Rating: 
Summary: Set apart from other PDA's in it's price range
Review: *NOTE: This review is from itreviews.co.uk*
The latest addition to the Clié SJ stable of PDAs from Sony is the SJ33, a mid-range, Palm OS-based palmtop. It's much improved over its SJ30 sibling, with an uprated processor, integrated MP3 player and a clamshell lid design.Sony has designed the SJ33 to remind people of the Walkman line. The back and sides are an attractive gloss black which makes it stand out from its competitors but also unfortunately also shows up every fingerprint and smudge. It's a compact unit measuring 73 x 108 x 22mm with a weight of 172g. Along the top edge of the Clié SJ33 sit the Memory Stick slot, the infra-red port window and the headphone jack, while the left-hand side holds the JogDial, the Back button and a dual purpose switch. Turn this in one direction to switch the unit off; turn it the other way to activate the Hold function for playing MP3's with the screen off. Five navigation buttons sit below the screen. The middle one - the up/down scroll button - has the power LED built into the middle of it, which glows green when the Clié SJ33 is on, orange while charging and shuts off when the battery is fully charged. The battery is an 800ma Li-Ion Polymer unit that Sony rates at 17 days of average usage. This equates to approximately 10 hours of music playback with the display off, dropping to 4 with it on. The Clié SJ33 uses the excellent 320 x 320 pixel, 65,000-colour screen found throughout the Clié range; constantly backlit, the screen is bright with first-rate colour balance either indoors or in sunlight. Protecting the screen is a hard, semi transparent flip cover which unfortunately doesn't flip all the way over, but the screen can be seen through the cover with the backlight on, and by using the JogDial, utilities can be used without opening the cover. As you'd expect, there's a good range of utilities built in. The Palm OS provides notebook, address book, alarm/calendar and many other applications, plus there are literally thousands more available for download from the Web, so you won't be stuck for software. Probably the 'killer' application of the Clié SJ33 is the integrated MP3 player, although it can only play files stored on a memory stick. The files themselves can be in MP3 or Sony's own ATRAC format. There is a Bass Boost function which boosts the sound quality considerably when using the supplied headphones; the internal speaker isn't that good, with poor sound quality and volume level. The background play utility lets you listen to music while doing other tasks with the Clié SJ33. Sony also includes a utility that converts WAV files into alarm sounds on a PC. Powered by a 66MHz DragonBall Super VZ processor, the Clié SJ33 comes with just 16MB of RAM and 4MB of ROM memory but with its Memory Stick slot you can add as much memory as you can afford, although unfortunately it's not compatible with the imminent Memory Stick Pro format. Somewhat surprisingly, the Clié SJ33 uses the 4.1 version of Palm's OS rather than the new version 5. Verdict: The Clié SJ33's styling and integrated MP3 player set it apart from other PDAs in the mid-range price bracket, and while its performance is behind some Pocket PC-equipped PDAs, it's faster than a lot of its Palm OS rivals.
Rating: 
Summary: Love the sony clie
Review: Bought this to replace my Palm III which I had for many years and relied on completely to keep life sane. Palm still worked great but wanted better screen display & more functionality. found everything with clie. No complaints. Easy software install on pc at work and home to keep everything synchronized and ok. Moved all data from palm III without too much trouble. One glitch with transferring data from Palm iii (both use same operating system) Kept getting messages about dates prior to 1970 not being supported. Don't have them, don't care. Just deleted the items and they went away. Highly recommend this product even if you are moving from a Palm platform.
Rating:
Summary: Good PDA but soon to be replaced.
Review: Clie SJ33 had very good form factor and design. There's no need to spend extra $$ on case or hardcase. The built in flip protects the screen and looks cool. Hold/power switch is also very nice for mp3 playback. The major pro's are,
1. Good build quality and stylish casing.
2. Jog dial, hold switch and memory stick expansion slot.
3. HiRes color display and good backlight.
4. About 7-8 hrs of battery life with mp3 playback.
5. Runs Palm OS 4 which has zillion free apps available. Very easy, reliable and not bloatware unlike Windoze on PocketPC. Con's,
1. Only 128kbps or low bitrate mp3 can be played.
2. Uses a Lithium Ion battery...
3. To be discontinued and replaced by a newer model by Sony very soon.
4. Memory stick is expensive compared to CF cards. Plus this model won't support new MS Pro sticks. If you can wait for till Sept/Oct new Sony PDA's should come out with Palm OS 5 and better features at same price point.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Bang for the Buck
Review: First the bad. Yes, you need a memory stick, but that makes sense because it only has 16MB ram. It ships with half of the memory allready used up, so you'll want to do a little spring cleaning to free up some RAM. And its only OS 4.1. Now the good. I upgraded from a Handspring Visor Deluxe. What a sweet little package this Clie is! Its fast, convenient, powerful and, oh yea, plays MP3's. The display is great. Stores wonderful pictures in high resolution. My games look great, though all I play is Text Twist. Finally customer support was supurb. I got through in about 10 minutes and my problem was easily resolved....
