Finally got my UX-50 - is the grass greener on the other side ?

[aussie_nx70v]

Hello all,

It has been awhile since i posted to this forum. I think over 2 years :eek:

I had moved over to the Pocket PC side having purchased an IPAQ 4150. It is still serving me well and does everything i want. Well, except make calls (but thats another story).

Anyway, looking through E-Bay, i came across a Sony UX-50 Clie selling cheap and in fantastic condition. So i placed a bid on it and won the auction. $200.00 AUD. Not bad i thought to myself.

That was over a week ago and i havent stopped using the Clie since getting it. So now i thought it was time to visit my old stomping ground (1src) and create a new thread about what i thought of my new purchase.

You know what? I wouldnt give up my IPAQ for this Clie :(

Whilst both units are very similar in specifications i dont think i could live with the Clie's.........

Poor battery life
Not user friendly in communication (Wifi, Bluetooth etc)
Screen size
Memory Stick partially sticking out (apparently a common thing with the UX-50)

Just to name a few.


Sure it kills the IPAQ in the looks department but thats about it. I've always wanted to purchase a UX-50 and now that i have one i think moving over to Pocket PC was the best thing i did.

And before you Palm purists start to flame me (heaven forbid lol), i have had quite a few Palms, Clie's etc over the years and know most of the ins and outs of these units. To be honest, i have always liked both Operating Systems but it has been the hardware that has been the problem. The Palm side simply dont have a good enough manufacturer to produce a real Pocket PC killer.

Put simply the Sony Clie UX-50 is just not the right unit for me :(

[antoinepierre]

...Put simply the Sony Clie UX-50 is just not the right unit for me :(That's the best reason !

[JAmerican]

Sonyy did not make it to be reliable. Which I hate. :(


JAmerican

[philpalm]

Flame? Well in a way I will criticize your "review". It is the programs and how well they worked for you. Sony has some of the best MP3 and video abilities, yet no mention of the comparison. Also if you are not a keyboard person, webbrowser or bluetooth person, being quiet on those subjects not playing for the ux-50 strengths either.

Then again most average users can't or won't modify the ux-50 battery, but then again if you are an uber geek battery problems are no obstacle to loving a Sony.

[Pdaman]

I think it isn't really proper to come here, say few "bad" words about any pda and then "leave". I have feeling that quite many know these about ux50 want you have said and in my opinion it isn't nice to repeat these "problems" all over again.

However I thing you should try out th55. It has a lot bigger screen than on the ux50 and very high end battery. But it doesn't have keyboard, turning camera or some spefic specs. But you might like it more if you find all apps what you really need. Btw, I didn't remenber which kind of device ipaq 4515 was but definitely very nice what I did took quick look on it on the web.

[aussie_nx70v]

I think it isn't really proper to come here, say few words about about any pda and then "leave". I have feeling that quite many know these about ux50 want you have said and in my opinion it isn't nice to repeat these "problems" all over again.

Hey....please.....no one said im only saying a few words and then leaving. In fact i plan on sticking around. I know enough about the Palm Operating System and Clie's in general to maybe contribute to the site. Im just expressing an opinion about the UX-50 compared to my 4150.

Yes, i might be repeating the same "problems" about the UX but in regards to this specific thread, i.e. is the grass greener on the other side, it warrants the mention.

[aussie_nx70v]

Flame? Well in a way I will criticize your "review". It is the programs and how well they worked for you. Sony has some of the best MP3 and video abilities, yet no mention of the comparison. Also if you are not a keyboard person, webbrowser or bluetooth person, being quiet on those subjects not playing for the ux-50 strengths either.

Then again most average users can't or won't modify the ux-50 battery, but then again if you are an uber geek battery problems are no obstacle to loving a Sony.

Yes, i agree that the multimedia features of the UX-50 are quite good, however no matter how good they are dont mean jack shite if the battery doesnt keep the UX alive. At least make the battery more accessible, so that users can easily replace the battery and keep going.

- Im also let down by the WiFi features of the UX-50. Not user friendly at all.

- Also the fact that the memory stick partially sticks out is a worry to me. Someone correct me and tell me that this is a problem with only mine and no one elses.

