gotcha. We actually agree on something!!

Two things, actually. Wow. I never thought this day would come.

matsu · February 4, 2004 11:08PM

A good PDA could use a 1-1.8" HDD and high quality mic much more so than a camera.

PDA's are finally starting to look like usable note-taking devices.

piwozniak · February 5, 2004 8:26AM

I would wait for another Pxx phone from SE.

*cough* wifi *cough*

addison · February 5, 2004 11:54AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Outsider

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_th55tj37/th55.html

- OS: PalmOS 5 (Ver.5.2.1)

- CPU: 123MHz SONY Handheld Engine (same as the UX-series)

- Memory: DRAM - 32MB / ROM - 32MB

- Display: 320x480 / 65536 colors

- WiFi: 802.11b

- Clie Organizer

- 0.31 megapixel - digital camera (640x480 max. resolution)

- MQV (Quicktime), MPEG-1 Playback

- Voice Recorder

- No mention of Bluetooth although some images do have a Bluetooth LED.

- 2.89 in x 4.78 in x .62 in (approximately)

- Comes in Black or Red

Has almost everything I need in a PDA. Anyone have any other suggestions for a PDA. I am seriously in the market now. With my promotion I need to get 'organizized' instead of using dozens of post-it notes, if you know what I mean.. Thanks!

edit: Oh yeah... The price in Japan will be 39,800 Yen, which is about $375.

Yes I have a suggestion, buy the Treo 600. Don't write off something you have never tried, it took me about three days to get used to it but it is fantastic. Palm and phone combined and it syncs perfectly with the mac. Lots of applications, tons of support but ... no blue tooth yet. There is a rumour of a Treo 610 with blue tooth and a higher res screen, but it's a rumour so i have no idea if it is true.

The GSM version is quad band so it should work just about everywhere. My only complaint is that the ring tones need to be higher pitched to be heard over longer distances.

outsider · February 5, 2004 6:00PM

My main problem with the Treo is the low screen resolution. Also guys, I know about the low MHz of the TH55 but it also has 3 processors, the main one, a DSP and a multimedia processor, so it's the MHz wars all over again. And for me, I place higher importance on WiFi than BT. I would be using it for checking email in the building while in meeting where I wont have my laptop, sycing with my Enchange account, checking a filemaker DB, etc.

My big drawback is the lack of a 5 way directional button. But that's minor. Also there are rumors of a highend version of the TH series.

outsider · February 5, 2004 7:25PM

It was just released in Hong Kong so here is the specs in English.

http://www.clie-online.sony.net/prod...ction.html?hkf

matsu · February 6, 2004 7:05AM

I'd love to see some PDA maker combine this with a 1-1.8" HDD, as mentioned, and really good handwriting recognition, and a good voice recorder. Natural language dictation is inconsequential, it'd just be more useful for me to have a voice recorder for meetings and interviews. Right now I rumage about for a pad and a tape recorder. If I get a digital recorder, recording/storage time is still limited, and I still have to carry about an agenda/notepad.

I wouldn't really mind having a seperate phone, I can get a smaller phone than what I carry currently, and bluetooth sync might let me use my phone as the mobile web link for both my laptop and my PDA. Personal area network indeed.

torifile · February 6, 2004 12:46PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Matsu

I'd love to see some PDA maker combine this with a 1-1.8" HDD, as mentioned, and really good handwriting recognition, and a good voice recorder. Natural language dictation is inconsequential, it'd just be more useful for me to have a voice recorder for meetings and interviews. Right now I rumage about for a pad and a tape recorder. If I get a digital recorder, recording/storage time is still limited, and I still have to carry about an agenda/notepad.

I wouldn't really mind having a seperate phone, I can get a smaller phone than what I carry currently, and bluetooth sync might let me use my phone as the mobile web link for both my laptop and my PDA. Personal area network indeed.

The T3 has a pretty good voice recording capabilities and you can save to an SD card. The limitation in this situation is obviously battery life. A HDD would be cool but it would come at the cost of already valuable and too scarce "time away from a plug".

As far as the bluetooth phone/pda/computer goes, you're absolutely right... I love it. I have my T3 check my email without any intervention or having to find a wireless hotspot. It's cool.

Sony Clie TH55 - looks hot

Comments