Customer Reviews

Sony CLIE PEG-T665C/U Handheld

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I finally mothballed by Palm Vx and got a Sony Clie T665C. I am a PDA user that goes way back to the early Apple Newton days, so I have a long-term perspective on PDA use that may be of benefit to those considering buying this Clie.

Even with the promise of the upcoming Palm OS5 and ARM-based hardware, I went for the Clie now and I am glad I did. This Clie is absolutely amazing. The display is so far better than my Vx that it's hard to imagine how I lived with reading text off of that Palm for so long. The form factor and build quality of the T665 is nothing short of superb. The built-in MP3 player, jog dial and bundled software made this a no-brainer for me.

The typical issue that some people have with the Clie line is battery life, but I am going to pose a different perspective. I think that Sony struck a brilliant balance between excellent features and the practical need for battery power for the vast majority of PDA users.

Most PDA users enter notes, to-do's and schedule info at various points throughout the day. With this Clie, you can do all that plus add in listening to some MP3's. Access to a power outlet is typically not an issue for most users, so you drop it in its cradle once every few days it's not a big sacrifice especially in light of the fact that this Clie is generations beyond a Vx.

To be clear, if you need to enter text or play games 6-8+ hours a day, listen to MP3s all day and you have no easy access to 110V, you should choose a black and white PDA with minimal features that will run forever and buy a dedicated MP3 player. Or better yet, use a laptop. Bottom line is, in almost 10 years of PDA use, I have observed that the vast majority of people who actually continue to use their PDA (some lose interest) use it as a PDA, not a PC. If you need a PC, and everything that goes along with running a PC (think Microsoft Windows), get a PocketPC.

Overall, the Clie T665C is an excellent PDA with great features and readability that has to be seen to be believed.

I've been a Palm Pilot user since they first came out, dutifully upgrading to the newest model every few years. I finally decided that I needed COLOR, so I bought the Sony Clie.

What I didn't expect was that in addition to getting color, I would wind up with an artfully designed PDA that is much easier to use than the Palm Pilot.

I love the look of the unit. Its brushed metal portions look so much nicer and richer than the straight plastic of the Pilot, and resist finger prints. It's very thin and light too.

One of the things I like best about it is the "jog dial" on the side. Using this dial you can quickly flip from screen to screen (especially nice for moving through your appointment book or phone book) using a single hand.

The backlit screen is much easier to read than my old black and white Pilot (a bonus for these over-40 eyes).

The best surprise was that the memory stick in my Sony digital camera is compatible with the Clie, so I can move it from my camera to the Clie and show my photos to my friends! I can also use my spare memory sticks from my camera as extra storage for my Clie, moving large applications off the Clie and onto the memory stick.

The only two negatives are:

1) Battery life. If you use one of the display-intensive features, like displaying a photo, you might have only 10 minutes of battery use. Playing games, I find I only have about 30 minutes of use. Because the batteries are not replaceable, you must recharge the unit in its cradle or using an AC adapter. Usually this isn't a problem because I just keep it in its cradle at my desk when I'm not using it, but for extended trips it means recharging every night in the hotel room.

2) The software that comes with it that lets you sync up with Microsoft Outlook to keep a synchronized calendar between your PC and the PDA doesn't transfer over the appointment location field. Since I mostly use the Clie to keep track of all my business meetings, I've been caught by this once or twice. (Running late, coming back from lunch, running to a meeting. But what meeting room is it in? Arghh! Have to go back to my office to look at Outlook on my PC to see.) I've overcome this by manually adding the location to the meeting description when I receive the invitation in Outlook, but you shouldn't have to do this.

I'm 22, and I just got my first handheld to use at college. I've had the T665 for about 2 weeks and I have to say, I did a ton of research on handhelds before deciding on this one.

I just want to let everyone know DON'T LISTEN TO THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS! This is a very versatile device if you want a handheld to do everything well, and is perfect for the college student! People complain about battery life, but come on, I think you're asking for a bit much to have a colour hanheld with 320X320 65,000 colour display capable of playing mp3s to run off of rechargable batteries for 2 weeks, BE REALISTIC PEOPLE!

