Tungsten T versus the sony models

[zvi100]

I had a chance to use the tungsten recently and it far surpassed my expectations. The sliding graffiti area is perfect for saving space. The small cramped keyboards on the clies are not only hard to use but very impractical. As are other features on the clie. Anyone who would spend $600 on one might as well just buy a cheap digital camera(100$) a cheap camcorder(200$) and a palm m505 for their PDA fix. But back to the tungsten the new screen size works wonders. The screen is much easier to read than previous models and the design of the handheld is rivaled only by the not yet released Fujitsu pocket-loox PDA.(check their website) With blue tooth, a new kind of folding keyboard developed by palm and other add ons on the way this is sure to be a line that will stay. The palm tungstenW with built in keyboard should follow suit to this great addition to the palm family and appeal to users on the go with its hybrid capabilities. The O. S. 5.0 is great but what hooked me was the much faster processor which is easily noticed when opening large files or exploring programs. True other PDA's such as the Toshiba pocket PC's have faster processors but this is a huge improvement for palm and lets all hope that they keep it up and avoid the boring repetition of modes that Sony fell into. Adding a new feature or 2 tot their clies while they all cost exorbitant amounts.

[Crash Override]

Amen to that sir!

I just hope Palm keeps pasting Sony in the same consistent manner that it has been for so many years.

I do believe that Loox thing gets rather hammered in all the reviews Ive looked at. Suffice it to say it doesn't hold a candle to Palm's new machine despite its feature set.

[PDASROCK]

I respectfully disagree. Not to say that I think the Tungsten is bad, or the wrong move for palm, but it all depends what you need.
If you are looking for an organizer, get a palm, if you want something that has some umph to it, get a clie.
You pointed out that it would be better to get a cheap camera, cheap video camera, and an m505. That's not the point. The idea is not to have to carry so much around.
The nx70v is faster, has a camera, keyboard, better resolution(if you know how to use it), mp3 player, movie player, flip design(which I like for protection), and jog dial which is handy, on the other hand, the TT has a smaller design, bluetooth, and is not as expensive.
It depends what you need, they are both extraordinary(I am not saying anything about ppc, because I wouldn't touch one except to throw it out the nearest window).

[zvi100]

I dont think that a digital camera with 310,000 pixels is all that great nor do i know any one who carries around a digital camera or a camcorder.

[zvi100]

I dont think that a digital camera with 310,000 pixels is all that great nor do i know any one who carries around a digital camera or a camcorder. The idea of mobile convergence or hybrid devices makes sense for phones and pda's but when was the last time you emptied a digital video recorder mp3 player camera palm voice recorder and more out of yur pockets?

[PDASROCK]

I agree the camera is basically usless as an actual camera, as are the video and voice features. But if you're somebody that would use all or most of these to some degree anyway, then you might as well just get this and pack it all up in one happy bundle;)
Business users should probably avoid this though, as they wouldn't use the extra features, and the size might get them.

[OldBlue]

I agree with all of you that the Tungsten T is a great PDA, but that it does not fill the needs of all PDA users. That probably explains the many sizes, styles, and types of PDAs on the market, as well as the many heated and emotional discussions on these boards. ... For me, my Tungsten T is far better than anything else I have seen on the market as far as meeting my needs.

As far as a camera, the Gadgeteer ( http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/ ) showed a very compact 640x480, 24 bit camera that would fit into the SD slot of a Palm! It even has a built-in self-timer! Here's a link to the camera:

http://www.veo.com/Traveler_Palm/default.asp

It will sell for about $100 and should be on the market anytime. I hope it's out in time for Christmas!

OldBlue

[janjan]

It really depends on what you need and how often. Everybody getting a pda should evaluate their needs and finance.

Some features such as MP3 player, camera, video, mini-keyboard may be frills to some, but really handy tools to others.

If you use most of the features at least some of the time every week, and prefers to have them with you just in case you need them, getting the Sony Clies at a higher price is worth the while because everything is intergrated and ready when you need them.

If you are able to plan what features you need and when, getting them separately is great so you keep the core costs down. Just bear in mind that if you eventully want everything within easy reach, you will need to invest in a good roomy case.

