Customer Reviews

Sony Clie PEG-NX70V (Silver) Handheld

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, here's the lowdown on the brand-new NX-70V :

Screen - as good as the NR series. Great readability, both indoors and outdoors.

Palm OS 5 - haven't noticed much different from OS4 yet.

Built in apps - Sony has made all of the built-in apps HiRes (320X480) for this unit, which is a big improvement from the NR series. The NX series also comes with a registered version of Documents To Go (standard edition), so right off the Clie installation CD, it is possible to sync and edit Word and Excel files right on the unit. Very nice.

Camera - MUCH better than the NR70V. Still won't replace your standalone camera, but is very nice to be able to take halfway decent (640X480) shots with a PDA. Doesn't perform well in low-light situations.

Data Entry - I can't imagine using the tiny keyboard for almost anything - good thing graffiti is so good. On both the NX and NR series, the graffiti area is virtual (part of the actual screen), and they've made it so that it shows the ink as you draw the characters. Very nice.

Voice Recorder - a nice little extra for meetings, etc.

Compatibility with older Palm OS programs - better than I expected. I had a few that didn't run, but I would say 90% of the ones I was using do, with the exception of hack-type programs. Also, many developers have released, or are hard at work on OS5 compatible versions.

Battery life - this is the only downside I've experienced so far. It's about as good as the NR series, as far as I can tell. Just as a test, I didn't charge it for a few days. I got 4 days worth of normal use (probably 1 1/2 to 2 hrs a day on average) out of it before it needed a charge. I might have been able to eke another day out of it, but I didn't want to take any chances.

Other - Sony seems to have fixed the Memory Stick slot problem with the NX. I was experiencing drop-outs with my NR70, but have yet to have one with the NX. Also, speed launching apps, saving pics, etc. to the memory stick seems to be faster than the NR.

Haven't tried WiFi yet (my laptop has built-in wifi, so I haven't decided yet if I need it for an extra $150 in my PDA, too). I've also heard rumors that the CF slot will work with CF memory cards, if and when the memory card manufacturers write appropriate drivers. Don't know if this is so, but it would be very cool.

Personally, I love the clamshell design. Most of the time I use it in tablet mode, but being able to close it up is very nice, and saves the need for a case (at least as far as protecting the screen when not in use goes). It also has a very big WOW factor when you take it out and flip the screen around.

All in all, I have to give this unit a 5. I've owned PDAs from just about every generation of Palm (Pilot 5000, PalmPilot Pro, Palm III, Palm V, Visor Prism, Clie N760, Clie NR70, and now the NX), and this is unquestionably the best of the lot.

Pros: Top toy with lots of great features: cameras, keyboard, voice recorder, color screen, medium-res camera, audio/video/photo capture, Wi-Fi capability, fast CPU, Metal Case, Decent camera and video, lots of software included, faster processor, Clie Launcher, Clie Memo, Small, built in keyboard, swivel screen, color screen, and an array of programs.

Cons: Limited battery life, high cost, you should buy more memory to go with it, Not too much OS5 software available... yet, price, Clie Viewer, Internet, Sony's obsession with copyright protection, low memory.

Summary: As you can see this product comes basically fully loaded. Yet, in my opinion the best feature is the built in keyboard. On previous PDA's to enter in information you either had to write in grafitti(which is the most annoying thing in world) or purchase an external keyboard, which is really expensive. Entering information into my Sony CLIE PEG-NX70V is so easy now, that I feel as if I have a computer right in the palm of my hand. The HOT-SYNC function on this product is the fastest and most reliable syncing that I have ever worked with. Because of the state of the art high resolution TFT screen with built in back-light, you can even look at your Sony CLIE PEG-NX70V in complete darkness or in extremely bright sunlight. There is no discoloration while using it while being outdoors. I don't suggest leaving it in the hot sun for long periods of time, though, because it will ruin the screen. I have not personally used the internet feature on my device, however, I have heard that it is the best wireless connection for any PDA. This PDA is so small that I can comfortably keep it in my pocket without any restriction in movement. All in all, I say that this product is miles ahead of any other product of its type!