- Screen size. C'mon......they sould have made it bigger.

Im not here to make this thread a Palm vs Pocket PC war (well not intentionally). I just wanted to give my thoughts on a long time Palm user switching camps and then trying the Palm side again after a 2 year absense.

I am really pissed off at Sony because they have made a half descent machine which could have knocked the socks off any Pocket PC.

[antoinepierre]

- Also the fact that the memory stick partially sticks out is a worry to me. Someone correct me and tell me that this is a problem with only mine and no one elses. No !
The MS ALWAYS sticks out (1 mm). You can take off a sort of spring to prevent the MS from going away, that's all. - Screen size. C'mon......they sould have made it bigger.Yes, they could (or they should) ...
Many new users of smartphones choose a device with a, even, smaller screen ! ;)

[Pdaman]

- Im also let down by the WiFi features of the UX-50. Not user friendly at all.
What you mean by user friendly? Do you mean that browsers aren't enough good for you or is the wifi on the ux50 too slow compared to ppc? If yes, it is true that browsers on the palm os are quite limited compared to ppcs browsers and ppcs get faster kb rates when loading pages etc. But you could tell more and maybe there is solution for this problem.

[m0nkeyb0y]

No !
The MS ALWAYS sticks out (1 mm). You can take off a sort of spring to prevent the MS from going away, that's all.

I saw some pics of a filed down memory stick so that the end sat flush with the UX case. There is space between the case of the memory stick and the internal circuitry to get away with it.

[aussie_nx70v]

I saw some pics of a filed down memory stick so that the end sat flush with the UX case. There is space between the case of the memory stick and the internal circuitry to get away with it.

OMG....do we need to get to that extent to have something sitting more flush? :eek:

[aussie_nx70v]

What you mean by user friendly? Do you mean that browsers aren't enough good for you or is the wifi on the ux50 too slow compared to ppc? If yes, it is true that browsers on the palm os are quite limited compared to ppcs browsers and ppcs get faster kb rates when loading pages etc. But you could tell more and maybe there is solution for this problem.

Yes, all of the above. In addition to that WiFi is harder to set up on the UX than the IPAQ. For example (a simple example) i can turn on WiFi on the IPAQ and if there is a WiFi hotspot available close by it is really simple to connect to it (providing it is available to be connected that is).

I dont know. I guess all around the IPAQ is easier for the novice to use where as the UX is more tuned up for an experienced user when talking about issues like these.

[aussie_nx70v]

OK someone please turn my head around.

Someone give me some good points about the UX.

So far ive mentioned.....

- Keyboard - always better in my mind. IPAQ doesnt have one.
- WOW Factor - kills the IPAQ in the looks department. IPAQ is too boring

Is there anything else??

[asiliat]

My friend-girl (not quite my GF), has a Dell Axim 51 or other. And after playing with it for a while, I wouldn't go w/ a Pocket PC. I'd rather use pen/paper.

Here are some lowlights:
- Slow. Cold start-up to functioning application takes forever. There are a lot of boot up processes that run in the foreground before it's ready.
- Slow. Response of their Word apps - etc appears extremely slow to me. DataViz DTG is much faster (IMHO)
- Horrible OS GUI. It tries to be Windows, but fails. I can't stand how un-intuitive everything is. You'd think some features should reside in one menu, but it doesn't. And it seems like I have to constantly click OK before I can do anything else

Highlights of the Axim:
-MM is nice, landscape/portrait flip is built-in
-Screen size is good
-Handwriting recognition software is good, and works most of the time
-Better battery life for sure.
-Like the SD Card slot, since cards cost less

But honestly, after using the axim, I much prefer my Clie - especially with appshelf as GUI. It seems faster, and a lot more user-friendly. Thumb-board is obviously a better input than stylus.... that's pretty much a given.

I find the Axim a nerd device, and the clie something cool to have. If the Clie had better battery life and could do telephony (everyone's dream clie, I know), then it would even trounce blackberrys for office use.

[ndokiman]

Recently replaced my beat-up TH55 for a UX50...not too happy with the switch. I should have gone with a used TH55.

The battery life of the UX50 is horrendous! I read a lot of complaints about this in 1src and other forums but I thought, hey, it can't be THAT bad.