If you need something for travelling get a b/w handheld. But for the rest of us everyday people, especially people like me, I'll take mine to school in the morning, organize my day, jot down quick memos to remind me of things to do, and when I'm in the lab, I can easily start writing up a quick spreadsheet right away to record data. And if I'm studying on campus, I can use this thing to listen to mp3s on the go. I'll be syncing this thing at night when i go to bed, so battery life isn't an issue, just like i don't think its an issue for the common user.

As for the design, I think the buttons are just fine, they don't stick out above frame, so they can't accidently be pressed.

I love the jog dial on the side, I'm left handed, and it's not even an issue. I hold it in my right hand, and manipulate the jog dial with my middle finger, it's very easy!

This is a super machine, and I think sony really hit the nail on the head with a very stylishly designed, powerful handheld, I can't wait to purchase a 128 meg memory stick!

I'm gonna be the most stylish boy on campus now! Thanks sony!

I won't post the entire horror story here. Suffice it to say that the Clie I bought was defective. I returned it to Sony for service and after more than a month and a half the end is nowhere in site. Every time I call Sony they reply "another week to 10 days". They have been telling me that for over a month now. I have read similar complaints about Clies on this very website - but amazingly, all of thoese posts appear to have been removed!

This product does have a very nice display. But battery live is abysmal. You will have to charge it daily. I could even accept that, but a product is only as good as the support behind it, and Sony has the worst support in the business (Palm will replace your unit immediately, as will Handspring). So unless you are feeling pretty lucky, I would avoid this one.

Another thing you should know about this product is that you have to completely remove all traces of Palm software before the Sony software will install correctly. This means that when your Clie does go south, you can't just start using your old Palm as a backup until (if and when) the Sony comes back. You have to go through a complicated series of steps for removal, reboot, remove some more, reboot again, install, tweak, adjust, etc. each time you switch devices.

If you stick w/ your Palm, the old and the new will synch to the same destop - no reinstallations required. With Palm, you can even keep both your old and new units current on the same PC. I really wish I had stuck w/ Palm.

The Sony Clie t665 is a really great tool! I have been an active Palm user for many years, and was agonizing over replacing my Palm IIIx. I primarily used it for the address book and calendar, being in the consulting business.

I thought about getting the newer model with the digitalcamera, but thought that it would be too big. I also considered Handspring and Kyocera converged devices.

The t665 is just right. It's small enough that I can easily put it in my pocket. The color screen is absolutely beautiful. I am a new dad, and can carry around pictures of my daughter which is a great bonus. The MP3 player is great, since it's easy to take it on the road.

I was leary that the battery life would be a problem, but I frequently go a few days between charging it up. I don't use the MP3 player every day, so I'm sure that it has an effect. I do look at the photos every day though. I did turn the brightness down, and have the screen turn off after 30 seconds. I purchased a USB synch/power cable from eBay. With this you can recharge from any computer with a USB port. I haven't had to use the cable yet, which is a statement that the battery life is actually better than reported (for me at least).

There are actually some very useful applications that are bundled from Sony. I found a few that I now use every day and I can't help showing the clie off.

I called Sony support for some guidance on which versions of Palm Desktop were support and the best strategy for synching my existing data. I didn't expect much response, but I got through to them within 1/2 hour and they gave me clear directions that worked the first time.

Hi folks, I've been through the gamut of PDA's. I even had an IPAQ...but yet, that wasn't perfect. First of all, it was too heavy to hold and would lock up all the time. Now onto this Sony. It seems that they are trying to keep up with Pocket PC. On this Sony there is video, there is a faster processor, and an MP3 player, though you need a memory stick for storage. Overall it is very fast, is very nice to look at and quite stable. The high resolution is amazing for viewing pictures. Those same pictures on the IPAQ weren't as clear!!The only gripe I have is with the buttons. Sony needs to go back to the circular buttons...easier on the fingers.
You will not be disappointed with this model. If you are looking to upgrade, this one is worth it.