I received the NX-70V for Christmas and I think it's an amazing device. Needing my PDA for medical school, I could have probably survived with a "bare bones" Sony Clie, but in the end I'm glad my parents sprung for the newest.
First off, let me just say that the graphics are really incredible. I had seen other people with PDA's that had the lime green colored screens and knew I wanted a color screen. But I've seen other PDA's with color screens that aren't backlit and let me just say the difference between those and the backlit color screen on the Clie's is the difference between night and day.
The camera takes some surprisingly good pictures when the Clie is absolutely still. Even the slightest movement makes the picture a bit blurry, which makes for quite a challenge considering that pushing the "Capture" button requires a slight movement. But with the Clie sitting on a counter or using the timer to take pictures, I've gotten some good quality pics. And the movies are entertaining and help capture the "feel" of a past moment, but don't expect to relive it in too much detail :-).
The battery life is amazing. I took my Clie with me on vacation for MLK weekend and brought the charger along, but I never even needed to use it. That may not seem too impressive, but when considering that I used it to take multiple pictures, a couple movies, and listened to mp3's for part of the flights to and from North Carolina, it was hard to believe I still had some battery power left to spare.
As others have said, don't even believe for a second you can use this product to its full potential without a Memory Stick. But spring for the cheaper one if you can. I bought the SanDisk one and it holds mp3's, movies, pictures, and everything else the Clie put on it. (And this was despite the fact that the guy at CompUSA told me I was wasting my time buying the SanDisk because he GUARANTEED me I would need a special MagicGate MemoryStick. Shows how much they know.)
In summation, if you need a PDA, want lots of bells and whistles, and have extra cash to spend, I say spring for the NX-70V.

Sony is really on top of the PalmOS game. I replaced my Palm M515 with a Sony NX70V this weekend, and was quite impressed. The hi-res+ screen is incredible! I was able to download a movie trailer for Spiderman in widescreen format and watch it. I'm still tinkering with all the bells and whistles, but I was able to take still photos and video clips just minutes after I unwrapped it. The camera's resolution isn't the best, but I bought a PDA, not a digital camera. Since I keep my PDA handy most of the time, it's nice to know I can snap a picture or get a quick video clip in a hurry.

The software I normally use doesn't begin to challenge the 200MHz processor, but some of the video apps may. I was very happy to see the difference the screen made with DocumentsToGo and Mapopolis. Much more useable, more readable. In SheetToGo, I can see more than 3 or 4 columns at a time!

The NX70 seems to access data from my 128MB memory stick faster than my old Palm M515 could read from an SD card. The Clie launcher takes a bit of getting used to, but it has its advantages, with quick buttons for your 8 favorite apps.

I looked briefly at the Tungsten T, which was almost as small as my M515. I'm glad I chose the Sony instead, as the virtual grafitti and virtual keyboard are much more practical to use, and that area can be used for the hi-res+ (320x480) video images. I don't have a use for the Tungsten's built in BlueTooth capability. The Sony's larger screen and built-in keyboard tipped the scales for me. I actually bought the NX60, w/o the built-in video camera, but I didn't even get out of the store before my wife convinced me (she didn't have to try very hard) that the built-in camera was worth the extra $$$ .

All in all, I am VERY VERY pleased with the Sony PEG-NX70V. I've spent the last few days trying to find new software to take advantage of its next generation of capabilities.

The Clie NX70 is a bigger (320x480), brighter palm-OS based PDA with a lot more -- exactly what you'd expect from a Sony. Navigation among applications can be done with the traditional touch interface, pull downs, buttons directly to core functions or with the selector wheel.

Data input is done through graffiti or the built-in keyboard. I found the keyboard somewhat useful for quick jobs, especially while I've been learning the weirder letters in "graffiti," but any time I had to do upper case, punctuation or numbers, it's a pain because there are odd key combinations or locations.

The audio player works well, but you really need additional memory, otherwise you're limited to one mp3. Memory expansion is through Sony's memory stick format, which is unfortunately limited to 128Mb (compared compact flash, which can go higher). There is an additional compact flash slot, but it only supports Sony's network card.

The camera is a novelty and, in my opinion, not worth the additional 100 bucks over the NX60 model. Pictures max out at 640x400 and require perfect lighting. Any movement and you get blur.

The remote control is truly cool and supports Sony and select non-Sony TVs, stereos, DVD players and VCRs. It was really easy to set this up to control my hodge-podge entertainment center with a 12-year old RCA TV and a 8-year old Magnavox VCR.

The biggest weakness is in the PC software supplied. The installation program is a demo sheild front-end, and presents you with over two dozen things you can install on the CLIE or your PC. It's really confusing and requires administrative priveleges on your Windows box -- this presents some difficulty in an environment where my IT department has things locked down.

Installation of the core Palm desktop on Windows XP directed me to Sony's site for an unspecific patch that I never could find. (Indeed, finding software updates was at least a half dozen clicks away.)

After the Palm desktop was installed, I was faced with a laundry list of additional options, with no guide as to what was important. For example, a really important one: Windows XP also needed the memory stick driver operating so it would recognize the stick as removable storage when the Clie was connected. On the other hand, there was also a lot of clutter like "8 ways to relieve stress."

Well, I bought my clie right about when it first came out. I was absolutely facinated with all of the features and had nothing but wonderful things to say about it. Now that I have had it for a while, and had a chance to use most of the applications, I think I feel torn about whether I like it or not:

Pros:
-Features, features, and more features!!
-Some people do not like the keyboard, but I really like having the option of having one, just in case I want to use it.
-The image quality is great.
-Camera is convenient, but I'll get into it more in the "cons."
-The regular daily capabilities of scheduling and phone book work flawless.
-Some of the games you can get for this bad-boy are wonderful.
-Hot Syncing to my pc is a breeze.

