Rating: 
Summary: Impressive
Review: The size is ideal, the screen is impressive, the 16mb of Ram a good point. The only drawback is the lack of battery life (two days of good usage, one intensive)...
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Display-Lots of Memory
Review: An elegant and sophisticated Palm OS PDA!
Rating:
Summary: Some comments on the screen
Review: I'm a big fan of PDAs and have had a Palm Vx, IIIc, and Compaq iPAQ. I don't have a Sony yet, but I am thinking of buying either this model or the new NR70 when it comes out, because of the 320 x 480 screen. But if I had to buy one right now, this would be my choice.The big pluses here are the drop-dead gorgeous screen and the full 16 megs of RAM. I compared the screen side by side with my IIIc--and while it isn't as bright as the IIIc's--it's still pretty good. It looks basically the same as my Compaq iPAQ's, pretty bright, but not blazingly so as with the IIIc, but still quite good. The resolution is four times that of the IIIc (160 x 160 = 25,600 pixels, vs. 320 x 320 = 102,300 pixels) so the fonts look great. If you're into ebooks and reading things on your PDA, this would be the PDA to buy. One other thing is that the screen has a slightly milky appearance, the same as the Compaq's. While not annoying, it's noticeable, but this is because the screen is partially back-reflective, which allows it to be read outdoors even in direct sunlight, where the Palm's would wash out totally. I also noticed that the Palm's screen is slightly wider--and we're talking very slightly here--maybe 1/64th of an inch or less, but side by side you can see it. This shouldn't be a problem because of the greater sharpness of the screen and fonts. And last but not least, the Sony has 64k colors whereas the IIIc's is only 256. If you're into displaying photos on your Palm, again, this would be the Palm to buy. I also compared the Sony's screen to the Palm 515, and I would have to say there isn't any detectable difference in brightness. Both PDAs have 64k colors, so the main difference is the higher resolution of the Sony. I don't know if there are differences between the two in terms battery life, however, but both should be quite a bit better than my IIIc, which, on high intensity, is probably only good for about 3-4 hours, although I can get at least 2-3 times this by running the screen at no more than 1/4 brightness, which is fine for a somewhat dimly lit room, although at that intensity it's not that readable for a typical office environment. In addition to the beautiful screen, add in the extra memory and the jog-wheel feature, which really is convenient, and this looks to be the best PDA out there in the Palm category, given all the features for the price.
Rating: 
Summary: Great display, lots of nice features, runs out of juice fast
Review: I bought this PDA because I was sick of squinting at my Palm IIIx. One look at the Sony's display in the store, and I was hooked. The backlight is bright, the graphics are beautiful, the text is sharp and easily legible even when it's tiny. The generous built-in 16 meg of RAM can be expanded with up to 128 additional meg if you buy a memory stick. This is something I plan to take advantage of when I buy my next toy--a Sony digital camera. ... you can take the memory stick out of the camera and put it into the PDA to see your pictures and show them around. I have definitely solved my squinting problem by buying the Sony PEG-T615CS. Unfortunately, there's a rather large fly in the ointment that cost this Sony PDA a star in my estimation. That little drawback is the battery life. After having this neat little toy for a week, it seems that charging up the battery is something I have to do every night...the darn thing won't make it through 2 days at work. (OK, so I have a serious Bejeweled addiction...I can't spend more than an hour a day playing it...can I? 8^) I suppose that turning down the display brightness might help. Unfortunately, the display is _really_ illegible if you don't turn the backlight on at all. I wish Sony had made this thing work with standard and/or rechargeable AAA cells. That was a point in the Palm IIIx's favor: I could get batteries for it in any drugstore. Update after a few more weeks of owning this PDA... The battery thing has gotten better. I guess the battery breaks in after a few recharges, and increases in capacity. The Clie will now easily go 2 days without recharging. Ok, so it's still not great--it's not miserable either. However, another problem has appeared: the lack of accessories is getting painful. Sony changed the cable interface for the T-series, so most accessories that work for other Sony models don't work with this one. In particular, I can't seem to find a cable for the Magellan Earthmate GPS I bought for love or money. Grrr...what an idiotic decison to switch the interface. Why doesn't Sony provide an adapter plug when they do this so older accessories will still work? The Clie _is_ great for reading e-books. I don't have to lug my Bible to church any more, since I got the whole thing on my Sony Clie...and if the sermon gets boring I can always switch to Bejeweled. Did I say I liked that game? The memory sticks are great. I don't expect to run out of memory on this thing any time soon. Of course, i had planned to fill up the memory with maps for the GPS that I can't connect...
