Sony Clie TJ27/TJ37: Down with the PDA! give PEO!

If you go to any more or less experienced users to PDAs with a request to name the two most well-known company engaged in the production of handheld devices, the answer will most likely be heard: "So Hewlett-Packard and Sony now!" This is no accident. Firstly, to build a production line of both companies have something in common. Strategy and that, and the other is to try to cover all possible price levels and business niches. Second, none of the players PDA market can boast such a variety and frequency of updating the range. To rate, which define the "first violin" as well as to all the good things you get used pretty quickly. However, Sony, in particular, is not only quantitative but also qualitative approach to the issue of handhelds. Fortunately, the Japanese corporation can afford to develop and promote a fundamentally new classes of handheld devices. These products include the recently published model of Clie PEG-TJ27 and TJ37, which replaced the budget PDA TJ-25 and TJ-35. So, Sony began creating and promoting the concept of "personal entertainment organizer» (personal entertainment organizer) all in all price levels (like the budget, as well as hi-end), replacing her "personal digital assistant» (personal digital assistance). The word "entertainment" appeared in the title again, not by accident. New computers completely equipped with digital cameras and other multimedia charms, designed to provide its users with lots of leisure time. Now the PDA from Sony - it is not just an organizer, but also a full-featured handheld entertainment center: you can listen to music, take off memorable events in the photo or video immediately view them or send to friends and acquaintances by e-mail, etc. - and all it's just taking from his pocket a small device the size of a notebook.

Design

Outwardly, both computers are strongly reminiscent of its predecessors - TJ25 and TJ35. Although slightly different in size. Dimensions TJ27/37 costavlyayut 114h76h13 5 mm, that is, new items for a couple of millimeters long, an inch wider and thicker. Frankly, such a minimal difference in the dimensions of reality feel almost impossible, even if you keep a computer in his right hand, and another - on the left. Weight models are also almost unchanged - 142 g versus 139 g in TJ25/TJ35. Style, which made cars are generally similar, although, examine closely, the differences will be typed quite a lot. First, it is very different front panel with controls. If TJ25/35 application buttons were round, and bears directly on these icons, then TJ27/37 they "adopted" an oblong shape. We can not say that such a key design is not very convenient to use, but still have to get used to it. Button so petite that you want to click on them will certainly nail. However, several days of testing showed that the keys have good sensitivity and very responsive to conventional presses. Wheel navigation is not changed, but around him there were small metal framing. The solution is - purely decorative, since no apparent benefit can not be held. Secondly, if the housing TJ25/35 was rounded (albeit very little) on all sides, the case of new computers have a pronounced curve on one side only - right. This is explained by the fact that at the opposite end is attached a protective cover, but on the far right is the shutter button is an integrated digital camera, right next to the switch, "power / hold". Incidentally, the protective screen cover for our heroines are absolutely the same as that of their predecessors. About it has been said so many flattering words in the reviews of TJ25 and TJ35.Third, he moved to the bottom of the front panel on the top and the power indicator. Upper end of the PDA is rich in infrared port, Packaging for the telescopic stylus, slot for memory expansion format MS / MS PRO, and a headphone jack (TJ37). Given the "infinite" love Sony designers to design the buttons "on / off" in the form of levers, it is surprising that the shutter key is executed in a classical form. The fact that such a design release button is typical for most digital cameras. So Sony has rightly decided not to act on the nerves of their users and do not force him to rebuild in case of a PDA. Different new items and colors. Elder TJ37 in classic (for handhelds Sony) silver, and the youngest, on the contrary, in dark gray. This color scheme is typical only for U.S. models. The Japanese color gamut is much broader. You can order your handheld red, yellow or any color yet. We can only languish in ozhdanii until Sony starts to deliver handheld computers to Russia officially. Until then, our market will be available only to U.S. models. Another difference - the presence of the headphone jack and an indicator of the wireless connection standard Wi-Fi, ie, the model differs from the TJ37 TJ27 presence of hardware MP3 player and built-in wireless communication module standard Wi-Fi (802.11b). The weight of both models are absolutely identical. How Sony manages to incorporate the PDA two hardware modules and does not increase the total weight of the computer - the biggest mystery of nature! On the back of the grid can be found under which there is a speaker buzzer (in TJ27), which is enough unless the reproduction system of signals and warnings about any MP3 can not be considered. In TJ37 for the same grating is placed a normal speaker, which fairly well reproduces the music files, but those who it seems is not enough, can make use of stereo headphones. Fortunately, the connector for it on the computer there. Ibid placed and reset button. In connection with the presence of a digital camera on the back appeared the lever for "open / close" protective cover on the lens.

Supplied

The set includes the computer itself, the adapter, AC adapter, stylus, protective pouch, 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. The kit TJ37 could be identified and stereo headphones, but since the model is considered the budget, then the abundance of accessories not count.

