Customer Reviews

Sony Clie PEG-TJ35 Handheld

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I traded in an SJ33 for the new TJ35, thinking I'd get an upgraded SJ33 and all the same benefits: top-line software bundle, good battery life, rich colors, MP3 playback, and so forth. Well, I've had this for a few days now, and I'm a little torn between the two.

The TJ35 has a 200 Mhz i.MXL processor, so it now runs Palm OS 5 and has upgraded base memory to 32 Megs. This really does speed up existing software... if it has been recompiled for Palm OS 5. If not, be prepared to either upgrade your applications or look for replacements. Older Palm software may not run (older versions of powerOne calculators, A Texas Hold'Em game I own, the Frotz text-game player, are all applications that either bomb or flake on a Palm OS 5 machine).

The biggest upgrades are the CPU, expanded memory, use of Palm OS 5, support for Memory Stick Pro media (carry a Gigabyte with you), and the redesigned jog-dial. The jog-dial redesign is welcome: lefties and righties can now enjoy equal use of a better wheel for navigation.

Layout of the screen can be Launcher mode or the normal list/icon view. Launcher puts more of a digital dashboard feel to the experience: also check out the variety of color themes you can apply to your handheld now.

Biggest downsides I'm seeing with the TJ35 are significant. Grafitti2 is awful, and the software bundle is a bait-and-switch for SJ33 owners.

First, the Grafitti2 issue: you have add strokes to your letters "k" and "t", and support for Portuguese is non-existent (but it supports Swedish, which makes me laugh because five times as many people speak Portuguese as do Swedish). That means if you want to write "com minha coração", you can write the schwa-c but not the accented-a. Punctuation shift is a joke, as I have repeatedly hacked at it and I still can't make a semicolon. I was good for 35wpm with the old Graffiti. I consider Grafitti2 a detriment to this model.

The software bundle grossly disappoints. Yes, it bundles Intellisync, but Bejeweled is no longer burned in ROM: Sony ships the trial version, which you can download on your own. Big deal. Also, forget Documents-To-Go, that's gone; the usual shareware trials are still available. Gone is Clie Paint, replaced with Clie Memo; you can probably accomplish many of the same things, but you no longer have airbrush tools or resizable canvases. If you do upgrade, keep a copy of your old CD handy for the old software bundle.

In conclusion, I'm not sure I did better with this handheld. I was sure that my SJ33 was a world better than my Handspring Visor Deluxe, but now I suspect that Sony offset the upgraded hardware costs by leaving out the greater components of their software bundle. Plus, Grafitti2 could be a real deal-breaker for some of you experts out there: you know best that I'm not overstating the significance of an extra stroke to make "k"s and "t"s.

Still, I think that I'd pick this handheld over many of the others today. It's a four-star pick; if I could have Grafitti back, I think I could be happy with it (and give it the fifth star).

I've been through quite a few PDA's, mostly from Palm with the occasional Visor (I wind up killing most within a year). Let me first say, the TJ35 isn't perfect, but it comes pretty close. The operating system is fairly effortless, and the add-on third party software is intriguing. I'm still finding out how much it can do. So here are few thoughts:

1) The design guys at Sony got it right. It is a flat out elegant and beautiful product.

2) The MP3 function is quite good. I tend to be pretty picky about my music; I generally encode in WAV format. But the MP3 software will accept up to 320 kbps. I converted several files to 192 kbps, and I am very happy with the sound quality. Be warned though, you have to store all music files on a memory stick (cute, no?).

3) The Li-ion battery is user replaceable.

4) The included stylus is completely useless. If you do acquire the TJ35, do yourself a favor a buy one of those pens than can double as a stylus. Theirs is fit only for a (small) child.

5) The unit charges and syncs through an adapter that connects to the bottom of the unit. It's not exactly elegant, but not a critical flaw either. A docking module would have been nice.

In summary, the TJ35 is a very well designed PDA that performs its functions admirably. Outside of some minor quirks with respect to the stylus and connection set-up, I happily recommend it to anyone looking for a new PDA.

