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kansir · Sep 4, 2000, 08:19 AM

Sony's new PDA -- CLIE, is it better than Palm? The specification is like Palm Vx, but it is expensive, US$400. Will you waiting for it or buy it?

Sep 10, 2000, 12:30 PM

Dead idea for me.. no Mac support..
(This came directly from Sony' web page)

escher · Sep 10, 2000, 06:33 PM

Originally posted by GeneArch:
no Mac support..

I'm wondering if you could still sync via the infrared port on a Mac (IRDA).

Escher

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"The only laptop computer that's useful is the one you have with you."
We need a real computer that is truly portable!

kansir · Sep 11, 2000, 03:00 AM

Originally posted by GeneArch:
Dead idea for me.. no Mac support..
(This came directly from Sony' web page)

It's a Palm OS device, right?
If I can connect it into my iMac, then it can "hot-sync", right?
My iMac DV has pre-install Palm Desktop, I think it can connect to any Palm OS device !

seanyepez · Sep 19, 2000, 12:44 AM

I'm waiting until they release a color version of their unit. There's really no use for color right now, but since Sony has cool new features, I just might get it...

seanyepez · Sep 19, 2000, 12:45 AM

Sorry, the Sony CLIE doesn't work with the Mac. (As far as I know.)

Even though it HotSyncs via USB, there's probably not a driver out for it yet. I'm thinking it might work if you use IrDA, but then again, it probably won't work. I don't know if Sony uses its own Palm Desktop version...

Svenmagnus · Sep 26, 2000, 07:28 PM

I bought the Sony PDA and downloaded the Palm Software from Palm's site. Needless to say it didn't work. I doub't Sony will ever make it work w/ a mac.

MickS · Dec 16, 2000, 12:43 AM

There are Mac USB CLIE drivers available from the following URL: http://www.visavis.co.jp/shop/produc...03N14R81XFFB63

Unfortunately I don't read Japanese so am a bit reluctant to try and find my way through the site blind to spend some cash. If anyone could provide a translation I would be grateful.

A beta version of the drivers was available but it expired a couple of days ago. Until then it worked like a dream.

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Mick Sheppard

Powerbook G3 (firewire)

BrutoBlo · Dec 19, 2000, 04:57 AM

I've tried the CLIE, and it seemed much faster than the palmVX;
was it only the refresh of the screen?
can someone pliz do some little test?

(my palmV, not VX, has no space left, so I must raplace it w/ something like a VX, a CLIE or the 3C, although the IIIc is really aesthetically orrible)

don't they have the same processor at the same speed?

escher · Dec 30, 2000, 09:49 PM

Originally posted by MickS:
There are Mac USB CLIE drivers available from the following URL:

Wow! That's great news. I really like my Palm IIIxe, but I know that I will be tempted once the color CLIE ships in the US.

Doesn't anybody here read Japanese?

Escher

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"The only laptop computer that's useful is the one you have with you."
Let's have a 3 lbs sub-PowerBook with AirPort and 5 hour battery life now!

Paul Shew · Jan 2, 2001, 03:55 AM

The addition of Mac support to Sony's CLIE was pretty widely advertised among the Mac community here in Tokyo. But they only support the Japanese version of MacOS and the Japanese version of the Palm Desktop -- at least, that's what they say on the link that MikeS provided above. They also state that you must have a Mac with built-in USB ports (no third-party solutions). And they mention that it does not support the Sony add-on applications Picture Gear Lite or Palmscape Cruiser. Actually most of the text on the page is devoted to explaining the limitations of its support, it seems that it supports the standard Palm Desktop sync, but none of the Sony extras that are included for the Windows users.

I've had a look at the CLIEs available here in Japan (including the color one) and I wasn't impressed. Visor's new units have really outdone them. The color CLIE is particularly disappointing. It's smaller (lighter) than Visor's Prism, but the screen is so much darker. The Prism looks gorgeous in comparison. In terms of luminosity, it's like the difference between the screens on a Pismo PowerBook (Firewire) and one of the old PB 1400s.

Even with Mac support, I don't think the Sony CLIE is a good deal unless you need to use the Sony Memory Stick.

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Paul.Shew.com

AlbertWu · Jan 3, 2001, 05:06 AM

Memory Stick is a waste of time, for anything. you can't even run stuff off of the Stick. You have to use a transfer program, so it's much more hassle than it's worth. We really shouldn't be supporting sony proprietary "standards" such as memory stick. Use smartmedia or compactflash. It's kind of like a M$ Visual Basic vs normal Basic or C++. Actually, Sony is very much like Microsoft because they make almost everything, trying to get market share here and there, spreading proprietary "standards" like the memory stick and Magic Gate.

I'm sorry If i offended anyone with this post. I just really needed to tell people what I feel about sony.

