Will be selling my TH55 soon

[tsinvest]

Well I never thought this would happen, but I saw a deal on the TX that made it worthwhile for me to purchase one. My TH55 was absolutely the best PDA I have ever owned, but I decided to move on - I never use the camera, voice recorder or the clie organizer so I won't have any of those to miss. In order to buy the TX I decided I would list my TH55 on ebay in a few weeks. I thought I would mention it here first, as someone here may be interested in it. It is in excellent condition - no scratches on the screen - a couple of very minor marks on the clear cover. I have a 256K memory stick with it and a Belkin hotsync charging cable in addition to the cable that came with it (I also have one additional Sony OEM hotsync cable and 3 extra stylus). I have the original box and everything that came with it. If anyone is interested leave a post here and perhaps we could work something out before I list it on ebay. I will probably sell it in about 3 - 4 weeks from now, after I receive my new unit and transfer everything over to it.

[wellsjs]

I hope that as the TX has been out a little now, developers have fixed the many incompatibilities encountered by TX owners early on with many applications, otherwise you could be in for a bumpy ride . . . buyer beware! ;)

[tsinvest]

I hear you Wellsjs. I read threads on digitizer problems as well as a few other problems, and I'm hoping they are not as prevelant as the threads would make one think. Aside from the negatives, I have also read many very positive reviews. I like the idea of 100mg built in memory and I will probably enjoy having the five way rocker button on the front of the unit again. I always enjoyed having a side flip cover that goes completely behind the unit as opposed to the plastic flip that sticks up when openned. Little points, but things I prefer. The thing that makes me a bit apprehensive however is the program compatablity issues - everything works fine now on my Clie - I ask myself if I am nuts making the change - oh well, time will tell. Thanks for the note - I will post back once I receive and use the TX for a week or so.

[THX-1138]

How much for your TH55?

Do the following work continously? :

- Camara
- Voice Recorder
- WiFi

How long does the charge on your battery last?

Any Loose screws?

Has it suffered a fall?

Screen scratch free?

Age of PDA?

Your kind response to these questions is much appreciated.

Regards,

THX-1138

PS : I am/was about to cross over to a TX or 650 but looking at the TH55 it just leaves me in awe of how good it is. I used to have Palm PDA until the Tungsten started to give me digitizer issues that seem to not have gone away even on their new units as the TX. For the right price, I would just get myself another TH55 as my current one has the camara issue.

[DanT]

I'm building up my TH55 spareparts list (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83569&page=1) and hopefully pretty soon will have a spare of 2-months old good working camera (or the whole motherboard for that matter) from stempler (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107789). He is sending me both of his TH55s for repair today. I will repair the one that has a crack digitizer for him in exchange of the 2-months old one that has a bad LCD. When they are arrived, I will test it and let you know. Basically I will have a TH55 with bad LCD to part out for spareparts.

[THX-1138]

DanT,

Do you fix the camara problem?

[DanT]

I never have camera problem, so I don't know what problem you have. If the camera is soldered to the motherboard, I can swap motherboard if I need to.

[THX-1138]

Hello DanT,

The problem I get is the infamous:

"Unknown error occured in Multimedia System. CLIE Camara will abort."

I have already hard reset the unit and tested to just give me the same message. I have also tried the other methods suggested in these forums (pressing on the 'round silver enclosure' of the lens and slapping it). Still same problem, there are plenty of TH55 owners with this issue, some were lucky and had it repaired within warranty and others just moved over to TX, 650 or PPC. :eek:

[DanT]

Hmm. So I'm one of the lucky one. It sounds like a software issue, rather than a hardware.

[THX-1138]

I thought the same thing until I did a factory reset and had the same message appear. Did a search on these forums and this issue points to a hardware problem. It's just a matter of time to affect all TH55 owners :(

Here are some examples of this issue:

TH55 Camara Issue 1 (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92081&highlight=Multimedia+System)

TH55 Camara Issue 2 (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59645&highlight=Multimedia+System)

TH55 Camara Issue 3 (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92081&highlight=Multimedia+System)

[DanT]

Did you install the "movie recorder", that is not designed for TH55? I certainly didn't mess with that app after reading so many problems with it.