Cons:
-I have had nothing but problems with the memory stick. I even dowloaded the newest patch for it, and it still has problems. For some reason, it will just stop recognizing that I have a memory stick at all.
-The camera is pretty bad. I used it for the first 10 minutes, and haven't really touched it since. It is ok occasionally, but I would stick with the nr70 model.
-The memory is pretty bad. With all of the features on this system, there has to be more internal memory. I filled up the space so fast, and now I'm having to delete applications to make room. In fact, when you get down to less than 3mb, your system isn't even able to function.
-I thought that I could just expand my memory using the memory stick, but have had nothing but problems. At first I thought it was great until the memory stick is inserted, and the system doesn't even regognize that it's there.
-The audio player works great for about 10 minutes, and then for some reason it stops regognizing the memory stick (am I the only one with memory stick problems?).

I bought this system because I wanted the whole package; schedule, camera, games, mp3, etc. However, I have come to realize that all of the added applications really don't work very well. You might be better off buying all of the components seperately. Besides, all you are really getting is an organizer with mediocre applications. If you want something that plays mp3's, buy an mp3 player. If you want a digital camera, buy a digital camera. If you want an organizer, buy a organizer that has the simple daily applications you need to be organized. Conglomerate pda's with everything, including a microwave oven, are in their infancy, and obviously have several glitches. It will take a few years before integrated pda's really become integrated. As for now, at least with Sony, count on a seemingly great pda, falling terribly short of mediocrocy.
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First things first, this thing is huge! I'm used to carrying around the Clie-N760 in the front pocket of my scrubs. Great for quick and easy access, however, the Clie-NX70 feels heavy and uncomfortable.

In addition to the size and weight, the clamshell design (which seems kind of cool at first and offers those grafitti illiterates a keyboard) slows you down by hiding your quick buttons.

Another negative is the co$t. If you have any experience with handhelds you know that they just don't last, so it's hard to justify spending a large amount on what is basically a disposable item. Don't expect to get more than a year or two out of any of these devices if you use them regularly.

My last complaint is that there is only a minor memory boost; only 11mb (available) memory!

On the plus side, the large footprint does give you a great big screen, and the slide away graffiti area is functional and slick.

Sony throws in some cute things like a .3 camera (very poor performance), a voice recorder, and some software freebies like Documents to Go, and Clie memo which is a sort of post-it-notes free writing program.

The only thing I noticed about OS5 was that standard JPEG pictures can be read.

The major fix for me is that audio can now be played in the background; you can listen to your mp3's while clicking around on this and that =)!!! You can also change your playlist on the memory card.

Although the tried and true palm interface is still there, out of the box it defaults to the new Clie launcher. It looks cool and after a week or so of tinkering with it I have found that it not only looks refreshingly new but that it is just as quick if you can use your thumb on the jog dial and the back button to navigate.

Battery life seems spectacular. Click around all day with little loss of power.

I only give it 3 stars because even though it is great and cool and one heck of a handheld, for me it is too big and heavy and the clam shell/keyboard design is cumbersome and frankly unnecessary. When something like my Clie N760 gets OS5 I will be back adding it to my shopping cart.

I just had to put in a good word for this product. I've had it for 2 and a half years and it keeps me sane. I love all the bells and whistles that go along with it- i'm always able to keep busy during "downtime". From pic and vid capability, to the mp3 player (and voice recording), to email, to scheduling and various Palm related tools- this product has been well worth the investment!

I'm trying to hang in there as long as I can before I move on to the next model.

This thing has more buttons & bells than I'll ever use! I'm glad I bought a book "How to use Your Clie". The included paperwork doesn't begin to explain everything you can do. Screen display is sharp & clear. I like using Graffiti to enter data rather than the keyboard. (You have three entry methods to choose from.)

I've had the NX-70V for a couple months now and have not had any problems with it or second thoughts about getting it. I got it as a replacement for an older Palm device. I also got a 128 mb Memory Stick so I could use the camera, movie, & mp3 featurs of the Clie. As a Mac user, I also had to download a software package called Missing Sync in order to sync the Clie with my Apple...

The camera quality is not great, but since I have the Clie with me most of the time during the day it is usefull to snap a picture here or there if I see something of interest. With a Mac (and the aforesaid software) you can import the pictures you take into iPhoto. You can convert the movies into Quicktime format and also transfer .mp3 files to and from iTunes.

While I don't find myself using the keyboard much, it is nice to have for the times when I enter large blocks of text. The keyboard does take some getting used to as the layout is somewhat strange.

My main concern before getting the Clie was the size. While it is fairly long, it is fairly slim and I have found that it fits easily into side pants pocket when wearing a suit or kahkis.

Bottom line is that it is a great unit. If you just want a PDA for PIM type applications there is no need to spend the money for the NX-70V. However, if you have the money to spend and want a PDA that does just about everything possible then this is your unit.