To each his own.

[Markd60]

I switched from Palm to Sony because ALL my (3) Palm devices developed digitizer problems and Palm did not provide support or even acknowledge the problem. My friends Palms also have the same problem. They go bad in the upper right corner, which makes them almost impossible to use. Using a paint program, make a dot with a Palm device and you'll see that the dot is about a half an inch north northeast of where you put the stylus! This happened to me over and over!
Sonys are way better, and the little buttons are easy to get used to.
Plus, the Sonys feel solid, while the Palms feel "hollow"
I've had Palm OS devices since the beginning, and I vote Sony, all the way!

[Stardust]

In terms of durability and reliability, does Sony have any edge over Palm? I plan to replace my Prism but wouldn't want to end up with a PDA whose digitizer, hard buttons or any part conking out before its time.

[PDASROCK]

I don't have much expierience witht he higher up palms, bu the highn up clies are nice. The choice between these two comes down to:
Mp3, highres(then get a clie)
Cheaper(in price), and a somewhat more stable os(because of clie add-ons such as the camera, gmovie, pg pocket, etc.

If you really like pdas, clies are generally higher end, if you want something in between, high end palms or lowish end clies, if you just want an address book, get a zire.

[PDASROCK]

Oh yeah, as far as durability, I really don't know. My nr70v holds its own, but my IIIc is a hardy little machine as well. Go metal. It's all good. Cheers

[little-man]

Personally, I say Sony all the way. As soon as the NX60 comes out, the only thing Palm will have on Sony is size. A quick comparison of NX series and Tungsten T:
Camera: NX70v yes, NX60 and Tungsten no
MP3: NX series yes, Tungsten no
Thumb keyboard: NX yes, Tungsten no
Expansion: both, with different but equal formats
Durability: NX series has magnisium casing, which is extremely strong (used in helmets in WWI) Tungsten is plasic. What more can I say.
Size: About equal thickness, tungsten is shorter.
Price: $500 for Tungsten and NX60, $600 for NX70v
Screen:both bright hi-res, NX is bigger with virtual grafitti down
Wireless compatability: Tungsten has bluetooth built in (30 foot range, slow) NX has slot for Wi-fi (300 ft range, faster)
Special issues: Tungsten has a problem with dust under the screen
Overall: SONY CLIE!!!!

[ryooki]

My only PDA experience was between the Palm m500 and the Sony N460 or something like that (the first mp3 player one). Personally, I preferred my Palm much more as it had a more solid feel to it and did well with all the dropping I managed to do.
The Clie just didn't feel as solid, and I was always afraid to drop it. Not that I did it on purpose, but I worried more with the Clie than I did the Palm. Too thin (width) or plasticky or something. It also started randomly turning off, and it's hold button stopped working.
Maybe I just got a lemon, but I'm looking at getting a Palm again. my $.02.

[little-man]

YEAH!!!!! I just got my newest issue of Popular Science magazine with it’s annual Best of What’s New awards, and guess what’s the VERY FIRST thing on the list??? SONY CLIE NX70V!!!!! And I quote:
“Sony pushes the PDA to new heights of form and multimedia function with the Clié PEG-NX70V. It’s unique High-resolution screen – 320 by 480 pixels – pivots up to reveal a keyboard. A 640-by480 pixel color camera and an MP3 player are also built in. There’s even an expansion slot for an optional wireless network card.”
TAKE THAT TUNGSTEN!!!!!!:D

[little-man]

Sorry about that last post to all you tungsten lovers. If you really want me to shut up that badle, just send me an NX70v and I'll get rid of that post and not post any more about how much better Sony is than Palm. Actually, I'd do that for an old NR series too.

[OldBlue]

little-man

No apologies needed. People are free to post their preferences on these boards. I hope that you eventually get the Sony Clie for which you are such an avid enthusiast. (I got the impression from your other posts that you already own an NX70V. Which PDA DO you use?)

