Customer Reviews

Sony Clie PEG-TJ37/U Handheld

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The time had come to replace my aging Palm IIIe. My immediate instinct was to replace it with a Palm Zire 71 or 72. But, after reading some not so favorable reviews of Palm's spotty quality these days I decide to broaden my search. I looked at the Clie TJ27 & TJ37 as well as iPaq's and the Toshiba Pocket PC. Though I liked the way the PocketPC's sounded on paper, a few trips to the store demo'ing them cured me. I know some people swear by PocketPC , but it seems too awkward to me.

So, I was back down to the Zire 72 or the Clie. I decided on the Clie TJ37 because of the built-in WiFi, which is more useful to me than the Bluetooth on the Zire. I have been very happy with the PDA. Here's my Pros/Cons list:

Pros:
1. Great screen, very sharp and nice colors.
2. Super fast when running 3rd party apps.
3. Decent battery. When using under normal PDA use I get about 1 week per charge. Note that using the WiFi drains the battery within about 2.5-3 hours.
4. WiFi! It's great to be able to send/receive email and do a little surfing. Email is definetly more usable than surfing, simply because of screen real estate.
5. The camera is really quite good. It is LOW RES, so it's not suitable for print quality (even little 4x6). However, it's perfect for taking shots that you are going to email or put on the web. And with the WiFi capability you can snap a photo and send it from the PDA. Very handy if you happen to work on the road a lot. The ergonmics of the camera are quite good, much nicer than the Palm models.
5. The built-in software, Picsel, is quite good. It reads a variety of documents, PDF, Image files, HTML, etc. from your memory stick. I like the rest of the bundled software too, DataViz's Docs to Go is essential and it's good that they included it.

Cons:
1. The stylus is just to small. Sony obviously had to make it a telescoping stylus to fit the camera, I just wish it was fatter.

2. For $300 it would be nice to have a case. The cover is good, but a carrying case is necessary.

That's my 2 cents.

I was looking for a PDA running Palm OS, WI-FI enabled, and had a built-in camera. The camera wasn't a requirement, but sounded like a neat idea. I settled on the Sony TJ-37, and I haven't been disappointed. Setup was a breeze. All Sony Cliè software is included in ROM, so it doesn't take up precious RAM memory. I liked the applications CD as I got to choose which apps I wanted to install. After installing the included IntelliSync Lite software on my PC, HotSyncing with Outlook was easy. I upgraded the included Documents-To-Go to the Premium version for the extra features, and purchased SnapperMail Premier edition. Now I quite literally have my office in my pocket! The included USB HotSync cable and AC charging cable are a bit awkward, but understandable since they crammed so many features into this PDA. They had to do something to keep the price down. I can't say much about the application buttons as I select all the apps on-screen, but the scroll bar seems to work nicely. The camera is nice for attaching pictures to e-mail, and works great in a pinch, but I wouldn't use it for family photos or anything you may want to enlarge. The included cover is okay, but not the greatest. But that's not a problem, because Sony sent me a FREE leather case with my new Cliè. The case is very nice and protects the PDA from all sides. Except for the HotSync and Charging cables, I am extremely pleased with the Cliè TJ-37. You can't find a WI-FI enabled PDA for a lower price anyware.

Internet: The included browser does support cookies and java scripts. It can view most pages. However, if you try to view frames, it gives you a lot of troubles. Also, it didn't come with an email client that you can download emails from your pda, but you can search one for free on the internet and install it. Due to overloaded surfing last night, I have to hard reset my Clie! Required a memory stick if you try to download other files from the internet.

Battery: Battery life is very short, if you continue to surf the internet with this Clie, It's not going to last more than 2hours, maybe less. And Sony stated that the battery can last 10 days. Also, the battery is not removable.

MP3 Player: You need to buy a memory stick in order to use the MP3 player. The build in speaker is very good, better than excepted.

Software: The software included in this Clie is great, you also going to get a free copy of the software "Documents ToGo", which is like having MS Office on your PDA.

Screen: The color is very good, if you have a high quality picture, you can see it VERY clearly on your screen. If you try to see the screen under sunlight/light directly, it's so bad that it's almost unreadable.

Clie Stylus: Very short, light, only fit a child's hand. Sony designed this Clie for Japanese only? They forgot about the Americans.

Voice Recorder: No voice recorder, no microphone, but all MS Pocket PC PDAs have voice recorders.

Cover: You Clie are going to be open like a book, because this Clie come with a cover, is not same as the pictures shown on amazon.com. This is excellent, because you don't need to buy a case.

Overall, this Clie is COOL! High Quality, Stylish Design, Nice Cover.

I bought this pda to replace an clie sj-20, which I liked quite a bit.

I bought it primarily for the wireless connection, since I have access to wireless and home and work. Rather than run off to my computer to check email, I hoped to be able to pull out the pda, check email, and sync later.