It is...

Now, it's a toss up between going back to a TH55 or switching to a PocketPC (shiver). Anybody want a used UX50?

[LupeValenz]

Used TH55!

[m0nkeyb0y]

Before writing off the battery as being too poor, I suggest that we all buy new ones as those that shipped with the original UXs are probably well past it by now! I have noticed that the battery life of my Clie has deteriorated quite dramatically of late and I attribute that to the age of the internal battery more than anything else.

With regards to iPaqs, I have had two both of which can only be described as cr*p. I would not go back to PPC after using these two lumps of poop. Multi-tasking apps are nice, but when they don't actually shut the apps down so you run out of memory, one has to question the reasoning behind it. I love my UX :P

[aussie_nx70v]

My friend-girl (not quite my GF), has a Dell Axim 51 or other. And after playing with it for a while, I wouldn't go w/ a Pocket PC. I'd rather use pen/paper.

Here are some lowlights:
- Slow. Cold start-up to functioning application takes forever. There are a lot of boot up processes that run in the foreground before it's ready.
- Slow. Response of their Word apps - etc appears extremely slow to me. DataViz DTG is much faster (IMHO)
- Horrible OS GUI. It tries to be Windows, but fails. I can't stand how un-intuitive everything is. You'd think some features should reside in one menu, but it doesn't. And it seems like I have to constantly click OK before I can do anything else

Highlights of the Axim:
-MM is nice, landscape/portrait flip is built-in
-Screen size is good
-Handwriting recognition software is good, and works most of the time
-Better battery life for sure.
-Like the SD Card slot, since cards cost less

But honestly, after using the axim, I much prefer my Clie - especially with appshelf as GUI. It seems faster, and a lot more user-friendly. Thumb-board is obviously a better input than stylus.... that's pretty much a given.

I find the Axim a nerd device, and the clie something cool to have. If the Clie had better battery life and could do telephony (everyone's dream clie, I know), then it would even trounce blackberrys for office use.

Im not quite sure about the Axim. After all this thread is about the direct comparison between my IPAQ 4150 and my UX-50.

I dont have the problems you mention with my IPAQ.

Yeah, i agree that my UX is way too cool. However being just cool just doesnt cut it anymore.

[m0nkeyb0y]

However being just cool just doesnt cut it anymore.

Ask all those fashion victims who went out and bought iPods despite their inferior sound quality, questionable material quality and locked-down video formats whether looks are everything :D

[aussie_nx70v]

Before writing off the battery as being too poor, I suggest that we all buy new ones as those that shipped with the original UXs are probably well past it by now! I have noticed that the battery life of my Clie has deteriorated quite dramatically of late and I attribute that to the age of the internal battery more than anything else.

With regards to iPaqs, I have had two both of which can only be described as cr*p. I would not go back to PPC after using these two lumps of poop. Multi-tasking apps are nice, but when they don't actually shut the apps down so you run out of memory, one has to question the reasoning behind it. I love my UX :P

AHHHHH.......someone with abit of sense :)

In regards to the multi-tasking and applications not shutting down properly, i agree completely. That is why i have a little app sitting in my task bar which closes all the programs down with one tap to solve that one.

However saying that Pocket PC's can only be described as cr*p doesnt really give your argument much weight. Id like a constructive discussion thanks.... :p

The battery issue in the UX-50 looks like to have been a problem from day one. Looking back at previous threads only confirms this. I just wich there was a 'quick release' battery door whereby we could easily replace batteries when they expired. That way we could all carry a couple of batteries around to get us through the day.

People at HP thought of that when they designed the IPAQ 4150. Isnt Sony smart enough to have done something like that???? :p

[aussie_nx70v]

Ask all those fashion victims who went out and bought iPods despite their inferior sound quality, questionable material quality and locked-down video formats whether looks are everything :D

LMAO....good point.

I gotta say to those people......what are you thinking !!!

Go right ahead. Blow away your hard earned money on something that isnt really worth it LOL.

