Sony CLIE TH55 - rebirth of the organizer

What is the ideal organizer? This is a "black box" which allows the user to comfortably work with e-mail, address book, to-do list and organizer. Moreover, it is desirable to interface the mobile notebook was extremely comfortable and the most similar to the one that you use on the "big" computer. Esche would be nice to be able to read e-books, considered received by mail pictures and videos, listen to music recorded on tape business conversation, or your thoughts, take a photo or video. For convenient display computer display should be large - preferably 320x480 pixels, himself PDA must have a mobile (preferably wireless) internet access to freely exchange data. All this together will allow any user to feel with the "organizer" as comfortable in the office or at home or a business trip. Actually a wagon (in the family of Palm OS) does not exist or, more precisely, until now did not exist. While Sony has not released a tireless new model of handheld computer - Slie TH55. About it - our present story.

Design

Externally, the computer looks like naladoniki Series NX, but without the rotating lid and built-in keyboard. However, unlike its predecessors, the new model looks much more elegant. First, much of it miniature - 73h124h13, 4 (15.7) mm vs 72h131h22. And the width changes little or no, but the length is shorter than the novelty of the whole centimeter, and the thickness of 6 mm narrower. Secondly, the developers have worked seriously on the design. The rear panel has a more flattened shape, due to which the computer sits in the hand "as a glove." Model does not weigh too much - 165g without cover. Plastic "armor" (Removable protective cover) adds another 20 grams of weight and bring new items to 185g. If you go back to the comparison of computer-TH55 NX Series, one can note that the TH55 - a lightweight version of the NX70. Apparently, after hearing complaints of users about the large size models, NX series (yes the built-in hardware keyboard, too much need not be), the developers decided to make a computer without a keyboard and a smaller size. To protect the display includes a transparent plastic cover, through which you can freely take in information, for example, read e-books. Solution is much more elegant than a similar plastic cover on the Palm Tungsten T2. Almost all controls are located on the left side ends. From an ergonomic point of view switch layout is very good - to easily reach all the fingers of one hand. Only the performance in black is not very correct, the buttons are merged with the body and not used to them easily confused. Very original made Jog-Dial, which, beginning with a series of TJ, looks quite different. TH55 is different and more original location Jog-Dial-a, which is placed on the rear panel. Location, though unusual, but very comfortable. The only drawback is the placement of the button "Back", it would be more successful if it was the right of the camera lens, not the left, whereas before it was convenient to reach, if you keep the computer in his right hand. Even better would be to implement two symmetrically placed buttons "Back". Application buttons are smaller, but still use them conveniently.Several disappointing lack of the cradle, the more so when one recalls that their design of the NX series was simply brilliant. Going to set the adapter does not add to a sense of security, and the need to constantly peretykat wire eventually becomes annoying.

Supplied

The set includes the computer itself, the adapter, AC adapter, stylus, clear plastic protective case, CD with software, strap, instruction in English, the card with the rules of writing characters "Graffiti 2" and a whole bunch of additional printed materials. In principle, such a "heaped" model could be put in a box in stereo speakers and the cradle, but it somehow did not get solid - an advanced computer, and equipment as a series of budget.

Iron

Processor

CPU is the heart of TH55 Handheld Engine, developed in the laboratories of the most proizvoditelnitsy. For the first time Sony has set it in the models UX40/UX50. "Stone" has the ability to dynamically change the clock frequency depending on the types of applications (from 8 to 123 MHz). True, the process is fully automatic and the user is not regulated. As far as developers were able to optimize the processor, the tests show the performance and battery life. "Engine" is executed on the ARM9 core and has two additional chips: CXD2230GA for hardware acceleration of graphics and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for audio processing. In general, Sony is curious behaves with respect to the CPU equipping their PDAs, especially in terms of logic and other manufacturers. Get at least palmOne. Last in the production of handheld computers older lines using more powerful processors. Agree, it is logical that the Palm Zire 71 is set a budget OMAP from TI, and the top model Tungsten T3 - the most advanced at that time, a microprocessor from Intel. Sony just tried Intel--native "stones" on its NX and NZ rulers, somehow safely abandon them. So at this point we can observe a mixed picture: in their cost models, the Japanese corporation is using the processors with higher clock frequency than on the models of the business class (because 200 MHz - this is higher than 123 MHz). We can only guess what caused this behavior Sony. Most likely, a dislike for Intel, or another extravagant steps to promote their products. She promotes with a persistence worthy of a better, its not a very popular standard MemoryStick. In general, it is difficult to judge, we can only rejoice in the variety of handheld computers.

