iPhone iShmone, props to the TH55.

[strider_mt2k]

Sold mine back a ways, but all this iPhone BS makes me wish that Sony had been a little better in the PR department when it came to the TH55.

Anyone who owns one or has owned one probably gets a chuckle out of all this fuss.

Sure it's not a phone, but it's everything else, and years ahead too!

So props, Clie PEG-TH55!
Props from at least one guy who remembers, on this day after "iDay". Pffft.

:command:

[Joel]

http://suplido.com/joel/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/thiphone.jpg
"Congratulations to those who’ll be proud owners of iPhone 1.0…. but right now, I’ll still be using my trusty 3-year old Clie TH55/E." - wrote that earlier (http://suplido.com/joel/2007/06/30/happy-iphone-day/) in my blog :)

[dragonsgames]

Of course the TH55, along with other CLIE, are great machines... but are not even as close to as functional as the iPhone...
First of all, it is a phone, which the TH55 isn't.
Secondly, the iPhone has multi-touch, which is way better than the TH55 touchscreen.
Thirdly, the iPhone comes standard with more memory than the TH55 can support nativly (and can't support period with Sony apps, which give the best battery life).
Fourth, it syncs with iTunes, that is a huge plus and has accounted to much of the iPod's success.
Fifth, it has the best browser ever on a mobile device
Sixth, the interface is way better than the TH55
Seventh, it is even smaller (at least thinner) and... more stylish, than the TH55.
Eighth, it can play high-res movies at full speed and resolution easily.
Ninth, it has a great interface for music

[LupeValenz]

I don't care much for all that, I just want to play my podcast and movies seamlessly on the iPhone, TH55 isn't powerful enough for high action movies ;_;. Curse you G4 for not giving me an iPhone!!

[dragonsgames]

I'm going to go to my Apple store and take some comparison pics of the UX50 and iPhone. Hopefully this will help UX users and TH owners with a UX to compare....

[LupeValenz]

Oh my goodness, did you see that stress test video from pcworld. I would never imagine myself doing that to my TH55!. That iPhone is really built tough.

[eva-01]

I have to agree with three of the points you have with the iphone, dragon.

I think THE single best thing about the iphone is the browser, when i saw the demonstration i was blown away, the whole zooming in and seemless browsing really is the best thing i have seen from the iphone. :eek:

The others being the multitouch and the large storage space for a phone.

But i think it's a bit short of being a must have unless you lust after all things apple or must have the latest gadget. But i think the introduction of the iphone is a very good thing and will bring about more phone/pda with large storage and better browsers.

It is a huge compliment to the designers at sony that the TH55 is still a sought after and much used device. When you look back at the sony clie line you can easily see that if they had continued development, they could have made some really good pda phones, i mean if you added a cellphone radio into the th55 and greater storage, you get a iphone like device, add a cell to a tg50 and you have a blackberry/treo, add a cell to a ux50 and you have that htc phone thing.....

But alas they went with ericsson and abandoned the clie line :(

[geekymamaw]

Why oh why does so many thing a phone is needed with a PDA? I really don't want that. I like my phone separate and small. I am in the minority, I know, but I just don't get the need to integrate the two. I use my PDA heavily at work. I just don't need a phone added into the mix. Does anyone else think the same or am I just crazy?

[dragonsgames]

I used to think the same thing, mostly for the sake of battery life. But the iPhone has great battery life. It is also small, which is another thing I worried about combined devices.

[Joel]

The Clie brought fresh air (and choices) to the Palm-powered world. The same goes for the iPhone in the mobile arena. Now we'll begin hearing "iphone-killer" from companies who are very much going to kill themselves for trying. :)

[eva-01]

I was just thinking it wouldn't be a huge leap to make those old clies into a device similar to what we see these days, but i can see why you would want to keep your phone and pda seperate.

Personally after having a pda and a phone i ended up carrying one or the other, so for me, its more of a convenience to have both in one device, but thats because i am not a heavy user of either phone or pda.

I can see that if you were to use a pda a lot it makes sense to have a seperate device to do its job well, and a phone to its job, geeky mamaw you are not crazy :)

[geekymamaw]

Wow. Thanks! I am holding out for the TH55 comparable unit with all the Iphone bells and whistles for PDA use. Meanwhile, My TH55 is still kicking and hopefully it stays that way until the next best thing comes along.

