Mossberg review of the UX-50 is out

[gunmetal]

Walt Mossberg has posted his review of the UX-50 on the WSJ site. It's pretty superficial but it's the first I've seen of an actual unit. Basically he likes it but thinks it's at least $200 too expensive. He also gave a brief summary of the review and showed the UX on CNBC this morning.

Review link (http://ptech.wsj.com/ptech.html)

[Perry_Riposte]

Thanks for pointing us to this review!

Basically, it reaffirms my own decision to go ahead and buy one (having long ago come to grips with the price issue).

I question one comment he makes:

"The biggest weakness of the UX50 is the keyboard. On a BlackBerry or a Handspring Treo, the keyboards are smart; they know when to capitalize words, and to insert the apostrophe if you type "isnt." The Clie keyboard is roomy, but dumb."

Personally, I've never been a big fan of auto-capitalization and auto-correction features, so I actually read this observation as a positive...

[ballistic]

I have to agree about the lack of 'sticky keys' and a smart keyboard. The option should be built-in.

Walter J. Mossberg's Personal Technology column comes out every Thursday; I make it a practice to listen (on my Audible.com subscription to the WSJ) to them every week.

I usually agree with him about 90% of the time, but he tends to target his reviews a little more towards the general population (technologically challenged). He is very balanced and likes things that are easy to use and that work as advertised (not too much to ask for).

[hausman]

My second to both ballistic and perry_riposte...agreed. (except for auto-capitalization...yuk...but that's just me.) :)

Also, I have to ask. 450x320? Is he discounting the little Sony button bar (which might take up 30px), or is it a typo, or...? I'm rarely comfortable with reviews that aren't from die-hard techies (waiting for pdagal/brighthand/etc. to get test units...how did Walt get one first!)...moreso when small details are "off", or at least not explained in context so they can be reconciled with the specs given at sony.com (320x480).

Is "no graphical emails" true? That ought to be confirm-able by current Clie owners. If so, that's a major thumbs-down...at least I hope it can render the text of HTML emails - don't really care about the images, but if it can't render the text, then you're missing out...

Why complain about $200 for Wifi and bluetooth - if you added these into another PDA (which, for most PDAs, you can't do simultaneously or without having to carry extra cards around), you'd spend $150 or $200. Also, for the clamshell landscape, there's currently no competition in the "easy to use" category (forget the Zaurus - I own one and I've been dicking with it for a year to get simple things like bluetooth to work - this is not a unit for the light-hearted).

And "no memory stick"...technically true, but isn't the 29MB a virtual memory stick? He may be talking about copying things using a MS reader from cameras, PC's, etc., but he doesn't specifically mention that. Then later he acknowledges "generous internal memory". It *does* have a slot, just doesn't come with a card. Do other Clies come with a MS card?

Hoping some folks here will get test units soon, maybe after the release in Japan this weekend...

[dliao]

Hmm, the test IS really superficial and weak consider he mentioned he tested it for couple of weeks!

[neogin]

bad review ..

[Slugman]

It's funny he couldn't resist mentioning the Handspring Treo (which even though it runs PalmOS too, is really a very different product to the UX).

See here:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/25825.html

[sindu]

When he said that "it is not compatible with Mac", what does it mean ?? I am a mac user and I get worry :confused:

[PhilB]

Most Sony's--especially all recent models--are not compatible with Macs, out-of-the-box. However this is where Mark Space comes in with their Missing Sync software to do the trick. (I'm sure they love Sony's continuing, in-your-face, arrogance in this matter). Just plan on spending $30-40 more to get everything syncing and talking to your Mac.

[EdFrmBrighthand]

Originally posted by ballistic
I have to agree about the lack of 'sticky keys' and a smart keyboard. The option should be built-in.

This is why I love OKey (http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/okey.shtml).