It's amazing how long it took for Sony to realize that "small is beautiful", at least when it is a PDA. It was so refreshing to see a product like this in Sony's line of "ugly-looking, keybaord-wielding" handhelds. Why on earth will I put up with the extra bulk of a keyboard when I have Graffiti and Decuna? And if you want to carry a camera everywhere, carry a Pentax Optio S :-)

So, as you can feel, I was immensely happy when this PDA was launched. What made it fall short of being "perfect" was the lack of Bluetooth (I wouldn't mind an additional $50 if it had Bluetooth). It is hard for me to believe that the designers at Sony wouldn't know this.

PROS:
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+ Sleek, compact and beautiful design
+ Lots of useful apps
+ Palm OS, which means I can get apps for almost anything I will ever need

CONS:
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- No Bluetooth :-( :-( :-(
- The snap-on cover comes off too easily in the pocket

I've had the TJ35 for almost a month, and it has been mostly outstanding (I used a Palm Vx before). Although I didn't have the backlight problem-- yet-- my unit is one of the ones on recall by Sony to have the flaw fixed, so it is about to be sent to Sony (using a prepaid fedex mailer they sent me when I signed in on the backlight problem website). The unit is very convenient. The size is right for a shirtpocket, Graffiti2 is easy once you know how -- it's OK to take 2 strokes to make t's and k's because you don't have to shift up to make capitals anymore. Decuma is not really that helpful-- the learning curve isn't worth the effort and I don't use it. The only problems I have noticed have been: (1) The Intellisync software that comes with it for syncing with Outlook refused to install properly, but I didn't mind that because I use Chapura's KeySuite instead (and it works fine); and (2) on rare occasions, HotSync doesn't work without rebooting my laptop. I use WinXP, but the laptop is normally connected to a port replicator and the Clie cradle is connected to a USB port on the port replicator. Sony's literature says this can be a problem with HotSync (i.e., that you should connect directly to the root USB port), but I had noticed no difficulty until the past couple of days. The display is easy to see (especially compared to the "old" Palm Vx). All in all, if the backlight problem is a thing of the past, and the HotSync issue doesn't recur much, it's a nice little unit.

I bought my TJ35 about 6 months ago. As others here have said, I am a true Sony fanatic. I researched carefully before choosing this item, and felt as though I got the best PDA for my money. Considering I use my PDA about 4 hours a day, that is saying a lot!

Let me say that I love the screen of this unit. It hardly scratches, is crystal clear, and the picture is very sharp. The software bundle is very robust. The flip cover is cheesy and the telescope stylus drove me nuts, however!

IMPORTANT: The batter will last a long time for any PDA if you do this one important thing: in the Prefs general section, look for the item labled "beam receive" and turn it off. I think it is under the general section, but I'm not positive. This will vastly improve your battery life!!!

All worked well until about 45 days later when the unit suddenly stopped hot synching and charging. I mean, I literally hot synched the unit, installed another program 10 minutes later, and nothing would work. I tried everything I knew, but couldn't get it to work. As I built the three computers in my house and have an IT degree, I feel that I did an extensive amount of troubleshooting. I called the company and had to go though the "Did you reboot your computer" steps with the person for 45 minutes just to get a ticket to send the product back. Then I had to wait 17 days for Sony to send the item back to me.

This is where it gets interesting. They determined that they couldn't fix my brand new device and sent me a refurbished model. I called up the company to complain, stating that I didn't want someone else's rejected model, I wanted a new one like I sent them. Especially with all the backlight problems the model has had. I was assured that the model sent to me had no backlight issues.

Wrong. Less than 30 days later, the backlight goes out. I call up customer service again, demanding that I receive a new model, since this is the second defective one I've received. No go. I told them I didn't want to go without a PDA for three weeks every two months. I was told by a supervisor that he didn't care how long I had to go without my device.

