Rating: 
Summary: Awesome!
Review: More complex than my Palm m505 and not as easy to navigate, but the features are incredible and the versatility amazing. I'm finally getting use to the buttons, jog dial, and menu navigation.Truly a personal "tool" vs. my m505 which was just a datebook and address book. The camera is perfect for a quick photo, the FreeNote feature is great for qucik notes, and the voice recorder is very handy in a pinch. Drag and drop photos onto FreeNote and then write hand notes (such as shopping for plants at Home Depot). How does Sony fit so much stuff on this thing? I use Act for Palm OS, so cannot comment on the CLie Organizer. Pros:
> Numerous excellent tools that actually make it more than a glorified adress book or calendar.
> Camera does not protrude. It's flush with the back of the unit.
> Integration . drag-and-drop between applications on the Clie.
> Easy-to-reach voice recorder
> Screen has excellent resolution and color
> Audio playback is excellent with headphones Cons:
> No cradle
> Photo button is in an easy-to-hit by mistake place.
> No manual navigation on the front of the unit. You have to pick it up and use the jog dial and buttons. Definitely worth the price tag. No buyer's remorse!
Rating: 
Summary: Quite a bundle!
Review: My wife recenly purchased the Sony Clie (PEG-TH55) PDA, our first PDA. I am very impressed with the quality of the handheld computer and it's operation, for the most part. It can do an incredible number of things.
I do have a couple of issues with it. It is evidently a relatively new model yet Sony uses the slower 802.11(b) wireless protocol rather than the newer, faster and widely available 802.11(g) format. In addition when setting up the unit to use with a wireless LAN you can only use the older, weaker WEP encryption method rather than the more robust and secure WPA format. I had to change the encryption on our router to the older, less-secure WEP to get this thing hooked up! So now my whole system is more prone to evil-doers!
While we have a number of fine Sony products I am always annoyed by one of Sony's quirks. They like to use their own propritory stuff instead of "standards". For instance, I am listening now to music from the TH55 - transferred from my MP3 collection on the computer AFTER it was converted into Sony's ATRAC3 format. Just another needless hassle.
The learning curve on this model is considerable, especially if you are a PDA-newbie like us. It will do so many things - but keep the multiple manuals handy. The screen is larger than most PDA's (apparently), colorful and very clear. The "Decuma" handwriting system is a joy (you can switch with the Graffiti 2 system). Overall we are enjoying the many features, (my wife loves the camera!) but wish the security was a little more up to date.
I guess it's like a dancing dog - you are so amazed at what it does, you can overlook its two left feet!
Rating:
Summary: Bringing the Tablet PC to the PDA
Review: PROS: I love the design, very solid build quality and great mat black finish. Superb software from Palm and Sony come bundled with the unit. Love the huge screen and the virtual graffiti pad. Excellent MP3 playback, movie playback. Love the ability to create free notes, drag-n-drop, images, sound recordings, memos and add an alarm so that you remember. Tinted cover looks great and allows you to see the screen when closed; excellent when you wish to distinguish which alarm has alerted you. The jog dial on the back is cool and the camera delivers OK pictures. Also comes with Documents to Go, a software that allows you to read, edit and create Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents. Why did choose this over the PalmOne Tungsten T3? Battery Life. This baby goes on and on for days. CONS: Processor speed is sometimes slow. The flip cover will eventually get broken as it only opens to a 40 degree angle (although it is removeable). Retractable Stylus collapses every now and then. Does not come with a cradle, and US version does not have bluetooth capabilities. buttons on the side of the unit could be better placed and it does not come with a carry case. All in all, I'm glad I bought mine. its helped me to stay organised and allows me to save and share some great media with friends and family. My advice, "try b4 u Buy"
Rating:
Summary: perfect for school
Review: Some things I find it very useful at school for:
Zap notes off whiteboards with the built-in camera.
Record lectures in high-quality digital with built-in recorder.
(I have dedicated recorder for this, but have used my clie as backup once and it worked very well).
I like the built-in wireless especially, so I can hang around outside at the edge of the library hotspot and check email and radar weather without having to go in, dig out my laptop, etc.
The camera is good for copying office hours from professor's doors, and also library hours.
The basic PDA functionality is simply palm OS, so rock solid. I like the IRda hotsync so don't have to mess with messy cables.
The high resolution screen makes reading ebooks very easy, and displays photos and web images with near laptop clarity.
Internal memory is big enough for a major bookshelf of ebooks. I have about a dozen books in mine. Great for while waiting in lines. Memory stick pro capability means 512K and 1gb capacity for MP3 tunes. Easy to switch out MP3 sticks for my lecture sticks. Lately I heard Sony stopped making clies. Thats too bad! They really are nice. I suppose I will get a pocket pc or something similar next. What I really would like is built-in GPS with moving map display...and perhaps walkie talkie or cell phone capability to boot. Aloha!
Rating:
Summary: WOW...all I can say is WOW...
