MemoWare Features is an editorial column covering a variety of topics related to PDAs and handheld computing.
All opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily shared by MemoWare or Handmark, Inc.

February 18, 2002 -- Kenneth's Clie Corner...And Beyond!

Disturbing the calm universe: Sony Clie
Up until last year, my life with PDA seems to be peaceful and orderly. Ever since I got my first PDA (Pilot 1000), the pattern seems to be pretty obvious. Around April of every year, Palm would make an announcement for a new model, and we, the die-hard, would flop to get our upgrade to the latest, fastest, expanded PDA. Pilot 1000 was followed by Pilot Personal and Pro. About a year later they were replaced by Palm III and then followed by Palm IIIX, and V (and Vx). I had come to rely on the replacement cycle and even began to plan on my upgrading scheme. For instance, I skipped Palm III and went directly to Palm IIIx (which was enhanced using TRG 8MB board), and then of course, when Palm Vx came out, I bought it.

This flurry of upgraded activities seemed frenetic to others, but actually I was still living in the well-ordered universe. I could still plan and strategize. Last year, I have decided that I would only upgrade my Palm every other year given the incremental annual upgrade, and I thought I couldn't possibly justify my spending $300 to $500 every year on my PDA. This scheme would allow me to upgrade my PDA only when there would be a significant innovation in the PDA itself.

Well, wake up, Ken! Now my universe is greatly perturbed, and I don't know if I can reclaim it at all. What is the cause of all this disturbance you might ask. Well, it's Sony. When Sony licensed the Palm OS and introduced their first PDA (S300), that was somewhat underwhelming, and I and others didn't pay much attention to this. Of course TRG (now Handera) came out with their unit, which introduced some nifty features, but it wasn't "far enough" for me to justify upgrading my Palm Vx or IIIx (I'm sure I'll be hearing from Handera's aficionados). However, this all changed when Sony introduced Clie 710C last year (May 1, 2001).

I have to say I had done my best to resist the urge to upgrade my Vx, but when I saw the beautiful 320x320 resolution, my resolve melted away, and I had no choice but to purchase it during last summer. So far so good you say. Well, then the havoc started to happen. Sony quickly came out with 610C (announced on 6/25/01) with OS 4.0 and 16bit color support but without MP3. Now my PDA was no longer running the latest OS and only 8-bit color. To make things worse, Sony announced 760C (identical hardware with OS4.1) on 9/18/2001. My 710C was out of fashion within 4 1/2 months of its release! On 10/22/2001, Sony released the high resolution B & W T415 in the US. Whew! At least it wasn't color. Of course, I and others knew that the color version would not be that far way. Lo and be hold, the color version T615 was just released on 1/15/2002. Fortunately, it didn't have the MP3 playback, but it is one of the thinnest Palm OS color device with high resolution with external memory support. Of course a louder speaker and customizable wav sound plus IR remote control . . .

So, it has been 8 months since 710C has come out, and now my universe is completely perturbed, and I don't think it will ever return to the peaceful and orderly universe of the yore. I'm sure within the next few months, we will see a replacement unit for 760C, and I would have to find enough excuses not to upgrade my device again. What if I had stuck with Palm? I think my life would have been more orderly today. Actually, this is good news for Palm OS users. Today we have more choices in our Palm OS devices than ever before: Palm, Handspring, Sony, Handera, Acer, Samsung, Kyocera, and others, and this makes an exciting world for all of us.

However, I sometimes still long for my peaceful and serene days where I could count my blessing in my well-ordered universe. . . So, welcome Sony to the Palm fray, and we will all be singing your praises for the years to come for making our life more exciting and/or miserable.

Visit the Sony Clie website for more information on models mentioned in this article. Feedback or questions for Kenneth Rhee can be sent to clieandbeyond@fuse.net.

Next week: The PocketGoddess speaks...on the future of PDAs!

Past MemoWare Features:
• February 11, 2002 -- Craig goes to PalmSource 2002 and likes what he sees
• February 4, 2002 -- The Gadgeteer looks at hard case options for m500 series Palm PDAs