Memory

RAM size our heroine - is quite decent for Palm OS and is 32MB, of which the user has access to all 32. Surprisingly, the size of ROM - also 32 MB.

Expansion card

The main modules of memory expansion for all handhelds Sony cards are standard Memory Stick. However, apart from simple Memory Stick, TH55 can work with advanced Memory Stick PRO. This is an improved version of conventional MS. Recording Series Pro, firstly, work quicker and smarter, and secondly, are available in versions for 256, 512 MB and 1 GB. As always, minus the memory modules from Sony is their price. MS ctoyat much more expensive than the more common CF and SD. Then it can not be helped. Such policies Sony. Choose the technique to the manufacturer, hence the format Memory Stick.

Communication capabilities

For communications from the user TH55 will be in the possession standard infrared port and USB 1.1 for connecting to a large PC, and wireless module and Wi-fi, the most relevant so far only, unfortunately, in the U.S. and Europe. But in Russia the number of "hot spots" (points of public wireless Internet connection) is slowly but steadily growing, and the offices of large companies are moving to 802.11b. So in that regard machine can be an excellent companion or employee of such corporation, or the adherent of the most advanced technologies. And yet so sad that there is no beloved Russians Bluetooth'a.

Display

According to the magazine "Consumer: computers and software, which developed the original method of measuring the quality of displays, handheld computers, the maximum brightness of the display of new items - about 61 cd/m2. For comparison, similar results to demonstrate the maximum display Toshiba e750, Mitac Mio 528 and HP iPAQ h1910/15. Previous business model from Sony - TG50 - could boast a little less than the maximum level of brightness - 48 cd/m2. Quite reasonable from Japanese developers that they did not pull up the bar, as is typical for most modern handheld computers. At 100-150 cd/m2 brightness is excessive, so the user's eyes get tired much faster. Level of 50-70 cd/m2 enough to the screen had good contrast and did not cut the eye. It is commendable that are not overvalued and the minimum brightness level - 5.2 cd/m2. It is noteworthy also adjust the brightness of the display TH55. Scale looks continuous. But in fact the number of levels is strictly fixed. For the convenience of the user to switch between them by using the side arrows (next to the Jog-Dial-ohm). However, if you ask for and just count the levels of backlighting, they get 128. Naturally, the first thought, as is the case with the TJ37, some of the points - too much, and real levels of adjustment is much smaller. Measuring the brightness of the display only confirm the fears. Total levels of backlighting - 32 (10% to 100%). Why in this case it took to break the scale at 128 steps - remains a mystery. It is also impossible to explain why there is no scratches on the scale of the real divisions, as implemented in TJ25/35/27. The presence of markup would just select the desired level of illumination, and not to suffer, trying to do it by eye. Transflective type illumination and high resolution display (320x480 pixels) can equally well to receive the information even at the lowest level, regardless of whether you work in the office or on the street. Lighting, as with all Pocket PCs Sony, may be switched off. However, comfortably accept text data from the display (with backlight OFF) only in indoor or daylight on a bright sunny day. Moreover, when working on the street lighting is better off, because without it, the screen reads much better than her.

