Rating: 
Summary: Great for the price
Review: I recently bought a sony clie peg-tg50 i love it. The resolution on the screen is unmatched by any other PDA in the price range. It is possible to listen to Mp3s on it but if you want to put a big collection on it you'll need to get another memory card. You can also watch movies but you need a very large memory card and even then you can only get about 1 movie on it. The bluetooth wireless only works with other bluetooth products. The included games are pretty fun. If you want to listen to music or watch videos on it i'd recomend getting a memory card with at least 128 MB on it. So it does get pricey.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm disappointed!
Review: I've been waiting with high anticipation for the TG50. I'm a long time Palm user and looking to replace my aging Palm V. I know that I want a Clie because I've heard and read a lot of good reviews about them.When I found out about the TG50, I immediately thought that this would be "THE" Clie for me. The price is right and the spec is pretty impressive... Palm OS 5, 200 Mhz processor, built-in keyboard, and built-in Bluetooth. Bluetooth is significant for me as I already own a Bluetooth phone and I want to do hot-sync to my PC via Bluetooth. Last night I had my first opportunity to check out the TG50 at a local store. But in my 30 minutes of playing with it, I found several annoyances with this unit. They really bugged me and they made me change my mind about getting the TG50. I'll warn you that my review will be negative because I'm disappointed with this model for the reasons I'll explain below. I'm *not* saying that this model is bad. This is a very capable unit that will make a lot of people happy. Unfortunately those annoyances do really bug me and I won't be happy with it. OK, here are some of the annoyances I found: I found that the flip cover is a bit hard to open. When the cover is closed, its edges are flush against the unit and there's no easy way to grab it with my fingers. Also because the cover is so thin, my fingers always grab both the unit and the cover at the same time, making it even more difficult to open the cover. The TG50 doesn't have a dedicated Graffiti area. Actually this is a feature of Palm OS 5, which supports "virtual" Graffiti pad (the Graffiti pad can be shown on the screen as necessary). The other Clie models that implement this is the NX and NZ models. They have a small "soft" button on the right hand corner of the screen to show/hide the virtual Graffiti pad. I use the term "soft" button for buttons that are shown on the screen itself (as opposed to real "hard" button). On the NX and NZ, you can show/hide the Graffiti pad anytime you like. The TG50, on the other hand, has a dedicated hard button to show/hide the virtual Graffiti pad. Immediately I found some quirks with this button. 1. Apparently Sony implements a rule that "you can show the Graffiti pad ONLY if you're currently in text mode" (i.e. with the cursor blinking). If you're not in text mode, pressing this button will give you an error message! Note that in the NX/NZ, you can display the Graffiti pad at will, regardless of whether you're in text mode or not. This is very annoying IMHO to say the least because now I cannot use Graffiti unless I'm editing text. 2. When the Graffiti pad appears on the screen, it occupies about the bottom 3/4 of the screen. The upper 1/4 area is used to show what you're editing/typing (fields, row, etc). So if you're editing a long memo for example, you see only 3 or 4 lines at a time. 3. I found it very clumsy to display/hide the Graffiti using the hard button. You're holding the stylus, then you have to press the button with your finger. Do this several times and you'll see what I mean. 4. I don't understand why but I get the impression that Sony seems to favor the keyboard than Graffiti. But then the keyboard is also hard to use. The keyboard is cramped and the keys are really close to one another and they don't have good tactile feedback when pressed. I found that the keyboard on the NX/NZ is way better. To conclude, those are the flaws I found in my first 30 minute of using the TG50. It's a very nice package with a nice spec, but I can't stand the annoyances so I gave it 2 stars. If you're looking into buying this unit, please try it first and see if you can live with the annoyances I described. As for me, I've decided to go with the NX60. The NX60 price has fallen and now it can be had for just a few bucks more than the TG50. I've played with the unit a lot and I haven't found anything I don't like about it.
Rating: 
Summary: poor screen
Review: If you can afford the NX models and don't mind the extra weight, go with those models. My criteria for choosing this model were size/weight, processor speed, and price, in that order. This is a great little product. Compared to the Palm m500, this is about 2-4 times faster. I don't particularly like the keyboard because the keys are not raised. I find that the design of the Palm Tungsten is much easier to use. I do have to agree with the other reviewers that it's arkward to tap with the stylus and type with the keyboard. Because of the extra step in accessing the graffiti input area, I have migrated to using the keyboard. The screen is great, except for one little thing. The backlight has to be on all the time. Without the backlight, the screen is hardly visible.
Rating:
Summary: ambivalent about this product
Review: In some ways I find this product to be good; in others I find it to be atrocious. Good: palm os, keyboard, display, scroll wheel on the side, ability to synchronize with Outlook Atrocious: the intellisync software it comes with does not sycnh with Outlook (I use software I have from an earlier PDA), the voice recorder feature is next to useless, the multimedia functionality is not very useful, the product is larded with software for which you need to buy full versions. I like its utility; its extras leave something to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: Can you have too many bells and whistles?