For my needs, my Tungsten T is doing everything I could possible want and much more. Thanks for respecting that. :)

OldBlue

[Clie-Taurus]

Actually coming from using a NR70V to a NX70V I can say some of the features the new NX has. It features a Flash Player, but you need to load the files to memory stick. Also, there is a simple MPEG4 video recorder, but you need a memory stick to use it. It has a CF Type 2 slot, but it only works with Sony's own wireless card right now. And it uses Memory Sticks, which are limited to 128MB in size right now, and probably forever limited to it. Sony will probably work on their new MS Duo format (very small), and adandon MS development.

Sadly, Sony changed their Hi-Res+ (320*480) APIs, so some if not all of the old Hi-Res+ applications will not work. Some applications have been updated, but it will take time. Some applications that do work with OS5 (like on the TT), will not work on the Sony.

The TT is smaller, has a better battery life and uses a standard expansion the SD card. Also it does not have a digital camera, which technically speaking is not allowed at my workplace. Security reasons.

[little-man]

first off, about the memory stick, there are plans to come out with a 512 MB version very soon, and plans to come out with up to 4 GB within 2 years. As for the complaint about the digital camera, that is a boon rather than a difficulty for most people (if it is a problem, get an NX60) I respect OldBlue for his liking the tungsten, as it is a good PDA (although in my opinion, not as good as the NX) For each his own. And my offer to pay shipping for anyone who wants to send me an NX70v still stands (I would easily pay around $100 for it, although it is obviously worth much more)

P.S. OldBlue - I use a Palm IIIc right now, which I put together from two broken ones to save money. Don't laugh, I'm 15 years old and my only job is cutting lawns and tutoring.

[Stardust]

So the TT is super. But if the battery will last only two years and you can't get a replacement, is US$500-plus a good investment?

[OldBlue]

little-man

My hat's off to you! I'm impressed that you are able to cannibalize from 2 broken IIIc's and create a working one! And I am equally impressed that you are 15 and working to earn spending money. (I'm 53 and still working to earn spending money, which I need to buy things like my TT and other toys. I've got my sights on the new Olympus C-5050 digital camera that came out this month, so I guess I'llb e working a little longer still. :D ) ... With the holidays coming, maybe you could hint to your parents that rather than a holiday gift for you, you'd rather they spend their money on you for a school productivity tool, like the NX70V. It's worth a shot and the worst they could say is "No."

OldBlue

[OldBlue]

Stardust

It's a matter of real and perceived value. $500 costed out over 2 years is a little over 68 cents per day. You can currently buy a TT on-line for $433, which brings the cost down to less than 60 cents per day. I have friends who have to have their morning coffee for $2.00 per day. I am constantly using my TT daily and know that I get a lot more usage and utility from my TT than my friends do from their java.

Also, by the time 2 years rolls around, battery replacement service may be available. More likely is that I will have replaced my TT with an OS6 Palm. Since 1996, I've had a Pilot 1000, PalmPilot Pro, Palm V, m505, and now, a Tungsten T. That's 4 PDAs in 6 years (the TT doesn't count, 'cuz it's so new) or a replacement every 1.5 years.

To me personally, the $460 for my TT is money well spent.

OldBlue

[Stardust]

OldBlue,

You raised a very valid and interesting point. It's a slightly different story, however, if you live outside the US and have to pay much more for a Tungsten or some other high-end PDA.

The fact remains that PDA manufacturers have not addressed the issue of battery replacement. If the makers of laptops, digital cameras, watches and other electronic gadgets have done so, why can't Palm and Sony? I think it's a very real issue for those who want to squeeze more than two years from their handhelds and can't afford to upgrade as regularly as you do.

I can swoon over the latest limited edition Ford Thunderbird used by James Bond. But what if it has only enough fuel in its tank to take me 20 miles and there's no petrol station nearby?

[OldBlue]

Hi, Stardust

I agree with you fully that PDA manufacturers have not addressed the issue of battery replacement. I recall my Pilot 1000 running on a couple of "AAA" that were easily replaced every month or so. Fortunately, Palms can go for a week or more before needing recharging. When the battery's life is over after a couple of years, it would be nice to be able to replace it and be good for another 2 years. I would love to see a PDA with long battery life powered by rechargeable, replaceable lithium ion batteries.