Iron

Processor

Processor for all models TJ Series absolutely the same - well-proven Motorola i.MXL Application Processor c 200 MHz. It seems that all low-end models Sony will be equipped with this processor.

Memory

RAM size is quite decent (for Palm OS) - 32MB of which 23MB is available to the user. Volume ROM for PCs Palm family is also very respectable - 16 MB.

Expansion card

The main modules of memory expansion for all handhelds Sony cards are standard Memory Stick. However, apart from simple Memory Stick, TJ27/37 (like the latest handheld computers manufactured by Sony) can work with the following types of memory cards:


- Memory Stick Duo (with adapter)


- MagicGate Memory Stick Duo (with adapter)


- Memory Stick PRO (MSX-1G, MSX-512, MSX-256)


- Memory Stick PRO Duo (MSX-M512A, MSX-M256A)


- MagicGate MemoryStick.
True, the use of maps MagicGate MemoryStick functionality is limited - you can not store or play the files with data protection, made on technology MagicGate, that is, these cards are treated as ordinary MemoryStick.

Communication capabilities

For communication with our PDA are:


- Infrared


- Port USB 1.1 (via an adapter).
As mentioned above, the model features a built-TJ37 wireless interface 802.11b, better known as Wi-fi. Afflicts only the absence in these models (especially in TJ37) integrated module Bluetooth.

Display

According to the magazine "Consumer: computers and software, which developed the original method of measuring the quality of displays, handheld computers, displays models TJ27/TJ37 its technical characteristics (brightness, contrast) displays identical predecessors. In the production of new models Sony did not bother replacing them. The maximum brightness of the display of 40.5 cd/m2. For comparison, the closest in this indicator (out of Sony PDAs) is a screen Clie NX70V. Level of the minimum brightness is exactly half of the maximum, which is about 20.5 cd/m2. Figure a little high, but tolerable. It is known that for the normal perception of information highlighting, in general, should not be very bright - 40-50 cd/m2 enough. Levels of backlighting (as in the models TJ25/35) small - only four. Minimum - 50% of the peak, the second - 67%, a third - 84% and the maximum - 100%. So that particular puzzle over the choice not to come. Although the technical indicators displays TJ27 and TJ37 are no different, adjust the brightness (at least its design) is the manufacturer slightly altered. In TJ27 - these are the same four shades of gray, while the TJ37 - a continuous scale, although the actual levels and only four. Apparently, in the future we plan to increase their number. In the meantime, select the desired account only on the eye, mentally divide the field into four equal parts, which sometimes irritates. Transflective type illumination and high resolution display (320x320 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, take comfort from the display text information (when backlight OFF) only under strong sunlight.

Multimedia

In the case of the TJ27 about the music you just need to forget. Senior same, TJ37, has the hardware for MP3-player, built-in speaker and stereo headphone jack, but the recorder is still there. One can hardly believe that even a hardware recorder (Palm OS yet) will substantially increase the cost of the computer.And the fact that Sony knows how to make computers with tape recorders, already it is no secret (take Sony Clie TH55, a review which will appear on HPCru soon).

Digital Camera

Both new products are on board the integrated digital 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.

Runtime

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


- In read MobiPocket Reader software with automatic scrolling at a rate of 25-28 characters per second


- During playback of mp3 files from a memory card software AeroPlayer (display off)


- In a video playback program Kinoma Player (320x320) 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 at 10-15% capacity. While reading the battery life varied depending on the lighting - from 4 hours to 6 hours and 40 minutes (see graph) when playing video 3 - 4 hours, during playback of MP3 - nearly 8 hours.

Performance

To test how productive new models, we tested using the Benchmark 2.0 and compared the results with data on budget Tungsten E, Sony TJ25/TJ35 and more productive Tungsten T3. It turned out that TJ27/37 on par with TJ25/35, that is faster than the Tungsten E in 1,5 times, but 1,5 times slower than the Tungsten T3 with a 400 MHz processor from Intel. As for the video is only a model TJ37 (TJ27 normal sound in there), then in video performance was measured only for this computer. For this purpose we used specially prepared video streaming between 480 and 1000Kb / s.. Productivity was determined by the speed of playback video using the built-in Kinoma Player test. It turns out that when working with video TJ37 TJ35 little faster, and at the same level with the Tungsten T2.

Entering text

In TJ27/37 There are four ways to enter text:


- Using the stylus with the subsequent text recognition software "Graffiti 2" (for the TJ37 is also Decuma Input)


- Using the virtual keyboard


- Using an external keyboard


- Playing CLIE Palm Desktop on your desktop computer with a subsequent synchronization with the PDA.

Software

Operating System

At the brand new PDA operating system Palm version 5.2.1 with the handwriting recognition "Graffiti 2". For more expensive and more "advanced" model TJ37 has an alternative input system Decuma, that Sony strongly recommends that you use on their handhelds (probably due to the high cost of development of this system).

