- PDA with swivel screen and Palm OS 5 operating system
- Integrated wireless LAN (802.11b) and Bluetooth connectivity
- Widescreen 480 x 320 display
- Built-in camera with 3x zoom for taking pictures and video
- Built-in QWERTY keypad; weighs only six ounces
I have had an older Sony Clie for a few years. I was thoroughly impressed with that one. It served me well. I then had to replace it, and was solidly leaning toward another Sony product. The features of the UX50 series impressed me very much. But it does have some shortcommings.
Pros:
* Small size. Without a doubt, this is a great unit that fits nicely in my shirt pocket.
* Beautiful screen. It is clear and bright. It is a bit smaller than the older unit, but it is perfectly legible.
* Lots of internal memory. This means I can record a bunch of voice memo's or quick low-res pics from the built in camera w/o using a memory stick.
* Toolbar. There is a little toolbar along the side next to the silk to pull up commonly used features quickly. (like clock, speaker and memory stick media info)
* Built in Keyboard. I love it. It even has a backlight. Not too difficult to use, unlike smaller kbds on other units. The keys are slightly raised.
* Landscape working environment. The "silk" is along the side, and when not being used, the silk can be hidden giving an expanded screen to show text or other items in the silk area. This widescreen mode is a much more efficient use of screen real-estate.
* New handwriting recognition. Decuma is very natural, and has a very good recognition rate. But... see below...
* Rotate/Swivel screen. Use the unit as a micro-laptop, or as a micro-tablet.
* Bluetooth and WiFi. Very easy to setup and use.
Cons:
* This unit only works in landscape mode. I prefer holding the unit in my hand in portrait mode. There doesn't appear to be any setting in software to change this.
* The design favors wireless hotsync, since USB cable is very awkward to plug into side of unit. The cradle should provide the USB connection, and when inserted in the cradle, the USB connection is passed through the cradle (one less wire to insert)
* The battery life is terrible on the UX50 (even compared to the three year old unit I replaced). Perhaps the keyboard light uses up much more energy.
* The memory stick and stylus can come out too easily. I have nearly lost my stylus twice. The end of the memory stick protrudes just a bit too far, and can be easily unlocked.
* New Graffiti is difficult to get used to after a few years of proficiency with the old Graffiti. Some of the strokes are not as easy to use. Perhaps I'll get used to it, but my entry rate is significantly slower.
* Decuma takes up a large amount of screen space when used. There doesn't appear to be any way to shrink it. Also when in wide screen mode, decuma still only uses 2/3 of the screen (the rest of the screen is unusable)
* Decuma should be used in Portrait mode (replacing the Silk). This would free up more screen space, and would still be natural.
* The speaker mute feature should have a timeout, so I can mute for only 1/2 hour or so while in a meeting, but then get my audible alarms afterward.
* Cannot "type" special symbols from the keyboard. I use the bullet symbols all the time, but must enter them using graffiti.
I like the unit. Everybody I show it to is very impressed. The hardware is well designed. If they come out with software that fixes some of my above issues, then I would wholeheartedly recommend this above any thing else presently available.
Buy Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Handheld Now
I bought my UX-50 off eBay for about half the going rate of a refurbished new unit. Since I paid so little, I really don't have much to complain about. However, if I had paid $500 for a new-refurbished unit or $800 for a brand-new unit when the UX-50s were first released I probably would not have given a 4-star review.
Here are the positives:
I don't understand why so many people complain about the UX-50 only having a "landscape" screen option. I got used to using the landscape screen in no time. There are third-party programs you can download to convert some applications to portrait mode if you want, but I really didn't feel the need. Granted, the landscape screen means there's a lot of wasted space on the touchscreen, but I didn't have any problems using the screen as-is. I also think the screen size is AWESOME considering the features packed into this little gadget.
The functionality is, without a doubt, amazing. The UX-50 can replace your keychain digital camera, digital voice recorder, PDA, MP3 player AND you can check your e-mail with it! They managed to pack a lot of features into this little PDA.
Sound on the MP3 player is great. I have a Sony VAIO laptop that has a built-in Memory Stick port so it's really easy for me to put a ton of music onto my 512 MB stick and have music wherever I go. I have a Nomad MP3 player but I rarely use it because the UX-50's MP3 player is so easy to use.
The camera is great and takes good pictures in enough light. The zoom feature is neat.
The PDA functionality is exactly what you'd expect it works well. The UX-50 has enough internal memory for you to load lots of programs into it.