[eva-01]

The Clie brought fresh air (and choices) to the Palm-powered world. The same goes for the iPhone in the mobile arena. Now we'll begin hearing "iphone-killer" from companies who are very much going to kill themselves for trying. :)

So is the iphone a "clie-killer"? :)

[geekymamaw]

Good one! But the think Clie killed themselves by stopping production of the best PDA ever. However, it's hard not to be impressed by the Iphone interface and touch screen. Imagine having the best from both. What a great PDA that would be.

[LupeValenz]

In the case of the iPhone...yes I would want the phone to be seperate because when you have to send the iPhone in to get the battery replaced....your disconnected while its away from you.

[r3z]

For MP3 and especially video playback, plus internet, the iPhone seems great.. size, looks, build quality also. But I haven't read too much about the PDA functions, and of the screenshots I've seen of the calender/notepad they have looked very poor. I guess they can always update them later on and put out new software, but for the now I would only pick one up due to it's multimedia functions rather than replace my PDA, and even then I would probably want to drop the phone part and stick in a hard-drive instead.

[dragonsgames]

Well I've used one and everything on it works great. Notepad is stylish and easy to use, with some great features thrown in. The calendar also works great, and syncs with iCal.

[Grandizer]

Why oh why does so many think a phone is needed with a PDA? I really don't want that. I like my phone separate and small. I am in the minority, I know, but I just don't get the need to integrate the two. I use my PDA heavily at work. I just don't need a phone added into the mix. Does anyone else think the same or am I just crazy?

I think the same way, and you're not crazy. Just an old fashioned person like myself (we're becoming relics if anything else).

iPhone is way overhyped. Granted, it may have a better browser, but that's about it. IT HAS VERY LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY. It can NEVER come close to what a dedicated PDA can do (regardless of manufacturer). It is first and foremost a phone (an extremely pricey phone). I never understood why people think it's great.


To quote (from 2 users at Aximsite):

If iSheep is the term for someone who will buy anything with an apple logo on it, what's the name for the equally daft person who will refuse to have anything to do with a device that has an apple logo on it?
-----
Smart?

Sorry, couldn't resist... ROTFLMAO

[keithwwalker]

Funny thing is, people flock to Apple because they present a CLEAR cut vision of their design ethos.

I think I will wait for the version 2.0 of the iPhone, w/3G.

I checked one out and the notes function does not enable you to categorize your notes, I read on engadget that thier email is all messed up (won't report back to the server which emails you have read), and the bluetooth is LIMITED - no GPS....

[Joel]

Once there's an unlocked iPhone, I'll be getting it, no matter what version it is :)

[JAmerican]

So is the iphone a "clie-killer"? :)

Never!!

The lack of third party applications makes it a huge disappointment. Just like the PSP was. Homebrew community made the PSP popular IMHO even though Sony tried to kill it. LOL.

Same for iPhone. Until its hacked, its just a flashy feature phone. Its a feature phone because what you see is what you get. I loved reading Engadget's review of the iPhone and learning how the some PIMs don't sync properly with some of Apple's PIM apps on Mac. LOL. And how the Email client is very bare as well as the camera. WTF. That's worth $600. LOL

JAmerican

[eva-01]

yeah, i didn't think it would be a 'clie killer' its a very nice phone with nice interface, media player and browser, but it seems it is definately not a pda.

the big problem with apple getting into the mobile phone game is that new phones are released almost every month, develpment is continuous and new and better features are constantly being added, so the iphone in some respects is advanced, but in others is lagging a bit behind, and in another 6 months ther will probably be a large array of phones with equivalent or better features, and i doubt they will refine and release a new iphone every few months.

most of the 'apps' that the iphone has are web apps which can be used by other phones, which was nice of apple and google :)

huge third party support and the vast amount of software available for palm and windows mobile makes the devices so much more versatile

its a shame really, the iphone had too much hype and i think some people are a bit dissapointed that its really just a phone with an ipod nano inside with a nice interface.

iphone didn't kill my clie :)

[LupeValenz]

That's true, but it will kill my treo and then have a beatiful union of TH55 plus iPhone...such a sexy family :)

[Grandizer]

So is the iphone a "clie-killer"? :)

Yeah, right... Can't even come close.

