Rating: Summary: not bad but too PC-centric Review: The screen it hi-res but too hard to read. It can store data on the memory stick but it's not like it just shows up on the home screen so you can't just load it up with programs. And not all programs can take advantage of the extra space.You don't absolutely NEED it but if you're on a Mac I recommend you get the Mac enabling software...
Rating: Summary: good features but display is difficult to read Review: The T415 is my first PDA. I'm impressed with the features and speed of this product. I was able to set up the IR port with my Dell Latitude w/o difficulty, which enabled cable-free copy and synchronization with my contact manager (Goldmine v5.x). The pen-free, "jog dial" navigation makes a lot more sense than fiddling with the tiny stylus. The only problem with the T415 is the dim display. I didn't notice this issue at first. But, after a long day or airline flight, I find that it's practically unreadable. I'm upgrading to the color Clie when time permits.
Rating: Summary: The lightest PDA with minor flaws Review: This is a wonder hand-held, because one wonders how one PDA can have truly amazing features and yet have a set of very bad ones. Let us start with amazing ones: this is the thinnest and lightest Palm PDA on Earth that is a pleasure to hold in a hand. The screen is the state of art with its low reflection and amazing resolution (the highest resolution you have ever seen on any PDA or in fact on any computer screen) so that text fonts look like from a journal cover. With its Jog-dial, back button and memory stick expansion slot PEG-T415 could have been in the PDA Hall of Fame and the best PDA for under [$$$]. However, do not get too excited until you learn about its flaws: The screen has low contrast, which makes it hard to read in dim light, in fact the brighter the light the better it looks (Color T615 has the same high resolution but easy to read in all lights.) The flip cover with its rugged "outdoor" style appearance is so disastrous that one wonders if it is the product of malicious engineering. The cover can easily kick a Memory Stick out of its slot leaving you wondering where you lost this expensive stick. If this is not enough, when closed the cover manages to press on application buttons leaving you wondering why your batteries are drained. Highly hyped back button could indeed have been a marvel if it would function as "back button", that is taking you back where you were before. No, SONY decided that "back" has only one meaning - "your application/home screen", making it useless repetition of "application button". Third, SONY miniaturized the standard five buttons that all Palms have to tiny thin switches leaving you wondering where is a toothpick to operate them (the worst is up/down button which is most frequently used and which SONY decided to make the smallest... how convenient). Oh, if you still want to buy it here is good hint: on ebay you can purchase a hotsync USB cable that is cheaper than SONY's and that unlike SONY's can recharges and sinks at the SAME time (no need for adapter!).
Rating: Summary: I just love this Sony PEG-T415 Review: This is the best thing I have ever had. First, I must say that I'm a big fan of all Sony product, those people are just amazing. Second, there is no comparison with any palm device when it comes to the screen, and design as well. The unltra-slim design, to be honest, was the main and biggest feature I was looking for in a palm. I really needed a small and light PDA that I can carry anywhere without stuffing my pocket. I had the Palm M100 for more than a year, and it was great. It never failed me and give me problems, except for two things: not enough memory, and the backlight was awful, which is the case with almost all the palm devices, the backlight works well only if you are in total darkness, and it is not actually a "back light" because it only lights the fonts and icons against dark background. But, with all Sony palm devices, the back light works great. They gave you very bright light background against dark fonts and icons, although this takes some of battery life, it shouldn't be a problem becasue since it is rechargeable, unlike the Palm M100. This device is great in its processor speed, sound, and the wonderfull applications that come with it. It is also light in weight. I bought the ultra-slim leather case to protect it, and, though, it is slim and light. You won't even notice that you carry it in your pockect. Trust me, it is the thinnest palm ever made, as they say about it in Sony home page. The price also is not so bad. I strongly recommend it.
Rating: Summary: Good form factor, nice screen resolution, bad visibility Review: Very stylish monochrome PDA, very nice form factor. Pros: Very thin, solid metal frame, 8MB memory and 4MB flash, decent audio capabilities. Small form factor cradle, lots of bundled applications. Cons: Screen hard to read, it is much darker than my previous Palm PDA. Also, characters on the 320x320 display are thinner, making it harder to read. There is no contrast control for the screen, also, there is no way to select bold characters as default. Even with the backlight on, the display does not look anything like the nice black on white images shown in Sony ads (including the picture on Amazon.com).
Rating: Summary: The vision thing Review: When I first decided to buy a Palm device, I spent hours on Amazon comparing products, reading reviews. I was attracted to Sony's Clie mainly because of the brand name's reputation for quality. Reviews of this product were mostly positive. I concurred with other reviewers that I didn't really need a color display. But I was attracted to the higher resolution grayscale of this model. I wanted something mid-range in price, and this seemed to be the best choice. No sooner had I bought it and tried to use it for a few days than I realized it was almost impossible to read anything on the display. Adjusting the contrast does not help. The backlight helps very little. Imagine trying to read a poorly hand-written letter in a darkened theater: that is what using this device is like. You will either go blind in a hurry, or else you will simply stop using it because of the continuous eye-strain. It is sheer torture on the eyes. Of course, it has some excellent features. The memory stick can function as an external storage device while connected to your PC using ms-Gate. You can drag and drop documents to and from the stick using Windows Explorer. And Sony has put some excellent image-viewing software into this Palm device. In summary, do not buy the T415. Do not sacrifice your eyesight to any PDA. Having said that, I will applaud Sony's color models, the 760 especially. Do yourself a favor, and spend the extra (cash) on the 760. Your eyes will thank you every day.
Rating: Summary: Great looking, good performance Review: When my Palm IIIxe started getting flaky, I looked around for a new handheld. I wanted the Sony Clie 610, but apparently they're discontinuing it now--everyone's out of stock, including Sony's own store. Why they'd discontinue a popular midrange color handheld when the market is moving that way, I've no idea. The alternatives were to pay $... more for the audio capabilities of the 760, or pay $... less for the b/w 415. I chose the 415 because I don't really want or need the audio, and I liked the slim design. Overall, this is a great device. There IS a contrast control, contrary to what one of the other reviewers said--it's right on the front of the device in the bottom left hand corner of the input area. I do agree that the screen is dim and hard to read, but I find that in most cases the backlight helps, and since the battery is rechargeable, I don't worry too much about keeping the backlight on. The high res display is neat, and I think worth a little extra. I am not super-impressed with the pictures and movies--I think they'd work better on the color screen. I like the ability to use the Memory Stick, though I haven't tried it yet. Getting the data to my new Clie from the old Palm was very easy, thankfully. And there are a number of small features and 3rd-party apps that make this better than my old Palm. The WA Clock, for one, which allows you to.. *gasp* set an alarm without making a date book entry. The Clie can play various different sounds for an alarm, too. A lot of the 3rd-party apps are limited or trial versions, but Documents To Go (which allows you to share Word and Excel documents) is a welcome addition. My biggest gripe is that Sony has changed the connector on this handheld from previous Clies, so the Targus keyboard I bought (which claims to work with "Sony Clie Handhelds") doesn't fit it. Even the salesperson didn't seem aware of this, and Sony sure hasn't gone out of their way to publicize it; the only way you can tell is to note that there are separate versions of some of their peripherals for the 415 and for the 320/610/760 group. Oh well.. if they hadn't done that, this would've been a five-star machine.
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