Sony CLIE® PEG-SJ20 Handheld

Pros: Documents2Go
Syncs with Outlook
Easy to use
Cons: Slight Learning curve
Monochrome Display

I'm no stranger to the Palm world. To some point, I enjoy it. Palms are usually pretty sleek and easy to carry. They make powerful tools when keeping track of appointments or phone numbers. When I received a Sony Clie PEG-SJ20 from a friend, I was pretty ...

Pros: Compact, White backlight, Expansion (memory stick), Hi-res, rechargable batteries
Cons: Slow refresh, non-metal casing, no cradle included

When the digitizer on my Visor Deluxe went AWOL right after the 1-year warranty expired, it was time to hunt for another PDA. I planned to stick with a black and white (B&W) PDA because I was not using my PDA for multimedia purposes. Moreover, B&W PDAs...

Pros: Many useful features and add-ons; Compact; Inexpensive;
Cons: Nothing major so far

I've been looking into a laptop for a while now, but as much as they've come down in price, they're ...

Pros: small, lots of storage, lots of accessories, great screen
Cons: I have not come into any yet

I bought this PDA about a month and a half ago -after winning a sales contest at work for a $50 gift cert. to Best Buy. I had been tinkering with the idea of getting one of these after my mom got a 'Palm' brand PDA about a year ago as a gift. I never...

Pros: Compact, attractive, easy to ready screen, good memory
Cons: Only uses memory sticks - the most expensive memory out there

I’ve had this PDA for about 6 months now and couldn’t go back to pen and paper again if I tried – I’m a convert! As I mentioned in my initial review, this is my first PDA. I've always used Daytimers (Actually Priority management System)...

Pros: Low price, beautiful screen, good build-quality, memory, small size.
Cons: No cradle, flimsy case, memory sticks are expensive.

I recently migrated from an old Palm IIIxe to the Clie PEG SJ-20. I did some research and this seemsed like a good choice. First let me tell you what I do with my PDA so you know where I'm coming from. I use the standard organizer functions (Calendar,...

Pros: Rechargeable, High-Res screen, Compact.
Cons: Need backlight all the time; Accessories harder to find than for Palms

After many happy years of using a Day-Timer, recently I decided to try a PDA primarily to keep my on-line calendar and contact lists in sync.

My major requirements: Rechargeable, Palm OS, $200 max, Not color (to save power); Basic functions....

Pros: Good value for the money
Cons: Wouldn't sync, display hard to read when backlight off

I actually purchased this intending it to be a gift for a friend but decided instead to replace my P ...

Pros: In this case, you get MORE than you paid for.
Cons: At its price, there are some compromises, but not many.

My needs for a PDA are pretty straightforward. 1) Handle my extensive address/contact list. 2) Calendar "to do's" along with a historical record of what/when/where been. 3) Work with a limited number of 3rd party software routines - in my case ...

Pros: Size, Bright Backlit Display, Price
Cons: Heavy, small screen, hard to use jog wheel.

This is my first PDA so keep that in mind while reading this.
I chose this PDA over others mainly for the size and price. Since I wasn't even sure I would make that much use of one of these I did not want to spend a lot of money on one.
The...

Pros: Compact, quick, easy to use
Cons: No cradle, proprietary expansion

I was looking for an electronic address book and organizer, hadn't really considered a PDA until I saw where the prices had come down too. I wanted something I could put into a shirt pocket and this was it. I've since moved it to a cell phone holder on...

Pros: rechargeable, affordable, jog dial!, back button, bright white back light, lots of memory
Cons: slow refresh, no cradle, post warranty service

Needed to organize my life, and wanted something good but cheap and after lots of on-line research a ...

Pros: You can view/edit MS Word and Excel files.
Cons: The screen contrast could be sharper.

For Christmas I received 2 PDA's. One is a Palm and the other is a Sony CLIE PEG-SJ20. I was going to return the Sony and keep the Palm. So I loaded all my information onto the Palm and began using it. I love the idea of having all my important...

Pros: Small easy to use
Cons: According to Sony support it's normal to lose memory on discarded battery.

I bought this for my wife because she always double books dates and so she could have easy access to ...

Pros: screen res, size, memory stick input, Price
Cons: battery life, alarm is not very loud, no speaker

This PDA was a handme down, but was only a month old and had hardly been used when i recieved it. We ...