Multimedia

TH55, like any solid model from Sony, has the hardware for MP3-player, built-in speaker and a jack for stereo headphones. In addition, (a miracle!:) There is a real voice recorder with appropriate software. His button is designed as a traditional switch-lever with red markings. Apparently, not to confuse with anything. Speaker at the bottom of the hull, next to the switch, and to indicate the record at the top of the case there is a light indicator. Voice Recorder lets you record sound in a format in SP (22 kHz) and LP (8 kHz) modes as a memory card and internal memory on your computer.

Digital Camera

As with the recently described TJ27/TJ37 built-in camera with a matrix made by CMOS technology. Matrix has 310,000 effective pixels, which corresponds to a maximum resolution of 640x480 (VGA). In addition, the camera can take photos with a resolution of 320x480, 320x240 and 160x120.

Here are its features:


- Minimum focusing distance of the lens - 23 cm


- White Balance - Auto (on the street, Fluorescent, Tungsten)


- Exposure adjustment - ± 2,0 eV (c-step 1,0)


- Zoom - 2x (digital)


- Effects - sepia, black and white.
In addition, the camera can record video in MPEG-1 (Quick Timer).

Performance

To test how the new productive model, we tested using the Benchmark 2.0. And compared the results with data on budget Tungsten E, Sony TJ27/TJ37 and more productive Tungsten T3. According to the results of these tests, it would seem, a new sample performance from Sony does not shine. According to the results, the level of its power in 1,4 times lower than the Palm Tungsten E, 3 times lower than that of TJ27/37 and more than 3 times lower than the Tungsten T3 with a 400 MHz processor from Intel. Explained by such small figures using a PDA as a CPU Handheld Engine, which was developed by the firm Sony. As we have said above, the uniqueness of this chip is the possibility of dynamically change the clock frequency depending on application requirements. That is, when performing intensive tasks "stone" can accelerate to 123 MHz, while in standby mode, "speed" fell significantly (in the limit - up to 8 MHz). So using a purely synthetic test (eg, utilities, Benchmark 2.0) is not suitable for measuring the performance of your computer with a "floating" clock speed. It seems that the processor does not consider it a test task that requires all of its power and exerting "pebble" is not the full program. Something similar occurs when using the synthetic utilities are trying to measure the productivity of Pocket PC in the automatic mode. In this case, the processor is based on the ARM926 core and is equipped with additional chips - CXD2230GA for graphics hardware acceleration (with support for 3D-acceleration OpenGL) and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for audio processing. Therefore when working with PIM and office applications are no "brakes" did not notice. A performance of video playback TH55 even surpassed cvoego sharper relative - NX80V.

Runtime

Battery life was measured by a standard technique in a few (most typical) modes Pocket PC:


- In read mode program MobiPocket Reader v. 4.7. with automatic scrolling at a rate of 25-28 characters per second


- During playback of mp3 files from the memory card program CLIE AudioPlayer (display off)


- In a video playback program Kinoma Player (320x480) test movie with a flow 640Kbit / s of memory.
While working in all modes was measured before the first warning. According to the charging indicator, the first signal of the battery pack supplied with 10% of capacity. I must admit that the battery life of this machine is very, very decent.The results are much higher than the record-NX73, and much, much less than the budget series TJ. One can only applaud the developers from Sony, because their system to automatically select the CPU frequency gives a distinct advantage in battery life. So long "run" can not boast of any one of a family of handheld Palm OS. While reading the battery life varied depending on the lighting - from 8 hours and 50 minutes to 14 hours (see chart) for video playback 6 - 12 hours, during playback of MP3 - almost 16 hours. Longer and do not need:)

Software

Operating System

At TH55 Palm operating system version 5.2.1 with the handwriting recognition "Graffiti 2".

Clie Launcher

As usual, in addition to the standard shell Applications, there is a firmware program shell Clie Launcher, work which is much nicer than a list of applications.

