Questions about the NX80v

[CAEDZ]

ALRIGHT CLIE PEOPLE...I am thinking about getting a new CLIE in July...and i have been looking into the NX80v. I played with it yesterday at COMPusa, and have read a TON of threads about it in the NX-Series Forum. I AM STOKED ON IT! I didn't get much time to play with the PDA yesterday, and have some questions for you experienced NX80 users. Please feel free to ad input, and thoughts. All info will be helpful! If you have any APPLICATION suggestions on how to make the NX80 cooler than it is, PLEASE SHARE!
I purchased my FIRST PDA about 2 years ago, right when the PEG T615c came out...and after comparing the two, i am realy excited about this upgrade. I read a lot about people not impressed with how "SLOW" the NX80v is, and how the battery life sucks...but with me coming from the T615c with only a 33MHz processor...I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 200MHz! Plus i like the whole CAMERA ON A PDA idea too! Also, the 320x480 screen looks realy cool! SO...MY QUESTIONS:

When i was playing with the NX80 yesterday, i beamed some apps and games from my Clie to see how it compares.

1.When i was playing some games on it, i noticed the MAX Volume wasn't too high...but then i read a review that the MAX Volume was GOOD and LOUD when earphones were plugged in.
1a. How is the sound WITH/WITHOUT the earphones plugged in?
1b. Is the built in speaker good quality, and does it sound good?

2. I use ZLauncher right now, and want to with the NX...how well does ZLauncher work with the NX?
2a. Also, are there any "Virtual Grafitti" skins i can download???

3. BATTERY LIFE... I LOVE playing games on my Clie...and one of the deciding factors for the NX is the buttons, and how well they work with me. I have been keeping the BRIGHTNESS level at 1/4, and even with A LOT of game play, i see a HUGE difference in Battery Life...Plus i got used to the dimmer display, NOT BAD!
How is the battery life? (Especially from a GAMERS point of view?)

4. I read on one review that you are not able to play music, video, or use the camera with any other program than the ones that Sony includes. Is this true, and are there ways of getting passed that???

5. COMPACT FLASH...WHAT THE...??? I have never heard of this on a PDA before. FREAKIN RAD! (maybe) I did notice that somewhere in the NX Forums, a person posted a link for "Flash Links for your Clie Flash Player" It's FULL of Homestar Runner stuff!!! RIGHT ON! If i can put HSR on my Clie, i would be STOKED!
5a. What can Compact Flash be used for?
5b. Which CF Cards are compatible?
5c. How are CF Files loaded to the Clie/CF Card?
5d. Is the video good quality on the Clie?
5e. Can the video be viewed at FULL SCREEN and not a tiny box?
5c. Which brand is the best, and which is the LOWEST PRICED?

6. Something kinda lame is the 32MB ADVERTISING...and finding out that ONLY 16MB of that is useable. ??? Is there any way to get passed this? Are there any APPS that can override this?

7. Memory Sticks...I have one 16MB used for Backing Up my Clie, and one 64MB for books, pics, and games. If the doc/app on the MS is over 700kb, it takes FOR-EV-ER to load! Is the NX fast with loading stuff from the CF Card and the MS Card???

8. IS THE PALM OS UPGRADABLE??? I hear that OS6 is coming, and i am for dang sure that they aren't going to RE-RELEASE the NX80 just so it can have OS6. I am already STOKED to play SONIC THE HEDGEHOG with the OS5...so it's all good...but it would be nice to be able to upgrade to the OS6!

9. I noticed that with the DEMO i played with, there weren't any apps like "MS Gate" "MS Import" "MS Backup" and "CARD INFO". I use "MS Import" EVERYDAY! It makes adding Themes and Pictures for ZLauncher easier, and it's faster to get those HUGE files on your MS using MS Import rather than HotSync.
Which brings me to my next question...

10. When HOTSYNC'N, is it faster? My clie is good with HotSync, i have no complaints except when it comes to adding HUGE apps to the Clie, and to the MS.

11. Playing games with the provided buttons is great and easy, but i have heard that there is an NX Compatible Game Controller. Is this true?
11a. How is it with playing games on the NX?
11b. Is it worth it to spend $14 - $20?

12. I noticed that the "NECK" of the swivel thing wobbles. Has this been a problem to anyone? Has it been broke with anyones?

13. HOW GOOD IS THE CAMERA...REALLY!? I tooks a couple pics with it, and the images seem to be quit good. But that was only ONCE, and in a STORE. From all your everyday use out of the camera, what do you think about it? Also, if you can, would you mind posting any un-edited pics you have taken with it in here? I would like to see. If you know of a link that has a lot of NX pics taken with the NX Camera posted, let me know!

14. How is Documents To Go with the NX?
14a. Is there a way to edit or create documents while in alndscape mode (length-wise) with the screen flipped around to make it a Hand Held style (not the laptop style)?