CLIE Launcher

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

The shell consists of several parts:
1. System Time
2. battery status - in addition to the battery, still displays the total capacity and the amount of free memory on your computer and memory card
3. Application Manager Icon - Icons for application management (remove the application, send an application and information on the application)
4. 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
5. Favorite Applications - a set of icons for quick access to applications. They can be reprogrammed and ask most frequently caused by the application. Very handy feature, although it would be reasonable to establish as a Pocket PC - a list of recent applications due
6. The list of applications.

For the convenience of the user also has the function Status Information, which displays the system time, date, and three (for TJ37 - four) additional icons:
• battery capacity - displays the type of power supply (battery or AC) and battery level. In addition, you can see (unfortunately you can not change) settings, which at 10% capacity of the battery disables access to the memory card.
• media - displays the status of internal memory (ROM and RAM) and an expansion card (the amount of available memory, type of data protection)
• Wi-Fi (for the TJ37) - displays the connection status, signal strength and identification number of the device SSID
• - Adjust the volume of system messages, games, music and warnings.

Called Status Information is simple - to hold the stylus from the center of the bottom of the "Graffiti" in the upper left corner.

Additional software

In addition to Standard suite has additional software, which can be installed on a Pocket PC with the supplied CD:


- PowerOne Personal calculator 2.1.2 - Personal calculator


- PowerOne Finance calculator 4.2 - an advanced financial calculator


- ScoreBoard - schedule of sports matches NHL, NBA, etc.(Unfortunately, the Russian championships in hockey and football no)


- Kinoma Player 2.0 (only for the TJ37) - a popular program view video


- AeroPlayer for CLIE 1.5S (only for the TJ37) - a program for listening to music files in MP3 (only card format MS)


- CLIE mail 2.1.2 - Email Client


- Mobile Connection Wizard (only for the TJ37) - Assistant to configure the Internet connection


- Margi Mirror 1.63


- Agendus 6.14 - Organizer


- Audible - program for listening to audio books, radio, etc.


- BalanceLog (only for the TJ27) demo - 14 days


- MobiPocket Reader 4.5 - Demo version - program to read


- Contacts Pro 3.0.1 - Demo


- Margi Presenter To-Go 1.63 - a program for mobile presentations


- Vidigo - Internet connection is required


- WorldMate 9.2.2HD - demo version - the program of world time world map


- Acid Solitaire 3.0 - card game


- Bejeweled 2.1.5 - addictive toy


- Breakout 1.1b - a popular arcade game


- Crossword 3.06 (only for the TJ27) - demo - 30 days


- Insaniquarium 1.03 (only for the TJ27) - colorful game


- Warfare Inc - an excellent real time strategy game


- Visto MessageXpress
A set of software - minimal restrictions, it is not surprising to cost computers. It may seem that the extra CD has a large number of interesting and useful programs. However, most of them are represented in the form of demos. The most curious of the proposed program seemed to me Contacts Pro, which lets you enter text using the nine buttons, similar to putting on your mobile phone. If you register your computer through the site Sony, you will be able to download Documents To Go (Professional Edition v6.0) by DataViz, so that problems with office documents will not (of course, if you do not take into account the errors of the program Document To Go). 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.

Localization

Russification carried out by the system of 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 TJ27 can be in multiples of "Computer on your palm" for $ 299 and TJ37 - for $ 399. Unfortunately, the price of these new products in Russia compared to U.S. retail somewhat overstated, but experience shows that after 3-4 months, it decreases.

Conclusion

Cons:
• AeroPlayer program can not play audio files from computer memory
• inflated price of Russian
• limited set of software
• lack of bundled Kinoma Producer
• no voice recorder
• lack of Bluetooth.

Pros:
• Built-in digital camera
• handwriting recognition water Decuma Input (for TJ37)
• The ability to play MP3 (for TJ37)
• built-in wireless (for TJ37)
• decent battery life
• opportunity to work with memory cards up to 1GB
• intuitive user interface (the program CLIE Launcher)
• high-contrast display
• protective cover
• ability to use accessories from previous models (TJ, NX and SJ).

It seems that in the manufacture of new models of Sony developers are to: equip a PDA with all the possible "features done," especially those who do not have the competing cars and meet at the same time a strict price limits. So, in essence, the new handhelds TJ27/37 - it's a good project a multimedia PDA for little money. If before digital cameras are built only in a model of business and the middle class, it now seems, this accessory has become mandatory for any product Sony. And not just PDAs, but also mobile phones, smartphones and SonyEricsson. The only significant disadvantage in light of the new concept can be regarded as lack of TJ27/37 function recorder. As our tests showed that the idea of ​​the budget a "personal entertainment organizer" is completely viable and certainly find its user. The authors, translation:

Dr. Pocket