Customer Reviews

Sony Clie PEG-SJ22 Handheld

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've had the SJ-22 for about two weeks now. (It's probably my fourth or fifth PDA, I don't even remember at this point.) I normally prefer the old Palm III form factor, but the SJ-22's smaller size works fine. It's still a pretty "normal" thickness, so it's comfortable to hold even despite it's diminutive appearance. It feels very solid and well built too, and actually feels better than any metal PDA I've used (including Sony's high-end PDAs).

The buttons and controls on it are well designed (even the odd choice of an up/down rocker that's harder to press up than down works fine). The screen's excellent, for any price point really, let alone the price Sony's charging for this thing. It's significantly better than Palm's Tungsten T or M515, though maybe not quite as good as the Zire 71 or Sony's NX line. When inserted, Memory Sticks are flush with the casing, so they can be left in the unit all the time. I would have liked a slightly easier to press power button-but that's a minor complaint. Even the included leather flip cover does its job better than I expected. It also includes Sony's standard metal stylus. It's a bit too thin, as all Sony stylus' are, but I appreciate that it's metal. Many significantly more expensive PDAs include plastic stylus, which really don't feel as good to use. I don't find the job dial and back button particularly useful, but they're well designed, unlike the PocketPC PDAs that include them (the jog dial actually rotates completely around, it doesn't just tilt up and down).

The SJ-22 also uses Graffiti. REAL Graffiti, not "Graffiti 2/JOT" that the PalmOS 5.2 devices are using. For me that's a big deal, as I can't stand JOT (to the point where I may never buy a PDA that only uses it).

While it has "only" the same 33-mhz Dragonball processor that's been in PalmOS PDAs for years, it actually feels and benchmarks faster than any other 33-mhz Palm I've used...meaning it's very fast. For the heck of it, I tried playing some movie trailers I created in the Kinoma video format, and was surprised to find that the SJ-22 actually plays 30fps full screen video extremely well (looks almost identical to the faster ARM based PDAs). If this had more advanced sound instead of the standard old PalmOS speaker, it would actually be very good at multimedia (without more advanced sound, video is more of a curiosity than anything else). Obviously the included 16MB goes far on a PalmOS device, especially when many programs and documents can be stuck on a memory stick. Unsurprisingly (since it's a Palm), I haven't had a single crash or any strange behavior since I've started using it. I'm sure there's SOME weird piece of software out there that doesn't agree with it, but the dozens of programs I've been using for years work great.

One small complaint is that the SJ-22 doesn't seem to do that great of a job displaying photos from a memory stick taken from a Sony digital camera. It seems to `cheat' when displaying them and cut out a lot of detail-something Sony's higher-end NX line doesn't do. Importing pictures from a computer to the SJ-22 using Sony's Picture Gear software DOES use the screen to its full potential (which is really quite amazing looking), but it would have been nice to get the same quality when viewing pictures directly out of a Sony camera, as the SJ-22 has a larger screen than most cameras.

Battery life seems to be excellent. I leave my PDAs plugged in to my computer while at work, so I rarely go more than a day or two before recharging. That said, even with fairly heavy use I don't think I've seen the battery indicator drop below 100%. A Tungsten T I tried seemed to blow through the battery when just browsing through a To-Do list for a few minutes. The battery compartment is user accesable. I don't think Sony has any official replacement for the battery (the compartment was designed to be opened so that the battery can be recycled), but it may be possible to use a third party battery when it dies in a few years.

The only `issue' with the SJ-22 is that, as has been mentioned by others, Sony cut corners with what comes packaged with it. No cradle (a $30 extra), although the included cable works fine, so it's not a big loss (it just means one has to manually click "hotsync" from the hotsync app rather than hitting a button on the cradle). It also lacks software to sync with Mac OS, or Outlook, and lacks an Office type program (though all are available separately if desired). I don't feel remotely cheated though-the SJ-22 is a great piece of hardware, and is worth the price just for the hardware even without many included extras.

One last note-I was hesitant to buy the SJ-22 because for some reason every store display model I tried seemed to have inaccurate Graffiti. Letters just seem to come out semi-randomly for me. So far, after two weeks of use I've had no problems at all with my unit. It might just be that the graffiti area is a bit smaller than on most PalmOS PDAs, and I just wasn't used to it.

The SJ-22's price is cheap, and they cut some corners on the software bundle, but they didn't cut corners on the hardware. The hardware's actually a great design, and in many cases preferable to or competitive with PDAs three times it's price (aside from the lack of much media support). Well worth considering if you don't care about playing videos/listening to music, or if you just want a good price on a good PDA.

