NX CF slot makes no sense

[kstuart]

Hello,

When the NX series came out, there was a lot of (justified) moaning about the CF slot only working for WiFi, and some hope that someone would create a driver for CF memory cards (which eventually happened).

However, the CF memory card driver happened without any help or support from Sony, and in fact, probably only 1% of NX owners will ever hear about it.

Thinking about this, it occurred to me - why did Sony bother with a CF slot at all? If it was only designed to be used with a WiFi card, then why not just hard-wire the WiFi into the PDA, and avoid the extra expense of a CF slot at all?

It doesn't make any sense at all - except for one scenario:

This is just a guess.

NR series engineers design a new improved version. One of their design goals is wireless connection. Other PDAs, like the Toshiba, use CF WiFi cards, and the Sony engineers realize that if one slot is used for WiFi, then there must be two slots, so they add a CF slot on the back on the NR (as well as upgrading the processor and camera). Development managers think this is a great product, prototypes are built, it's ready to go into production, when an uppoer executive says "CF slot ??? But Sony products only use MemoryStick ! We don't want to support the use of non-Memory Stick media ! Remove the CF slot !"

But, the engineering department thinks that WiFi is an important feature, and the product is ready to be manufactured. So, the engineering managers get an idea - remove the software support for any other use of the CF slot other than WiFi. This allows the product to go into production a few days later...

( Is there then a Sony CF memory card driver in a vault somewhere? )

Again, this is just a guess.

[*YellowRose*]

Originally posted by kstuart
( Is there then a Sony CF memory card driver in a vault somewhere? )

Again, this is just a guess. I bet there is . . . :rolleyes:

[Importluva]

The Sony Engineers or developers can come out with a driver that is fully functional in a day. I'm sure that its out there.

[GeekGod]

Actually, no, there was never any memory support for the CF. In Japan they have a wireless system that is very popular (I forget what it is called, but I think it's different than 802.11b) and CF access cards are cheap and plentiful for that system. Sony figured adding a CF slot would would be cheaper and faster than developing a MS card for that system.

For the US market they had to come up with a 802.11b "WiFi" solution since that is the popular system over here. But even that was cheaper for them (I'm sure they just buy their WiFi cards from someone esle and Sony brand them).

I'll bet Sony thought they were going to get praised for providing an inexpensive WiFi solution, but the whole thing kind of backfired on them since they are getting bashed for taking an established standard and making it proprietary (not to mention leaving previous Clie owners out in the cold with no wifi solution).

The end result of all of this, I believe, will be Sony dropping the CF slot. That means they will have to develope an MS based wireless solution, or build it in to future models. If the wireless standard in Japan is different, as I believe it is (anyone have more info on this?) then it is likely to be MS based. But I wouldn't be surprised if Sony based it on the MS-Pro standard so that older Clie owners will still be forced to upgrade.

Anyway... that's my thoughts on the subject. Only time will tell for sure.

[OcellNuri]

I imagine Sony used the standard CF interface because they were able to buy the WL100 units from another company and slap thier name on it.

Sony would not have built it in, because they want to be able to charge you another $150 if you do indeed want WiFi.

"Why build a feature in that everyone might not use, when you can make it an addon and charge the people who REALLY want it an arm and a leg?"

[hansschmucker]

Actually, the original Wifi cards were produced by a third computer. It wasn't until the second version that Sony started producing their own, with exactly the same specs.

About the Sony single-slot prediction. If they return to MS-Pro only, then I suggest they build in two slots: One for memory and one for extentions

[OcellNuri]

That's right. The WL100 is made by a third party vender using the Intel chip set. The WL110 is going to be made by Sony.

[n2ifp]

In Japan there is definitely more options. WiFi, Modems, Air Card, and who knows what else. I agree, the WiFi in the rest of the world was just a bone thrown to everyone for appeasement!

[Blazefire]

Im pretty sure that the next generation clie's wont have the CF slot (maybe the next model will have the CF slot, but it won't last for long) because Sony has already developed an MS Wi-Fi (or it could've been third party, but I'm pretty sure it was Sony) and that leaves the CF slot obsolete. I just wanna see how many people attribute the change to the CF driver

[T1000X]

It would be nice to see the CF slot stick around, but in order to keep up with Palm (I never thought I'd say those words) they will most likely be releasing models with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. I keep hoping that Sony's answer to the T|C will be a souped up TG50 like model with 64MB of RAM and built-in WiFi including Bluetooth.

[*YellowRose*]

Originally posted by Blazefire
Im pretty sure that the next generation clie's wont have the CF slot (maybe the next model will have the CF slot, but it won't last for long) because Sony has already developed an MS Wi-Fi (or it could've been third party, but I'm pretty sure it was Sony) and that leaves the CF slot obsolete. I just wanna see how many people attribute the change to the CF driver Yeah, our NXs (and all models with the CF slot) will become the 'Handeras' of Sony. The Handera users I know are downright religious about 'em!

[n2ifp]

It should be interesting to see what happens. Maybe Sony will do away with NetFront too :D!

[Eric S]

Originally posted by *YellowRose*
Yeah, our NXs (and all models with the CF slot) will become the 'Handeras' of Sony. The Handera users I know are downright religious about 'em!

I won't go so far as to say religious (at least not in my case), but the NX60 was the first PDA that offered enough over my HandEra 330 to get me to upgrade. There's still a few things that I miss about the 330, too, but with the advent of the CF memory driver, the major one is taken care of. I still miss my obnoxiously loud alarms, though.