Well this thing will flop if it's as heavy as the HP54x series, as thick as a Casio E-1xx series and is crammed full of proprietary crap.
I understand the battery life is 5 hours WITHOUT backlight? Is that including WiFi card or not. I imagine you'll get 1 hour with WiFi and med/bright backlight. Not good at all.
If they simply took the NR-70 put an SD slot along with a MS slot and bulked up the battery but only added .2 to the thickness along with all the software enhancements, this would put PPC on the hot seat.
If this is turns out to be true, then Sony's got the technical talent, but not the market research to do it right. Bill can now relax as Tungsten and it's teeny weeny hi-res screen is the only competition this fall.
Timothy, I have a nagging feeling that you could be right. The conspiracy theorist in me even wonders if this whole PDF file might have been a phony. Either Sony did it themselves to spread some misinformation or they may have just taken advantage of the publicity around some other lonely geek's farce and ran with it to, again, spur up misinformation prior to announcing the "real deal."
However, that's probably not likely. It probably is the real deal. Though I don't think all of the information known is accurate. In one place in the PDF it states that the dimensions don't include protruding parts. I would consider the CF slot a protruding part. Yet, the .9" thickness must be including that, no?
Then there's the issue of the battery life. The specs provided are abyssmal even without considering the 802.11b. So, if those battery life times were right, the battery life with Sony's special CF 802.11b card would be completely unacceptable. I don't care what magic they worked with their version of the 802.11b card. 802.11b is known for sucking battery life.
Lastly, I don't feel great about the lack of detail around the processor. It just says 200MHz. They don't say whether it's X-Scale or ARM or what. They provided quite a bit of detail around everything else, so why such little info around a seemingly important marketing item?
Aside from the initial conspiracy-theory view (that the whole thing is a fake), another possibility is simply that some of the details in the PDF were incorrect. I'd imagine that battery life is better than stated and the thickness includes the CF slot (which also implies that it doesn't feel .9" thick).
My overall take on this device, if it turns out to be real (and the specs turn out to be fairly accurate)? It's everything that the original PPC was and more. IOW, it's a great show-off device with it's super-high-res screen, twistable screen, camera/videocamera, MP3 player, etc. But, like the original PPC devices, it doesn't make for a great PDA. It's too big, too heavy, and doesn't have enough battery life.
Regarding the value of the thumbboard. As I've said many times before (in various places), I think that a thumbboard adds real value to a wireless-enabled device as thumbboards are better than Graffiti for medium to long text notes. These are precisely the kinds of things you want to do with a wireless device (i.e. - send SMS, send email, IM). I think that this device would be a bit more interesting if they built in Bluetooth and probably dropped the CF slot altogether (or could add a second MS slot without adding to the size of the device at all).
As far as Palm's Tungsten device? Again, while this device beats it hands down in the eyes of a holster-toting geek, the Tungsten looks to be much smaller (perhaps even smaller than the smallest of the new PPC devices - at least in height). Palm's initial success with the V-series (and later with the m5xx-series) has been with those who greatly value portability and so it could be quite successful if priced appropriately.
My this is a lot of air and excitment for a mock up.
These are always coming out for Palm and the ever elusive Mac Handheld. But I'm a bit miffed never for the PocketPc - at least not ones so believable and professionally done. Can't anyone here do one and dissesminate it so this time it's the people at PalmThoughts or whatever they are called are turned into rambling Chicken Littles wondering if the device is the One that will kill Palm and their software investment?
i do see the ipaq comparison as viable, although the ipaq doesn't have a CF or MS slot or a camera.
Actually, then, an iPaq with CF sleeve would be a more honest comparison.
Scott
The 38/3900's have a built in SD slot and some have Bluetooth depending on the model. I use my CF sleeve about 25% of the time I used to, which was only about 25% of the time to begin with.
• 64MB of internal memory
• 48MB of iPAQ file store (3900)/22MB (3800)
• 128MB SD card
• Bluetooth for internet access via GPRS
I only use my CF sleeve (in the form of the Krussel Whitney CF cover) when I travel so I can take my 256MB CF card full of music and use the modem/WiFi/Cat5 connection, or occasionally when I am sitting on the couch downstairs and want to connect the WiFi network.
If you want to bulk up the iPAQ so it can do the same thing the NX70 can do, yes, you have to add the CF sleeve.
If you want to make the NX70 do the same thing the iPAQ can do... good luck. No way to get that kind of storage space on the device, the modem (if available) would be a serial clip on, no option for a plain old CAT-5 ethernet connection which is still far more common in hotels and even businesses. And no way to slim the NX70 down to the iPAQ.
Same comparisons could be used with the Toshiba e740 vs. the NX70 too. The NX70 is very impressive, but I wouldn't own one even if it had Pocket PC on it. The proprietaryness of the Sony WiFi slot is a joke IMHO. Even if it was a standard CF, I still wouldn't because you can't take it out of your pocket and use it one handed to look data up.
While I have mixed opinions about whether or not the information is "true" or a "mock-up" for some devious reason... I'll continue to say what I've said all along: too little, too late.
Sony, and the entire PALM camp, are now playing catch-up. They are finally getting a device that in some ways may compete with what MSFT had about two years ago.
But what's amazing here is that people are trying to compare today's PPCs to these new PALM devices ... when in fact you KNOW that the cooks at MSFT are busy getting ready to release something new, that will most likely take what we've been extremely satisfied with and make it even better. (not to mention it will make the Palm V5 thing look like a weak competitor.)
In a worst case scenario, Sony/Palm might get a momentary "bounce" in their market share, but ultimately, the PPC market will continue to grow and be the most innovative platform around.
Boy we are all so very opinionated! Have we forgotten that there are a LOT of palm users out there still, and stubborn ones to boot! This might be what it takes to move them over, but they will still choose plam. It is too early to predict "to little to late" at this point. Not everyone wants multimedia and MP3's, etc. I know lots of people who are happy with just the simpleness of palm, and although I am not one of them, that doesn't mean that PPC will take over, there is too much diversity in the world and everyone has their own taste, and it just be plain vanilla, without all the fancy toppings. I think that palm is moving in the right direction and I congratulate them, and Sony for doing what no one else has been able to. And who really knows other than speculation, if it will do anything to change any minds. I think it is a strong step in the right direction and we will all have to sit back and see where it goes. Let's not be so predudice and congratulate the new stuff.
i Even if it was a standard CF, I still wouldn't because you can't take it out of your pocket and use it one handed to look data up.
I had an Ipaq. I have an NR70V. I used to keep the mono Ipaq in my pocket without any sort of screen protection (I only paid $60 for it). On rare occasion (I paid $500 for it!) I keep the Clie in my pocket flipped open. And when I do, I use it exactly as I would have the Ipaq, except of course it has the nice scroll wheel that makes it even easier to scroll through DiddleBug.
Now, my Ipaq had only 16 meg and no SD/MMC slot, so I really had to use the sleeve all the time. Are MMC cards up to what 512 meg? That would be cool. Still comparable to the cameraless model only.
This whole thread just rocks! Ed and I have not called each other bad names yet. Even with Scott here. 8)
i Even if it was a standard CF, I still wouldn't because you can't take it out of your pocket and use it one handed to look data up.
did i really say that??????
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timothy Rapson
Now, my Ipaq had only 16 meg and no SD/MMC slot, so I really had to use the sleeve all the time. Are MMC cards up to what 512 meg? That would be cool. Still comparable to the cameraless model only.
i'm pretty sure that SD is out at 512MB....although you'll definitely pay a high price.
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