Rating: 
Summary: PDA = Pesky Digital Annoyance
Review: While I am reasonably happy with my new Clie, I am not wild about it. It is sharp looking and easy to use. But, I'm finding myself to be far less impressed than I expected. The battery life is ridiculously short. Recharging should be an occasional task -- not one that I need to do every couple of days. And, the add on software is nice but it would have been better to have had more pre-installed. Yes, I do appreciate the opportunity to customize my PDA's contents. And sure, I need something to do when I'm not recharging the gizmo's battery...but I don't want to spend all that time installing software options! Afterall, I need some time to replace all of the contents previously loaded on the device when they are lost after the battery drains entirely while I'm otherwise occupied. You know, over a weekend when I'm involved with various recreational activities. I mean -- good God -- I thought I was buying a PDA here. Not a virtual pet! Do I have to monitor this thing like a nanny?! The thing is supposed to be helping me. Not adding another pointless responsibility to my life. It would also be nice if there were a few more accessories available now for this model. A keyboard would be appreciated. But I have not found one yet that is actually compatible with this model. Hopefully, that will change in time. For the most part, I may just need to get the hang of living with this gadget and depending on it every day...but right now it is more of a nuisance than I feel it should be.
Rating:
Summary: great but....
Review: this product has been great so far. but i couldn't get the movies to play with sound. i tried the sample movies then converted my movies with "High" sound in the setting, still with no sound. i'm not sure if something's wrong with this unit. anyone has any idea or has had movies played with sound? please let know. otherwise i may have to exchange or return it although i really like it otherwise. thanks
Rating:
Summary: convenient tool (actually I give this Clie a 3-1/2 stars)
Review: For my hectic scheduled life style, this is a great tool. I slip this thin slick tool into my pocket. Save me a lot of papers (no more appointment book, address book, note books and etecetera). The only problem which I encounter is the "beam" function. My friend tried to beam me her file, but my Clie couldn't receive any files. We double checked the little machine. Still, I ended up calling Sony technical support for help. When I did phone Sony, their phone system automatically hung up on me. So, I had to call back the next day between 8a.m. and 5p.m. business hours. Their tech support wasn't convenient to reach.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent color handheld
Review: I received the T615C as a birthday gift last month, to replace my aging Palm ... I've been using Palm devices for about five years now, and so I've come to store my entire life on them...The new T615C has 16MB of internal memory -- huge considering the small size of Palm OS applications and records -- and I picked up a 64MB Memory Stick...Even after putting things like Avantgo on there, it will be hard to fill 80MB in the absence of MP3 playback. One nifty thing: I was able to take a stick full of pictures from my friend's Sony Mavica camera, and view them immediately on the Clié. Sony is the master of centralization, having put Memory Stick slots in all of their major electronics products except the PlayStation 2. Using MS Import, the Clié in its cradle appears like a hard drive in Windows XP, letting me transfer files to and from the Memory Stick very quickly and easily. The unit is about as large as my old Palm III, and feels about as heavy. The aluminum casing is very stylish and rugged; while the small labels on the back suffer a bit from traveling around in my pocket unprotected, the unit itself feels very solid. It comes with a simple flip cover that flops around a bit, but can be unlatched from the back. I think I'll get a hard case for it, when one comes out. The whole thing weighs about five ounces, and I carry it around in my hip pocket with my wallet, or my jacket pocket easily. The screen is a transflective color LCD similar to that used in the Game Boy Advance. The screen is impossible to read indoors without using the backlight, but with the backlight it is gorgeous. The colors skew blue a little bit, but aside from that it is excellent for viewing photographs. Sony has once again stressed multimedia for their organizers: the Address book lets you put a small Print Club-sized thumbnail image beside the name, which links to a full-screen image. The included PictureGear Lite software is a bit clunky, but it gets the job done in converting images to fit on the device. Images are stored with very little compression, but you can use third-party apps like AcidImage and FireViewer to view larger JPEG files. I have several subway maps on my Memory Stick, for example. One other nifty trick: you can "retouch" photos by loading them in "CLIE Paint" on the handheld, adding thought bubbles and drawing fake beards on them. Nice touch. Three weaknesses exist for me with the PEG-T615C. First of all, since the T-series (along with the PEG-T415) is so new, there are very few accessories for it. My old Palm...assories, such as my GoType! Keyboard, are useless with it. This isn't a big problem, since I didn't use the keyboard quite that often. Second, the battery life is limited. The Memory Stick drains the battery particularly quickly, as does the backlight. While I haven't ridden the battery down to zero, I find it necessary to drop it in the cradle for a full charge every day. I've traveled with it for weekends without a problem, using it lightly as with any Palm OS device. Lastly, most people have a beef with the buttons on the front. While the application buttons (Date Book, Address Book, To Do List, and Memo Pad) have a nice solid feel to them, the up/down rocker switch is damn near impossible to press. Fortunately, Sony included a jog dial and a Back button on the side, which can be used in lieu of the up/down rocker and Applications silkscreen button in most applications. A small sun icon in the corner of the silkscreen can be used to adjust brightness of the backlight, a nice touch. Finally, in another traditionally Japanese way, a small hook on the side lets you attach a little lanyard to the side as you would with a mobile phone. Unfortunately, such lanyards are hard to come by in the U.S. I received the Clié as a gift, so I can't comment on whether it's worth the money... Or, if you're feeling like a new color PDA, splurge. The high-res display is breathtaking, and if you already own a Mavica you can shuttle the Memory Stick back and forth between the camera and PDA. All in all, a very cool PDA.