Rating: 
Summary: Sony Should be Ashamed!
Review: For sony to put out a product as worthless as this is a sheer disgrace!! I normally purchase sony products because I believe that they are of an exceptional quality. In this case, oh, am I ever sorely mistaken. Don't waste your money or your time. I am going to return my worthless product to the store and beg them to take it back!
Rating:
Summary: Sony Gets It Right
Review: For the past six months I've been looking for a replacement for my Visor Edge, but none of the PDAs on the market seemed to provide exactly what I wanted. When I found Sony's SJ33, however, I suspected that it was the ideal device for me, and a month of use has only confirmed my satisfaction with it. I could go on and on about all the features that I like on the SJ33. I'd never been very impressed with the color screens that I'd seen on Palm and Handspring products, but the Sony high resolution display is crisp and bright. The hard flip cover makes a separate case unnecessary; I just slip the Clié in my pants pocket and go. The integrated MP3 player is perfect for taking a mix of favorite tunes on a walk or a commute. Plus, the Clié just looks so darned sleek and sophisticated and cool. I'm a Mac user, so I had to buy a copy of The Missing Sync to sync the Sony with my iBook. (It would have been nice if Sony had included a rebate so that Mac users could get the software for free. Gestures such as that would go a long way towards winning over the Mac portion of the PDA market.) With the software installed, though, the Clié syncs without a hitch to Address Book and iCal, and it's a simple matter to copy photos from iPhoto and MP3s from iTunes. What don't I like? Well, nothing really. As others have said, the application and scroll buttons are smaller than on most PDAs, but once I got used to that it hasn't been a problem using them, even for games. And it would be nice if the Audio Player could handle the Apple Music Store's AAC format instead of requiring a workaround to get downloaded tunes into MP3 format. But I'm just nitpicking. All in all, the SJ33 does exactly what I need it to do. It looks good, it works without a hitch, and it has the feel of a well-made, quality product. I prefer it hands down over any of Handspring or Palm's current offerings, including the much-ballyhooed new Zire 71!
Rating:
Summary: Color matters!
Review: Functionally and economically, this pda is great! I read all the other reviews before buying the first one for a friend. At first, I thought the comment about 'the flip cover being an annoying metallic sheen' in one of the reviews rather odd (especially when the black pda that I ordered came and it looked great). Later, I ordered another SJ33 pda for myself, this time in blue(also available in light blue & orange). After laying eyes on the blue pda, I have to admit that the review was quite on the nose. I am having a hard time getting over how tacky the metallic/reflecting flip cover is on this pda! However, when my friends saw it, they thought it was cool because it looks different than the rest of the pda's out there...and it might be good for gals who want to use it as a mirror, too. I guess it's just a matter of preference; but, if you're buying it for someone else, it would probably be safer to go with black.
Rating:
Summary: A True Pocket-Size PDA
Review: has best mix of truly usable PDA functions, fast processor, great screen, compact size, affordable. Unfortunately, Sony dropped the universal IR remote feature of the earlier T615, I wish they had kept that. The MP3 player feature works well enough, though will balk at some files if it doesnt think the copyright is kosher, can be pretty annoying. But for true PDA use as calendar, memo pad, etc I find it to be very usable, and carry it with me always. The size and screen lid make it easier to carry in a pocket than some of the other bigger PDAs. I note that those I know who bought the fancier and larger do-everything VX70 PDA never actually use it, whereas the Sj33 is on the job every day doing actual work!
Rating:
Summary: Cheap materials for casing?
Review: I agree this is a great product, but has anyone else here noticed that the faux metal casing you see when you flip open the cover scratches really easily? I don't know how they're getting there, but every couple of days I notice a new little nick on this silvery material. Is it just me?
Rating:
Summary: Very impressive
Review: I am a first time Palm OS PDA buyer. I have owned other PDAs before, but never a "Palm". So I did a little research and was ready to purchase a Sony Clie SJ-30. I happened to notice the SJ-33 on display in the store and sat and compared the two for a while. I went with the SJ-33, and WOW, am I impressed. The Sony Clie SJ-33 is easy to setup, easy to use, and quite asthetically (sorry, if I misspelled that) pleasing. The cover fits nicely and securely over the face and the buttons so I can carry my PDA in my pocket without accidentally starting something. The screen is clear and easy to read. And synching your information is a snap (or should I say a tap...okay, bad joke). The only drawbacks I see are the lack of a cradle for synching and charging. The SJ-33 uses one adaptor that fits into two cables (one for synching, the other for charging). A bit cumbersome, but I can deal with it. I have to agree with the other reviewers who say that the battery drains a bit quickly. Other than those two drawbacks, I have absolutely no complaints about the Sont Clie SJ-33. I have only had it for about a week but am VERY pleased. I can't wait for my memory sticks to arrive from Amazon so I can try out the built-in MP3 player.
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