Importluva
03-23-2003, 11:49 PM
Hey everyone, I went to CC today to check out the new TG and was thoroughly impressed...here are my thoughts.
The TG is very light to hold and appealing to the eyes. At only .6 in thick WITH the cover, it is, IMO, the perfect size for a handheld. The brushed metal look is very sexy, as is the design and layout of the keyboard. The unit feels solid in your hand, although the flip top seems somewhat flimsy. However, I don't feel that it would break or snap at any point in time. I like how it springs open as well, so that you can open the TG with one hand while using the other hand for whatever else you were doing. Overall, a nicely designed machine.
The TG is a device aimed at the mobile professional for obvious reasons. First of all, it has the keyboard for faster data input (more on this later). Also, it has Bluetooth to wirelessly communicate with mobile phones to get you online, and it even comes with the SMS program.
Now, lets get down to the actual unit itself, beyond the physical description.
SCREEN
Here is a big issue. On the one hand, the display is INCREDIBLY clear and bright-brighter than my NX and has better color saturation. Everything is nice to read, and with 320x320 res, it is a beautiful thing to look at. The size of the screen isn't bad either. I could see everything that I needed to, and could only wish that it was 320x480, but then you would lose the keyboard, so that is a tradeoff. I did notice the waves at the bottom of the screen. They were obvious at first-then I barely even noticed them in the time that I used it.
Keyboard
Here is one of the most debated issues about the TG. The keyboard has a nice look to it-the square buttons and the backlight definitely make this keyboard more appealing than the NR/NX style keys. However, the buttons are somewhat smaller. I didn't think that the buttons were hard to press on the TG. There isn't much travel, but I was typing fast and accurately right away. No complaints from me about this thing. I didn't get a chance to use the unit in the dark to see how well I could see the functions and such, but I'd assume that it would be fine.
Hard Buttons
The hard buttons for the home/find/menu/graffiti were a nice and clever touch. It was nice and easy to use these buttons to do whatever I wanted to do. The four actual hard buttons (the datebook, todo, address, and memo buttons) were easy to press. The up/down buttons, the ones that everyone hates with a passion, could use some work. However, I was able to use them without cringing in pain or getting stressed because I couldn't press the button. The holdswitch/power button is neat, but I could see myself trying to either put the unit on hold or taking it off hold, and instead turning it off. I'm sure that it wouldn't happen alot, but I prefer the setup on the NZ that has the same type of switches, but sepereated. The back button and jog dial were excellent as always. I like the voice recorder on the side as well.
Software
I'm only going to talk about a couple of things here. First is the VG that can be called up. I liked this feature, as it was easy to do and worked flawlessly. With a program like Graffiti Anywhere, you won't have to use this much, but it is nice to have. The SMS program that is included looks like the clie mail app. It is nice to have if you do alot of this, and since the TG is bluetooth enabled, it was nice of sony to throw it in. The flashplayer is nice to as it can play MP3 encoded swf files!!! I wish that my NX has this updated player as well, so that I could play some of my fave flash files.
OVERALL
If I didn't love my NX so much, this would be the clie for me. The size, features, and price are all attractive to me. I wish that sony would have made it available with the remote control and thrown in some headphones, but oh well I guess. If you're looking for a good unit and don't care about a hires+ screen, then look no further. However, if you don't like bluetooth and the keyboard, wait a while to see what else comes out.
The TG is very light to hold and appealing to the eyes. At only .6 in thick WITH the cover, it is, IMO, the perfect size for a handheld. The brushed metal look is very sexy, as is the design and layout of the keyboard. The unit feels solid in your hand, although the flip top seems somewhat flimsy. However, I don't feel that it would break or snap at any point in time. I like how it springs open as well, so that you can open the TG with one hand while using the other hand for whatever else you were doing. Overall, a nicely designed machine.
The TG is a device aimed at the mobile professional for obvious reasons. First of all, it has the keyboard for faster data input (more on this later). Also, it has Bluetooth to wirelessly communicate with mobile phones to get you online, and it even comes with the SMS program.
Now, lets get down to the actual unit itself, beyond the physical description.
SCREEN
Here is a big issue. On the one hand, the display is INCREDIBLY clear and bright-brighter than my NX and has better color saturation. Everything is nice to read, and with 320x320 res, it is a beautiful thing to look at. The size of the screen isn't bad either. I could see everything that I needed to, and could only wish that it was 320x480, but then you would lose the keyboard, so that is a tradeoff. I did notice the waves at the bottom of the screen. They were obvious at first-then I barely even noticed them in the time that I used it.
Keyboard
Here is one of the most debated issues about the TG. The keyboard has a nice look to it-the square buttons and the backlight definitely make this keyboard more appealing than the NR/NX style keys. However, the buttons are somewhat smaller. I didn't think that the buttons were hard to press on the TG. There isn't much travel, but I was typing fast and accurately right away. No complaints from me about this thing. I didn't get a chance to use the unit in the dark to see how well I could see the functions and such, but I'd assume that it would be fine.
Hard Buttons
The hard buttons for the home/find/menu/graffiti were a nice and clever touch. It was nice and easy to use these buttons to do whatever I wanted to do. The four actual hard buttons (the datebook, todo, address, and memo buttons) were easy to press. The up/down buttons, the ones that everyone hates with a passion, could use some work. However, I was able to use them without cringing in pain or getting stressed because I couldn't press the button. The holdswitch/power button is neat, but I could see myself trying to either put the unit on hold or taking it off hold, and instead turning it off. I'm sure that it wouldn't happen alot, but I prefer the setup on the NZ that has the same type of switches, but sepereated. The back button and jog dial were excellent as always. I like the voice recorder on the side as well.
Software
I'm only going to talk about a couple of things here. First is the VG that can be called up. I liked this feature, as it was easy to do and worked flawlessly. With a program like Graffiti Anywhere, you won't have to use this much, but it is nice to have. The SMS program that is included looks like the clie mail app. It is nice to have if you do alot of this, and since the TG is bluetooth enabled, it was nice of sony to throw it in. The flashplayer is nice to as it can play MP3 encoded swf files!!! I wish that my NX has this updated player as well, so that I could play some of my fave flash files.
OVERALL
If I didn't love my NX so much, this would be the clie for me. The size, features, and price are all attractive to me. I wish that sony would have made it available with the remote control and thrown in some headphones, but oh well I guess. If you're looking for a good unit and don't care about a hires+ screen, then look no further. However, if you don't like bluetooth and the keyboard, wait a while to see what else comes out.