My laptop's battery is replaceable and rechargeable, which is fortunate because the battery life is only 2.5 hours. On the negative side, replacement batteries are expensive because of their proprietary format. :(

Do PDAs cost considerably more outside of the United States? I am not familiar with that pricing structure and did not know there was a variance in price.

OldBlue

[Magpie]

Are PDA more expensive outside the USA?

How does $999 (Cdn) sound for the NX70?! You can argue that's in Canadian funds...but 1000 bucks is still 1000 bucks! And the NX60 isn't even available in Canada.

The Tungsten's priced at $799...so a major factor influencing my upgrade decision is the additional $200.

[Stardust]

I'm from Manila, where handhelds are rather expensive. The Palm m515 sells here for Pesos 17,300 (about US$320) and the m130 for Pesos 12,300 (about US$ 227). These prices have actually gone down by about Pesos 3,000 from a few months back. But they're still exorbitant compared with they fetch at US retail stores. Can you imagine the Visorphone (without a service plan) still selling here for US$139 equivalent?

[Larken]

I personally see the Tungsten T as marginally better than the NX-70, and here's my reasoning behind it. The Tungsten screen looks better, even though there is no virtual graffiti. Palm is using a slightly different default font than Sony, and I think that font is more readable. As for the camera on the Sony, you can pick up a camera that goes in the SD slot for $90, making your total purchase about the same as the NX-70. As for the keyboard, I have pretty big hands, so the little keys don't work too well for me. Besides that, I can graffiti as fast or faster than most people with a keyboard. By Christmas, the Tungsten will have an .mp3 player and it can even turn off the screen (reportedly) to save battery power. For me, the processor is a sticking point as well. TI makes a very efficient processor from the power perspective. To me, that's worth the slightly slower processor. The one thing I do wish was incorporated into the Tungsten is a jogdial. The other annoyance that I have is that if you are using the default launcher, you have to slide the unit open to get back to the "home" screen. You can't assign a button to it unless you are using a third party launcher. Oh... and the Tungsten's external speaker is far better than the NX-70 external speaker. As for the battery, I would be very surprised if you couldn't take the unit apart and replace the battery. I might have to give it a try :)

[kodiakbr]

Hello Larken,

I came from a Sony Clie 615 with the Jog Dial to the Tungsten T and I agree with you. I miss the jog dial as well. I did however find a way to deal with it. I don't know about you, but I don't really use the voice memo feature, so I mapped it to the Applications button.

It works great. I can have the lid closed and still get to all of my applications, I love it. :D

Try it out, it's great.

Good Luck.

[Clie-Taurus]

Uhh, if you hold down the Select button in the middle of the directional pad it will take you back to the Applications screen from most programs.

[Larken]

Woah... I guess it does... I've been sitting here for a couple weeks wondering why that middle button wasn't mappable! Thanks for the tip!

[archer_tim]

In the UK the TT costs almost $600 (386 GB pounds), thats $100 more. And it is near impossible to buy electrical goods from the US to be delivered to the UK!:(

Archer Tim

[PDASROCK]

Hey Tim...
Try ebay, there's a UK ebay where I think you might just find a TT for a good price. Cheers, Ben

[contempt]

what's funny is that this discussion started talking about the screen quality and just how impressive the tt is to the clies. i switched to the clie line a year and a half ago when they first introduced hi-res screens. and palm just now introduces it and people are blown away? hello? if you haven't played with the nx and it's hi-res+ screen, you really don't know what you're missing. 320x320 vs. 320x480 is a huge difference. and the fact that many developers are adapting their code for the hi-res+ screen size makes a tremendous difference. i urge everyone to test the hi-res+ screen and just turn the virtual graffiti on and off and see how much more information you see. viewing excel spreadsheets or even reading documents make a tremendous difference.

don't get me wrong, i think the tt form-factor is fantastic and they did a great job. if someone really needs a compact pda that's definitely the way to go. but when you're comparing these two pda's solely as pda's there's no contest the nx blows the tt out of the water. it's a faster processor, the mp3 and video display performance frame rate is fantastic. that's not to say things couldn't be improved. specifically the flash playback could be better, but it's not bad for a 1.0 release.

as for the font issue and some icon issues, if you look at the version number for some of these clie appz, you'll notice they say 4.5s and not 5.0. that's because the nx was developed before palm began to share the os 5 api's. so sony had to create their own versions. i would expect a 5.1 upgrade os soon that will give clie owners the os 5 font as well as some of the standard palm appz.

just my $0.02

[jankjo]

littleman posted a comparison of the nx70 to the tungsten.
a couple of things don't seem quite right.
First, the tungsten case sure doesn't seem like plastic to me. Mine feels and looks like metal.