There could be a reason why Sony did not put movie recorder in TH55. If I have to guess, it may not have enough heat sink plate to absorp the heat generated while recording a movie since that camera is designed only for still picture taking, not video. If you use it for a while as video camera, the camera may get hot and melt ribbon cable or the CMOS or whatever the weak link parts next to the chip.

[THX-1138]

That sounds logical but I rarely have used the movie function and when I did it was only used for less than 15 seconds. That would be interesting to find out, make a poll to see if the owners of TH55 with a bad camara were using the movie function, if your theory is correct then we should have a clear result from the poll ;)

Still, in my case, I am left with a great PDA but without a camara which is very handy at times so I'm seriously thinking in getting a replacement (TX or 650).

Any help is appreciated.

[DanT]

May be you can make the poll since you have related experience and I have none. It is hard to say about the subject when I have 3 TH55s (one with bad LCD) but none of them has bad camera. Even with the crack-LCD one I still can take the picture and see the image between the bleeding LCD. The oldest one is 2 years old.

Once I receive my 4th TH55 with broken LCD, I can check the camera function and how to dismantle it from the motherboard. If it can be done easily, we can discuss about swaping your camera with mine.

[tsinvest]

How much for your TH55?

Do the following work continously? :

- Camara
- Voice Recorder
- WiFi

How long does the charge on your battery last?

Any Loose screws?

Has it suffered a fall?

Screen scratch free?

Age of PDA?

Your kind response to these questions is much appreciated.

Regards,

THX-1138

PS : I am/was about to cross over to a TX or 650 but looking at the TH55 it just leaves me in awe of how good it is. I used to have Palm PDA until the Tungsten started to give me digitizer issues that seem to not have gone away even on their new units as the TX. For the right price, I would just get myself another TH55 as my current one has the camara issue.

I would like to get around $225 + or -, I haven't decided yet (this includes 256mg memorystick, a Belkin sync and charge cable, 2 OEM charge and sync cables, 1 OEM charger, and a few extra stylus). I have the origninal box and everything that came with it.

>Do the following work continously? :
>
>- Camara
>- Voice Recorder
>- WiFi

All of the above work perfectly - continously.

>How long does the charge on your battery last?

Battery seems to last around 4-5 days (that's a guess) - It is not as long as when it was new, but still okay. Actually the new TX, I am guessing, will probably give me only 3-4 days

>Any Loose screws?

I was very surprised to notice, once I decided to sell it, that it was missing one screw on the upper right side of unit - I have read in a post someone else was missing a screw in the exact same place - doesn't seem to have affected anything.

>Has it suffered a fall?

No falls

>Screen scratch free?

Screen is in excellent shape, no scratches - I am very careful about the screens on all my pdas I've owned

>Age of PDA?

Approx 18 months - not heavy use - about 1/2 hour a day and most of the time less than 1/2 hour

Your kind response to these questions is much appreciated.

Regards,

THX-1138

PS : I am/was about to cross over to a TX or 650 but looking at the TH55 it just leaves me in awe of how good it is. I used to have Palm PDA until the Tungsten started to give me digitizer issues that seem to not have gone away even on their new units as the TX. For the right price, I would just get myself another TH55 as my current one has the camara issue.


Thanks for your interest THX-1138 - if you want to explore this further, let me know.

[DanT]

To know exactly about your battery condition, try to run Battery Time 1.84 (http://palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&PartnerREF=&siteid=1&prodID=45712). We have lots of database comparison for TH55 in this thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42896&page=1&pp=15). A good battery preformance, as new, would be around 4+ hours. I replaced mine after 2 years since it only show 2+ hours discharge time. That is discharging with 100% brightness starting from a full charge condition (red power light is off when you plug in the charger).

Please let us know what your discharge time is so we can add your data to the database. :)

[tsinvest]

To know exactly about your battery condition, try to run Battery Time 1.84 (http://palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&PartnerREF=&siteid=1&prodID=45712). We have lots of database comparison for TH55 in this thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42896&page=1&pp=15). A good battery preformance, as new, would be around 4+ hours. I replaced mine after 2 years since it only show 2+ hours discharge time. That is discharging with 100% brightness starting from a full charge condition (red power light is off when you plug in the charger).

