Will Sony answer this week???? The new Zire 71 is out.

[riversen]

Hey the new Zire 71 is out in California at Staples. I just talked to a guy who was looking at one in the store this weekend. I hope Sony answers soon, or they will loose the market. I am ready to switch if they don't answer. Check out the blurb on Geek.com below:

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Apr/bpd20030422019691.htm

If anyone knows anything about Sony's new PDA's, please let us know. I would hate to have switched and then wished that I hadn't because of some new feature. I think it is time for Sony to leak some of the info if they hope keep us Clie devotees from leaving for greener pastures.

Robert

[jwang0416]

what makes u think sony would lose its potential market just b/c of this new launch? For me, i would never ever switched to Palm Tungsten. The Palm's design is just not for me. Clie has a much innovative fashion look :D . I believe most ppl r stick to one or the other. Personally, i perfer japanese made electornic dievces(no offence) but just a sony fan.

I think now, the clie models are somehow enough. I dont know much about Tungsten but i believe Clie is not just an orgainior and also a small toy for us to play with (camera, mp3 and more).

The TG has just being released for a month or so.... be patient. Far as i know, sony launches its products at a fairly quick speed and sometimes makes us, the faster buyers, pissed off by being replaced by a newer and better model.

[OcellNuri]

Originally posted by jwang0416

I think now, the clie models are somehow enough. I dont know much about Tungsten but i believe Clie is not just an orgainior and also a small toy for us to play with (camera, mp3 and more).



The point being made is, the new Zire71 has all of those features (camera, mp3, "and more"), so it is starting to come into Clie territory. The Tungsten isn't really part of the discussion here.

[ngwailung]

What response do you expect from Sony if Zire's new features are already present in Clie?

Well, if Zire's pricing strategy is positioned in the lower cost stratum, Sony already had the SJ20. Maybe Sony will issue a model with camera and mp3 feature with lower price.

[riversen]

I think what is interesting is the price for the Zire 71. It is suppose to run for $299 with an ARM processor, high resolution, a possible camera, MP3 player, etc. This a $100 less than the TG with more features in a package that Sony does not yet have (320X320 high resolution screen with a virtual Grafitti area).

My hope and prayer is that Sony will answer with a TG like PDA that has the virtual Grafitti (or 320X480 screen with virtual grafitti) with 32+ Meg's of RAM. Because I do use JackFlash and JackSprat, I would be willing to consider moving over to the Palm (owned several and their quality is top notch when it comes to the higher end ones). In talking with Brayder Technology, they informed me that Sony has been very secretive with their code, so JackSprat will not work on OS 5 Sonies. That means, I would be stuck with only 11 Meg's of usable RAM (no true access to the remaining ROM)... YUCK! In fact, if Garmin can prove to be an easy integration with their software, their PDA looks very promising, too.

Yes, I love my T665 and Sony rocks, but I hope they don't have the sleeping giant or the indifferent giant syndrome because Palm sure is answering the challenge that Sony has given them. I like this competition because it means better products for us. We will see.

Again, I am rooting for a ARM based, 320X480 high resolution (non-clamshell), 32+ Meg's of RAM, MP3 player, optional camera, NO keyboard (or one that my fat fingers can actually use easily), etc. Because the rumor is that the Tungsten C is this and more, I will wait and see. Palm does not seem to give as much difficulty as does Sony to developers who want to create new software for the Operating Systems.

This is just my $0.02.

Robert

[Jeffry]

Remember that the NX replacement hasn't come out yet, and the specs are not yet confirmed. Who knows, Sony will release 2 models: an NX replacement and TG50 with VG....

[jetro]

my wish is that sony will...

take the t665, put in a arm based processor and os 5, add a virtual graffiti (making the screen 320x480), put in a couple of extras (recorder, bluetooth, wifi, dual MS/CF expantion etc) .... thats about it :)

...and oh a camera wont hurt..and please (most important)...not another clam-shell brick form factor

do that sony and you will make a lot of people happy!

[riversen]

Originally posted by Jeffry
Remember that the NX replacement hasn't come out yet, and the specs are not yet confirmed. Who knows, Sony will release 2 models: an NX replacement and TG50 with VG....

Not to bug you... but did you hear something about the virtual Graffiti on a TG type PDA???? I would buy that one tomorrow morning as soon as whatever store carried opened up! That is the PDA that I am looking for.

[riversen]

Originally posted by jetro
my wish is that sony will...

take the t665, put in a arm based processor and os 5, add a virtual graffiti (making the screen 320x480), put in a couple of extras (recorder, bluetooth, wifi, dual MS/CF expantion etc) .... thats about it :)

...and oh a camera wont hurt..and please (most important)...not another clam-shell brick form factor

do that sony and you will make a lot of people happy!

What about a little more RAM and ROM??? That wouldn't hurt either... LOL.

32 Meg's of RAM and another 32 Meg's of ROM (with room to flash more programs onto!).

[acraniotes]

My question is when Sony is going to start using the new 400Mhz PXA255 processor and match the Tungsten C's 64MB of memory... Hopefully, they're saving it for the hires+ tablet PDA we've all been waiting for.

Hello, Sony...? Anybody home?

-Adam

[riversen]

I know what you mean. I was just checking out the new Tungsten C and am seriously thinking about it. I do hope Sony gets a clue and answers this week. I may not wait much longer. The weekend's coming and my wallet is calling for Tungsten C. Sony where are the new and better Clie's?????

[jetro]

ive got a feeling sony is cooking up something good to answer the zire 71 and tungsten C's challenge but....
i fear its wrapped in another clamshell brick :( just my thoughts

i do hope im wrong... no matter how good clies get im not getting anymore of it until its in a t665 form factor. i want a super pda, and i want it in my pocket...

oh well palm is getting to be more clie-like anyway

[Marudine]

Yes, I shared the same feeling as you guys. SONY really needs to come out a better specs or not equivalent, else in this season, the T/C will snatch the frame (not to mention the reasonable $500 price tag for the T/C).

[the_tick]

So far the only thing I don't like about the Tungsten C is that it's made of plastic :(, but that's a minor issue :). Oh and it only has 50 MB of user space the rest is for the OS. Not that I'm complaining, but that a lot more space then I was expecting.

[riversen]

I have already emailed Brayder Technology to see if JackFlash and JackSprat will work on it. I know that they did not have any problems getting their software to work on the Tungsten T, so I suspect the Tungsten C will be the same. That may allow us to move some stuff around if we don't need it. We will see. The more I talk about this, the more I am realizing that if Sony does not get on the ball, I will be leaving the forum for good.

[jetro]

tungsten c is great BUT i read that the audio jack is mono so that means ugly if not no MP3 play. Can anyone confirm this? Too bad, its almost the perfect PDA save for the 320x320 screen :(

[riversen]

I think you are right. It does not take headphones, but the Palm handsfree headset, which is mono. That is a definite point of contention if I am going to use my MP3 player.