Re: [NTLK] [OT] New Sony Palm OS device...

From: Sushi (Sushi_at_ragingbull.com)
Date: Tue Mar 19 2002 - 23:36:07 EST


>On 3/20/02 @ 1:35, Marco Mailand wrote:
>
>It's just another Palm, this time obviously with two
>screens of which one can see only one.

Uh, it only has one screen. Look closely and you will see the swivel
point.

BTW, it is only a PDA and not a cell phone PDA combination AFAICT.

The earphones are for music and watching videos in this case.

>It's got PalmOS and thus no useable HWR, that's the end
>of it.

Uh, I didn't say it would replace the Newt. :-o

About 75% of the PDA market thinks that Grafitti is just fine based on
Palm OS market share.

And yes, I still prefer the Newts HWR by a long shot over Grafitti!
Remember, I've used both for a number of years.

What happened is that I visited a new Mac/PC store. As I was looking at
the Macs, I saw this Sony Palm OS display. The new model will be out on
13 April so I couldn't see one in person.

Sony IMHO has one of the best displays out there on their current Palm
devices. The current resolution is 320x320 in the same space as the
traditional Palm OS devices 160x160 screens. This results in very clear
text at normal sizes -- which is important for Japanese Kanji, as well as
Hiragana and Kantagana.

This device has a 320x480 (same as our Newt 2K's) screen in a much
smaller form factor. And it will display 65K colors. The added pixels
cover the Grafitti area now. Since it has a soft Grafitti area, is it
similar to our Newt 2K's with their changable viewing direction.

Apple always seems to be at the forefront of new ideas. A Newt 2K having
a similar form factor would be great. Or having one the same as the
current size with a 640x480 or 800x600 screen would be nice as well.

When I see devices such as this, I wish that Apple had continued with the
Newton development.

Am I dreaming, yep. Will it come true? That's anybody's guess. Ya
never know what SJ has up his sleave. How many would have guess a new
iMac like the one that just was introduced?

>All the other gadgets are better realized with separate
>devices.

And that's your opinion! ;-)

There are many folks out there who differ from this which is why there is
a fairly large combo device market these days.

For those who communte via train, having one device that does a multitude
of activities can be very convenient and useful. Not to mention the
weight and space savings. Especially if you have to stand for a hour or
so.

>cell phone beside a PDA is needed to lookup important
>info during the phone conversation or jotting down notes.

Not true.

Devices like the Handspring Treo make it easy to enter quick notes with
it's built in keyboard which requires only one hand to operate. All it
requires is a simple earphone.

And if you can use both hands, there is a model that has the Grafitti
area vice the keypad.

>A PDA with headset or bluetooth earphone would be another
>acceptable solution but not a combination of PDA and
>cellphone.
  
Huh? I do not understand what you are saying.

Anyhow, over here cellphones being used with earphones seems popular on
the trains. Folks will be chatting away while they are looking at their
calendars, notes, and such.

The Treo sales will be a very strong indicator of what the market wants.
Already I have several non-geek friends inquiring about it. Never before
has something like this happened. If this is an indicator, and I say if,
then the Trea will be a success.

>And any external camera will make better photographs
>than that tiny built-in thing of the SONY Palm.

True.

I couldn't see the resolution. Probably 640x480. But good enough for a
quick snapshot/web pic.

I agree, which is why I have a small digital camera that I carry with me.
 However, for many, according to the market over here anyway, this
addition is desired.

BTW, the smallest camera that seems to be selling real well over here for
about $60, is about the size of a bite size Nestlie Crunch bar. It takes
640x480 snapshots and connects to your computer via USB.

My guess is that this new Sony device will be popular for those who have
to commute by train for an hour or two each way. This way they can
listen to music, do PDA stuff, watch videos, etc.

...and of course for those who plain like gaggets. :-)

Sushi

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