Sony CLIE PEG-NR70 Handheld

Other products by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [3.86mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 2.8 x 0.7 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006484G
• Item model number: PEG-NR70
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,495 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 27, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Powerful multimedia and productivity wrapped in an attractive body, the Palm-powered Sony Clié PEG-NR70 offers great organizational tools, an MP3 audio player, and a built-in keyboard. You also get exclusive Sony features like the Memory Stick media expansion slot and Remote Commander software.

The unique design of the PEG-NR70 enables the screen to flip and rotate (180 degrees) to allow optimum use of the built-in QWERTY keyboard. It features 16 MB DRAM memory, a fast 66 MHz DragonBall processor, a TFT color display with support for over 65,000 colors, and a lithium-ion rechargeable battery.

With the proven, reliable Palm operating system, the Sony Clié PEG-NR70 comes complete with all the standard Palm OS applications you need for organizing your life. It comes with Date Book, To Do List, Memo Pad, Mail, and Expense tools, and the Sony-enhanced Address Book that enables you to add photos to your contacts listings. It also comes with a wide range of entertainment and productivity applications, including Documents to Go for viewing and editing Word and Excel files. Plus, the Clié is fully compatible with thousands of Palm OS add-on applications available for download.

Connect to your PC and synchronize your contacts and date book using the included USB cradle. You can also beam information to other Palm OS handheld owners using the IrDA infrared port.

The Sony Clié PEG-NR70 comes with a number of exclusive Sony features. You'll get virtually unlimited data storage with Sony's Memory Stick removable media. Transfer digital content between your Clié handheld and other Memory Stick-compatible products, including digital cameras, digital camcorders, and PCs. You can also use the PEG-NR70 as a remote control for audio and video components using its enhanced infrared port and Clié Remote Commander software.

Listen to your favorite music with the built-in audio player. Simply load MP3 audio files onto Memory Stick media and take your newest albums with you anywhere. You can also watch video clips on the high-resolution 320 x 320 reflective color LCD screen.

The Sony Clié is compatible with Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SE, 2000 Professional, Me, and XP, and connects to your PC using the USB port. It comes with a USB HotSync cradle (which also charges the lithium-polymer battery), detachable AC adapter, and a stylus.

What's in the box

• Clie handheld
• Headphones
• Audio remote controller
• USB HotSync cradle
• AC adapter
• Stylus
• Sony CLII installation CD-ROM
• Read This First
• Add-on application guide
• Graffiti sticker
• EULA/Limited warranty statement

Product Description

If you're like most people, your life is filled with appointments, social engagements & meetings. Keeping track of it all can be tough. Until Sony created the Clie, that is. From a Palm OS 4.1 & 8MB built-in memory to Calendar, Appointment & To-Do List functions, this is one sharp organizer. But it doesn't stop there. It also includes great entertainment & expansion features, like a Memory Stick expansion slot, a built-in MP3 player & a video player. Who says life has to be all work and no play?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, May 12, 2002

By	magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I'm not really a gadget person, but I'm a big fan of PDA's because they really are so useful. I've had a Palm Vx, IIIc, and a Compaq iPAQ, all of which I've been very fond of and have been absolutely essential in keeping me organized.

I currently own a Sony Peg-T615C, and if I hadn't purchased it recently I would buy this one right now. I just got back from CompUSA where I gave it a test drive, and I just have to say "Wow!" This is really one cool PDA.

The flip-open clamshell design with the integral keyboard and the rotating screen has been nicely executed. If you want, the whole screen turns over 180 degrees and then you can close it and then hold it just like a normal Palm Pilot, if you don't want to hold it in "clamshell" style.

One concern I had was resolved right away. The keyboard looked sort of cheesy from the advertising photos, because it looked like one of those membrane-types that don't have very good tactile qualities, but the buttons are slightly raised and have enough spring to them so that they actually have quite a nice, solid feel. Although I'll probably stick to the Graffiti handwriting, the keyboard works quite well. The only other PDA on the market with an integral keyboard that I know of is the Zaurus, running an embedded version of Linux. Although I was impressed with it, it's more of a Pocket PC and doesn't run the Palm apps. Actually, it won't run the Pocket PC apps either because of the Linus operating system. But it's still an impressive offering in its area.

But getting back to the Sony, another thing you'll notice that's different is the Graffiti area is virtual, like the Pocket PCs, and is more evenly vertically divided between the letters and numbers areas. Also, it's noticeably taller, which increases the overall height of the PDA compared to the PegT615C, but I'm sure I'd get used to this pretty quickly. However, it does increase the height making it noticeably bigger than the Peg-T615C, but it's okay.

One thing to consider is that since the NR70 can use the whole screen, they're going to have to develop new apps that take advantage of this. The native apps, the Memopad, Todo list, and so on, probably do, but I couldn't figure out how to cancel the virtual Graffiti area to test this. Anyway, Sony says it has 4000 developers signed up to create programs for their PDAs so I'm sure there will be more apps making full use of the screen soon, not to mention the greater resolution of the Sony color screens, which are 320 x 320 instead of 160 x 160, and in the case of the NR70, 320 x 480.