Review: Overall this is a good unit. Sony's screens put Palm to shame. The colors are brilliant and the readability is excellent. It runs fast. Most of the programs I need have Palm 5 compatible versions. The main problem is that, jammed into my pocket, something always happens. For example, the voice recorder is easily set off or the Memory Stick pops out. These are plainly annoying. The voice recorder can fill up your memory card and drain your battery. The keyboard in poorly contoured and basically useless. It would be much better to have a larger, 320 X 480, screen to have more room for the Graffiti entry window. The function buttons have dual functions and are not convenient. The "software" graffiti window is good and bad. It is good to see what you have entered as you trace it. It is bad that the screen is so small that its location is fixed. (Graffiti was best on the old Newton. You could move it anywhere on a screen that was not much more than 320 x 480 pixels.) The photo viewer is LAME. There is no way to go to the next photo in your cue unless you go back to the slow to render thumbnail view. This could have been a great unit with a few changes. Lets hope Sony gets it better with the next generation. Lets also hope they do the trivial work (Palm and Apple really have done most of the work for them) it would take to support Mac OS X right out of the box.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Reccomended Over Palm
Review: Pro's: High res screen, Great multimedia features, built in backlit keyboard, etc. Con's: No built in wi-fi I love my new toy. I'm actually writing my review on it right now. I get a new one of these about every year. I started with a Palm Vx, then a Sony CLIE SL10. Now I'm on a TG-50. The MP3 player puts out amazingly good quality music. I'm not even going to buy a seperate MP3 player. The movie quality is great, you could put a couple hours on it, right now I only have a couple of my favorite ads though. The voice recorder function is fun to use. No one even knows when your using the voice recorder. Overall I love it and the amazing brushed metal styling. I wish it had built-in 802.11b but I found a website where you can pick a memory stick adapter up for only $159. For the time being it's my favorite gadget.
Rating:
Summary: Most powerful device in the slim design.
Review: PRO:
1. Palm OS5, 200 MHz CPU and the built-in keyboard. (Though the keyboard is a bit stiff, I find it prevents me from entering wrong letters.) The size of a notepad (It's 2 7/8 x 5 x 0.5) 2. Voice Recording with Built-in Microphone. One click to start recording and the quality is so SONY.
3. Browsing the web without paying an extra bill. Using Bluetooth enables me to connect to my cell phone (T68i which has built-in modem) and to dialup to Earthlink to get the internet access anywhere in the US. Getting my Earthlink account setup on the Palm and receiving the emails is also effortless. 4. Awesome color display. I can read the web page content without zooming in and scrolling left and right, even in 320 x 320 screen. I don't feel the screen is small at all. 5. MP3 player has three levels of BASS and you can create a playlist. The sound quality is really great and the device has a built-in speaker as well. 6. It¡¦s a TV and VCR remote. Setting up the remote is an ease. 7. Long battery Life. I tried 5 days without charging and it's still going. Also, you can save the battery life when you listen to MP3 by shutting down the screen. (Just switch to HOLD) CON:
1. Most of the apps haven't been developed for this model yet. Ex: I installed the Document-to-Go that came with PEG-T615C but the text got all smashed together. 2. Little built-in memory. I need to make changes to my Memory Stick when I installed new programs on it. Conclusion:
This device is designed for users who want to have internet access. Although the speed of the internet access can not be compared to Wi-fi connection, the dial-up speed through cell phone isn't unbearable. Besides, when you have a Wi-fi connection, don't you have a computer close by most the time. On top of which, I could save that extra money for the Wi-fi service for getting a faster connection. All I need is to read some news articles and to receive emails.
Personally, I think this is the best PDA out there. I¡¦ve seen many models and been waiting for this device for a long time; I want a device that is thin and light in my pocket. Having the same size of a 3 x 5 x 0.5 inches notepad, I know I made a right decision. When SONY named it 'Personal Entertainment Organizer', they are absolute right. I really have a lot of fun with this device and yet stay organized.