The shell consists of several parts:


- Application Manager Icon - Icons for application management (remove the application, send an application and information on the application)


- Clie launcher Group List - a rotating list of groups of applications (to switch between groups may be either by means of special arrows, or cyclically, by pressing the application buttons Home)


- Favorite Applications - a set of icons for quick access to applications. They can be reprogrammed so that they will be responsible for running those utilities that are most in demand by you. Very handy feature, although it would be reasonable to establish as a Pocket PC, a list of recent applications due.
With a list of installed and delivered on CD software can be found in the description of models in our "Directory PDA. From myself I can tell, that, as in the case of the TJ37, disappointing lack of bundled software programs Kinoma Producer, which is essential for converting video into a format suitable for playback on Palm OS. As planned by the producers, it was supposed to replace the program Giga Pocket Plugin. However, that does not have Giga Pocket 2.0 final does not work.

Clie Organizer

In addition to the standard (for PC series Clie, of course) shell Clie Launcher, developers have created a completely new Clie Organizer. Set as the utility is in the image of a paper organizer - white field with a large number of bookmarks.Bookmarks are used to switch between the seven major applications and their menus: - DateBook - organizer with the ability to enter handwritten notes, audio alerts, and attach photos - AdressBook - address book with ability to add photos of recipient - ToDoList - a list of cases with the ability to sort by category and the degree of priority setting - FreeNote - handwritten notes (à la note on colored pieces of paper or stickers) with the ability to add photos, music and videos - MemoPad - ordinary notebook - Viewer - a program for viewing photos, handwritten notes, voice and video - Reference - useful additional information (table translation units, sizes, and statistics on temperatures for cities). - Applications - a list of applications with the control panel.

Application window consists of several functional components:
1. list of applications in the form of icons
2. list of most frequently used applications
3. application partitions.

To synchronize data with your desktop computer to install the relevant part of the program Clie Organizer on the desktop. Design of this tool is somewhat similar to Microsoft Outlook and, in my opinion, easier to use than Palm Desktop.

Data Assistance

Unlike previous models, TH55, in addition to standard buttons application buttons, has another key, called the Data Assistance and is used to manipulate text. This feature only works in the main PIM-applications, such as: Clie Organizer, DateBook, Addresses, ToDo, FreeNote, MemoPad and email client.

Here are cases in which useful Data Assistance:


- If you need to insert any text in any field of your PIM-application


- If you need to create a new entry in the PIM-based application search results in other PIM-utilities.

Localization

Russification Sony Clie TH55 done, thanks to the national localization MacCentre PaPiRus 2003, which enables you to work with the Russian language, adapting the system settings for the CCP and Russia supported the Russian handwriting recognition (Graffiti 2).

Price

Buy Sony Clie TH55 can be in multiples of "Computer on your palm" for $ 499.

Summary

For those who have reached the end of this review, I have two news. Good and bad.

We start, as expected with the bad. Among the disadvantages Sony Clie TH55 can be identified:


- Several Russian inflated price (due to the fact that Sony does not exercise while direct deliveries to Russia)


- Lack of bundled software Kinoma Producer


- Lack of Bluetooth.


Now for the good, that is about the pros, which are many. In the set-off the 55th can be transferred:


- Intuitive user interface (thankyou Clie Launcher shells and Clie Organazer)


- A very decent battery life


- High-contrast display


- Built-in digital camera with video recording capability


- MP3 playback


- Built-in voice recorder


- Built-in wireless Wi-Fi standard


- To work with memory cards up to 1GB


- A removable transparent protective cover, which can be controlled by the CCP, not throwing it - the good, the screen is perfectly visible


- Ability to use accessories from previous models (TJ, NX and SJ).
In summary, we note that the machine is definitely a success and, of course, much good. But, unfortunately, the sun has its spots. So, having decided to create the perfect organizer, Sony is still unable to please all potential buyers. Than just "not Lepa noblewoman," but for otechetstvennogo user as there is never enough small. Had TH55 integrated Bluetooth-module to work with SD cards and cost in Russia, as in the U.S., prices would be the novelty was not. Especially in the eyes of diehard Palmer, active lifestyle ... The authors, translation:

Dr. Pocket