Review: Sony has done it again. Seriously. I'm not kidding. I've gone through a handful of PDA's in the past few years, and I've found flaws in almost all of them to date, but not the Sony Clie TH-55!! First and foremost, it's just a sleek modern (...) design, that certainly draws attention. It's very light, fits in the hand very well, and is very comfortable to use. Sony positioned the scroll wheel/jog dial on the back of the palm, conveniently where one's pointer finger might lie when holding the PDA. Just below this scroll wheel is the built-in digital camera, which, when in well-lit rooms, takes rather nice pictures! This is perfect for just capturing cameos or friends acting silly when out and about. The power switch is in a somewhat odd location, it's in the form of a slide switch on the left hand side of the palm. This takes a little getting used to, since my other PDA's had buttons on the top or bottom, but having the sony's power switch here makes it more difficult to have the PDA accidentally turn on and waste battery power while in your pocket. Another interesting (odd at first) concept is the stylus for this Clie - it lives on the back of the pda, just like other models, but it telescopes when you remove it. This felt a little odd at first, but it becomes natural within the first day you use it. It's an interesting idea, but I'm guessing they had to do that to accomodate the electronics for the camera. There is a concealed memory stick port on this PDA as well, which I'm told can accomodate a 512MB memory stick? Either way, I just have a 32 MB stick that, in addition to the spacious 32 MB of memory built-in, suits me just fine for taking a few pictures here and there and saving them directly to the mem stick. If all the stuff I just said wasn't cool enough, check THIS out! YUP, there's more! All those little cameos you take of your friends actin silly, or headshots of your co-workers, you can assign a picture to each entry in your address book!! Gone are the days of looking at a list of names, now you can look at a list of faces too!! I could rave more about this, but the best thing I could say is get it!! You'll see how much fun it is, and possibly discover more fun items to rave about when it comes time for YOU to review this clie right here on amazon.com. Thanks for taking the time to read my review, and happy Clie-ing.
Rating:
Summary: Nice features, nice price
Review: Sorry for the long read, but I tried to be pretty comprehensive. ^_^ The design is very classy and professional, with a textured black plastic body and dark metal screen bezel. The TH-55 also features a built-in screen cover, which is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. The cover only flips back about 135 degrees, so at times it can get in the way. You can remove it, but it will leave two gaping holes in the top of the handheld. The best thing about the cover is that it is clear, allowing you to see appointments or alarms without opening it up, as well as the "viewfinder" for taking digital photos. The digital camera is a 310,000 pixel unit capable of 640x480 photos. It has a 2x digital zoom and dedicated shutter/capture buttons on the left side of the handheld. Picture quality is decent for such a small unit, but the photos are only suitable for quick snapshots and e-mailing. Of note is that the TH-55 has 32MB RAM with all 32MB available for use. In the past, CLIEs had memory specs like "16MB, 11 available to user." For further memory expansion, the Memory Stick slot is located on the left side and has a little door to prevent the stick from popping out. The slot supports all regular Memory Sticks, as well as the new Pro cards. A big feature about the TH-55 is the wireless networking. Although the U.S. model had Bluetooth removed, the WiFi remains, and works very well. You'll take a noticeable hit in page loading speeds, but turning off Power Saving mode in the main prefs can help. Don't expect pages to pop up instantly though. NetFront 3.1 is the preloaded web browser, and makes for a nice handheld web experience, with various page fit options, Javascript support, and Jog Dial support. Speaking of the Jog Dial, Sony moved it to the upper back of the PDA, right above the digital camera. This takes some getting used to for previous CLIE owners who may be used to having the Jog Dial on the side. There are also buttons to the left and right of the Jog Dial, which serve as back/forward in NetFront and previous/next in the Audio Player, among other uses. The speaker is located on the back, and is reasonably loud. If using the TH-55 as an alarm clock, it helps to put it on its face so you can hear the alarm better. Alerts come through well, but the vibrating alarm of previous models has been removed. As with previous models, Sony also includes a Voice Recorder application. Battery life is phenomenal; I can't honestly remember a time that an electronic device has wowed me with miserly battery consumption. When playing music with the screen off, I got 22 hours and 14 minutes in before the audio capabilities shut down. Surfing the web with WiFi enabled and the screen at half brightness, I got nearly seven hours of use (my cramped fingers!) before the networking shut off. The great battery life is partly due to the Handheld Engine Sony uses in the TH-55, which is also used in the UX-40/50 line. It integrates a 123MHz ARM CPU, graphics core, and DSP onto one chip. The DSP helps the TH-55 play videos smoothly and decode mp3s despite the low CPU clock. Similar to Intel's SpeedStep technology, the Handheld Engine can regulate its clock speed from 8-123MHz depending on the application. Sony's been hyping its new Clie Organizer software, but after all the talk, I went back to the standard PIM utilities. Like some third-party apps, it aims to put all utilities in one place, and allow you to move information back and forth between them. The Datebook gets a makeover, allowing you to write notes directly on the screen and add icons and pictures to your appointments. The right side of the screen is home to a tabbed launcher, which lets you access all the core apps with a simple tap. Although it's neat, the default Palm utilities do the job quicker and don't require relearning. It's not bad for a 1.0 release, but needs more speed and polish. Sony includes Piscel Viewer on the TH-55, so you can view Microsoft Office documents. For a limited time, registering the handheld will get you a free copy of Documents to Go, which will let you edit Office documents. You get just about everything you need out of the box software-wise. The price is right, and the machine impresses with a lot of technology packed into a small package. Battery life is great, and road warriors who don't like charging every day will love the TH-55. Despite having a low-powered CPU, multimedia doesn't suffer, and the WiFi is very handy when you don't want to fire up your main computer. The wonderful screen is the icing on the cake, but you won't be able to play games that require a joypad due to the screen taking up so much of the front. Not a bad effort from Sony with their first 320x480 tablet form handheld.
