Sony PEG-N760C Clie Handheld

• High-resolution reflective color display includes front lights for excellent visibility indoors and outdoors
• Built-in MP3 audio player; includes stylish headphones and remote control
• 16 MB total memory: 8 MB internal memory, plus 8 MB Memory Stick
• Jog Dial navigator allows you to access phone numbers, notes, and more while keeping your other hand free
• Compatible with thousands of Palm OS programs
• Built-in MP3 audio player; Bright, 16-bit color display

Sony initially entered PDA market with a somewhat weak PALM unit in the Clie PEG-S300. With little fanfare and poor design, it was destined to fail up against PALM and HANDSPRING. Many thought that was the last we would hear of the Clie. Only a few months later, not only did Sony introduce two new models, but they took the PDA market by storm. Although the Clie line is still relatively unknown to many people, among PDA aficionados the Clie line has arguably surpassed HANDSPRING and even PALM as the number one palm unit in the market. Its combination of innovative initiative, sleek design, affordable prices, multimedia capability, enhanced screens and battery source that has really made SONY the new driving force in the PDA market where PALM once was. Considering that SONY is a baby in the PDA market this is an amazing feat.

After much contemplation and research I decided that the Clie N760C was my next PDA. Owning a Vx for about a year and a half, my next PDA certainly had big shoes to fill. Now that I've had my N760c for about 2 months, those high expectations were not only met but in some areas exceeded. I will break down this review into three criteria's, which I feel are critical in reviewing the N760C.

The first criterion has to be the SCREEN. Both fans and critics of this unit will agree that the screen is its crowning glory. It's an accepted fact that to date it has the best screen of all Palm OS units and even Pocket PC units. Its high resolution of 320X320 is a far cry from all of Palms and Handsprings 160X160 resolution. Text look so much better in hi-res particularly Avantgo. Also its 16bit screen (65,546 colors) displays a far better range of colors then the m505 and the Prism. Even at the lowest brightness level, the visual output is comparable to the m505. Viewing pictures is quite amazing. It's really like looking at a (sony) flat screen TV. The screen is bright enough that it is really adequate at one third setting. (equivalent to m505 with backlight on) Keeping it at this setting conserves the battery considerably. The only grip I have about the screen is that it seems to be softer then most silkscreen displays. Although it doesn't bother me now, the screen is noticeably softer then the Vx's. It is also a known fact that Clie's, had the ability to get dust on the inside of the screen. Fortunately Sony addressed this problem with the N760C model. They plugged up the holes and the screen is sealed well. I also suggest that before you buy one, check the screen for dead pixels. These are pixels that don't display any color, just white. Although it's rare, it occasionally happens.

The second criterion is FORM FACTOR. It has a sleek case with a combination of brushed silver aluminum, metal and plastic. It quite a looker. It has a jog dial, which is standard on all Sony electronics. The integration of the jog dial to the operating system and applications is really a huge plus. With the combination of the jog dial and back button, only does it eliminate wear and tear on the screen, you can virtually navigate through applications with one hand. Although this unit is longer and thicker than the famous V/m500 shape, it is noticeably narrower. Strangely enough, because it is narrower then the V/m500's, it actually feels smaller in your hand. One thing about this unit that might bother a few people are the buttons. They simply weren't made for game play, particularly the rocker buttons. If you're a serious Galax or Pacman fan, I suggest you go elsewhere.

Another criteria is the MEMORY STICK. There is a huge debate on which medium is best, Secure Digital or Memory Stick. I'm not even going to attempt to convince you one way or another. With the recent price drop of memory sticks, 128mb memory sticks are almost half the cost of Secure Digital cards. I'm sure SD price drops will follow. The only I/O devices available between memory sticks and SD cards are the memory stick cameras and GPRS devices. Although there are rumors that SD devices are on the way, its still pretty much wait and see.

Lastly there is the built in MP3 player. To my surprise it is quite amazing. It was a little trick to figure out how to transfer MP3's at first, but once you got the hang of it, it's as simple as drag and drop. In terms of audio output, maximum volume is loud while not losing clarity. After all "It's a SONY". It is certainly comparable to dedicated MP3 players in sound quality.

I would certainly recommend the N760c to both old and new users of PDA's. The N760C is really a class in its own in that it bridges the best of both worlds with PALM and Pocket PC's. For those who want color and multimedia capabilities of PocketPC's but the hassle-free, intuitive aspect of PALM with its endless database of practically free applications, then the N760C is really the only PDA to chose from. The only downside about Clie's is its anemic choices of accessories. (unlike PALM accessories) But with 5 new brands and 2 upgrades in less then a year, Sony has made its mark as a serious player in the PDA industry. Accessories will surely follow.

The last thing I recommend is read a lot of reviews before you go out and buy your PDA. There is really no one ultimate PDA. From the m100 all the way to the PEG-T615, they certainly have their strengths and weaknesses. Other then the criteria's which I mentioned, there are many others to consider like power consumption, durability, customer support, upgradeable OS, application compatibility and many more. The only way to find out all those things is to read as many reviews as possible.

Good Luck!

Buy Sony PEG-N760C Clie Handheld Now

+ The basics of PalmOS is all there with some nifty Sony add-on programs that show images, video, and of course the MP3 audio files. There's a software interface that essentially allows your memory stick to act as your extended memory drive. The easy movement of files from cpu to Clie is either through an install app or simply drag-drop once your computer sees your Clie as an external drive.