Second, isn't the tungsten quite a bit thinner than the NX70 as well as shorter?

the review on gadgeteer's website has a picture of several palm devices on top of each other for size comparison.
http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/tungstent-m550-review.html

They use the NR70, for this comparison which is clearly lots larger than the tungsten. They don't use the NX 70 however.

[PDASROCK]

I don't think littleman has any clue what ge's talking about. I think the tungsten is metal, and I also think it is thinner(by almost nada) than the nr70v. If you count the compact flash slot on the nx70v then the tungsten is thinner. But it all comes down to what you need. I don't care so much about size, some people do.

[sleuth255]

Originally posted by little-man
Personally, I say Sony all the way. As soon as the NX60 comes out, the only thing Palm will have on Sony is size. A quick comparison of NX series and Tungsten T:


Well, you got a couple of points wrong:
Camera: NX70v yes, NX60 and Tungsten no
True, but the veo SD camera is a $99 option and adds the same capabilities if you want them. The key here is: if you want them. I choose to save the money by not having the camera, others may choose differently.

Advantage: TT
MP3: NX series yes, Tungsten no
Ummm... real player for TT due out any minute. Also, Vorbis/ogg player from Aerodrome Software that won't be released on Sony because they haven't yet given out their proprietary API for their DSP (go here (http://www.aerodromesoftware.com/clieusers.html) for more info). Interestingly, this might point to a clie flaw: the use of non OS5 complient API's to support the hardware.

Advantage: TT (I'll give the NX the advantage until 01/01/03 when the TT players come out).
Thumb keyboard: NX yes, Tungsten no
Ummm... true I suppose. Advantage: NX
Expansion: both, with different but equal formats
Have you got your hands on a 512mb MS yet? Oh... sorry, Sony hasn't released them yet. I've got one in my TT's industry standard SD slot though. They've been available for months with the 1Gig cards slated for release 1Q03:p
Seriously: SD manufacturers are over 520 and counting, while MS manufacturers are at around 320. That's remarkable given the fact that the SD standard wasn't released until late 2000. Ever wonder why your NX has a separate CF slot for WiFi expansion? That's because the MS spec. is primarily a memory access spec. (you know: "Memory Stick") MS doesn't do IO well (because it has to fake it out to look like memory). The SDIO spec makes SD IO based card design a breeze. That's why there's a plethora of IO based SD cards. As far as WiFi is concerned, SyChip's WiFi SDIO card is due out in January.

Umm did I mention access speed? SD blows MS away here too.

Advantage: TT
Durability: NX series has magnisium casing, which is extremely strong (used in helmets in WWI) Tungsten is plasic. What more can I say.
What more? How about "oops, I was wrong: the TT case is actually metal too" No advantage here IMO.
Size: About equal thickness, tungsten is shorter.
Advantage: TT
Price: $500 for Tungsten and NX60, $600 for NX70v
Advantage: TT
Screen:both bright hi-res, NX is bigger with virtual grafitti down
Definite advantage NX!
Wireless compatability: Tungsten has bluetooth built in (30 foot range, slow) NX has slot for Wi-fi (300 ft range, faster)
Ummm: no, actually the bluetooth range to the TT is 300 feet using a class 1 bluetooth device. Several cheap USB dongles now support class 1 bluetooth. Wi-fi is faster, but how often are you gonna need 10mb vs 800kb? Remember, T1 surfing is 1.2mb. Having personally used bluetooth with its ability to connect to the Internet via GPRS on my Ericsson phone, as well as for high speed surfing with a PicoBlue Access point, I can't see a compelling reason to use WiFi. WiFi sucks batteries BTW. I can run my bluetooth connection for hours with no significant addtional drain on my TT's battery. As far as speed goes, the only thing I can think of for 10mb access is the quick download of some MP3's prior to my catching an airplane. 10mb certainly isn't enough to let me download a movie in that same timeframe. Conversely, winning that Ebay auction on the road (did that, used my palms alarm to alert me 5 minutes before the auction end then placed the winning bid between Madison & Milwaukee), or checking email, or looking up a phone number with whitepages, or checking up ahead for snow by downloading a weather map are all major uses for a PDA that bluetooth -> GPRS in my car handles quite nicely. Oh, did I mention: its included on a TT? How much extra for the WiFi CF that you can only use in a WiFi hotspot?

