Sony’s latest PDAs based on the Palm operating system are designed for those who want everything. They have the basic Palm features, such as Diary, Address book, Note taking, Voice notes and the like, but Sony also throws in a whole load of extra features geared around adding plenty of multimedia capability. The Clié PEG-NX73V is the latest flagship model, and it’s a bit of a Christmas stocking in terms of features.

It’s worth noting from the outset that the Palm OS 5.0-based Clié PEG-NX73V offers a paltry 11MB of free RAM, with much of the built-in 16MB of RAM being allocated for other things. Sony might have been better advised to provide more RAM for user applications and data, because experienced Palm users are likely to run out of free space relatively quickly once they’ve installed there favourite utilities. You therefore have to rely on the Memory Stick or CompactFlash slots for additional storage.

More impressively, the Clié PEG-NX73V has a built-in digital camera that is capable of capturing both still JPEG images and MPEG-4 video. Image quality is hardly printable, but is fine for e-mailing. Bluetooth is also built-in, which is handy sharing files and other wireless communication needs. Also impressive is the 320x480-pixel colour screen, which can be used fully by minimising the software-based Graffiti area.

The PDA’s screen flips up and over to either lay flat on the device for use in ‘tablet’ format or to act as protective outer shell. A third configuration, with the screen lifted at an angle, lets you access a small QWERTY keyboard, although only those with slim fingers will find the keyboard usable.

Sony’s pre-installed software bundle is vast. To highlight just a few applications, you get tools for viewing and manipulating images either taken with the built-in camera or obtained from other sources, writing drawn notes to the screen, playing back music, e-mailing, reading documents in a range of popular formats including Word and PowerPoint, and controlling other devices using infrared.

This flip design of this PDA is not new for Sony, nor is the large screen, built-in camera or the provision of a big software bundle. But the hardware design is better than previously seen and the bundle really is comprehensive. The Clié PEG-NX73V is not an inexpensive PDA, but it’s a well featured one for those that don’t require built-in Wi-Fi, business-related software, or a lot of storage space for additional software.

Features:
Size: 7.62x12.7x2.54cm
Weight: 226.8g
CPU: 200MHz
OS: Palm OS 5.0
Memory: 16MB of RAM, 32MB of ROM
Display: 320x480 colour TFT (65,536 colours)
Battery: Lithium-Ion polymer
Interfaces: USB (cradle), IrDA 1.2, Memory Stick, CF Type II
Software: Palm Organizer, Audio Player, Album, Camera, Launcher, Mail, Memo, Remote Commander, Viewer, Data Export 1.0, Data Import, Image Converter 1.0, Memory Stick Backup, Mobile Connection Wizard 1.1, Mobile Manager, Movie Player, Movie Recorder, PictureGear Studio 1.0, PhotoStand, Photo Editor, SonicStage 1.15, Sound Converter2 1.0, Sound Utility, Voice Recorder, World Alarm Clock

BIOS, Aug 13, 03 | Print | Send | Comments (0) | Posted In PDA