03-18-2002, 09:37 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
I was at CeBIT in Hannover Germany last week as you know and saw some really cool stuff. Of course I focused on mobile devices, primarily smart phones, PDA's and hybrid devices from Compaq, NEC, Sony, Hewlett Packard, Palm, Sony-Ericsson, etc.
I walked up to the Sony booth hoping to get some hands on time with the new PEG-NR70 announced last week. They didn't have one, and surprisingly, until I showed it to them on the web, had never seen one before, which makes me question the US timetable.
Anyway, they had a Clie mockup that was about 7 feet tall with a large screen TV in it, and a real Clie on a stand in front of it with a camera pointing to the screen. Wires ran from the camera to the large screen and it was showing some impressive video and pictures on the big screen, presumably showing you what was on the Sony's screen. The frame rate and color was awesome. I figured this had to be some new 66MHz device given what it was doing, so I stepped around to take a closer look at the real Clie. It wasn't even ON! I asked the Sony rep if the presentation was coming from another Clie I wasn't seeing. "No. The presentation isn't real. It is just to get your attention." (click on the images below for full size photos)
 
COME ON PEOPLE! How ridiculous. It is one thing to create a presentation that is pushing the device beyond its intended use, it is another to just totally fake it. So, I guess Palm licensees have given up on telling you that you don't need something until they have it for you like color, sound, etc. Now they just make you think it comes with it and in the case of the Clie, you won't notice that instead of the big screen TV quality video clips, you'll be getting something that doesn't even run full screen and has a frame rate well south of 15 after you buy it. :-(
Not a week goes by I don't see some parallel to Seinfeld, and this is just another example. :-D
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03-18-2002, 09:52 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 212
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Thats just pathetic. Im tellin ya, Sony should make a pocket pc.
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03-18-2002, 09:58 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,177
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:lol:
This is what you have to do, when all you have is the equivalence of a good ol' 286.
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03-18-2002, 10:01 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 15
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So what was actually driving the monitor? Perhaps a Pocket PC with a VGA card? Now that would be a cool demo. A huge mockup of a Pocket PC with the real Pocket PC in front of it. However in this case, the Pocket PC would actually be driving the monitor, playing full-length motion pictures. Nah, we've been-there-done-that over 2 years ago. How about a Pocket PC emulating a Palm on the big screen?
Dan East
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03-18-2002, 11:01 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,060
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But, Ed, the real question is:
Did the Wizard give you a heart?
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03-18-2002, 11:26 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 85
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:roll: Shocking that Palm should tell lies like that. it really isn't good enough.
Was it maybe a pre-recorded display (I ask in the context of devices often crashing when being displayed to the public).
I think everybody should stick to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the "what's WindowsCE.NET?" truth.
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03-18-2002, 11:36 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 69
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Heh - Sony won't make a PocketPC because they can't impose their proprietary memory sticks on everyone. Microsoft wins a point for enforcing standards.
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03-18-2002, 11:55 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 160
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Never trust a demo unless it crashes :roll:
__________________
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Common Sense is Not Common
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03-19-2002, 12:16 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 168
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I guess Sony figures say and do anything to sell the unit. I wonder if Sony feels left out after MS and Palm got busted by the FTC for deceptive product claims?
This whole thing really makes you feel a sort of.... pathetic sympathy... for Sony who wants so BAD to be just like PPC but can't let their ego get over the fact that MS has them beat at THEIR OWN (multimeida) game. They'll stick with Palm and simply be the little PDA that couldn't quite do it. Perhaps OS6 or something might make their dreams finally come true.
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03-19-2002, 01:10 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 108
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Unbelievable.
To add to my current rant about the total lack of customer service by most companies these days, now a total lack of integrity.
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