So far my plan is working very well. As others have noted, the wireless connection settings are very easy. Setup of software was also easy. Unlike another reviewer, I like installing components one by one to avoid having things I don't want.

Palm OS v5.0 is somewhat of an improvement, although it isn't clear to me exactly what is palm and what is Sony. I do like the 'desktop,' which seems vaguely MacOS X-like.

I very much like that the TJ37 works with previous clie peripherals - I have a terrific fold up keyboard that is a marvel of engineering (the newer stowaway) which works much better with the 200mhz processor of the TJ37 than the 33mhz in the sj20.

And as others have noted, the camera is a great addition. Used closeup and without zoom the camera takes very serviceable pictures. And they are quick, without the annoying lag we experience no our 4megapixel Canon. Since I always have my palm with me, I'm taking many more pictures of the kids etc.

A couple of notes:
The TJ37 comes with a cover that opens like a book. It is the same material (which defies description) as my sj20. It opens like a book, I'm assuming, to facilitate the use of the camera. The sj20 has a flip up cover, which is more convenient. The TJ55 has a translucent plastic cover, which looks a lot better.

The version of intellisync included has less functionality than the version that came with my sj20, so I uninstalled the latest and reinstalled the sj20 one. In particular, the new version does not allow you to set date parameters for calendar sync...an annoyance.

The size of the stylus does not bother me in the least.

Netfront web browser is quite good.

I bought it for wireless and the unit really delivers. Highly recommend at this price point.

The Sony Clié PEG-TJ37 is the perfect combination of Style, Functionality and Price. The silver finish is very cool and distinctive. The Clié Stylus is retractable and made out of Metal, not cheap plastic. The navigation buttons are very simple and the Clíe Application Launcher (Sony's Display Format, similar to Windows CE) is quite simple to use and very original too.

It comes with the Documents To Go from Dataviz Application (You have to register your Clié to Download it first, but it's a simple process), which allows you to edit Word and Excel Documents, as well as viewing Powerpoint applications. The Camera is very good, I previosly owned a Palm Zire 71 and I have to say resolution is better with the Clié. The only downside is the lack of a Flash. Under low light conditions you get zero, nada... The MP3 player application is OK, although I prefer the Real Player application that comes with Palm Products than the AeroPlayer App that comes with your Clié. Overall it has improved Memo Pad (Clié Memo is something like a pocket paint), Adress (you can include pictures), and its comes with other handy apps like Contacts Pro, Agendus and the usual Date Book and To Do List which remain virtually unchanged. The Picsel Viewer technology is very nice, but you need a memory stick in order to use it (it allos you to see Word documents, PDF Documents, JPEG Images, Excel Worksheets and many other formats). Kinoma Player Version 2 is OK, I don't see too many changes from the first version. The Audible Player allows you to download audio like interviews, news, etc. The Presenter-To-Go application is a very neat idea, but its basically a tease for you to buy the Module which allows you to present Powerpoint Presentations directly from your Clié to a Data Show Screen Projector using a special Cable/ Software.

Internet and Mail apps are great, specially when using the IEEE 802.11b port which is similar to the Centrino Chip used by Intel. It allows you to connect wireless to the Internet so you can check mail, do some surfing, etc. Very handy, but it only works where public access points are available and they come with a charge, depending on the provider. Biggest problem is that it sucks battery life dry in just a couple of hours.

The only major complaint I have with this product, for which I didn't award it five stars, is that like all Sony Products, they force you to buy additional hardware like a Memory Stick if you want to listen to MP3, or if youn want to transfer pictures from your Clié to your Laptop or Desktop. I recommend you go for the Memory Stick Pro expansion card (256 will do, 512 is optimum). Finally, it does not come with a docking station / cradle, but just a simple USB connector that looks rather cheap. You have to buy the Docking Station separately.(standard with all Palms).

Overall its a very good product, just remember to buy a Memory Stick, Docking Station/ Cradle, and remember always to bring your Power Source with you cause Life Battery isn't exactly great. One last thing, try buying a solid Carrying Case if you want to avoid scratching your new toy...

I have owned a Sony Clie T615, TG50, and now recently purchased the new TJ37. I can honestly say that the TJ37 is the best of the three models. It has most of what I need in a PDA, and is a small, light form factor that most people will find enjoyable and useful.
Measuring just 4.5 x 3 x just over half an inch thick, the TJ37 is only 5 ounces and fits nicely in your pocket. The built-in camera is well-designed and perfect for catching a photo of the occasional flying saucer or moose wandering in the road.
More memory, nice software and oh yeah, wireless Internet and email rounds out the list of features. It doesn't come with a cradle, but the charger cable and connector are identical to the one used on the TG50.
No need for a built in keyboard, as Sony has included an updated handwriting program for entering data. A portable keyboard is a viable option, or just HotSync with your computer on a regular basis.
I wish the Clie still had a "back" button and a voice recorder, and that's the only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars.