Definite advantage: TT
Special issues: Tungsten has a problem with dust under the screen
My TT doesn't have a dust problem.. in fact I've never seen one that has (and I've scrutinized over 30). So far, my calls on multiple message boards for pics of this problem has only produced 1 response.
Adavantage: none
Overall: SONY CLIE!!!!

I count:

Advantage TT = 6 size, price, bluetooth, music (it can do ogg),configurability (don't get the camera if you don't want it), industry standard SD slot (did I mention: 512MB available at CircuitCity now?)
Advantage NX = 2 thumbpad, screen

Overall, the advantage looks somewhat different IMHO

case in point:

(btw, this post was produced on a TT using bluetooth, connected to a PicoBlue accesspoint somewhere in the building, typed in with the Palm Keyboard... sorry, not the new one... yet (oh yeah, that cool kbd won't be available for the NX) using Palm's WebPro browser. Later, I'll be using my bluetooth GPRS connection to check emails for responses to this post).
:D

[sleuth255]

Someone help me out here:

Please download the latest Two Towers trailer and convert with Kinoma producer at the highest bitrate (1000kbps) for the NX. Now on the handheld, bring up the trailer and choose performance test.

Let me know what the maximum framerate is.

thanks.

By comparison, the TT produced a maximum framerate of 88/sec, but we might not be comparing apples to apples. The reason is that the palm movie is 320X140. On the NX you should be able to go landscape 480X200ish. (drool!)

I will concede that movie viewing on an NX has great potential... I bet that trailer will look awsome! Sony just needs to give it more storage. 128MB memory sticks aren't enough, and the lower amount of available RAM is a problem too. You're gonna need a 1gig memory stick to store a hq movie IMO.

Given: the 3 minute Two Towers clip takes up 20MB on my TT when compressed at highest quality.

[little-man]

ok, first off, you were wrong on a couple of things in your comparison. Size, most people don't care about, ,as long as it can fit in their pocket (the NX does that easily.) I admit, I was wrong on the casing thing, but that isn't a big deal.

Bluetooth vs. Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi is more compatible with existing networks. Not that I have anything against bluetooth, because I think it will definitely catch on. (I personally think that Sony should have included it in the NX, ,but oh well.)

Music is actually leaning towards the NX. Although the TT supports ogg, the NX's MP3 player is built in, and it comes with a remote for the headphones. That would be really nice for regular MP3 listening. Also, with the NX you can turn the screen off and still listen, and you can listen while you do other things. I doubt that the TT can do that.

Sleuth was COMPLETELY off when he said the TT was more configurable. If you don't want the camera, get the NX60. That goes for price too. The NX60 is the exact same price as the TT.

Expansion, I concede on that. I wish sony used a more standard card format, so it would be usable with cameras and such (other than sony ones) but that's that. They are coming out with more storage soon.

Also, I would much rather have a camera built in than have a bulky add-on for the same price. NX there.

There, that completely turns 2 of sleuth's TT points into NX points (music, and configurability), and ties on 2 more (bluetooth and price). The only thing TT has on the NX is size and expansion. Oh yeah, the NX is faster.

TT: 2, NX: 6, Tied: 2

I'm not saying that the TT is awful, but it is definitely not as feature-rich as the NX series. I vote NX all the way for people who don't need any super-compactness or huge memory card size. That's most people.