Pros: Excellent high resolution. A great product for a "first timer" like me
Cons: Limited time options for "Auto Off"

After my wife made several futile attempts over the past few years to "gift" me a PDA (I always retu ...

Pros: Great resolution, compact
Cons: No mp3 player, weak alarm sound

I chose this PDA and received it for Christmas and it has been great. From the set up to the includ ...

Pros: High resolution, lots of memory, backlight is bright, rechargable batteries
Cons: Must use backlight, not enough compatable fields with Outlook, no cradle

Great PDA, but has a few quirks. I bought it to replace my crashed Handspring Visor. When the backlight is on, the resolution and screen quality are amazing, but it MUST be on for you to see anything. It also sucks battery life.

Fields have...

I used a Palm IIIxe for years. When it died, I bought an SJ20. I wonder how I put up with the hard to read Palm screen for so many years. The SJ20 paper-white backlight has me spoiled for good! I'll never go back to a dull green display again! Overall, this is a wonderful unit. It is very small in size, and fits easily into a front pant pocket. I like the stylus silo back on the side, like my old Palm Pro. A positive ‘click’ holds the stylus in place. The display is awesome, what else can I say? Having 16MB of memory plus the Memory Stick slot is a very good thing! Also includes software to back up main memory onto the Memory Stick. The cons are few; It lacks flash ROM, so you won’t be able to upgrade the OS. The alarm isn't real loud, and it’s hard to find accessories which fit it. Some have complained about the screen refresh rate while playing games… to those individuals I say “You wouldn’t use a Game Boy as a PDA! … If you want to play games; buy a Game Boy!”

I took me a while to get rid of the day planner and I only wish I had done it sooner. It is amazing how organized I am with this thing. If you want to store a lot of photos or download movie clips, you might want the color model. The white back light (Im not a big fan of the monochrome back light on the cheaper clie) makes it very easy to read letters but photos and movie clips are not the best. Any way, Until I get a pocket PC in the next few years, this thing will be going every where with me.

Looked around after my Visor died and the SJ20 had everything I needed. Bought two - one for my wife. The on button on one promptly broke. Repaired under warrantee for no cost but one wonders about long-term reliability.

The Clie pc software doesnt follow any conventions ie; Under File there is no "open", "copy" "backup" etc. The manuals provide little useful information. When my pc crashed with the Clie software active, the files were corrupted. There are no instructions for forcing the Clie files onto the pc in such a case. I purchased the keyboard and couldnt find any buttons for 'esc' 'done' etc. When I inquired of Sony they told me they would charge me $20 for phone help even though I had just purchased the items. Sony Support told me that there is no way to copy the data for backup purposes. Instead of creating a backup file, I should buy a memory stick......

I do recommend this product if your intent is to organize your activities. You will have to buy some word processing programs if you want to do anything else.

Really thought this was the best buy for the price. Had all the features I wanted and for what I was willing to spend. Now hardly anything works on the thing. It is probably just a lemon, but it is not worth keeping. I have just had troubles since day one. Still like the screen and size, but what good is all that when I can't even turn it on. When it went hay-wire, it just goes through the calendar like crazy and beeps its little heart out, then thank goodness it shuts itself off. Be careful

Need to spend extra $50 to buy a cradle. Not fair that this is not standard. Alarm is quiet. Don't bother get more expensive models to get color screen - the B & W here is fine. Reliable and useful. How did people exist before PDAs? Loved my palm V before this but this is another plant!

The size is great--not big at all. The screen resolution is great. Don't really like the cover that can flip off really easily. The stylus slot is nice.

Best PDA I have ever used, I owned the Palm M105 prior to investing with this, and it is so much better than that, that my words can't describe how I feel. If you own a sony Desktop or Notebook I strongly reccomend this machine.

Tried several handhelds in the $150-200 range. Found the SJ20 the best overall for the money. The white backlight and high res. screen make characters exceptionally crisp and clear. Recommend it without reservation.

This handheld is the best. The color screen allows for easy reading of the screen in any light; bright sunlight or low light. I had the Sony SL10 which is the monochrome (black and white) screen but the same resolution. The color screen, compared to the monochrome is so much easier to read. However, if money is an issue I still recomend the SL10 to my friends and if they can afford a little more..I tell them to go for the SJ20.