15. FINAL QUESTION!!!
What is the Retractable Stylus all about? The DEMO didn't have the stylus in it...so i couldn't check it out. What is everyone's thoughts on the stylus? I am just going to buy a PEN/STYLUS/LAZER COMBO anyway, but would still like to keep the stylus around for when i don't feel like carrying around a big pen.

I KNOW THERE IS A LOT HERE...and i have done research. These are questions i still have even AFTER researching. I COME TO YOU ALL HERE AT CLIE SOURCE! I love this forum!

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR TIME AND HELP! HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

P.S. 68 days till i get my new NX80v!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SteveDu]

1. Well there is a difference between the earphone plugged in and not. But if you want a good loud clear sound, plug the earphone in.

2. Yup it does.
2a. I was looking for them too, and BTW ClieSource have some good ones, search :)

3. Well for me, I am not a heavy user. I set the bright level to the lowest and I play games some times, but not long. It's like I charge it every week and half or a week. The battery is pretty decent, as long as you don't make the camera on, music playing with a CF in the slot and game playing, otherwise it's pretty decent battery for such a big Clie.

4. The music part has been pretty much solved thanks to the Sony who would love to share their sound API with all the developers now. But in general, yeah for those functions better stay with Sony's, besides they works wonderful too.

5. Right on :P
5a. CF? Well it can be used as a storage device, a network adapter and so many things!
5b. Sadly for NX, only the storage CFs and the Sony's OWN WiFi cards (100 and 110). Also I heard one of the CF Modem will work too but I forgot, it's somewhere in the forum.
5c. Plug your CF in and the CF icon will show up in the bottom, click on it then do da "PC Link" thingie, just same as a MS.
5d. Of course not as good as a BetaCam, but yeah it's acceptable.
5e. Yeah the built in player support full screen, landscape too!
5f. I would suggest SanDisk. If you got Costco, go there, SanDisk stuff everywhere at wholesale price! 256MB CF for 46.99 here.

6. Nope, not I heard of. Plus, get a MemoryStick/Pro, slot right in and more space. Why not.

7. Well the old MS is very slow, but not the new Pro series. I have a SanDisk 256 on hand and I compare to the old 128 I got... you'll be amazed how much faster it is. Of course you can keep using your old 64, it would just be a lot slower then the Pro.

8. Not I heard of now, Sony tried to do it end up failure.

9. MS Import is just a software that allows you to communicate whatever storage device (CF/MS) in the Clie with your computer as a removable drive. Hotsync just a sync. and app installer.

10. Like I said above, they are two different thing.

11. Never tried it.
11a. Well depends what you play, kaZ most my games are stylus controlled.
11b. That would be up 2 you :P

12. As long as you be careful it's pretty strong... just handle with care.

13. 1.3 MP... well it's pretty good for a PDA! Of course it can't beat the really Digital Cameras but it's a tiny little camera intergrated inside a PDA... for like just fun or you know, when you need a camera yeah it works. And when it's indoor like a very dim place the build in light usually don't do too good with a long distance because it's not a flash light, it's pretty much just a light that turns on and helps for close range (I mean very close) shots. Outdoor shots? Very nice, and the filter helps when it's too bright. Conclusion, it's a decent camera but it ain't the replacement.

14. I found out it's a pain in the neck, I rather spent 10 bucks to go Office Pot and get a 3 in 1 pen then use the retractable stylus... well it's tiny, it's small and you gotta pull it to full length when you use it and usually after couple press on the screen it retracts because it's RETRACTABLE! :D So I rather use something else instead of that. I only use it as a reset button pusher or for emergency when I need a stylus.

P.S. about the CF: If you gonna use CF, you'll find that while the CF card is in the slot, you can't close the slot, so... you got the picture... plus a MemoryStick Pro only cost 20 bucks more then a CF, it's smaller, faster and better with NX. So if you got Costco there, look for them, you'll be happy with a MS then a CF.

Any other questions let me know.

[SteveDu]

Darn forgot to login... oh well personal opinion, NX80 is a pretty good Clie :)

[CAEDZ]

HEY THANKS A LOT Steve! Great help! I would like to keep getting other people's opinions too. So if you have a min, let me know what you think! THANKS! One question that came up while readingSteve's reply was this:
He mentioned that it's better to use a MS instead of a CF Card. What are everyone's thoughts on that? Is the MS better than the CF other than the COST factor, and that it's INSIDE the Clie, and not hanging out half way?

THANKS FOR THE HELP!
:)

P.S. Hey Steve, i went to San Diego for my Honeymoon! RAD PLACE!

[Shrink]

You can certainly get use out of the extra memory by purchasing JackFlash and registering for the beta. You will get 15MB of memory or a little more.
alan