I purchased the Sony Clie PEG -TJ37 because it had the features I was looking for at a reasonable price. I did't want to learn a new operating system. The unit worked perfect for the first six months. I did experince some problems with the built-in software but was able to upload patches to fix the wireless connectivity problems. The camera was excellent. Being able to take digital pictures and then send them via the internet wirelessly was such a comfort. I never used the mp3 player. All other funtions as for as hot sync's of software was a snap. The problems I had were due tothe flimsy cover to protect the screen. It lost one of the rubber hinges and didn't offer much protection. I purchased the 2 year extended warranty from Sony. That also was a big mistake. My unit would not cut off and the screen was cracked due to an accidental drop. The warranty was to have covered this, but I found out later that it didn't cover the cracked screen. I am very hesitant about buying another PDA from Sony for this reason. I will never pay for an extended warranty again. I have been asked to pay 147.00 to repair the unit even after purchasing the extended coverage which i refuse to pay. Hopefully I can find another unit and if I do pay for any insurance I wll make sure that what is told me by the salesman is also written and underlined in the contract before buying.

I purchased the PEG-TJ37 because it had an excellent suite of features. I was disapointed to find out that some of those features didn't work unless you threw down another 100 bucks for a reasonably sized memory stick. I was happy with the WiFi feature, which was the main reason i got it. I also thought the camera was great. Many people thought of it as a gimmicky extra feature, but it works better than any cell phone camera that i had used, and it seems more fitting for a pda to have a camera. It was especially useful for capturing signs or pages in books at the library, and i could see potential for it in a lab environment to get quick snapshots of results. Sony could have done more to legitimize it's integration into a pda, like including optical character recognition software to allow you
to take pix of text and incorporate it into memos.

My disillusionment with this product began with the poor battery life. That coupled with the switches tendency to be turned on in my pocket was a disaster. I went for a run of losing data everyday due to the battery being completely drained. Luckily
i did go ahead and purchase a memory stick so i was able to back up the clie and restore the data from anywhere, once i managed to get it charged.

Within a month of owning the clie i noticed a screw was missing,
now at 4 months all but one have fallen out.

3 months after i got it, the camera button stopped working.

at 4 months the digitizer on the screen broke while it was in my pocket.

This made the device useless so i called customer service to get it fixed. I was given the same run around as others on this sight, "the screen isn't covered no matter how gentle you were
with it, pay us $140 and we'll fix it." That is more than half of it's current value.

You know, I could have looked up the warranty before i purchased
this product and seen that screens weren't covered. I probably would have purchased it anyway, not knowing just how darn fragile
the clie was. Maybe I was naive to think that Sony would make a quality product and that if they messed up they would stand behind the product anyway. But they made a poor product and have failed to stand behind it. This is my third pda and the first that essentially fell apart. My first was a Palm m100 which i replaced because i needed something better, but it stood up to 3 years of use and still works. My second was a Visor pro, which also proved to be very durable, lasting about 2 1/2 years before the buttons started to malfunction. And now here i am 4 months after purchasing the most expensive of my pda's and it's a paper weight.

My husband used to support the Microsoft Pocket PC products and they were buggy as heck. As part of his job he got them free. After all the aggrivation he had with his, he spent the money on his TJ37 and loves it.
His HP product had to be hard reset every two weeks. He had several MS approved apps on the Pocket PC that had to be reinstalled, a 30-40 minute ordeal. A hard reset on a Pocket PC is similar to reformatting your hard drive. Hard resets also caused him to run out of validations on his ebooks. Contrast that to the TJ37. He's never had to do a hard or soft reset on the Clie. Like a Timex watch, it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin. He did try a hard reset on the Clie once, but everything returned when he synchronized the newly reset Clie with the PC.
My husband's associates at his firm asked advise on which palm device to purchase. He enthustically recommended the Clie, but his associates purchased Compaq's at 50% off. Consequently, they're having to perform hard resets, the alarms quit working, etc., yet my husband's Clie just keeps plugging along.

You may have read some of the other reviews here some criticizing this product. But face it, if you got a really good sony clie would you come back and review it? Well most people say no. But some people say yes. So only a small percentage of owners of sonly clie of people actually dont like this product. THIS PRODUCT TRULY IS THE BEST IF YOU KNOW HOW TO CARE FOR IT!!!

Here are some key problems that are being complained about:

Short battery
Delicate screen
Small stylus
Digitizer problems

Here are solutions to all of them (it may cost up to $40 though):

Short battery ~ If your palm has a short battery, dont think this is just a design problem. Your palm IS defected if you have batter drainage while the unit is off or short battery time.

Delicate screen ~ Buy a case, it always works. (unless you drop it from 30 feet) The case also lets you fix the next problem:

Small stylus ~ Use an old stylus or something and stick it in your case pocket. Now you have another stylus. (Hopefully a better one.)

Digitizer problem ~ Same as Delicate screen... GET A GOOD CASE. One that fits your style but is also protective.

Thanks amazon.com for letting me explain how to fix these various problems.