I don't understand SONY

[M@C]

Palm Info Center (http://www.palminfocenter.com) just posted a story about AeroPlayer v1.0 an MP3 player for OS5. They would like to release the player for the Clie but Sony has been unwilling to work with them.

Bejeweled and other programs have some serious bugs when working with sound on OS5 devices becuase Sony did some wierd things with the audio API's and wont give the needed information, or work with developers.

Sony has been less than helpfull with documentation on the Status Bar, and VG areas of the Clies (both NR and NX!)

A large number of people would like to work on drivers (spacificly for CF memory cards) but Sony is unwilling to give out information that would help in this.

It seems to me that Sony is activly working against the Palm community. We have been willing to buy their products, support them with web sites such as this one, and work to add value to their products with inovative software.

What I really dont understand is WHY?
If Sony would work with developers instead of against them their products would be better, and therefore would grab even more market share.

On the other hand we keep buying their products so maybe it doesn't matter. When Iambic made the snafu of redirecting an unregistered domain name that matched a competitors product to their website there was a LOUD outcry. There are still people who won't use their products becuase of this (I use DB5). It seems to me that Sony has treated the palm comunity much worse, and yet there has been not nearly the collective voice against them.

I'm not suggesting some net petition that will skip the email box and go straight to /dev/null
I'm not really suggesting anything.
I'm mostly just feeling disapointed in a company that could do so much more to benefit both their customers and itself.

M@

[JackAxe]

SONY managed to irratate me more then any other tech company. I really do not plan on buying another SONY, not for entertainment or any of my electronic needs/wants. You make a good point and I think that your logic can be applied to all SONY divisions. SONY is just as bad as Microsoft in my book.

<]=)

[monkeygr@ss]

Glad I'm not the only one who got tired of being abused.

There are plenty of alternatives, especially if you don't like the "kitchen sink" approach that Sony seems to have taken to the extreme with it's last few releases.

I'm over it. Traded the T665, and I went to the *dark side*.

...it's nice over here. And I can get peripherals and large flash memory that suits my needs... :D:D:D I miss acouple programs, and there isn't as much freeware, but with some searching, you can find everything you need for PPC.

Bottom line is - they just don't care. As long as people continue to buy their products, they have no incentive to change. That's the only thing that will make an impact. And even that, I feel, would fail to sway Sony from it's closed technology, proprietary ways. They have chosen this road, and while a few folks b!tch about it, their revenues are up, while every one else's is down - so something must be working for them.

It just ain't working for ME anymore. ;)

[reggae]

i have to say that this is my first palm device (nx70) coming from a ppc environment. to be honest i could easily have been happy with my jornada 430. while a brick, it did everything i could want it to do.

i came to the clie mostly for the camera and keyboard. i thought that most of the functionality that my 430 had would be here in my nx70... slowly i'm finding that i have to make certain concessions and adjustments for some of the functionality. but on the whole, i have to say that i'm very disappointed over the CF issue. i knew that sony didn't have drivers for the unit, but i hoped that they would come.

it doesn't even bother me that the company hadn't built drivers for cf cards or microdrives because HP didn't build theirs either. what bothers me is the lack of openness with the interface. ibm's (now hitachi's) microdrive came with a driver for the ce2.11 platform. if microsoft/hp can share it's interface API to vendors, why cant palm/sony?

funny too... i was SERIOUSLY thinking about the e740... i still like my keyboard/camera. if someone writes a driver for that slot... this will definitively be better than the e740

[robrecht]

I have SONY everything but am not likely to buy more products because of their deceptive practices. I did not complain much about their closed, proprietary policies as long as I could trust them to support their products. But when it became apparent that they intentionally deceived their own loyal customers about the future of their Memory Stick development, I lost confidence and trust in their practices.

Most people did not follow this issue closely and do not seem to care. SONY will continue to sell lots of product, so they probably do not care either. But they have lost honor.

[timewaster77]

I am also with Sony's Memory Stick ordeal. Additionally while looking at the hardware specs of PPCs I have come to the conclusion that the Clies are ridiculously over priced. I love Palm OS and don't think I will change, but I might go and buy the Garmin for my next PDA. Otherwise probably a Palm, Sony has most likely lost me as a customer.

[aaronchow]

This is how life is. When Sony initially released their PDAs, they really did a good job to add more value to PalmOS. But, now, it seems to me that they are going way off-course right now.

Sometimes it's funny to see some die-hard Sony fans here. I remember when HandEra first released their PDA, many people called it a brick (that is smaller than the NZ). But when I mentioned about this fact earlier, many ppl flamed me and denied me.

Sony is releasing hardwares faster than any companies, but their software department is having a hard-time catching up. If you're a developer, you'll know that they still havn't released their SDK for the NX yet. And if you are a hardware engineerer, you'll notice that Sony changes their design internally in every generation, which makes it really hard for you to develop an accessary for it. In addition, their MS Pro thingy and their proprietary CF slot really pissed me off.

Sony said they have stategy / plan to win this PDA market, and I hope they really do because I'm seriously considering to buy HP's 1910 or a Linux PDA!