Please let us know what your discharge time is so we can add your data to the database. :)


Dan,

I appreciate your suggestion - I once ran these types of tests years ago when handhelds were more of a fasination for me - now I use them as a tool to keep track of things in my career. Suffice it to say that since the unit is about 18 months old with light to moderate use my guess is it will probably need a battery in the next 5 to 8 months. Whether I own it then, or someone else, we should have plenty of warning in time enough to buy a replacement, which if I am not mistaken goes for around $17.

Regards, Tom

[DanT]

Fair enough. How about running LCD Analyzer 1.6 (http://palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&PartnerREF=&siteid=1&prodID=39164) to see if you have any dead pixels?

[tsinvest]

Hi Dan,

Your persistence paid off - I was actually curious myself. I ran the test and I can see one dead pixel which I actually forgot all about - it is in the lower right corner of the screen - about a 1/4 inch in and a 1/4 up. I remember seeing this when I purchased it new, however forgot about it because it never comes into play as it is right in the command bar area - very unnoticable. I am glad I didn't exchange the unit for the one pixel because it turned out to be a really good unit and hasn't given me any problems. Thanks for suggesting the test, I wasn't aware of LCD Analyzer.

[DanT]

:cool:

Thanks for trying. BTW, good price! If you have pictures of it that would help the sale, even later in eBay.

[tsinvest]

Dan,

I took a quick photo - not the best quality, but here it is anyway. The resolution makes the right metal frame around the screen look crooked, but it is an illusion - it is absolutely straight.

If you or someone else is interested I will post a better set of photos when I have more time.

Thanks -

[DanT]

That sounds logical but I rarely have used the movie function and when I did it was only used for less than 15 seconds. That would be interesting to find out, make a poll to see if the owners of TH55 with a bad camara were using the movie function, if your theory is correct then we should have a clear result from the poll ;)

Still, in my case, I am left with a great PDA but without a camara which is very handy at times so I'm seriously thinking in getting a replacement (TX or 650).

Any help is appreciated.

Try to open your TH55 and check your camera ribbon cable. Was it melted like psau3's, as shown in the picture he posted in his post #3 of this thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106028&highlight=th55+camera)?

The good news is the camera module is replaceable according to him post.

BTW TX has NO CAMERA ;)

[THX-1138]

Very interesting DanT and Thanks for sharing that picture. I will need to purchase the famous 'T' screw driver in order to open my TH55. Did the melting stop psau3's camara to work?

Yes, I am very aware that the TX has no camara, otherwise it would have been almost a perfect replacement for the TH55, that is why I am also considering the Treo 650.

[DanT]

Dan,

I took a quick photo - not the best quality, but here it is anyway. The resolution makes the right metal frame around the screen look crooked, but it is an illusion - it is absolutely straight.

If you or someone else is interested I will post a better set of photos when I have more time.

Thanks -

Thanks again. A good buy, I think. Of course I'm bias. ;)

325 hits up to this post. Not bad exposure. You can get a brand new TX for that much, as JAmerican did and mentioned in this thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108068)

Good luck!

[tsinvest]

I posted the below on the TX forum and thought I would also post it here - some of you may be interested. As you can see I really like my new TX - I am however thinking of keeping the TH as a backup unit. Here's the post:

------------------------------------
After using the TX several days I can honestly say I like it more than my TH55. Here is what I like about it so far:

1) WIFI hotsyncing
2) Blazer web browser is so much faster than Netfront (maybe the TX is actually the faster piece here) - my web browsing speed has increase 3 fold over the TH55
3) I like the hard buttons on the front and the 5 way navigator
4) It is nice to have the side flip cover that you can fold behind the unit so it is completely out of your way.
5) Screen is great, even a stitch better than the TH55
6) I never minded the TH55 "toothpick" stylus, but I really do like a real sized one like you get with the TX.
7) It is great to have 100mg+ onboard memory.
8) Palm has kept their "keep it simple strategy" - no camera, no voice recorder, no buttons on the side and back - plain and simple, yet very powerful and all the tools you need to organize your personal and work life.