Rating:
Summary: Best PDA ever!!!!!!!!!!
Review: super cool looking, crystal clear display, everything you needed! THAT'S THE ONE!
Rating:
Summary: It's a Shame, Really...
Review: that Sony decided to drop out of the PDA market (at least in the USA), because the PEG-TH55 would be my choice for PDA of year. It does absolutely everything except make phone calls, and does it with great style and ease of use. The display is simply breathtaking, and while the processing speed could be faster given the price tag, it's hard to pitt an additional 5-sec load time (when displaying thumbnails of 150+ graphics) against the clarity of the images. A good set of ear buds will deliver beautiful sound, and the camera is more than adequate for the type of spur-of-the-moment pictures one would take with such a devise. I also love the ability to play videos in widescreen mode. I favor the standard Palm OS datebook, address book and memo pad just because I'm used to it, but the Clie Organizer adds a nice touch of wimsy for those who lean in that direction. I'm also a big fan of the Free Notes utility. Nothing beats the ability to write directly on the screen like a tablet when you're in a hurry.
I want to add that the documentation states .wma and .wmv are not supported, but there is an updated Image Converter download on Sony's support site that will take care of it, so you can drag and drop files in Windows Media format as well as Mp3 and Quicktime.
I suggest you purchase an aluminum hard case made for this model for extra protection.
Rating:
Summary: Sony hit the sweet spot!
Review: The awesome, the good, the marginal:
The awesome first:
The BATTERY! Goes and goes and goes and goes...I used my TH55 listening to music all day long today while working and the battery is still at 85%. WONDERFUL battery life--NOT having to charge this thing every three hours is something that you will appreciate for as long as you own it.
WiFi ACCESS! All you have to do is start the browser, go to options and set it for WiFi, hit connect, and voila: a list of available wireless access servers pops up. Great for campus, great for libraries, great for coffee houses (if you're one of THOSE people).
The DISPLAY! One of the biggest at 3.8 inches. Color is VERY sharp. Tungsten T3 has a slightly better screen, but otherwise, that thing is a piece of dog-hooey. I returned a T3 because it felt cheaply made and got the Clie instead. One more thing--the display has its own processor, so it doesn't suck up resources from the main processor.
The MUSIC! Music playback (MP3 or ATRAC) is great, and you can put the screen in standby while the music plays (make the battery last longer).
The PROCESSOR! Don't be fooled because the max speed on the processor is 123mhz. PalmOS and palm apps run just fine because they aren't the memory and resource hogs that PPC (and windows in general) are. In fact, this gets back to one of the "other best" things about this device--the processor can cycle down to 8mhz to preserve battery life. Also, the main processor doesn't drive the display--the graphics are driven by a separate processor. The GOOD:
Built in camera. 640x480; nothing to write home about, but it is a nice "bonus" compared to similar priced items that do less. I consider the camera an "extra" but it could come in handy.
The Organizer. Sony did a pretty good job with their organizer. They deviated from the standard Palm desktop. You can create an appointment, and then link it to a picture, contact, or a handwritten (scrawled) note. Nice touch!
The lay-out. Gamers will hate it; business people will appreciate the fact that they added screen space in favor of a "joystick" navigation device. Personally, I like it, and you can still play stylus-based games if that tickles your fancy. The MARGINAL:
Sony Memory stick is somewhat more expensive, even the off-brand sandisk 256mb is twenty or thirty dollars more than the same 256mb in SD or CF. Prices MAY come down as (if!) more people adopt the memory stick standard. Overall, this is a great PDA! This product is SO much better than the two Pocket PC devices I've used--I had a first gen IPAQ and a second gen HP. Spend some time getting used to the Palm and you will never want to fool with PPC (oink, oink says the resource piggy) again.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, but lacks power
Review: The first thing I noticed when I got this unit was its solid sleek charcoal design. It is easily one of the most elegant PDAs on the market. Then when I turned it on, I was almost blown away by the quality of the screen. It has the sharpest and most colorful screen I have ever seen. But what I really was excited about was the wireless capability. And that is where the TH55 let me down. It is far slower than dial-up and has no streaming capability. Really, the e-mail and internet are practically useless. And without that, this is just a very expensive organizer. I returned my unit and will keep on using a cheapo PDA until the wireless capabilities improve substantially. Hopefully I won't have to wait long.
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