This is a great little unit that provides all the basics of a PDA. You really can't beat it for the price and value. However, if you are looking for something beyond basic schedule, contact, and to-do list management, look elsewhere. It does not have wi-fi, and other bells and whistles require the purchase of additional hardware. (MP3 playback, for example)

However, you do get what you pay for. The unit does not come with a hard copy of the basic instruction manual, which is available only in PDF format. It also does NOT come with Intellisync software, which is necessary to sync to Outlook. There have been conflicting comments about that posted to this review site, and I wish to clarify as a recent purchaser (Oct 2003) of this product what the situation is. ONLY purchasers who bought certain units within a serial number range were eligible to download the Intellisync software. Sony only did this because references to Intellisync were made during the software install, and when users discovered that the CD did not contain it, Sony made it available for download. This snafu was corrected in units shipped after a certain date. So if you bought one recently (like I did) you were not eligible for Intellisync. Thus, if you are an Outlook user like I am, you will have to shell out the 50-70 bucks extra to buy software such as Intellisync or PocketMirror. If this is important to you, you should consider that in the overall cost of the unit.

As an experienced PDA user, I didn't really need printed or "Advanced" instructions (by the way, you need to pay for "advanced" instructions). However, I could see that this situation could be very frustrating for a first-time user of a PDA. Given the low price point of this model, it is obvious where Sony decided to cut costs. All of this is really fine, however, if the lack of printed instructions and Intellisync doesn't bother you. For the money and basic functionality it provides, it is a fine unit.

The major pro's are,
1. Average price and still good build quality.
2. Looks good, small size, light weight and a very nice flip cover included.
3. Jog dial, 15MB RAM and memory stick expansion slot.
4. HiRes color display and very good backlight.
5. 7 hrs of battery life on a single charge with backlight on all the time.
6. Runs Palm OS 4 which has zillion free apps available and is very easy to use unlike Windows based PDA's.

Con's,
1. The color LCD isn't put to much use in Palm OS 4.
2. No other fun stuff like mp3.
3. Uses a Lithium Ion battery and Sony sells no replacements for it. Might be an issue in 18 months time.
4. No documents-to-go like in previous SJ's.
5. Soon to be discontinued and replaced by a newer model by Sony.

In short if you can wait for till Sept/Oct a lot many new PDA's should come out with Palm OS 5 and better features at same price point. SJ20 is better option since its below hundred after rebate now and there's harldy any difference between SJ20 & SJ22.

I just got my SJ22 this weekend and so far I really like it. The screen is fantastic - better than my husband's Toshiba Pocket PC, which cost more than my Clie. Its really small (fits very nicely into a woman's purse) and with the addition of the memory stick feature, I don't have to worry about running out of space if I load a bunch of software. I was told that I can get a cable to connect it to my cellphone to do web browsing, but I haven't tried that yet. I also sync with Outlook and haven't had any problems. However, I already had a Handspring Visor setup, so the installation process was simplified (I'm using Chapura to sync with Outlook, which is what came with my Handspring). My only concern is the possibility of losing the memory card. There's no lock - you just press the card to release it. I'd recommend getting a case the fully encases the PDA to guard against bumping the memory card and losing it.

I upgraded from a Palm IIIc to the Sony Clie PEG-SJ22.
Some of the reviews I read worried me because they said extra software is needed in order to sync with Microsoft Outlook. What they didn't say is that everything you really need is on the cd-rom that comes with the pda.
The palm IIIc was not compatible with my updated computer so I was forced to update my pda. I was bummed because my palm pilot was great, but the Clie is even greater. It syncs much faster, there are great games (in color) included in the package, it is smaller, lighter and very easy to use.
Overall, I am VERY happy.

I've used Palm PDA's since the mid 1990's. Previously I owned a PalmPilotProfessional (good until screen eventually cracked, and started turning all black), then a PalmIII (again, good for a year or 2, until screen cracked, started turning all black, and batteries kept falling out), then a Handspring Visor Neo (OK but cheaply made, flimsy, lousy backlight, sometimes would miss stylus input, until screen cracked and wouldn't take any stylus input anymore), then a Handspring Visor Edge (worked for 3 weeks, but then shorted out or something, would drain new batteries in an hour).

I do like the PalmOS, and had gotten reasonably proficient with Graffiti input, and had lots of stuff (years' worth of addresses etc.) in my Palm backups (I keep good frequent paranoid backups so I didn't lose anything when any particular device died).

I also have a couple of Handspring Springboard modules (backup, and the sound synthesizer BeatPlus) so I had been trying to stick with Handspring Visors, but their devices are just so flimsy, I finally gave up on them....

So, after the latest device died (the Visor Edge which shorted out), for my next PalmOS device, I decided to give up on Handspring and Palm for the hardware, and try Sony instead.

So far it's been working well. For the price, it is amazing, compared to older devices (more memory, hi-res color, 320x320 instead of 160x160 pixel screen, etc., for less than I paid for some of my older Palm's and Handspring Visor's). This is my first color PDA. All the old applications appear to work fine, and some new color ones are pretty neat.

It's also my first rechargeable Lithium battery instead of disposable AAA's. As someone pointed out in other reviews, the first couple of days, the Li battery runs down quickly, but then after a few charges, it starts to last longer and longer. I guess that's sort of the opposite of NiCad rechargeables, with their "memory" problem of not fully recharging, etc.

So: This is a good buy. PalmOS devices are great in general, especially if you take the time to learn Graffiti. Color works well on this PalmOS device, especially with 320x320 pixels. Sony is good at engineering various little details of their devices, compared to Palm and Handspring. And the SJ-22 is a good buy, for the price.