Hey monkeyboy.....sorry about the ashes...THEY ARE COMING HOME :D

[m0nkeyb0y]

Hey Aussie, no probs, I'm a born and bred ex-pat from Brisbane ;)

With regards to the UX battery, yes it was never great to start with but (as with all PDAs - there is no "ultimate" device yet) the user must learn to work within the limits of their device. For instance, when opening Microsoft Word on your dekstop PC, you can yell at it all you like, but you cannot start word processing until the application is ready. Thus people here have learnt to work with the battery limitations of the UX and even proposed some very creative ways of extending their units.

Both of the iPaqs I have owned were ridiculous in terms of battery life. Neither could last a day of normal usage on a single charge without the addition of the fabled "cradle" with integrated battery. Neither iPaq had WiFi as standard and the text input was just poor. I did have two add-on keyboards which were quite cool, but when the thumb board was attached at the bottom, the extended battery jacket was mounted and a full size cardbus WiFi card added, not only did the unit look ridiculous, it was nearly ten inches long and weighed a ton! And then you had to install drivers for the peripherals etc etc which were promptly lost when the battery went flat yadda yadda yadda. There is also no chance of modding the units to allow charging via USB or external battery.

IMHO the UX beats both of my iPaqs hands down in every respect, barring the inclusion of SD slot which is far preferable to a Memory Stick.

[DCBAKER]

I am really pissed off at Sony because they have made a half descent machine which could have knocked the socks off any Pocket PC.
This is a sentiment I can agree with. The UX series was an awesome concept. If Sony had stuck with PDAs, I think the next iteration of the UX would have been the killer PDA regardless of OS. If the limitations which have already been mentioned had been mostly overcome (including the wierd memory configuration which no one's mentioned yet) this would have been THE PDA. That being said, I would still be a UX user if mine hadn't died at the same time using a 2-handed PDA became difficult for me. I loved it!

[fmc159]

i would just like to point out to aussie_nx70v that the ux50 is nearly 4 years old! and yet it is still holding its own!

[Pdaman]

i would just like to point out to aussie_nx70v that the ux50 is nearly 4 years old! and yet it is still holding its own!wow wow! maybe about 3 years or 2-3 years but not 4! th55 came out before ux50 and ux40 and th55 came about 2,6 years ago to market at least then I bought it. So ux50 can't be so old device ;)

[antoinepierre]

...th55 came out before ux50 and ux40 ...Are you sure ?

I bought my UX 2 1/2 years ago and it was a second hand.

[glassman]

...th55 came out before ux50 and ux40 ...



Are you sure ?

I bought my UX 2 1/2 years ago and it was a second hand.

TH55 was the last in the CLIE line.

[aussie_nx70v]

i would just like to point out to aussie_nx70v that the ux50 is nearly 4 years old! and yet it is still holding its own!

Now this is a pretty broad statement. Its holding its own compared to what other device?

Pocket PC or Palm device?

[aussie_nx70v]

TH55 was the last in the CLIE line.

Is the VZ a clie? and if so, wasnt that the last CLIE ?

[asiliat]

I've not had an issue with battery life ever since I got the charging case that Brando and other companies used to sell. I have a mini-USB cable attached to my PC at work and home, so I don't have a problem charging it. I just take it out of my pocket and plug in the USB. I don't even think about it - and as such, I don't run out of juice for any normal usage. Of course, once I start watch videos and surf the web with it, then it's game over. However, after the novelty of connecting to a router for internet wore off, I find I rarely do it anyway.

I still think it's a great device for me.

I couldn't stand using the PPC everyday, and I'm no elitist. Heck, I was one of the only peeps at work who liked Windows Vista when I saw it in Alpha form. :P

[JAmerican]

Are you sure ?

I bought my UX 2 1/2 years ago and it was a second hand.

I bought mine like a year ago almost 2 (my UX50 secondhand) and the WiFi died like a month later.

I am thinking about getting a PPC6700. Its going to basically be my UX50 phone. I've come to prefer a slider over a clamshell due to the single hinge compared to two slider bars. Basically more durable. Also, the keyboard on it is so amazing. If I get it for a good deal, I will do a review much like the one I did for my TX and UX if you all remember that.

JAmerican

[antoinepierre]

We remember that ! ;)

The UX was the winner ? :D

[gochi]

JAmerica...you said you're wifi stopped working after 1month...did you fix it ? How ?

thanks