clie | strudel.org.uk

Last year I bought a SONY Clie NX70V and I have created this page as a place to keep any information about it that might be useful to others who have one or who are thinking of getting one. This is the first time I've had a PDA and also the first time I've used PALM OS.

Choosing a model

The main reason I bought this model was because of the advertised large screen and multimedia capabilities. I was going to buy a lower price model but after reading several online reviews, I decided that I should go for the NX70V as it seemed more capable of doing what I wanted. If there had been a version that was the same specification but without the camera I would probably have bought it as I wasn't looking for a camera - I already have a basic digital camera. I bought it from Amazon - it was the first thing I have ever bought from Amazon actually - as it was cheaper than Dixons/Comet/Currys etc. and a lot cheaper than SONY Style. I don't understand why they sell things at a higher price than everyone else when it is SONY that makes the Clie.

First Impressions

Unfortunately I wasn't in when the ParceForce tried to deliver it, so I had to wait a whole extra couple of days before I could get to their central depot to pick it up. Once I got it home I unpacked the neat little box and started reading the "Read This First" manual. I was disappointed to discover that the instructions tell you to charge it for 4 hours before you can do anything. However that did give me chance to examine the docking bay, the stylus and assorted manuals as well as lifting up the screen and turning it around.

Memory Stick

Perhaps this should be lack of memory stick as the NX70V doesn't actually come with one. You need a memory stick for recording video, taking pictures and playing music and it is very annoying that SONY don't include even a basic one as standard. Luckily I had realised this before I bought it so I had ordered a memory stick at the same time. As far as I can tell there are normal memory sticks and MagicGate memory sticks. Both work in the NX70V but the MagicGate is designed for digital rights management I think i.e. putting copy-protected music onto it. The provided software for putting MP3s onto the PDA, SonicStage, will not use anything other than a MagicGate stick if you are converting from a CD but, if you use your favourite ripping software, you can manually put the MP3s on a normal memory stick without using SonicStage. So I don't see any real reason for getting a MagicGate stick as they cost more too. Also you will find that you can buy a non-SONY memory stick cheaper and as far as I know there is no real difference.

The latest I've read is that a company called Eruware has created a driver to allow you to use Compact Flash memory cards in the Wi-Fi slot that sits behind the memory stick and camera. It sells for USD27 and would allow you to expand the memory from the 128MB limit set by the Memory Stick, up to 1GB. Now that would hold a lot of video! Having said that, the Movie Player only copes with files up to 128MB so anything very long would need to be split into 128MB chunks.

The Display

The screen has got to be the main feature that sets the NX series apart from other PDAs that run PALM. The lid lifts up to reveal the keyboard and screen but you can then spin it around 180° and fold it back down so that you just have the screen. Although this means that you can only enter information using the stylus (a plastic pen), I have found that I tend to prefer doing this because it tends to tip forwards otherwise. Every time someone sees it for the first time, they are all impressed by the rotating screen (part way through the turn the display also flips vertically so that your application is the 'right' way up when you fold it down). The display is 320 by 480 pixels rather than the 320 x 320 of previous models and it also has a virtual graffiti area (this is the area where you write letters and numbers using the stylus). Virtual means that in newer applications it is possible to hide the graffiti area and so maximise the use of the screen.

The new UX50 seems to be pretty much like the NX70V but it has a landscape screen which allows for a bigger keyboard. I guess it is more natural to have the display landscape but I wonder how the virtual graffiti works.