majid's Full Review: SONY CLIE T615C/S SILVER 16MB HHLD USB HOTSYNC CR...
The T615C is the high-end model in Sony's slim Clié T line. I got mine for $360 from Dell, which is slightly pricey but not all that much for a superlative PDA.
It has a wonderful 320x320 screen (normal Palm devices only have 160x160), considerably better than the one on the Compaq iPaq (I also own a 3670, albeit running Linux). The pixels blend smoothly, you cannot see a distracting black grid between pixels as you do with Palm's m505 or the Handspring Prism. With the supplied software, you can keep keep finely detailed photos in your wallet pocket, specially if you use the Memory Stick, and even use it as a photo stand on its cradle with the bundled Album software. When using Sony's enhanced resolution fonts, text is much easier to read than with normal Palm devices.
Like all Palm device, the PDA feels snappy and responsive. the screen tracking is quite accurate, better than the Visor Deluxe I used to have.
The workmanship is excellent and it exudes quality throughout, from the leatherette protective flap supplied to the rounded brushed aluminum case that doesn't snag against a vest or shirt pocket. The rechargeable Lithium battery capacity is good, although if you leave backlighting on it tends to eat into battery life rather quickly (a couple of days or so).
Unfortunately, the function buttons have somewhat sacrificed ergonomics to design, and the scroll rocker switch is very hard to use, which is somewhat compensated by the jog shuttle (which is placed to the left and might not be ideal for left-handed people).
I usually dislike the proprietary Memory Stick format, but it is no more proprietary that Springboard modules or the Hollywood-inspired "secure" digital card (SD/MMC) - secure as in preventing you from doing what you want with your data, but that's another story. In this case, Memory Stick makes it possible to provide memory extensions (for backups or to offload files, for instance) without making the PDA larger. Memory Sticks have also become much more affordable lately. Combined with the large (by PalmOS standards) 16M internal memory, you can actually keep full-length books with the supplied Documents to Go feature, or Acrobat's free reader. I have Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" on mine, which I read while waiting for the bus.
Unlike Sony's 760C, the T615C does not have MP3 playback capability built-in (although you can use an optional add-on to do so). I own an Apple iPod, so I don't care much for MP3 players with only 128M of capacity or so anyway.
The software bundle provided is fair, except for the deficient Intellisync software (for Outlook synchronization). I uninstalled it and replaced it with Chapura's PocketMirror.
This is probably going to be one of the last Motorola 68k-based Palm devices before the new lines using ARM chips. If you have a lot of old Palm apps that are not guaranteed compatibility with PalmOS 5, this is a great model to upgrade to.
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