cademis

Considering one does not need BT (and a keyboard) I see no obvious reason to update from the T665 to the TG50.
Any objections?

mashoutposse

I'd like OS5, the much faster processor, Bluetooth (you don't need it? Well that's you), Macromedia Flash, MPEG player, and voice recorder. All this in addition to the keyboard. I don't agree with you at all.

quiller

i'm tempted by the TG50 for OS5, the 200mhz CPU, and BlueTooth (and the added Flash player and other software). However, I use my current palm (615) primarily to look up contacts and as a calendar as well as for news (AvantGo) and reading eBooks and such. Any data entry I do through Outlook, so the keyboard is just an accessory I don't need-- I can write as fast with Grafitti as I can normally, and a keyboard won't help since I am only jotting notes and addresses through the PDA.

For me, the perfect device is what has been begged for on the T-series forum for awhile now: The TG50 specs with Virtual Graffiti instead of a keyboard.

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Bionic Antboy

I agree with cademis.  I personally have no need for a keyboard, but would love a VG device in the T form factor, just like a lot of people, from the posts I've seen.  I'm hoping that Sony will announce something like this in the near future.  For now, I'm sticking by my trusty T665. 

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Jeffry

Can you just use the keyboard by using your right finger to enter data while holding the stylus at the same time? Isn't that faster than graffiti?

quiller

the more i think about it, the facts seem to make sense. the key to VG in a T-series is battery life: the TG50 is rated at 11 hours, but as stated in another thread here, add another third to the LCD and the battery life could plummit... of course, if Sony could fix that and keep the battery life around 10 hours, i see no reason *not* to make it. afterall, how many people here would buy a T-series with VG?

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sixty-four

The TG50 is battery is rated at 5.5 hours of PIM usage with the backlight *off*. I'm guessing that this will translate to maybe 3 hours of usage with the backlight brightness at around half. And that's with "normal" usage - what happens when you throw stuff in like MP3 playback, voice recording/playback, and CPU intensive activities such as video playback? Battery life is definitely the Achille's heel of this seemingly outstanding PDA.

To confirm the 5.5 hours, take a look at the specs again. Sony says if the unit is used for 30 minutes a day, the battery will last for 11 days.

quiller

my bad-- truthfully, though, a five hours a day is more than anyone is going to be using it and with the new LCDs the backlight isn't needed as much as with the 615. if you're using, say, an hour a day that will last you about five days, right? charge it at night, like most people do, and you'll never see the difference... and with a T-series connecter you can get a solid 3-in-1 charger for $10 off eBay. though throwing in the VG instead of a thumboard might drop that battery life even more.

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ScottLP

I'm also sticking with my T665. Like everyone else I would love a keyboardless CLIE with 480 X 320 and virtual graffiti. I could even live with mediocre battery life.

I assume that sony knows that this is wanted, but from what people on these forums say, I wonder if the technology is possible given the battery life limitations.

Bionic Antboy

I don't think the battery would be a big issue. I suspect that Sony probably WILL release something like that, but is waiting until they think the time is right. I suspect that it has more to do with marketing than technological limitations. If the NX lost it's clamshell design, the keyboard, camera and hinge, the physical size it would need to be is no bigger than a current T665. Of course, this is for a unit without a CF slot, throw one of those in, and the unit may have to be a LITTLE bigger (either depth or length), but not by much. This is just based on what I've seen of the insides of a few Clies.

Also, when comparing potential features to those of the Garmin iQue 3600, which is about 1/4 inch longer, and a fair bit thicker, but includes fully functional GPS hardware and 32 megs of memory, the T extended device seems very realistic, and could sell for about $400 - $500 US depending on exact features.

If such a device came out (especially with more mem), it would probably become Sony's biggest seller, so they want to establish some niche markets with the NZ and TG first, before rolling out the T-extended machine. They also couldn't charge TOO much for it, because it's manufacturing costs would definitely be lower than the NX (and maybe even the TG50). It would also be properly placed in the market to compete with more mainstream PDA users who are trying to decide between Palm and Pocket PC based devices.

This is just speculation on my part, but having dealt with product management types (and actually drank with them -shudder-), I can totally see a scenario like this.

From comments posted on this board, and other Clie user groups, it appears a lot of people are seriously giving the Garmin a close look when it comes out, considering it's features. I'm willing to bet that Sony will announce something either just before the Garmin's release, or shortly thereafter. If not, the iQue could become a surprise hit in the PDA community, because it would be the most robust Palm OS 5 PDA on the market, with the most onboard memory, and standard SD slot.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of what Sony has done for the PDA market, and I want to stick with their procucts, but by the time I plan on upgrading in the summer/fall, I hope Sony has the device that I want, otherwise, I'll be giving the Garmin a closer look and reading the reviews once they are out. I'm seriously torn between going for NX or iQue, and I don't really want a clamshell device OR a GPS device.

Well, I'll just wait and see I guess...

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Importluva

The ique from what I understand has 16mb of normal ram, and 16mb that is solely dedicated to the GPS maps.

I think that sony will announce a VG TG soon enough. Maybe at that technology show this month?

Cyberdoc

Just like you I Own a T665, and I love it! But why the hype over a 480x320 res when it's not much mor over the 320x320?

Cyberdoc1971

Sorry, I'm a returning member, Which I use to be Cyberdoc but forgot my old account info. But regardless, I also like the design of the TG50 mostly of the backlit keyboard, being a writer and all.

Unregistered

I also have a very strong feeling that Sony will come out with a TG50 device with VR.

I am a owner of NR70 and I love it but honestly speaking I have almost never touch the built-in keyboard.

Another thing is that I think the clamshell design is not very helpful either as I always turn my NR70 to the tablet mode, and sometimes fed up of doing it and just leave it in the tablet mode.

So a TG50 with VR is certainly most welcome.