In truth, my axim is the ultimate "clie-killer". :D

[dragonsgames]

Well, the iPhone definitely killed the CLIE in sales, with an estimation of over 500,000 sold.

[harpgliss]

Well, the iPhone definitely killed the CLIE in sales, with an estimation of over 500,000 sold.

Hi,

And how often did you see commercials on the TV every 10 minutes for the Clie when it was still being produced?

Really not a fitting comparison because of the media blitz Apple did as opposed to Sony and more print advertising and more word of mouth from users on sites such as this one.

Your devotion to Apple is notable but not others share this almost blind loyalty to one brand.

OH! I take that back a little considering users loyalty to Palm still.

David

[dragonsgames]

Blind loyalty? The iPhone is better than the CLIE in almost every-way. If you ever get to use one and compare them in person, you notice it immediately.

[harpgliss]

Hi,

The quote was "almost blind loyalty to one brand" as opposed to one item.

As for the rest of your post, it is your opinion and others may have a differing opinion.

Please respect this as I respect your opinion.

And my post above never got into if the Clie or Iphone was better.

I prefer to leave my opinion to myself until I can see an Iphone in person.

David

[keithwwalker]

I agree, in terms of user interface; but v1.0 of iPhone's email and notes capabilities are POOR! Supposedly the email app was advertised as push email and it isn't.

Notes can not have a category tagged to them (I have over 30 categories in my NX)

What to talk about file storage and transfers? Can't do it. There is no external memory stick either....

and let's not discount that are far as software is concerned, the iPhone is locked.

Blind loyalty? The iPhone is better than the CLIE in almost every-way. If you ever get to use one and compare them in person, you notice it immediately.

[Cyker]

Blind loyalty? The iPhone is better than the CLIE in almost every-way. If you ever get to use one and compare them in person, you notice it immediately.

The 'almosts' including insignificant things like power consumption, unreplaceable battery, closed OS etc. ;)

[dragonsgames]

Power consumption? The iPhone has better battery life than almost every CLIE. Unreplaceable battery isn't really a problem, since you only have to replace it once every year to two years. Closed OS isn't a problem for me, because the only hacks I use on my CLIE are to do things the iPhone does native. :)

[jjesusfreak01]

Power consumption? The iPhone has better battery life than almost every CLIE. Unreplaceable battery isn't really a problem, since you only have to replace it once every year to two years. Closed OS isn't a problem for me, because the only hacks I use on my CLIE are to do things the iPhone does native. :)
Almost every Clie, but not all. Nothing touches the TH-55. I have left it for over a month and it hasnt run out of battery, used it for days and it doesnt run out of battery. Its amazing, though I will agree it beats most handhelds period in terms of batter life.

[eva-01]

I own a ux50 so i know all about bad battery life :) , but i have to say it is unusual to have a phone that does not have a user replaceable battery, and i remember the commotion when ipods batteries started dieing and apple wasn't exactly helpful with that.

The combination of this and that you have to pay apple around $80 + shipping to replace the battery for you is something that feels like a bit of a money grab, hopefully there will be third party battery replacement options for the iphone users.

I'm still unsure as to whether the replaceable battery is a big thing or not, but it is a bit worrying when the battery is good for between 300-400 charges, day in day out use may mean that you might have to replace your battery before the 2 year contract is up.

Maybe it's a good thing that it isn't really a fully fledged pda, as many people keep the same pda for years and years and do change the battery more than once. But for phones and ipods, they are a bit more 'throw away' than pda's i suppose.

But you have got admire the way apple makes very desirable and cool products, as well as advertising and the hype surrounding a new product, definately helps there sales. Hopefully they will listen to some of the small criticisms and make a better product (and hopefully cheaper :D )

I would love to see an iPDA (no the newton doesn't count) which is exactly like the iphone minus the phone but with an open os so anyone can develop for it.

[Mark29]

Apples & oranges. The iPhone is a video & music player and web browser which reportedly can send & receive calls as well. ;) Our TH is a Palm OS with wi-fi that can run hundreds of apps for anything from tracking car expenses to scheduling to keeping tabs on your progress at the gym, as well as web browsing.

Until the iPhone can run similar apps, and the price is at least cut in half I'm not the least bit interested, and happy to have a separate phone.