Rating:
Summary: Great PDA, I've bought two
Review: The best thing that I can say about this product is that when my original one was stolen, I immediately replaced it with another of the same model, even though newer ones (like the high-end UX-50) had become available. I bought this one because it was the smallest & lightest PDA available with a keyboard. After 4 years of struggling with Graffitti, it took me roughly 30 minutes to adapt to the admittedly tiny keyboard on the TG50. I found that I could two-thumb data using the keyboard far faster, and I've never used Graffitti again. The two most important considerations with this model are the size and the keypad. Graffitti junkies should avoid this model, but I suspect that I'm not the only person who finds the Palm OS handwriting recognition technology is troublesome. Likewise, those who want a really big screen for watching movies should get a different PDA. Personally, I like carrying it in my jacket pocket, and find the lid to be convenient and not the least awkward. The metal case is sturdy & scratch-resistant, and for me, it would be silly to put this PDA into a carrying case. Its a tool to use on a daily basis, and I'm not taking heroic measures to avoid scratching it. Battery life is a bit disappointing, and I recommend purchasing the battery adaptor which allows you to recharge the internal battery using 4 AA cells. I have no reason to believe that battery life is any worse than competing units, though. I already have memory stick devices, so this is a convenient media for me. I'm using a 512Mb stick without problem. Although earlier Sony laptops cannot be upgraded to read these larger sticks, its easy to put MP3s and other data onto the memory stick by using the Import/Export utils. This is a very useful capability in which a TG50 in the cradle can function as a removable drive in Windows. Its a bit disappointing that only 11Meg of internal memory is available, but in practice, this hasn't proven a problem. Most 3rd party apps support add-on memory. I've put all my BDict foreign language dictionaries on my memory stick, for instance. Those with a large number of applications can even store & run the apps from the memory stick, as long as they use a third party launcher, like SilverScreen. Speaking of MP3, the player is a bit vanilla, but does a fine job of playing music. Ironically, Sony's proprietary ATRAC3 format is not supported by the Memory Stick Pro standard necessary for 256Mb and larger memory sticks. After experimenting with ATRAC3, I never use it any more, ripping my CDs to MP3 instead. I'm not sure why you'd want to view movies on a dinky little screen like this, but the movie player does work. Its very practical to use a Sony camcorder to store an MPEG on a memory stick and play it back on the PDA. Ripping DVDs is a lot more complex (look to one of the Clie discussion boards for suggestions on how to do it), and I don't have the patience or desire to do it, but I have downloaded and watched about 40 minutes of video, just to prove it could be done. The jog-dial and backup button on the side of the PDA are quite useful, allowing simple left-hand operation of all the built-in applications and many 3rd party applications. Although the jog-dial was useless on laptops, its perfectly suited to PDA use. When talking on the phone, for instance, I can pull my PDA out of my pocket, flip open the lid, and review my schedule and contact info with my free hand. Speaking of phones, I do not have a Bluetooth mobile, but I've tested this, and it does connect to the Nokia, so I have every reason to believe that it would integrate well with mobile phones. I do use Bluetooth to synch with my laptop, which works very well. Its nice being able to travel without needing a synch cable. Also, the TG50 can receive files sent by other Bluetooth devices. It only recognises .VCF and .TXT, asking your permission to store the received object in either an address book entry or memo. An inexpensive 3rd party utility called ReceiveIT will let you add support for additional file extensions, so you could accept JPGs and .DOCs, storing them in the memory stick, if you like. PicselViewer will let you view either of those types of files. The screen is small for viewing full-sized documents, but in a pinch, you can scroll around and read the whole thing. Its kind of handy sometimes to be able to view PDFs, Word docs, and graphics. The built-in applications for manipulating bit maps seem pretty weak, and I'm not interested in doing that on my handheld. You can setup a slide show, and given how cheap memory sticks are, its perfectly practical to carry around slide shows showing your family, your vacation, whatever. The ability to store voice memos was appealing to me, and I do sometimes 'jot down' ideas verbally when it isn't convenient to use the keypad. I have accidentally left the voice recorder running a couple times, but I've trained myself to always leave the Power button in the 'hold' position, so it isn't a big problem. Although the built-in applications are decent, I'd already been using some 3rd party apps on my Handspring, so I put the latest versions of them on my Sony. All of the following work fine with the Sony, supporting the jog-dial, color, and the high-res screen mode. I launch them one-handed using the row of 4 application buttons across the top of the keypad. Datebook5 for calendar and todos, KeyContact for contact list, and WordSmith for memos and larger documents. I'm totally pleased with this PDA. Its fast, convenient, attractive, and sturdy. It fits my needs perfectly.
Rating:
Summary: useful, keyboard is a bit klunky
Review: The screen is nice and bright, very readable. I have only used it for basic stuff so far (Calendar and Address Book), but it does that fine. It syncs with a PC, and I've had no software problems or glitches with it at all. I wanted a PDA with a keyboard, and I do find it handy, but it's tiny and there's three different shift keys (standard, red, and blue) to get all the characters supported. Typing numbers is particularly awkward (it involves the blue shift key), which is too bad, because you need to do that a lot. As other reviewers have noted, the documentation is skimpy. There is a quick-start manual but it doesn't have much detail. I thought there was no documentation on Grafitti at all until I found a tiny reference card in the box (that's apparently all .. I guess it's not a problem if you've used this before). Their Web site doesn't help much either, although there's some kind of advanced guide referenced there they want you to pay money for. I have looked at the Palm Tungsten C and Handspring Treo 600 - both also have keyboards. Maybe they're better, and they do have more features (the Palm has WiFi, and the Treo is a phone too). However, the Sony is significantly lower cost. I'm happy enough so far to not want something higher up the scale.
Rating: 
Summary: Does not work with Windows XP and Outlook 2002
Review: The SONY PDA does not synchronize with MS Outlook as advertised. This is not an isolated problem. I have seen many postings on the Internet concerning this issues. SONY does not have a solution. I have a DELL Notebook running Windows XP and Outlook 2002 over a standard office network. I have spoken to SONY Tech Support 4 times for over 6 hours! I have reinstalled every piece of related software (SONY, Intelisync and Outlook) and still I cannot synchronize with my computer I own a number of Sony product including my home computer and a digital camcorder. I am very disappointed in SONY and cannot recommend this product.
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