Negatives:
It took me a lot of tinkering and research to get the 802.11B wireless feature to work. Apparently there was some kind of problem with the wireless connection software in most UX-50s, and if yours has the problem you have to download a special program, called Mobile Manager, to get it to work correctly. Not that Sony tells you this I had to research it for myself on user bulletin boards. After a LOT of tweaking my wireless works sometimes. The mobile browser, NetFront, won't load graphics-heavy pages and is quick to give "insufficient memory" and timeout errors. Unfortunately there's no way to upgrade NetFront 3.0, which came with the UX-50, to NetFront 3.1.
Battery life truly does suck. I solved this by purchasing a third-party manufactured case and car kit off of eBay the case has a USB port integrated, so now I can plug the USB sync cable into the case's port and charge my Clie. The car kit consists of a USB cable and an adapter that fits my car's cigarette lighter. Now I can charge wherever I go, which helps greatly with the battery life issue. And I don't have to use the stupid "charging sled" to do it. Which brings me to my next point...
I would really like to know why Sony made a PDA that you can't charge with a USB cable. It seems ridiculous to me. Before I found the USB-port case I had to lug the stupid charger and sled around with me. The charger is bulky and the sled makes the UX-50 too thick to fit in a pocket or small purse. As it is, now I can't plug the UX-50 in and let it charge while I sync it throughout my workday, which is always what I've done with other PDAs. This was a really dumb design idea.
The only other negative thing is that some parts of the UX-50 feel flimsy I often feel like I am going to break the screen off rotating it back and forth, and the USB sync port has a small cover that feels like it could rip off at any time.
Overall, though, this is a great productivity tool and very nifty to carry around. It has a considerable "cool factor" and there's great functionality to boot. The negatives are bummers, but this thing is basically a mini laptop computer with a camera built in, so I don't expect everything to be perfect. I'm just bummed Sony's no longer going to be selling PDAs in the U.S. hopefully they will change their minds before my UX-50 dies or becomes obsolete.
Read Best Reviews of Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Handheld Here
I was one of the first to get on the Clie bandwagon, and I am continually impressed with each new Clie release. Sony has not let me down with the release of this new family of Clie.
The good things:
Wi-Fi (and bluetooth)!!!! It is built in so I don't need to get a $200 component to take advantage of my wireless network at home, at work, and several other wireless enabled sites I frequently visit.
I like the wide-screen feature of this Palm. I haven't seen any software conflicts with this so far but it makes looking at movies a lot nicer.
As with all the other Clie's, the fantastic high-resolution screen. This is what sold me on the Clie's in the first place. My pictures look so good that I don't carry pictures in my wallet any more. I also love the fact you can read an eBook without any eye strain. Best of all, this screen looks great in ANY LIGHT!!! In Las Vegas, I can turn off the back-lite and read off of the sun's lights beautifully. It does not matter the lighting, I've never had a problem looking at this screen. The ability to swivel it around for use is pretty handy and has raised a few oh's and ah's among my friends. I like the fact that you just turn it around after using it to protect the screen. It feels better than one of those flimsy plastic covers on some other Clies and most other Palms.
The Internal memory on this is nice. It was especially annoying when I had to get a memory card to listen to music with my first Clie when I still had plenty of memory on the inside.
I love this keyboard. It is much easier to type on than earlier models. Warning: this is not a keyboard for taking extensive notes. Use your laptop or desktop for that. But jotting down a few notes or a quick meeting is quick and easy with this keyboard.
I love the more compact size. Yes, the screen is a bit smaller, but this is supposed to fit in your Palm afterall. I prefer the smaller size. When I need more real estate on my screen, I just turn on my laptop. The Palm computers were never meant to replace the laptop or desktop afterall.
Very light weight at just over 6 oz. Fanstastic!!!
I had a problem and called customer service. I had to send it in (that was bad, I missed it) but it came back quickly and in working order. Great job!!!
The Decent Things:
The .mp3 player. Why can't the volume be any louder. Yes, I know you just plug in some headphones or speakers to listen to it but sometimes I want to share a song or audio clip with a small group of people. Very annoying. I now turn to my laptop for that instead but the Palm would be more convenient. It is odd that the Palm has the quietest .mp3 volume but yet rocks the house with its midi and alarm sound files. Other than that, the portable .mp3 player is fantastic and very convenient and I would rather have this than any dedicated .mp3 player I've seen on the market. The only problem is that 128MB gets filled up fast. I would suggest a Memory Stick card reader... it is easier to get music on there than by using Clie's import program.
The buttons. I'll give them credit in that my first Clie, the NR70, had the buttons in the worst place. When you wanted to go to the address, notes, etc. you needed to lift the screen to reach them. It was very annoying. Now the quick-launch buttons are accessible even when the screen is swivelled. My complaint is that they are the wrong buttons!!! The four buttons on every Palm are Addresses (always use), Tasks (always use), DateBook (always use), and Notes (often use). Now we only have one of those, DateBook. The other two are nice... Internet and Email. And I know I can reprogram them to how I want them. But I use the other stuff more than the Internet and Email. If the DateBook button would at least toggle between the different applications.... oh, I don't know. I just wish they hadn't messed with that.