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Albert Wu <- No life.
http://web.harker.org/

24/7 Cell phone use can not kill you. I am an example.

tooki · Jan 3, 2001, 12:04 PM

I agree about not liking Sony's proprietary standards. I'd love it if Palm and Handspring just put compactflash slots in a PDA, so you could put an IBM microdrive in it (what you'd need 340MB or 1GB on a Palm for, I can't quite say, heh!).

tooki

eep! · Jan 4, 2001, 10:34 AM

didn't sony have a hand in creating the 3.5 inch floppy, and cd's?
ok so maybe the memory stick isn't really at it's best in the palm, but what is wrong with it really?
Yeah, i can't use a memory stick in my desktop, but the same goes for compact flash, pc cards, smart media, mmc and whatever else is out there.
If you want compact flash in a palm buy a trgpro.
as for "proprietary "standards" " i'm sure sony would license memory sticks given half the chance, and judging by the quotes around standards i'd guess you don't like them.
Remember ASCII, TCP/IP, CDs, usb, firewire, DVDs, SCSI, IDE, ATA33/66/100, pc66/100/133, AGP, PCI. This is how they become true standards.
I've never used a clie or a memory stick in any device (only because i have no need, i don't have anything against either device) so i won't pass judgement.

kazamatsuri · Jan 4, 2001, 01:08 PM

Wouldn't the Sony stuff for the Clie work under Virtual PC? Has anyone tried using that? Of course a Mac solution would be the #1 choice, but until one is released (if ever) then it seems this would be the best way to handle it. I'm intersted in getting one (love Jog Shuttle!) and if this solution would work well, there's little to stop me.

--Brad

AlbertWu · Jan 6, 2001, 02:11 AM

Eew, jog shuttle, That too. I like the one on the RIM Blackberry. SOny actually went to the extremes of patenting the jog shuttle. It springs back.

What I said about memory stick (or rather what I ment to say): IF they licenced it, sony would be the one getting all the money. That is not good. What if, for every floppy, the manucacturer hat to pay sony $1? talk about get-rich-quick schemes. Also, MagicGate was the proprietay "standard" that I was refering more to. It is incompatible with the mac, and sony's implementation of it is crude. If they want to use magicgate for "the good of the music industry" and not for their own profit, they will release the "standards" (all of them) and let qualified people write for them.

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Albert Wu <- No life.
http://web.harker.org/

24/7 Cell phone use can not kill you. I am half-consious proof. (It's not because of the cell phone.)

Caffine is not a mind-altering drug.
It is a life-altering drug!

l008com · Jan 6, 2001, 04:01 PM

Wasn't PCMCIA invented for hand helds, but then laptops started using them instead?

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Make Money With Your Macintosh!

Paul Shew · Jan 6, 2001, 06:01 PM

The CLIE might sync with Virtual PC but why bother when Sony's already got Mac drivers? It already works with MacOS 9 Japanese which means it's a snap to port to the English version (just change the files names it needs to reference). The question is, why would anyone get a CLIE when there are such better machines available. The screen on the color CLIE is so dark it's practically useless!

But the really good thing about the CLIE is that it's served to legitimize the Palm platform in Japan. Since Sony adopted the PalmOS, people feel comfortable with the platform -- even if they buy another company's hardware. It's kind of like what IBM did to the personal computer business in the early 1980s.

--Paul.

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My address: Paul.Shew.com

Jan 6, 2001, 08:41 PM

My favorite part of the Clie is the grip-friendly "toggle" dial on the upper left corner. Is that worth a couple hundred more bucks than my IIIxe? Nope. I wouldn't mind seeing this design on future Palms and Visors though.

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iMight cube-dude@cube-zone.com
G4 Cube.450.128.20.904.17.Radeon
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AlbertWu · Jan 8, 2001, 12:15 AM

You mean the Jog Shuttle? Sony patented that, and the BlackBerry RIM one is better because it doesn't spring back. It keeps rolling like a scroll wheel. It also has a back button, which the jog shuttle does not.

MickS · Jan 16, 2001, 05:49 AM

Hmmm... Albert Wu - done a lot of reading, doesn't have a CLIE.

The JogDial (not JogShuttle) on the CLIE is very useful. Especially when reading. No having to have the application auto scroll or use the stylus to page down. Just roll the JogDial (no spring back, just a roll) with your finger (of course if you are a lefty it's going to cause problems - have to use your thumb).

At the moment it's not possible to run programs off the memory stick directly. There are utitilies around that allow you to store your apps on the memory stick though and automatically copy across to the CLIE RAM to run and delete when you leave it. This is a hack for sure, but does mean that with a nice 64MB memory stick you can have a lot of apps on there. Also a number DOC readers are now available that can read documents directly from the MS.

Mark/Space (http://www.markspace.com/) have just released a USB CLIE driver that, combined with the freely available Mac Palm Desktop and a USB Mac, means that you can use sync to a CLIE as easily as any other Palm device.

Jan 16, 2001, 08:23 AM

what about the TRGpro? It has the CF Slot. Altough it looks not as cool as a black Palm, Palm w. clearCase or Palm V.

Originally posted by tooki:
I agree about not liking Sony's proprietary standards. I'd love it if Palm and Handspring just put compactflash slots in a PDA, so you could put an IBM microdrive in it (what you'd need 340MB or 1GB on a Palm for, I can't quite say, heh!).

tooki

AlbertWu · Jan 16, 2001, 10:32 PM

I'm sorry. The jog dial doesn't bounce back. The one on my MagicGate Memory Stick player does. I have heard it called both Jog Shuttle and Jog Dial.

No, I don't have a Clie. PalmVx!

K. I still hate Sony, tho.

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Albert Wu

"I ate a shrub... Now I see all."
-Probably Me.

Help. I am dying of brain cancer from my cell phone. NOT.