What don't I like:

1) this is not a dislike yet, but I heard a few people complain about the digitizer and I notice occassionally it won't recognize a "t" - I think it is more me than the unit - my TH55 occassionally misread my input too

All in all they are both great units, and I am surprised I am saying this, but I like the TX much more than I thought I would - I hope this continues.

[DanT]

Good to hear that you like it. Please update your review in 3 months. :)

[THX-1138]

My TH55 has been able to hotsync via WiFi for a very long time. The ideal PalmTX would have been to add the treo 650 camara, mic, vib-alarm, LED with an interchangeable battery. We should make a hybrid as HandERA did with it's infamous HandERA 330 ;)

[tsinvest]

THX-1138,

Shame on me - I had the TH for 18 months and never new it had that capability - wish I found out sooner.

Thanks

[DanT]

Battery usage is very important too me. Sure like to know how the TX BatteryTIME discharge time looks like when it is new and how it is compared to TH55.

[roustabout]

This is an interesting thread, since I've just done the reverse migration. My primary use for a palm device is to read Avantgo, and I read quite a bit of news on the device.

The T|X is gorgeous, fast, new, high-powered - the ability to toggle the network fast is great, the support for WPA and other more robust WiFi is great. The way they've implemented portrait/landscape - brilliant.

But once I tried reading the thing in daylight, sitting and having a cup of coffee?

The screen. Terrible in any natural light. Sunlight? Bright overcast/hazy? Awful. Unreadable. Polarizing glasses? No help. Best I could do was to flip the thing so far sideways that I was reading the texture of the characters on the LCD! Yech!

I started looking to see if there was anything I could do about the screen. The advice I got: look at a TH-55. I picked up my first two days ago and LOVE it.

I'm here to find out how to do some button remapping and look for utilities to improve wifi a bit - I need to put the router here back into WPA mode, and at that point I may lose wifi except for coffeehouses.

But the readability of the display is great. I'd love to be able to upgrade it to the newer PalmOS, honestly - I like the completely nonvolatile RAM a lot, it's a big reason why my gf finds her palm so frustrating, she dumps memory too often and then not trusting it, she doesn't use it.

So she gets about 450 worth of goodies (device, hardcase, bluetooth keyboard) and I keep an eye out for another TH55 on ebay, I think. I may give the TX a few more days, but the design of the 55 blows the TX away in so many ways. Not having the D rocker - in particular, not having a frontmounted "page down" button - is frustrating, but I'm hoping that either the ShrkButon or TheGoGo will address that for me. If it does, the TX finds a new home!

[DanT]

Why would you miss a frontmounted "page down" button when you have great one on the back?

Using TX's frontmounted page down button requires two-hand operation and your other hand in front may block the screen view. Using TH's backmounted page down (Right) button, not only keeping your other hand away from blocking the screen, but also free for eating sandwich. You can actually read through pages of info with TH in one hand, while standing in the bus holding on to a pole with your other hand. Try that with TX. ;)

[THX-1138]

I can tell you, though my current main unit is a Palm Treo 650, the Sony PEG TH55 is the TOP PDA device ever made. For me it's so good that I made a decision to pull it out for preservation into my collection of great electronic devices (Palm III, HandERA 330, Palm Treo 650 (in the future)). The Euro version is the best rounded of the TH55 series since it has Bluetooth and Wifi.
I recommend any PDA enthusiast to have this great device, no other PDA comes close to it's functionality, design and stability.

[smoothjordan]

I can tell you, though my current main unit is a Palm Treo 650, the Sony PEG TH55 is the TOP PDA device ever made. For me it's so good that I made a decision to pull it out for preservation into my collection of great electronic devices (Palm III, HandERA 330, Palm Treo 650 (in the future)). The Euro version is the best rounded of the TH55 series since it has Bluetooth and Wifi.
I recommend any PDA enthusiast to have this great device, no other PDA comes close to it's functionality, design and stability.

Functionality and Design can come close, anything with Palm OS is just as functional as the Th55, it's the same operating system, in fact, other devices do it faster and have newer versions. Design is also not hard to match, the Palm T|X has the slim factor of a TH55, but lacks a camera and voice recorder. It comes close, just not to it. Stability is a matter of software, and I agree, it's probably one of the more stable pda's running Garnet.