The camera. This was borderline descent and bad. The resolution is higher than my NR70 but it still isn't good enough to do anything good with it other than taking pictures of my contacts and including them in the address book. I would rather spend $100 less and use that $100 credit towards getting a decent camera. I bet you can get one at that amount at less than the extra $100 needed to get this one in the first place. Save the picture taking for a better device. Sony had a Clie with a 2MP camera built into it... what happened to that???
The Bad:
The price... OUCH!!! You can get a decent laptop for this amount.
But, I'll still give it the 5 stars because the Clie has always shown great and continuing innovation and because, overall, it truly is a great piece of (small) technology.
Want Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Handheld Discount?
First came the laptops that aim at replacing the desktops. Now Sony is working hard at producing PDAs that strive to replace the notebooks. After spending a week with the UX50, I say their first try is a success, the high price aside.
Let me first talk about the cons, so I can focus on the pros more.
The screen is quite small. It's 3.5 inches diagonal and packs a 320x480 resolution, (...) , which has a bigger screen. This reminds me of the slim VAIO notebooks: they feature 1280x1024 on a 10.4" screen. Ouch! If you are over age 50, forget this. You'll have a tough time making out the icons.
Battery life is also below average, when you have wi-fi or Bluetooth or both on. In fact if you use either one continuously, with backlight set to 3/4, you'll run out of juice in a little over an hour. Kinda scary. I wish Sony would give us a compact battery extender that uses NiMH batteries.
Price. Of course everybody thinks this is too expensive. It's expensive, but since it does everything you can imagine, it's cheap compared to notebook. So whether it's a good value comes down to whether you'll use it a lot. Of course, given the battery life problem... You see what I mean.
Now the pluses. There are tons of them.
First of all, this is a *very* stylish PDA. Pictures don't do it justice. You should go into a store (Staples, Circuit City, etc.) to check it out up close. The exterior design is excellent, with the right amount of curves and edges. It's also surprisingly lightweight. Not for your shirt pocket, of course, but jackets and pants should be ok, unless you wear jeans all the time. What really impresses me is how good the unit feels in my hands, even when I hold it with one hand and use the stylus with the other.
Performance is very good, too. You can play an MP3 in the background while doing other tasks and usually you won't notice any delays. Occasionally you do, but that hasn't happened to me often. Apps launch quickly. If you load JPEG files they display quickly, too, unlike on many Pocket PCs.
The keyboard is sweet. It has the usual Sony quirks, but it doesn't take long to get used to the keys. The dedicated numeric keys are at the top, where God intended them to be. Shift and Ctrl are sticky, so you need not hold them down to type. All in all the keyboard feels great and well spaced, and I can peck away in no time.
The wi-fi function works like a charm. I have Verizon DSL and they have installed lots of hotspots in Manhattan, free for customers. I instantly got wi-fi near a payphone near my office. I surfed for about 15 minutes sitting on the curbside and it never got dropped. Back at home, it works fine with my Microsoft AP. I'm very impressed. Bluetooth, on the other hand, is another matter. (...) The manual is very weak. (...)
I can't emphasize enough how great the keyboard is, and working in landscape mode (i.e., horizontal) is fabulous. You can browse the web and edit Office files with so much ease. You get multimedia as well. This is a very well put-together package.
Over the past ten years I have had many abortive attempts with owning PDAs. I have a habit of using them intensely for two months and then totally losing enthusiasm. As a point of fact, I am convinced that ebay would not be the enterprise it is today had it not been for me littering its pages with my PDA divorces. Recently, after an admirably lengthy self imposed separation, I found myself in Comp USA with my AMEX card in hand.
The Sony attracted me by its original design and multimedia features. It certainly is a revelation in terms of connectivity and web browsing. I also like the keyboard. However, let me tell you why I am returning it (despite the 15% open-box return charge) and going for a more traditionally designed HP. It is not a bad unit, I just feel that the high price suggests it is more special than it actually is:
The swivel screen concept should allow for a larger screen but this one is disappointingly about standard size for a PDA. The unit is slightly smaller but somewhat thicker than a standard PDA. Battery life is poor. My main issue, however, is the included software which does not contain the basics I would expect. No word processor, no spreadsheet and no outlook equivalent email program other than something which pops email. All these are available but, at this price, I would expect these included. I liked the sketchpad but, for some reason, it only operates on a reduced screen size. The camera is nice and I liked the zoom feature but it would be better with a higher resolution.
Looking at the prices of comparable units I feel that the $650 tag consumes about $350 for the vogue value of the undeniably neat mini-tablet design. It depends how much this means to you.
