[TT Esq]

My father-in-law (not really computer literate, but has a Mac) just got a shiny new Sony Clie under his Christmas tree. It is the B&W model.

He's running OS-X and Entourage.

Now, setting aside that Palm users can't sync with OS-X, and taking Palm at their word that their "working on it," should he trade-in the Clie and get a Palm, or stick with the Clie?

The Sony Clie all but states that it's not really compatible with the Mac, and I've been told that the Clie CD doesn't even contain that Mac software that the Palm CD does. So does the incompatability of the Clie go deeper than that?

From reading about the Clie, it appears as if it is kind of a Palm+extras system, where it is based on Palm 4.0, but there are other things that are not Palm, such as the memory stick reader, video clips, and so forth. So will he never get full functionality of the Clie if he sticks with it?

It is my understanding that he will be able to sync and everything just like a Palm with no loss of functionality, but I guess my question boils down to if there is Sony-specific stuff that he'll never be able to use.

If there are any Clie, or both Palm and Clie, users out there, I would appreciate any input on the subject before it's too late to take it back.

Thanks!

[scaught]

well. you need to purchase some 3rd party software called "the missing sync" available here. as far as how good it works and whatnot, i havent read anything. its 30 bucks.

depending on what his handheld needs are, he might look into a handspring device. mac compatible out of the box.

[TT Esq]

Wow -- thanks so much. That's actually quite cool -- you can then use your Clie as a memory stick "drive."

No word on OS-X yet, though. . .so it's still unclear if he'll get those features in OS-X.

Thanks again.

[Hi I'm Ben]

I'd get a palm, i hate handspring, big boxy crap, or you can spend a lot and get their "thin" model which is basically a m500, if you want to add the expansion model of their thin model though it now becomes just as large as a normal handspring.. plus i have yet to find a module that is worth buying... from what i've seen and heard
the GPS is bad
the Camera is terrible
that phone is ridiculous
and MAYBE the mp3 one is worth it, i havn't seen it, but i'm willing to bet it's over priced... i know there is more modules but they're dumb.

[iBorg]

I've had 3 separate Palms in the past, most recently the Palm Vx, and have been fairly happy with them, except for the terrible screen brightness and resolution on all of them. Last week, I decided to upgrade to the Palm 505, to get the color screen, with "higher resolution." What a joke! The colors are barely there, the resolution is minimally better than my 2-year old Vx, and using backlighting is hardly worth the effort - worthless unless you're in total darkness!

I tried the Handspring and Handera units, and was similarly unimpressed. My last trial was the Sony Clie N760C - {b]holy crap!!![/b] Although a little more pricey ($499 - got it from Best Buy for $423, with a free 32 MB memory stick by rebate!), this thing has everything I wanted! All the features of the Palms, with a kick-ass sharp, high resolution screen (twice the pixels of Palm's screen of the same size), vibrant colors, a thumb-scroll wheel, memory sticks for huge memory increases and loading of MP3's, which can be played on the Clie with included earphones!

This thing definitely leaves Palm, Handspring and Handera in the dust! I've been using it for a week, and have loved every minute of it!

2 ways to Hotsync with Mac: 1) buy "Missing Sync" for $30 (reportedly works great!), or 2) if you've already synced another Palm OS unit to your Mac, simply sync the Clie to it with the same user name (that's what I did - no problems at all!)

It's all a personal taste matter - but I'd advise anyone looking to upgrade their PDA to look at the Clie line (the rest are all much cheaper than the N760C) before buying!



iBorg

[crystalthunder]

Yes. The color Clie line is simply breathtaking. You have to see it to believe it.