[DanT]

... The Euro version is the best rounded of the TH55 series since it has Bluetooth and Wifi.
I recommend any PDA enthusiast to have this great device, no other PDA comes close to it's functionality, design and stability.

TH55/Es sold in eBay tell loud and clear. They are consistently about $100 more than TH55/U. Check out this Item number: 9708698363 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Clie-TH55-PDA-WLAN-Bluetooth-Camera-etc_W0QQitemZ9708698363QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem). With still 25 hours to go its bid is already at $373.00, while a newer TX hoovering around $200. What does that tell you?

[smoothjordan]

TH55/Es sold in eBay tell loud and clear. They are consistently about $100 more than TH55/U. Check out this Item number: 9708698363 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Clie-TH55-PDA-WLAN-Bluetooth-Camera-etc_W0QQitemZ9708698363QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem). With still 25 hours to go its bid is already at $373.00, while a newer TX hoovering around $200. What does that tell you?

people have too much money to waste... LOL!

[roustabout]

Why would you miss a frontmounted "page down" button when you have great one on the back?

Using TX's frontmounted page down button requires two-hand operation and your other hand in front may block the screen view.

Hm. Not for me - I can reach the D with my thumb pretty easily. So the T|X is a onehanded browse, no problem.

And there are a lot of situations where I'd like to set the device on a table or in my lap at which point the wheel and rear buttons are inaccessible. I haven't gotten a keyboard in for this guy yet, but I imagine that the scroll wheel will be hard to use if the keyboard features a device rest - probably the Sony keyboard has its own scroller to assist, though. If Sony ever decided to release another iteration of this device, I'd like to see it have a small D where the Clie logo is now and simple access to Wifi (and better support for encryption protocols.)

If Palm ever releases a device that uses a screen readable in natural light, I'll probably migrate - the nonvolatile memory is a big help. The down side is, on the TX, you have to have it, since the device does suck juice for its lovely, indoor-only-but-snazzy-in-the-fluorescent-lit-test-lab screen.

[DanT]

people have too much money to waste... LOL!

If you keep a complete documentation, the original box, etc., you still can get pretty good price out of your TH55. This TH55/U, Item number: 9710590645 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBUAA:US:11&Item=9710590645) just sold for $282.77. I bought mine for $315, over 2 years ago. Imagine that. ;)

[wellsjs]

Used TH55/Us on Amazon range from $300 - 430, and the only new one goes for $600! :eek:

[DanT]

This Item number: 9711645881 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBUAA:US:11&Item=9711645881) was just sold for $280. This Item number: 9710631924 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBUAA:US:11&Item=9710631924) was just sold for $268.77. Hang on to your TH55s. They are HOT. ;)

I keep a complete record of everything, down to the stickers (IEEE802.11b, 310,000 pixels, CLIE Organizer, picsel powered), mint condition flipcover (removed immediately upon purchased back in March 2004), Graffiti 2 help card, etc.

[salesrep]

This Item number: 9710631924 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBUAA:US:11&Item=9710631924) was just sold for $268.77. Hang on to your TH55s. They are HOT. ;)

That was the first of 2 I am selling, and needless to say I was surprised at how high it went! Reminds me what a deal I got on my backup '55/E for $190. . .almost unheard of! :D

Also, I updated my avatar picture. Whaddaya think? :cool:

[DanT]

That was the first of 2 I am selling, and needless to say I was surprised at how high it went! Reminds me what a deal I got on my backup '55/E for $190. . .almost unheard of! :D

Also, I updated my avatar picture. Whaddaya think? :cool:

:cool: indeed!

Are all those working?

Please PM me. I got lots of part and repair requests. I can do business with you!

[olderTechnology]

All these replies are exactly right. I paid $240 a month ago on eBay, but only after watching dozens of them slip by me for my previous maximum price of $210. If the description gets anywhere close to "I didn't use this", then the price goes sky high. The only ones that go for less than $200 are the ones that are clearly heavily used or have missing stuff.

Great machine.

Also, by the way, thanks for the recommendations of BackupMan. I bought a copy and was immediately able to create an exact clone of my TH55. Good stuff.