[Aces]

As for the "Clie-Killer" comments go, I think the point was missed. When someone describes a new product as a Clie-Killer, they've said that there product is a leap over what was THE must have item. It doesn't have to actually beat it in all categories. And what this says is how cool the Clie was in it's day. So it's more about giving credit to all the Clie's were in there day, while saying this new device is really worth looking hard at.

[dragonsgames]

I agree with Aces. The iPhone is the "device to have", just like the CLIE were...

[bdhu2001]

That's too bad about the battery. I just got a Treo so I'm combining 4-6 devices in one. Having worked with Clies it was a disappointment to buy everything to make me comfortable enough to work with it. Now that I have, I'm having a blast. It replaces my Tomtom, iPod, UX50 or VZ90, digital recorder, phone, portable DVD player, and radio.

Additionally, I don't carry my Sony laptops as much T250 & UX180. Admittedly I'll never give up either laptop, but the other devices are retired or used less and less.

[Mark29]

I agree with Aces. The iPhone is the "device to have", just like the CLIE were...

Not for everybody. It's double what I would consider paying for it, and the closed OS and non-replaceable battery makes it a no-go for me. I'm sure it's just a matter of time for 3rd party apps to be available. The perfect device for me would be a TH with a phone :)

[Clie Patra]

I don't think the OS will stay closed forever. No doubt it will be hacked, it's just a matter of 'when'. And the non-replacable battery didn't make the TH55 a worse device either. So with Palm completely ignoring their users, I'm getting really interested in an iPhone too...

[blck1jack]

The iphone has not beaten the clie in the movie area by a long shot. The TH55 is easily able to handle movies at 30fps with VGA resolution, I know, I have done it. The audio quality is about the same, although the iphone supports more formats, software is available for the the clie to expand its capabilities. Regardless, the clie is computer, not a phone. The clie is able to run far more applications than the iphone and thus is just more functional in general. When was the last time your iphone could be used as a remoe control or do your finances or allow you to edit documents, spreadsheets, or presentations, or allow you to customize its launcher or interface down to exact color schemes. It didn't and it most likely will not in the future

[junkyard12320]

OMG i would go with TH-55 anyday over an iPhone...Do you see an Iphone palying NES games??? Or SNES games or GB Games??? I can listen to my favorite music and play NES for Hours and never have the battery go below 85%....its amazing. Theres no hard buttons on the iPhone either? What kinda crap is that lol. I play alotta games on my Th-55 and i have used an iPhone and it doesnt compare.. For me the Clie is the way to go, the Iphone will NEVER beat it in gaming NEVER!

[Omar]

I have a TH55 that meets my needs, almost. My wife has an Iphone that meets her needs, almost.

[Danimal]

The iphone has not beaten the clie in the movie area by a long shot. The TH55 is easily able to handle movies at 30fps with VGA resolution, I know, I have done it.

blck1jack,

Can you elaborate on this? I have the TH55 and watch movies all the time using TCMPMP but I have to have it at 320x240 or it'll skip a lot or just freeze. I typically convert using AutoGK or some other tool and go for about 15 fps at 320x240. I'd, of course, love to have 30fps and VGA resolution, or even just 480x320 as that's the screen res.

Any tips?

Thanks!

-Danimal :cool:

[junkyard12320]

Just to help out Danimal......I use Fairuse to convert DVD's and i use the Xvid codec and set it to 700 MB with a resolution of 640x480 i think....then you download Divx Converter and modify the settings for 350 MB and audio at 96kb/s and custom set the resolution to 480x320 at 30FPS....this gives me perfect playback with 102% benchmark with the latelest version of TCPMP.....if you dont want to use DIVX converter just set the size in fair use at 350 MB and audio at 112 with the Xvid codec..this also gives good results

[blck1jack]

Junkyard, I couldn't have said it better, its all about how you encode. The codec from the VZ90 helps as well.

[Danimal]

Aha! See, from your earlier post, I thought you where playing the 640x480 30FPS version on TCPMP. That's why I posted and why I was confused/stunned.

yeah, I compress very similarly, although for some reason the settings I have tried didn't always work at 480x320. I'll give your specific settings a go. I just ordered a new battery for my '55, so I'll actually get back into videos on it again. My existing one is like 3+ years old with heavy usage it it's just dog tired. I could maybe watch 45 minutes on it. Needless to say, I'm salivating for the new battery. C'mon, Hong Kong... ship fast!

-Danimal