Rating:
Summary: Great Organizer with plenty of plusses
Review: I have had the T615C for over a month now and I absolutely love it. I bought this unit to replace my old Palm IIIx that I had outgrown. First off, the screen is by far the absolute best screen in the business. I even just compared it to the new Palm M515 and the high resolution just blows Palm away. When you need to use the backlight, the picture is amazing, and it's just as good when your outside or in a very bright room with the backlight turned off. I don't use many of the multimedia features (movie and mp3 especially), so I really don't have a problem with battery life. I just recently went on a business trip for 5 days and forgot my extra charging cord, but my battery lasted for the entire 5 days. I use this as a PIM, so my total daily time is probably about 30 minutes. The jog dial is great, especially since the rocker switch in the middle it pretty much worthless. My recommendation....GO GET IT, YOU WON'T REGRET IT.
Rating:
Summary: A Great General-Purpose PDA
Review: T615C Review I have had a Sony Clie T615C for a week now, and here are my impressions and some considerations for potential buyers. PROS
- The T615C has a great screen. Text and other fine details are crisp and easy to see thanks to the 320x320 resolution (four times the pixels of the typical 160x160). Photographs are particularly stunning on this display, and you can fit much more text on the screen (with proper application support). Having experienced the higher resolution, I would never go back to the lower resolution of other PDAs.
- The beautiful slim design (only half an inch thick) makes the T615C very easy to fit into pockets and other confined spaces. Also, the unit feels very sturdy and well-built.
- The Jog Dial and Back button are great enhancements that all PDAs should have. Once you start using them, they will make navigation through programs much easier. (I believe that these are currently only available on Sony Clie models like the T615C.)
- The 16 MB of RAM is much more than enough for most users; I have about a dozen programs installed, plus a full dictionary, and have only used about half the space. Also, inexpensive Memory Sticks can give you even more room.
- The included application bundle is quite comprehensive, with a photo viewer, paint program, games, and more. Especially valuable for Microsoft Office users is a full version of Documents To Go 4.0. (Note that some of the included programs are demos only.)
- MIDI music clips on the T615C sound great and make for fun alarm sounds. CONS
- Colors on the screen tend to be a bit washed out and muddy (not fully saturated). For example, the red on a T615C screen is not as "vibrant" as the red on a computer monitor. This appears to be a function of using the backlight, since the colors are much better when viewing the T615C screen in direct sunlight (of course, you will almost always be using the backlight). This issue is not important unless you need perfect color reproduction for some reason.
- Some T615C units seems to have brighter screens that others, due to manufacturing inconsistencies. Nevertheless, unless you compare the screen side by side with other units, you probably won't notice it.
- There is no way to charge the T615 without using the cradle, which is a bit cumbersome to carry around. There is a small AC adapter, which connects to the cradle, and a USB cable to connect the cradle to your computer, which results in a big jumble of wires. If you do a lot of traveling, I recommend investing in a travel charger.
- It is unfortunate that Sony is calling the T615C a "personal entertainment organizer" since I find it to be better-suited for everyday business / personal management tasks, not entertainment. This model is not well-suited for playing action games, since the application buttons and the scroll button are somewhat small. Also, it does not play MP3s without a special accessory. If these things are important to you, look elsewhere. Note that *stylus-based* games look great, sound great, and play great on the T615C.
- There are not many third-party accessories (e.g. keyboards) for the T615C... yet. This situation will get better over time. Also, though Memory Sticks are great for storage, the MS interface has not been widely adopted for implementing add-on peripherals, like a GPS receiver. If accessories are important to you, you should consider a Palm or Handspring model instead. (Though remember that accessories do detract from the portability of a PDA, particularly a slim model like the T615C.) ADVICE
- Before you buy, visit a local retailer to see the T615C in action, especially its amazing screen.
- If you purchase the T615C, I strongly recommend getting a screen protector at the same time. A protector is a thin plastic film that is laid on the screen to protect it from scratches. Though you may be able to keep away bigger scratches by handling the unit carefully, it is possible for dust to get caught under the stylus and scratch the screen slightly during normal use. Check online for PDA screen protector manufacturers.
- I also recommend getting a case, though this is not as important as the screen protector. You can get a hard case, pouch, or belt clip case, depending on your needs. There are not a large number of case options for the T615C, but enough to satisfy just about anyone.
- If you are on a budget, you can get the T415 for about half the price. It does not have a color screen, and has only 8 MB of RAM, but it is even thinner than the T615C and has all of the other features.
- For more buying information and advice for the T615C and other Clie models, I have found the Clie Source web site to be an excellent resource. (Amazon does not want URLs posted in reviews, so check a search engine for the URL.) In summary, I highly recommend the T615C for anyone who wants a great PDA, but who doesn't need a lot of add-ons or entertainment functions. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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