After more than 25 phone calls to Sony Customer support, I finally received a service return box in the mail. And then another. And then another. With three different return authorization numbers. These boxes came the week I moved, so of course I didn't have time to send the item off then. And after that, I became seriously ill and was diagnosed with a significant long-term condition that has left me barely able to leave the house. So now I will send the PDA and the three authorization forms to Sony and see what they will do. Probably nothing, because it's obvious that the company cares little for the insignificant hard-working customers who shell out two week's worth of grocery money for their product.

Who knows, maybe next Christmas one of my family members will buy me a Tungsten!

I am really a fanatic of the Sony products, but this time they completely disappointed me.

I bought this PDA about a month ago, I used it for about 3 weeks, and I already have problems with this one, the backlight of the Clie doesn't work at all, the problem seems to be that the internal micro cable that sends the power to the backlight screen is broken, and this happened in the shipping time, but this damage puts in evidence just 2 days ago. So I have to say this PDA is too fragile, also the brightness of the screen (when it worked) is not too shining, so I have to agree with most of the users of Palm the screen of the Tungsten E is better, also the software that came with the Clie is too poor, doesn't have many options.

Finally I check from Sony and I am not the first one with the problem, because the problem is on the design of the Sony Clie PEG-TJ35, I can tell that because I am a Systems Engineer and I saw the micro cable that is the problem, this micro cable is squashed by the battery and broke the power supply that goes to the backlight screen, so when you bought this PDA you bought this problem.

Please just look for another option of PDA.

I decided to buy the TJ35 because I owned a SJ20 and I loved it. It was slow but it was dependable. However, I'm pretty disappointed with the TJ35 because the backlight went out after a week and it's currently being serviced at Sony. I thought I got a lemon but after reading many reviews (on multiple websites), it seems that everyone is having the same problem with the TJ35 and this backlight issue seems to be a design flaw.

The pluses are that it's fast and its slim profile makes it easy to hold and operate. When the backlight did work the colors were nice and bright with excellent contrast. However, despite the good aspects, the backlight issue is a serious problem that really hurts the 35. In retrospect I think I should have bought a Tungsten E.

I had a hard time deciding to order the TJ-35 or the T-E, and ended up with the TJ-35, primarily because of the MS and Decuma. I also did not like the feel of the T-E. For eight days I was very delighted with the device. Then the backlight failed. Sony said sure we will send you a box for you to send it back. By god, I'm not the only one! Checking on line there were a number of other devices out there with the same problem. If I had purchased it at Fry's I could have taken it back. But with Amazon.com I have a $50 promotional certificate. Hopefully I will not have more problems with it. Where are the cases?

The old saying "misery likes compay" has never been more true. I'm somewhat comforted by reading about others who have also expressed extreme frustration over the backlight issue with this PDA. Frankly, I loved it. It is smaller than my first PDA (a Handspring Visor) and had an awesome screen. It works like a charm with Outlook at work. A real nice machine. Then the backlight went out. And they fixed it. Then it went out again. And they fixed it. Then the light went out. And they aren't returning my e-mails. I'm officially done with Sony. I should have gone wth my gut that said up front, "don't buy a Sony product" but the guy at Best Buy assured me that my past bad experiences with Sony products were history. Live and learn. Go with your gut. Don't buy Sony.

I've had this PDA for 2 months, and have resisted writing an early review such as "I just got this thing yesterday and it's sweet!".

I wanted a Palm based PDA that could play MP3's and had no camera. Software is not an issue for me since I can download and install whatever I want so I won't address that here, suffice to say that it does what I need it to - manage contacts, appointments, play MP3's.

Build quality is generally very good. The slider button at the side (which I is the only one I find myself using) feels very solid. My only complaint with the build is the roller in the center - it's made of light plastic which seems incongruous with the metal area at the side. It should be heavier to the touch. The wand could be bigger - people with large hands might find it awkward to use.

The screen is not extremely bright, but bright enough - no complaints. Battery life is very good, I haven't charged mine in 3 weeks and have used it a little bit every day.

My main complaint would be the lack of cradle, but I paid $140 for mine at CDW, so for the price it's no big deal - I can always buy one later.