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	Sony Japan to end Clie production

Last update: 12-31-1969	Submitted by Joel



Impress Watch has an article that says Sony will stop producing the Clie after July 2005. They will continue to provide parts and repair services until six years after the last production. Clie support desk will stop service after 1 year and support and repair will continue to be provided by the Vaio Customer Support Center after that. Clie related software sales and network services will continue for the time being. Sony introduced the Clie in 2000 on Palm OS platform. Clie stands for "Communication Linkage for Information & Entertainment". Hence it was not surprising to see that the Clie brought many entertainment and AV related features to the Palm OS platform including hires screen, mp3 player, built-on camera, etc. We also saw various never seen before form factor for the Palm OS platform as Sony released many Clie models aggressively. Sony annouced back in June 2004 that it would pull out from overseas markets but continue to make and sell Clie in Japan. However, it was not difficult to see that Sony was scaling down its PDA effort even in Japan as there was only one model, the VZ90, released in September 2004. With today's announcement, Sony is officially pulling the plug on Clie platform. However, according to the article in Impress Watch, Sony commented that "although the Clie platform has come to an end, we will continue to work on the 'entertainment oriented mobile information devices' concept". No one can tell what this statement means. It can be that they will develop more services and functions on devices like the Playstation Portable or mobile phones or perhaps we can dream of Sony is preparing a new genre of mobile devices. Whatever it is, the Clie platform that we have come to know and enjoy in the last 4 years has come to the end of its journey. News link (Japanese) from Impress Watch Japan. Thanks Eugene!