Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Handheld

I have been using this for years now and I have been abusing it the way I always do with my electronics. It survived until the screen got so scratched up I had to buy a new device. For the new one I have a screen protector now. It is very impressive device and I recommend it to anyone even if it is now technologically obsolete. For 2000 year technology it is very impressive even today, it is still perfectly useful and can compete with any of the recent day technology. The only down side today is that the camera is very low definition, but I seldom use it. The blue tooth also is having troubles connecting with today's devices and Sony doesn't care to update the drivers. I still rank it the highest.

Having owned several pdas (palm IIIc, m130, tungstenE, & tungstenC), I was really wowed by the design of the PEG-UX50. I saw it first at Tokyo's Akihibara Electronics Town, and was impressed with the sleek design. The unit was functioning but mounted, so I didn't get to hold it. I was most taken with layout and functionality of the keyboard, and the swivel screen. Of course I was determined to buy one. I waited two months until I was back in the USA and ordered two units from separate vendors. This is my usual custom when buying pdas, as I want to be sure one item isn't experiencing anomalies. I was so excited the day that they arrived. That excitement quickly dissipated. The battery life is absolutely horrible. I was reading an ebook, and the battery barely lasted for 3 hours. When surfing the web, it lasts for about 90 minutes. The 3-D launcher interface did not appeal to me, so I switched to the classic palm launcher, which made things better. The stylus is too small and too thin to be of any practical use. By the time you get it out and get it extended, you could have tapped what you wanted with your fingernail several times over. Additionally, the ergonomics are very poor. Maybe it's made for someone with wider hands than mine. It's too wide to sit comfortably in my hand in landscape mode, and there is no portrait mode. After reading my ebook for the three hours that the battery held a charge, my hand was cramped. Also, the buttons are not placed in the most convenient of locations. It's too easy to press the email, internet, or back button while you are just trying to hold the unit. And what's with the jog dial on the left? Probably a wonderful feature if you're left-handed like my little brother. Unfortunately, I'm right-handed. The vast majority of the palm applications I downloaded did not take advantage of the UX50's wide screen. Who wants a pda window that only covers part of the screen? Certainly not me. In the end, I returned both units. One to Best Buy, where I was not charged the 15% restocking fee, and the other to MPSuperstore.com, where the restocking fee was waived because the IR port was defective. I tried really hard for two weeks to like the UX50. I left my tungstenC and home and used the UX50 exclusively for that period. The only reason I gave the PEG-UX50 two stars is because the keyboard is excellent. I prefer typing on it than on my tungsten C keyboard. I was prepared to trade in my tungstenC for the PEG-UX50. It's little wonder Sony has withdrawn from the US pda market for a while. Maybe they'll dream up better products while they take this much-needed hiatus.

I've been using a Tungsten E for work and got the the UX-50 for play and was originally hoping to face out the Tungsten E. They both run Palm OS 5 but I foung the Clie's interface not as user friendly as my Tungsten, it took me almost a week to get used to it and work with it without stopping to look up something in the users manual. For the size and looks it is a very nice gadget, it's capabilities are close to that of a laptop unfortunately the price tag doesn't justify the purchase. For such a high price it should at least have Documents to Go installed. The battery life is horrible! I got an extended battery which attaches to the bottom and makes the unit thicker and I'm still not able to use it as much as I use Tungsten during the day without worrying about the battery running out. I need to get a car charger before I can get more use out of it during the day. The stylus is too thin to hold comfortably and it collapses in mid-use. It also tends to slide out very easily and I've almost lost it that way. Same with the memory stick, it sticks out from the unit just enough for it to come out easily. The screen is very nice although I would appreciate it if you could occassionaly swtich to portrait mode. The swivel screen is one of my favorite features. Not a big issue but I would like to be able to delete someapplications like "Clie Demo" that I don't use and are taking up space in the memory and in the icons. The shortcut buttons are a nice feature but I immediately had to reassign them to features I use more than internet and e-mail. Their location makes it easy to press accidentally. The built-in camera is better than that found in most cell-phones but not excellent. It comes in handy for quick snapshots but don't expect more from it. The browser is lame and could use some improvement. It's nice to have a keyboard although it's not good for serious typing. Bluetooth works great but the infrared interface was difficult to use when working with my cell phone. This PDA has great potential but Sony has to first make some improvements before it becomes a "must-have". For 3 times the price, I thought this PDA would make my Tungsten E obsolete but I find myself still using it just as much because the Clie hasn't been too reliable to me. So I'll continue using 2 separate PDA's in the meantime.

First of all, this is a used Sony Clie UX50 PDA that's in very good condition. The product arrived in a timely fashion as expected. After charging and turning on the unit, the backlight was turned downed so low that I had major problems reading the screen and even more problems trying to determine how to adjust the brightness. Battery life has not been good. Unit will not stay charged more than an hour even after charging overnight and not using much wifi. Will need to purchase another battery before any meaningful use. Overall, this is a quality made Sony product.

NICE VERY WELL BUILT SOLID COMPUTER. IF YOU ARE ONE THAT LIKES GADGETS THIS IS FOR YOU. LOT OF FUN AND THE DESIGN AND QUALITY ARE AWSOME. SMART PHONES CAN DO MORE THAN THIS NOW BUT IF YOU ARE INTO THIS KIND OF STUFF I RECOMMEND YOU GET ONE.

Great Item A+++++

would have been better if it connected to the internet other wise i just got it as a laptop for a 24 inch doll and it looks nice

even though the display size is small, it is very clear and high in resolution. it need higher memory. i found the "missing Synch for OSX" which solved my problem with this PDA to synch with MAC, but i was surprised why sony did not make something like this, and save us the trouble paying and searching for it!! the Wi/Fi and BT were very usefull and pracktical to have. audio player application is very primative and usless. even though i didn't use the camera much, but it gives much better results than any cellphone with camera. in general sony UX50 with its small storng shell is a great Palm machine