The program availability problem aside, all in all I think this is a great unit. In fact, I'd give it 6 stars if I could.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Think Twice Before You Buy, October 4, 2002

By	Tom Tomato (Riverside, CA, United States) - See all my reviews

This is a love-hate handheld. I've owned my NR70 for four months, and would advise someone to think twice before buying one of these machines.

First the plus side. This is the best looking handheld device I've seen. It's as much of a piece of art as a handheld gets these days. The case is a joy to hold, and the rotating screen doesn't get old after months of use - it's still a blast to spin it into position. The design also serves to protect the screen against scratches. Battery life is not too bad - better than I expected - and it recharges quickly. The 320x480 screen is outstanding when applications support the full resolution (unfortunately few do). With 320x320 apps, the virtual graffiti area and icons are extremely clear.

Now for the negatives. I returned my first two. NR70 Clie #1 had a dead pixel. I swapped it for #2, and upgraded to the NR70V with a camera. Two problems. The camera is very poor quality and I lost interest in it after five minutes of playing with it. The second problem is that the screen brightness of my NR70V was less than that of the NR70. I could see this because my wife had also purchased a NR70 and in a side-by-side comparison, hers was brighter than the NR70V. In addition, when I went back to Circuit City, their NR70 on display was brighter than their NR70V. Not a big difference, but these are expensive machines and I like mine bright. So, I returned the NR70V and wound up with Clie #3. After 4 months of use, here are the downsides:

1) Reliability problems. My wife had to send her NR70 back to Sony for repair because it hosed her memory stick and the infrared wouldn't work. Sony told her these were "known problems" (well, why release the hardware if it has known problems?) She had a poor customer support experience - the packaging Sony mailed to return it for repair arrived several days after it was promised, and it took over two weeks to get her machine back. Sony doesn't really care that users depend on these machines for their jobs and has no program to rush a replacement unit to the user. It breaks, it's your tough luck. One piece of advice from Sony was, "why didn't you purchase an extended warranty from Circuit City." Well, why should I? These machines are expensive enough already! My own Clie has had intermittent problems reading the memory stick and now is unable to transmit wireless. It's not convenient for me to be without it for two weeks, however, so I'm going to try and live with it.

2) The "keyboard" is completely useless. I never have used it. The device should have been made smaller, or this space used for a more useful feature like wireless.

3) The up/down keys and the four buttons for the Palm OS applications are useless. The device feels unnatural in the hand when opened up clamshell style - you can't get a good balance holding it and using the buttons to play games. These buttons belong on the bottom of the screen. The problem is further compounded by the nonstandard configuration and ridiculously small sizes of the up/down buttons.

4) Not enough applications support 320x480. Only two applications that I use regularly do - AcidImage and Mobipocket reader. It is frustrating that more apps don't support this and that Sony did not rewrite the key Palm OS apps (datebook, etc) to support 320x480.

5) Not enough applications support the hires mode. Even the new release of Bejeweled 1.6 doesn't support hires. This is frustrating because once you see a hires app, you don't want to use anything that displays at 160x160. Ever.

6) Sony makes you install a Sony version of the Palm desktop on your PC. I expected that at least after having to uninstall my old Palm desktop and reinstall the Sony desktop, the new one would at least look better. But it is just as uninspired an interface as the standard Palm desktop - couldn't they have spiffed this up a bit?!

7) Too expensive. Price is coming down, but the original retail prices ...are greedily high for a Palm OS device.

8) Prepare to stock up on extra styluses because they don't stay in place too well and fall out of their slot on the side of the Clie.

9) Can't hear MP3's without headphones. Game sounds are loud, system sounds are loud, but MP3s are barely audible.

10) The hold button is easy to slide into the "on" position without knowing it. The first time I did this, it took me a few minutes of fiddling with the Clie to realize it wasn't broken after all. But it keeps happening.

11) The memory stick sometimes pops out of it's slot if the Clie is jostled around in a packpack or briefcase.

12) As noted, the camera in the NR70V is poor quality and not worth the extra price.

All in all, I do enjoy my Clie, but I'd never buy another one of these and I'm staying away from Sony next time around.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars great device...for a spell, July 23, 2002

By A Customer

with a laundry list of features and improvements, the sony nr70 is by far the most impressive palm os-based, if not all handheld os-based, devices.

unfortunately, there is a fatal flaw with the device that has seemed to have plagued many owners after 2-4 weeks of use. the memory stick connectors on the nr70 is loosely constructed which is exacerbated each time the device is used. by the 2nd-4th week, the device will no longer be able to detect the memory stick.

many forums and mailing lists have documented this problem and the only permanent solution is to open up the device, thereby voiding your warranty, and putting in material to compress the memory stick compartment to ensure contact with the memory stick...