+ The foremost knock-dead product quality is the crisp and clear and bright screen. You need to see it to believe it. I dump portfolio images to display to clients, friends, and show off. The upper casing is metal (aluminum probably), the lower a painted plastic. The Sony side scroll-dial has a new companion a separate back button below it that acts beautifully on AvantGo; learned browser manipulation actually is capitalized on mobile products!

+ The MP3 audio player (included) is two pieces the remote control and then a plug in headphones. The remote has a nib that allows Clie input without fumbling for a stylus. Personally the earphones are a real pain though. The two wires are almost completely separated creating a wire management mess; the slip around ear lobe design is just too annoying with tension and constant pressure placed on a part of the body that shouldn't be used as a latching zone. Dump them for something more ergo.

(-) This all leads to the negative issues. Sony support for their software is ridiculous. It says XP compatible but it is NOT. It installs incomplete with no `Intellisync' limiting me to using the Sony calendar and no sync to Outlook. After 5-6 attempts at complete uninstall and install there's no more sync capabilities whatsoever; rendering my XP machine non-communicado with Clie. No response from Sony other than the automation. However, the software works flawlessly on my other 2, Win2000OS cpus.

(+/-) I also purchased the unit for the accessories. I'm excited about the camera, regardless of the resolution. The modem seems silly with the accessibility and mobility of today's computers; and I'm waiting on a stupid microphone to be designed and manufactured...will anybody listen to the consumer? The negative here is that I'm still waiting on my camera unit. A lost opportunity is the lack of decent cases. I've got fours cases the original has a flip top that is minimal screen protection. The 2 leather ones make you stick a Velcro on the unit yuck, no way! So, I'm using the old Clie wrap-around nylon padded case because it keeps the unit safe and snug.

Overall, 4 solid stars for the great product and the ability to expand. The software issue still remains Sony's downfall; the lack of accessories is temporal; but the constant failure to provide adequate and appropriately designed cases to help you holster your treasure will is a constant afterthought for many hardware companies. Unfortunately, this sad software issue has sealed the deal as my last Sony computer/PDA purchase ever the hardware design is advanced but the software is not.

Read Best Reviews of Sony PEG-N760C Clie Handheld Here

I bought my Clie about two months ago and I must admit, all the hype and hoopla over the PDA was somewhat deserved. The clie really is a handy little gadget. I recommend it to everyone who lacks organization and even those who just want to stay organized. It has all the functions of a Palm plus an MP3 Player, PG Pocket and PhotoStand, which allows you to store and share photographs in virtual color, and just when you think you have it all, the Clie also comes with digital capabilities that allow you to download and watch movies in color right on your PDA screen. How wonderful!! Right. Now for the not so wonderful part. Even though the Clie is a remarkable handheld, it's not God. It does have its imperfections. For one, the Clie has this added protection feature that prevents you from beaming mostly all of the software that comes with the handheld. Add-on applications can be beamed though. Second, when the Clie freezes (sometimes this can happen suddenly and for unexplained reasons), there is literally nothing you can do to reboot the handheld. If you reset, you have to erase everything on the handheld completely and any new information you've stored since your last hotsync is permanantly lost. Even if the amount of data lost will be insignificant, this can still be a frustrating inconvience if you're away from you computer and can't immediately perform a hotsync to restore your data, in which case I hope your memmory is relaible because that will be your only source of recall. Overall, the Clie is not a bad buy. It's not perfect, but then again what is? The Clie is an organizer, a walkman, and a portible video player all rolled up into a fun, colorful, compact solution. I give it four stars.

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I purchased a Sony Clie PEGN710C in the summer of 2001. I was extremely impressed with the screen resolution and the mp3 player. This handheld has by far one the sleekest designs for PDA's. More recently, I was dismayed at the fact that my model was NOT compatible with my new Windows xp computer. This newer model (PEGN760C) is compatible. Additionally, it has better screen resolution and improved software.

Things to consider when purchasing this Clie.

1. You can buy the older model (PEGN710C) and have it upgraded by Sony -this essentially "turns the older model into the newer one," so says a Sony Techie.

2. My Clie PEG710C has collected dust under the screen, as another reviewer has noted. This is quite annoying and unfortunate since the picture quality is so stunning. As of Feb. 17, 2002, I called Sony about this problem and they are sending me a box to mail the Clie back to them. They will then fix it free of charge (after much arguing over the merits of my warranty through an Ebay purchase). We'll see how this ordeal goes. This newer model improves on the problem (supposedly).

3. Note about mp3 player: You can only play songs encoded at 128 kilobytes/second. This means that if you're stealing a song off of bearshare, for instance, you may get it at 160 or 192kbs; once you play this song off the memory stick on your Clie, the device may very well crash (but not burn, pheewww). This is a bit of an annoyance, but you can always reencode a song at 128kbs and solve the problem.

Besides those issues, I do highly recommend this device over other PDA's. You will be the envy on the subway or at work--Beware of pickpocketers!

I love it. the mp3 is great, hot sync set-up took about three minutes to master, and the add-on software is nice and FUNCTIONAL. No calling sony, or anybody to walk me through hours of hassles and compatibility issues. In shortA BREEZE. The only thing that I hate about Clie-760 is the headphones. They blow. It's like sony didn't even test them, but just said "yeah whatever, they look cool". Another complaint besides the headphones is the availability of a cullular modem. The only sony PDA with a modem "adapter" is the Clie 320 which is horrible without a color display (you'll need a flashlight to read it)... Lastly, Sony should hermetically seal the display area, nothing is worse than staring at your new Clie to see dust particles that you can never remove underneath the touch pad. Seal the deal.