This is a great PDA, color screen on the 665 is more vibrant than the 615 that I traded up from. From Mac or PC, simply copy MP3 files to MSAUDIO directory of a BLUE memory stick. Used cheaper Lexar brand works fine... <Contrary to what someone else posted, WHITE memory stick not needed except for ATRAC proprietary music format>. MP3's sound great, better than on Rio MP3 player. Also, sound from included Sony headphones w/attached volume control have good frequency response, bass and treble. If you are expecting to just pop your memory stick in from your Cybershot digicam, not as seamless, each 2MB pix takes a few seconds to refresh when viewing in PG Pocket, due to file size (smaller the better for Clie). If you want fast viewing you need to convert the DCF file to a PGP file. This may not be a problem with newer 200mhz strongarm Clie, but significant speed improvement in 665 vs. 615 which was pretty s-l-o-w. Also, Palm desktop works with Mac OS X with the Clie, works great. Lastly a few cool shareware programs to get... Palm Acrobat reader, AcidImage, Handyshopper,Kinoma player
Have fun with your new Clie, get one!

I was VERY pleased with my purchase of the Clie T665C. I bought it as a replacement for my Palm IIIxe. I am a consultant who travels Mon-Thu, so my review may concentrate on the travelling business person.

Here are some of the highlights:

(1) I haven't found the battery life to be a problem. I actually prefer it to my IIIxe, which would EAT up AAA batteries like crazy!! I always had to carry an extra set. With the T665C, I just need to get to an outlet. I can let it charge in the hotel overnight.

(2) I use Lotus Notes for e-mail, addresses, to-do's, calendar, and journal. This synchs up great with the T-665C using Lotus EasySync (not included).

(3) The audio player is a great accessory. I can copy audio files to the PDA and play them on the airplane, etc. As it has been stated before, you DON'T need a special memory stick, you'll just need to copy the audio files directly into the MSAUDIO directory of the memory stick using MS Import (included).

(4) I also very much enjoy the Mobipocket application (included). This application allows me to download news and business from FoxNews, Bloomberg, Newsweek, etc for FREE and read them on the plane as well.

(5) The screen, resolution, etc are much more than I imagined. I carry updated pictures of my family and they show up great. I also download short movies taken from my digital camera and can play them as well with the included software.

I would make this purchase again in a HEARTBEAT!!!

I used a palm vx for about four years before upgrading to this sony. I first bought a toshiba e310 though to try out pocket pc. It was pretty, lots of features, and cheaper, but a few things were off. There handwriting recognition was good, but too sensitive, and too many steps to input a todo or an appointment. So, I went with this sony cause I wanted color and mp3 playing. So far, I love this thing. It is pretty, my photos appear beautifully on its screen. The battery hasn't been too bad for me. I might not use it as much as others, but I think i am normal and it lasts about four days. (but I haven't been playing mp3s) One thing to watch out for is that you need to buy a sony magic gate memory stick to play mp3s. I have a sandisk one which was significantly cheaper, and it won't play mp3s off of it. It will do everything else, but that. So, great display, great design, useful jog dial, but need to buy sony memory stick (needs to be magic gate)

I am a converted Handspring/Palm user and finally broke down and purchased the Sony Clie PEG-T665C after several weeks of research. In a nutshell, the Sony delivers and is a well made, well researched product. The screen resolution sold me as well as the features. For those of you out there who believe you have to buy a "Magic Stick" in order to play MP3's.......WRONG ANSWER. Refer to your manual and you'll realize you can store and play your MP3s on a regular memory stick. Yes, folks, it's true. Magic Stick was designed to play ATRAC3 files but your normal memory stick WILL PLAY MP3 files. You simply place your Sony into the cradle which is connected to your computer. Your Clie should be on and all you have to do is tap "MS Import." Your Clie is now an additional drive connected to your computer. You can drag and drop files onto your memory stick which is inserted in your Clie. For MP3 files, drag them from your hard drive to the Clie (which is listed as a removable drive) and place the MP3 files in the file marked "MS Audio." That's it. Next, you tap on "Audio Player," your MP3's will be present and you can listen to your heart's content. That simple. For those who say you have to buy a "magic stick" memory stick in order to play MP3's, again,..........wrong answer. I use my Sony constantly and am very happy thus far. Every product will have some "bad ones" out there, but, if you want a sleek, stylish, reliable and productive PDA, this is the ticket. The Hi-Res screen is awesome. Sony quality and ingenuity at it's best. The Palm/Handspring line doesn't compare in my opinion in terms of quality and workmanship. Buy one and see for yourself......you may be pleasantly surprised!