[sleuth255]

Whatever... people should judge for themselves :)

[PDASROCK]

Yes, well as fun as it is to argue which is better: THERE IS NO ANSWER! It all depends what you need. In one hand you might say: look, the nx has more features, is faster, has a camera, keyboard etc., but on the other hand, some people might say, the tungsten has built in bluetooth, more efficient processor, more compact form factor, etc. Personally I prefer the nx70v, I like sony stuff, and the extra screen space really does KILL if you know how to use it:D . I just won't consider going back to even a 320x320, I love virtual graffiti, it's great for movies, and the keyboard is really handy(except for the dang function button!!! :mad: !). All the same, arguing is a good way to learn new stuff, if you're not to proud to admit it.

[GaryM]

I now own both a Sony TC665C and Tungsten T.

The Sony is less than three months old and died a horrible death on Sunday evening. It was returned to Sony on Tuesday (they paid the shipping). On Thursday I purchased a Tungsten T. Why?

First, I will agree with an earlier post that stated if you want a PDA, then buy the Palm. I have conclude that the Sony is an entertainment center and not considered a critical piece of equipment like a PDA.

Second, the folks at Sony said it would take 10-15 days to have it repaired. I (and many others) rely on the PDA functions and cannot live without it due to my work. Thus, I had to have a PDA immediately to management my work.

Third, when you decide to purchase one of theses devices give thought to your primary purpose. If it is for a PDA, then make sure you can get it repaired ASAP. Palm will ship you another one immediately if your Palm goes bad. Not so with Sony, they repair it at one of their centers and then return it. Some stores like Best Buy have an insurance policy that guarantees immediately replacement under some circumstances regardless of brand.

BTW, the supervisor at Sony who has a background in MIS told me I should plan for redudancy when I have critical information and hardware (an MIS general principle). When I questioned him, however, he emphatically stated that he did not mean I needed two Sony PDAs! I guess he was implying I needed Palm as a redudant machine. I followed his advice and am now redudant with a Palm.

In a few weeks I will have a well equipped T665C for sale (Rhino Skin, Vargas and Sony cases, two chargers, two memory sticks, keyboard, etc.)

Which do I like better? Both are fine for what I do. I simply need a PDA and do not use it for entertainment (maybe I'll some pictures of my family and dog on it someday). My primary concern is reliability and ability for immediate replacement if it dies.

That's my very costly two cents.

Gary

[sleuth255]

Originally posted by PDASROCK
...it's great for movies, and the keyboard is really handy(except for the dang function button!!! :mad: !). All the same, arguing is a good way to learn new stuff, if you're not to proud to admit it.

You Sony Guys need to get them to respond with more storage! Sony should either ditch MS (yeah, that'll happen) or give you guys something big enough to actually store a movie on!

[little-man]

I think that pdasrock is right, there is no right answer (or PDA) for everyone. I think that with the NX (either NX60 or NX70v) you get more for your money. If size is a huge deal for you, the tungsten is great. Same goes for expansion and wireless (unless you have an existing Wi-Fi network). I definitely give Palm some innovation points for the sliding buttons. If you just want it to be small enough to fit in your pocket, and you love gadgets, go with the NX. It has more features, more included software, and a bigger screen (among other things). To each his own.

P.S. I also think that pdasrock was right on another point. Arguing is FUN!!!

[PDASROCK]

Sleuth,

I agree, sony needs to come out with some bigger stickes very quickly. The nx series are not just pdas, they are for entertainment as well, and therefore cost more and are bigger. But sony needs to come out with sticks that actually have a capacity to store large movies, lots of mp3s, etc. I think that's why they put cf on the nx, they knew anybody buying one of these needed top good storage, and they didn't have it yet. Well, we can always wait...

[sleuth255]

Does the NX support VFS on CF?

[PDASROCK]

I think all they need is drivers and they will be able to use memory compact flash cards with the nx. There is a japanese site hosting a competition for the first drivers to do this the best, and of course private companies are making drivers as well. I don't know that sony plans to do this, I think they are counting on 3rd party to do a better job anyway. The cf will not support cf type 2 due to slot size. Cheers