T-T or SJ-33?

[Chulmo]

I've been doing a lot of research on both the Sony SJ33 and the T |T, but I'm still unsure about which one to buy....it's killing me. I'm hoping that you guys can help me decide.

I realize that there is roughly a $100 difference in the two PDAs, but I'm willing to pay the difference for quality.

I'm a college student with a SJ20 and I am looking for a new PDA with MP3 playback support, hi-res color screen and a faster processor than my current sj20. I dont know much about blue tooth, but from what I know it seems like there are a lot of perks to it. I have a verizon v60i that doesn't support bluetooth and have a 2 year contract with them so buying a blue tooth compatible phone is out of the question.

So what do you guys think? I've read both good and bad specs about both PDAs and I'm stuck.......please help!:confused:

[Seraph]

If MP3 is REALLY important to you, i say go with the SJ. Thats the only gripe i have about the TT, and it not even that important since i use a NetMD unit for music

[iiicRules]

Seraph- Whats wrong with the mp3 playback on a TT? With the sound patch installed and Pocket Tunes, I find it brilliant- except with the slowdown of other apps whilst playing in the background. Hopefully they will make use of the DSP in the not to distant future then there will be no slowdown in other apps

[Seraph]

I use sony's MZ-N1, the bass and frequency response far exceeds that of the tungsten's circuitry. There's nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't compare to an device that costs the same as the tungsten that is solely dedicated to audio. I just put that in just in case chulmo is some kind of audiophile, i tried using the tt for awhile, and while it was great that i didn't have to carry around the md player anymore (size about 3 md's stacked up) it was very lacking in volume, and when i bumped the volume up, the cutoffs began to kick in and it sounded horrible.

I tried to preserve the audio by using a pair of fontopia earbuds that practically mute everything around me when i put them on, and even then it wasn't anything to write home about.

I have listened to the mp3 playback on my roommate's NV70 and its much better than the TT.

Not trying to bash the TT, i love mine, but it just doesn't cut it as an mp3 player, not when i use it all the time when i'm walking around on campus with those loud buses that drown out the dinky sound i get from the TT.

[iiicRules]

I understand completely what you are saying- a dedicated audio player of the same price would sound much better but i suppose what I'm really questioning is whether the SJ-33 will sound that superioir to the TT. The 33 isn't a dedicated audio player either....

[Seraph]

But sony pdas that have the mp3 function built in has proven to be very capable mp3 players. I doubt that it will have the same cutoff problems that the TT has since sony build most of their modern clies with multimedia as a huge selling point, if not video playback, its gotta at least have good audio for their midrange product.

I did just remember one downside to the SJ is that it uses memory sticks and so if you wanna save money with memory between cameras and other pdas.......you have to sell your soul to sony.

[iiicRules]

Yeah. These are all problems that would be solved if they used the DSP. They can't use it cus PalmSource haven't released the DSP's code to developers. I'm hoping RealPlayer might use it. A DSP is what the sony model uses- the TT also has one but as yet it has not been put to use... It would solve sound quality issue, prolong battery life and leave the processor free to do other stuff.........

Memory stick are also expensive- and don't they stick out of the top of the pdas too making them succeptable to damage?? I can't comment on the sound quality of a Sony becuase I haven't heard one.

good luck!

[Seraph]

They don't stick out as far as i know, but they are also bigger to carry around, until now:

http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/memorystick/images/pop5.gif

They are basically cut in half memory sticks that work in traditional mem stick slots using an adapter, and in the case of the upcoming P800 smartphone, straight into the slot. It would appear SD might have form factor competition, but the biggest of these is 128, so i'm not worried

[Chulmo]

Thanks to those who responded to my post.

Sitting here on my desk right now is my brand new TT :D

I'm still messing around with it and so far it seems great, I cant keep my hands off it. I forgot to buy a memory card to listen to Mp3s, but I think im going to run over to get one tommorrow. Any cheap places to order it online? and is 128MB the biggest SD card available?

As a new member of the TT family, I was hoping you guys could give me a list of the "essentials" to install on my TT. Already got Ptunes...... anything else cool out there?

Ok...im going to go waste more time playing with my TT. Lets hope i dont fail all my classes because of my new toy.... :p

[Seraph]

No, they currently go up to 512, but for the money you'd have to pay for a 512, i'd just pick up 2 256's. The 256's from Lexar are the most popular around here, you can find them on the cheap at

Buy.com (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10330513&loc=101)

It seems that its even cheaper than when i bought it last week.....do these things just keep going down or something?

[Chulmo]

Awesome :cool:

Thanks for the info Seraph.

Is the navigator the only way i can access my TT icons while the slider is closed?? I'm sorry guys, these are all pretty elementary questions im sure..... hehe

I can just see myself spending all my money on TT accessories..... oh well :p

BTW: how much for a WiFi expansion card? Any recommendations? I want to take advantage of the WiFi available on campus.

[Seraph]

There isn't one out yet, but sandisk is supposed to come out with one by the end of this month (or so i hear). As for the icons thing, do you mean accessing the main/menu/calc/find buttons that are to the sides of the grafitti? There is a program called Qlaunch that lets you use the hardbuttons to launch programs by holding the keys down for diffrent durations of time. There's also Jot, which is the program that lets you write onto the screen. With those two i have managed to keep the slider closed for awhile.

[Chulmo]

Hmmm..guess i have to wait for the WiFi :(


What I want to do is use my stylus to access the icons while the slider is closed.....is that possible?

[dr rx]

Seraph....iiicRules

You know I have to chime in about the sound quality issue. I have to agree with Seraph on this one. The T/T is more of a novelty mp3 player than a serious multimedia-type PDA....Would have to go for the Sony there....However, I find that I rarely use the T/T for mp3's anymore (the novelty has worn off, and the whole flippin' mess with Palm/Real, etc has grown tiresome) and I don't think you can beat the great form factor of the T/T....

The Sony models are too big, bulky, or awkward for my liking....

Just my two cents....

[Seraph]

I'd use Qlaucher or something like that........unless there's a launcher that can emulate those buttons, its just kinda funny imagining you trying to push the buttons with your stylus that are being blocked with the slider :p *poke* *stab* *ARGGGGGGGGGGHH*

[v0gu3b0y]

TT's processor is 3x faster than SJ33 an runs Palm OS 5. It's WAY better than the Clié.

MP3 qualitty is just a matter of releasing new software patches.

[Chulmo]

It's been about 7 hours since I brought my new TT home.....

I'm in love.....

Thanks folks!:D

[Larken]

The TT has another feature that would be useful to a college student: the ability to record voice. I'm not sure how much other people have done testing, so I gave it a whirl last week in a meeting here at work. I was about ten feet or more from the person speaking. I recorded directly to the SD card (128MB), and it had about 400 minutes of space on it. Another nice feature was after a minute of recording, the screen turns off to preserve battery. During the course of the meeting, different people spoke around the room, and the microphone picked it all up. Admittedly, it was a little low, but hooked into some external amplified speakers, it would be more than sufficient.