Sony CLIE PEG-NX70V Handheld

Looking for a great holiday gift for that special someone? Or maybe you’re just looking for a great new toy for yourself. Sony has got you covered!! They’ve come out with a brand new handheld… and boy do they leave you happy. There’s more to this than you ever imagined.

Well, I’ll go step by step in this review (Just to make sure that I cover everything that you are looking for). As you scroll down the review, you’ll see a number of different topics. Just look for the BOLD headings, and you will probably find the information that you need.

Why would you buy this product?
Ah, this would be a great place to start. This is an incredible new toy… and it’s got a ton of great features. In fact, it’s hard to believe such a little piece of equipment would offer so much. The handheld has a digital camera, a digital video recorder, a voice recorder, a remote control, etc. You can even play your MP3s on the speakers, write with your stylus, or type right into your keyboard. Who needs a pen and paper anymore???

Contents
When you purchase the CLIE PEG-NX70V, you will find a number of items included. These are the contents of the box: The CLIE PEG-NX70V, the stylus, power adapter, keyboard, docking cradle, headphones, the plug adapter and attachment, the remote control, hand strap, installation CD and all the necessary registration materials and manuals.

Specifications
The CLIE PEG-NX70V comes with a 200 MHz processor speed, the Palm OS 5.0 operating system, 16 MB of installed RAM, supports MP3, has an Intel StrongARM SA-1110 200MHz processor, 16-bit colors, a screen resolution of 480 x 320, backlit display, speaker, and a Lithium Ion battery.

Size
This model, which weighs in at 8 ounces, is 2.8w x 5.5h x .7d inches. While it may seem a tad heavy for its size, it’s really not a big deal at all. You have so many features included, and it certainly weighs less than carrying around a digital camera, video recorder and PDA on top of this. So, for my money, it’s certainly worth the weight. Besides, 8 ounces isn’t really very heavy at all.

Display
This model features a fantastic TFT color screen with back lights. I really like the fact that you can see it well, even when you are outside. (As a person who spends a lot of time outdoors, this is very important to me. In the past, I’ve had to give up on my notebook when I couldn’t see the screen well outside.) It also 16-bit colors and a screen resolution of 480 x 320.

Keyboard and Stylus
Now all these other features are nice, but let’s face it: if you aren’t comfortable with the basics, you really aren’t going to use it. So before you make any major decision, I highly recommend that you visit your local electronics store and try it out. Make sure that you feel that you can use it. If it doesn’t feel right in the store, it won’t feel right at home. Of course, keep in mind that this is a PDA, and you may not be using the keyboard much at all. I would assume that you would be using the stylus pretty much.

With that being said, I want to say that these tools work very well for me. Of course, I’m not really 100% thrilled with any PDA keyboard, but this one certainly is nice enough, and I can get the job done. What I really like is the nice stylus. It works well, and you can just write right on the screen. And the PDA has no trouble at all deciphering my writing---and frankly that’s a pretty tough task.

Speed / Memory
While these items shouldn’t necessarily be grouped together, they do go hand in hand. This guy is fast, and you’ll be very happy with the way that it picks right up… There’s hardly any waiting time, and you’ll be sure to be pleased with the results. It comes with 16 MB of installed RAM, but you can purchase another memory stick to up it a little. Of course, I’m a firm believer in upping the RAM whenever you can. I’d make the investment and buy more memory if possible.

Battery Life
Of course, with all these built in features and incredible speed, the battery isn’t going to last forever. There does seem to be some issues on this particular subject, but I feel pretty comfortable with it. I’m a computer junkie, and love to leave my machines on all day. Of course, I pop ‘em right in the docking station in the evening, and they recharge till morning. This leaves me with a decent machine that always ready to go. No battery problems here.

But, for those of you who are looking for the particulars, I’ll run down the facts list pretty quick. This is a 5.2v linthium-ion battery. It will hold out for a decent day’s work. Just make sure you recharge it every night, and you won’t have any problems.

Operating System
This PDA uses the Palm OS 5.0 operating system. As with any new system, you are bound to run into some bugs here and there. But they’ve added some really great features to go along with it. You’ll find that it works with the previous versions of the software, although in some rare cases, you may find one that won’t load.

You’ll also find that it comes with numerous built in applications. It has built in software to run the memory stick, audio player, camera, and remote commander. It also comes with a built in date book, address book, calculator, mail, paint program, note pad, and programs to run Word and Excel documents.

Other Goodies
We’re not done yet! Sony has given us lots of great extras to keep you coming back for more. You’ll find that this PDA can handle MP3 programs with no problem, and has nice speakers so you’ll get a good sound from it. It also comes with a decent voice recorder, which comes in handy for those meetings and conventions, or when you just want to verbally make notes yourself. I’m also pretty impressed by the remote control. Who knew that you could control your TV from your PDA?

Cameras and Stuff
Now it’s time to break out the big guns here. Sony has given this PDA the power to work as both a digital camera and a video recorder. I really like having the ability to shoot either still or moving shots without having to look for yet another piece of equipment. The digital pictures come out fairly well, and you’ll be pleased that you can view your shots right there on the PDA. It gives new meaning to “showing pictures of the kids”. Instead of pulling out your wallet and showing off those beautiful school pictures, simply pull out your PDA and push a few buttons. It works pretty much like any other digital camera. The shots are nice, but they aren’t great, and I’ll still keep my Kodak Advantia around for the family pictures. There’s also a video recorder, so you can take “moving pictures” as well. It’s great for small videos that last no longer than an hour, so I wouldn’t record baby’s first steps on this. But it’s really nice to have around when you just can’t miss an important shot. The video recorder can have either low or high quality shots, and the digital camera also features a 2x zoom. If you want to get any fancier, than you’d probably want to invest in a camera instead.

My 2 cents...
The bottom line is that this is a great tool and a great toy. Go ahead and invest in this one, you won't be sorry! But don't forget the extra memory stick... it's well worth the very small extra investment.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 599
Recommended for: Business Executives - Powerful and Professional