-Ed

[orol]

Ed: you better forget abou OKey and stick with keyquick it's MUCH better software allowing you much more .. even kinda simulate multitasking on clie :-) look into TG50 forum

[Bionic Antboy]

Review of the Reviewer :)

This is the second or third time I've read one of his reviews, and for someone supposedly earning a living off of reviewing tech, he sure could use a few pointers. :)

In the UX50 review, he mentions that it doesn't ship with an MS. Not many PDAs ship with additional memory from the manufacturer, at least that I know of.

Similarly, calling the lack of auto-caps, or a "dumb" keyboard the biggest drawback sounds, well, weird, and begs the question... Is it a good keyboard? Seems like he liked it, but we're left to guess, because all he did was gripe about the lack of a software feature - nary a mention of the ergonomics of the thing, which strikes me as the MOST important aspect of any PDA keyboard.

Also, over a test period of a couple of weeks, you'd think that he'd try at least ONE 3rd party app, especially e-mail, since he didn't like Clie Mail at all (and who among us does)?

I know us clie diehards aren't exactly the target market, but that doesn't make up for lackluster review journalism, no matter what the product.

No wonder I think the WSJ is pretty lame as a journalistic source. :)

[JackAxe]

No capslock, my NR has this.:eek:

<]=)

[EdFrmBrighthand]

Walter Mossberg is the Ebert & Roeper of the tech world. He's absolutely the most influential tech reviewer in the U.S.

It isn't his job to point out that flaws in the device can be fixed with third-party software, it's Sony's job to do it right the first time. It is obvious to all of us that the keyboard needs "sticky" keys but Sony keeps not including this. It deserves to be criticized for it. And email is one of the central features of the UX series. Sony should come with an email app at least as good as SnapperMail.

[anthonymoody]

Is snappermail considered the gold standard these days in palm OS world? (Sorry...I've been in PPC land for a while)...

TM

[EdFrmBrighthand]

It's my personal favorite. It still lacks some important features, though, like Hi-Res+, filters, and a conduit to Outlook.

[anthonymoody]

Hmm, thanks. If I get a UX (still a big if), I guess I'll try snappermail first to see if it meets my needs...and if not move on to Snappermail or another. What are generally considered the shortfalls of cliemail?
TM

[Bionic Antboy]

I don't know, sometimes his reviews miss important things, such as in the UX50.

I would think that any review of a new form factor would contain some more detailed info about the ergonomics of the keyboard, which was (on a hardware level) described as "roomy" and not much more. He then goes on about the lack of auto-caps/punctuation. Considering that the "laptop" form factor is new in Palm devices, I would have expected more on this aspect.

It doesn't strike me as a really competent review, especially from someone who has been using it for a couple of weeks. Then again, I guess competency has nothing to do with popularity, in reviews or any other mass endeavour I guess. I'm not really sure if I should put a grin here or not ?!?!

Ed, are you planning on doing one any time soon? I'm considering giving up on the dream of a standard form factor HiRes+ screen, so starting to pay more attention to UX50 and NX80 reviews.

[EdFrmBrighthand]

I'll do a review as soon as I can pry one out of Sony's hands. :)

Actually, you may have noticed that the reviews of the American version that have appeared so far have mentioned they were using a beta of the OS/apps. I'm waiting for these to be finalized before I'll take a look at it.

[Unregistered]

Originally posted by EdFrmBrighthand
I'll do a review as soon as I can pry one out of Sony's hands. :)

Actually, you may have noticed that the reviews of the American version that have appeared so far have mentioned they were using a beta of the OS/apps. I'm waiting for these to be finalized before I'll take a look at it.

with or without the famous brighthand battery test?


BTW, NX80 hard number. (~3-4:30)
http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=1551&showComments=true

[JackAxe]

The NX80 is nicely designed.

<]=)

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by EdFrmBrighthand
I'll do a review as soon as I can pry one out of Sony's hands. :)

Actually, you may have noticed that the reviews of the American version that have appeared so far have mentioned they were using a beta of the OS/apps. I'm waiting for these to be finalized before I'll take a look at it.

Good thing that I read the whole thread, as I thought Bionic Antboy's comments were directed at you.