My Clie is the first PDA I've owned, and I've had it for about 2 months now (I bought it on eBay for a nice, cheap price after using Amazon's rating system to decide which PDA I wanted). It was definitely a good purchase, especially if you're looking for basic PDA use. I keep track of everything in it, and have been much more productive as a result.

It is easy to use, and the screen is clear. Battery life seems to be pretty decent, especially when the backlight is not turned up too high. Even on low backlighting the screen is easy to see.

I have downloaded a few programs to it, as well as some books/Bibles. Once you figure out the downloading system, everything flows together pretty smoothly.

I bought a keyboard to go with it. That didn't turn out too well. Amazon matched the wrong keyboard to this Clie, so be careful when buying a keyboard. Make sure that the model you're buying (even if it says "for Sony Clie") actually matches the Clie you have. Amazon doesn't always match things correctly. But I'll be buying another one, which will be useful when I go to graduate school this fall.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this product. I've had to do a couple of hard resets, but I didn't lose anything at all. I don't know whether that's just "beginner's luck" or what. Anyway, this Clie has become my brain. I know where to be and when because of this thing, and I love my brain.

This is my first PDA (so I can't really compare it to others). I do love it. I can do much more with it than I ever expected. Because the screen's resolution is phenomenal, reading on it is a lot easier on the eyes than I thought (if you can get used to the small screen size which allows about a paragraph at a time) - so it's become primarily an e-book for me - which I hadn't expected. I've downloaded tons of large books (from Gutenberg primarily and Memoware partly)and signed up for Avantgo where I get my news. I spend a lot more time than I imagined reading my clie - which is delightful.

(To turn it into a little library, I bought a 128 MB memory stick for ... here at Amazon - that was worth it since when I started downloading books I blew through the 16 MB internal memory quickly. The 128 MB is more than enough. I've only filled 30 MB of it so far. I downloaded a number of doc readers but use mainly Plucker, Avantgo and Weasel now).

In retrospect, though I'm not sure I'd buy the Clie again. Since I was a novice I didn't know what to look for and after I bought it I found I couldn't do some things which other PDA's I think would allow me to:

1. There's no headphone jack for sound. 'Nuff said.

2. If I had bought one of the Pocket PCs I could have hooked it up to my wireless LAN at home - that was a supremely dumb move but it didn't occur to me that I could hook up the two.

3. Add-ons for the Clie are also just plain more expensive - the memory sticks, keyboard, etc. cost more than add-ons for pocket pcs or palms.

4. Other Clie models have Documents to Go - which I really need but costs another ....

5. Beaming - now here I really don't know how this compares to other PDAs - but in order to beam something to another Palm they have to be literally 6 inches apart and be exactly lined up. It's a pain.

6. Battery life is used up pretty quickly - and I've learned not only to turn the brightness down to the minimum or even use no backlight (if possible - which is rarely). It absolutely positively must be recharged nightly - on the upside it recharges in a VERY short time.

7. The memory stick is a lifesaver but using it a lot is a battery hog as much as a bright screen is. Also some programs seem to go horribly slowly when accessing the memory stick and others seem to have no problem - I haven't figured out why.

8. There are other little glitches - *almost* all Palm software works fine with the HiRes screen - but a few can't tolerate it and crash the system. This is the least of my quibbles though - since it's a relative rarity.

As has been said repeatedly - whoever is responsible for the documentation (or lack thereof) on this model - should be fired. I spent way too much time trying to figure out how the thing worked.

I know after all that complaining it seems contradictory that I love my Clie, but I do - the screen is so beautiful - and it can do so many things I hadn't expected that I'm very happy with it. I didn't look closely enough at other PDA's but if their screens didn't measure up I probably WOULD buy a Clie again - since that really is the key feature for me.

I wish I'd read all of the reviews before buying this model. Even though the screen is very nice and the memory is enough for almost all applications, Intellisync Lite is no longer included, nor is Documents 2 Go. These are deal breakers for many people who need to perform syncing with their Outlook Calendar or to work with Office documents/spreadsheets.

Without Intellisync, you will be able to sync with Outlook for mail only. The main reason I need the PDA is for my calendar and the SJ22 wouldn't sync for this part of Outlook. It's inconceivable to me and my IT friends that this program is no longer included. So buyer beware on this point.

They are more up-front about Docs 2 Go not being included. While not essential (and there are other, better programs available), this software (as is Intellisync lite) does come with the SJ20 model (the B&W version).

I guess to meet this price point, some software had to be sacrificed. I just wish some of the less essential software was "missing" instead. I suggest looking at the SJ30 instead, or the SJ20 if you don't need/want color.

Wish it had OS 5 so I could do MP3, but that asside, I have had my SJ22 for over a year and it's wonderful; not a missed beat!! From planning times and fuel for a flight to business, to downloading web stuff from free Avantgo.com, to playing Bridge and Chess, to keeping student records. I love this thing!!!!!!! Battery has great endurance.
My girl friend bought it for $100 after rebate...she thought it wasn't very good but all she could afford....wow, what a find!!!!
I had a Palm 120 and hated it!!!!