[Bionic Antboy]

Well, I'm in no rush to upgrade yet. By the time I'm ready, I'll see who's got what I want. The new Sharp Zaurus with a *GASP* 640x480 display is pretty interesting...

Sony HAS designed the best looking PDAs on the market, though. The T665, NR and NX (even though big) are still the best industrial design (read: sexy looking) PDAs, regardless of OS. That's gotta count for something :)

[Experiment 626]

I'm new (Since Christmas of this past year) PDA user with my SJ-20 and I'm pleased as punch and love the thing.

Most of my hardware (stereo,etc) in my house is Sony because I've always had top of the line experiences with the quality of the product I'm buying from them.

I'm not a diehard Sony client by any stretch of the means and will jump the fence to buy another item if they offer me all the specs I'm looking for at a better price. But I'm not going to buy a Sashuni DVD player for $50 either. I don't mind paying for a name that for me has always meant it works and it works for years and years and years.

I understand the thread here is more about proprietary development issues and to that I have no input, I'm just a simple user that's in love with his new SJ-20. :cool:

[Wenda]

I switched to Palm Tungsten T recently. I find it much better than my previous T 665. However, the mp3 issue (those sound quality, sound volume,etc) should have been fixed as soon as possible. Playing a Kinoma movie is not a problem in Tungsten T. The screen quality also slightly better than the T665. I've caught deciding wheter to go for SJ33 or Tungsten T. I see the pluses and minuses on both devices and I decided to go for Tungsten T.

In term of pricing and quality, Sony could win the heart of many people (example: Zire over SJ20). I find that to have the Tungsten T is really at premium price. What I dislike from Sony is, the propietary format as many members above mentioned. First the ATRAC3. Sony should give freedom for its user to choose to have another open source format (eg: Ogg Vorbis). Secondly, Memory Stick format. Do you notice that the price for memory stick compared to other media types is the most expensive?

I don't mean here to say that we should move away from Sony. They create the breakthrough in Palm OS based device. First to have a MP3 player, N710 and first to support hi-res+ screen. We value Sony's invention. They're just certain things which we are not too happy.

[Flash-57]

I am undecided where to go for my next PDA. I currently have an N760C and I am realizing that it's almost time to upgrade. I was in a CompUSA the other day and asked if they had a specific accessory for my PDA. The guy said they didn't sell anything for a model *THAT* old. I only bought it 15 months ago.

I'm not too sure I want to stay with Sony. Apparently, the battery life in the new models is awful. As it is, I already drain my batteries down to 20% in an average day (and people say the N760C has the best battery life of the modern Sonys). It also looks like there is a bulky proprietary slot on the new models that I'll never use.

And, the newest ones are $800! I've watched the prices of the NX70V for a year now, thinking that when they drop, I might get one. But, in that time, I've never seen it on sale for less than the full price of $599 that it sold for on day one. Didn't I read somewhere that PDA sales were down 9% last year? Shouldn't the PDA makers be trying a little harder?

Since it doesn't really look like I'll be getting another Sony, I've stopped buying memory sticks (I have no other devices that use them).

I'd certainly like to be shown that Sony is moving forward, rather than stagnating.

[phattie]

If you want lower power consumption pdas stick with 160x160 res, monochrome, non-mp3 playing, non-backlit units. You can't expect to have all these features for free (wrt power consumption).

Sony is releasing something like 10 PDAs this year...maybe you'll find one that suits your needs since the current doesn't seem to.

[blueflame]

i agree with everyone, i dont even have more to say

[phil ng]

sony seems to be inventing new doorstop sized bricks :)

[*L*F*C*M*]

I wish there was 'somebody' out there that could really compete with Sony, but still manage to give the customers what they want.&nbsp; The new Garmin device is **CLOSE** to perfect for me (no flip, but still has VG, 32M ram, etc.), but I don't use or have a need for GPS, and that flip antenna is funky looking.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Having said that, I can't see 'going to the dark side' either . . . I've got WAY too much money invested in Palm Software as it is . . . and some of it won't work on OS5, even . . . If Handera would 'get into color' I might even consider that . . . I just can't imagine going to something that is 'less' than what I have now (NX70v).

&nbsp;

Just my .02.&nbsp; :D

[Flash-57]

> Sony is releasing something like 10 PDAs this
> year...maybe you'll find one that suits your
> needs since the current doesn't seem to.

I don't really consider that to be a strong selling point that, by the end of the year, there will be 9 more models released that are better than the one I buy today.

[Eric S]

Originally posted by Flash-57
> Sony is releasing something like 10 PDAs this
> year...maybe you'll find one that suits your
> needs since the current doesn't seem to.

I don't really consider that to be a strong selling point that, by the end of the year, there will be 9 more models released that are better than the one I buy today.

Better/worse isn't a one-dimensional line. Some people would like the TG-50 better than an SJ-33, some the other way around, and some would prefer the NZ-90. I don't consider any of them better than my NX-60, though they will all come out after the NX-60.

Hopefully one of the 10 will meet your needs better, and one of them will meet my needs better.