In 1996 I was very pleased with my purchase of a Palm Pilot 2000; I no longer had to keep my schedule in text files and paper calendars. A few years later I was very excited to move on to the PalmV: extra memory, auto-charging, truly slim, and very readable. However, when I finally realized this loyal gadget couldn't last much longer I wasn't looking forward to the change. The memory was tight, the screen needed frequent calibration (or my pen strokes had no correspondence to activity on the screen) and I seemed to get battery warning far too early. However, it worked. It's rare when continued contentment matches the enthusiasm of the original technolust. In this case, I didn't want anything else, I just wanted what I had to work. But when it's hardware reset button refused to work, an avenue closed by which I could mitigate the other failings. Time to upgrade.
One option was to buy another PalmV for $300; who wants to spend money to get what you already have? Another option was to pay $400 to get the 8M of memory offered by the PalmVx; that was too expensive for such a marginal improvement. I seriously considered the USB enabled Visors, but the plug-in modules were uninspiring, the screens not as clear, and ultimately the devices felt too large.
The unimaginable had happened, I was sad about getting a new gadget. Then the fortuitous happened, I discovered the Sony Clie! It has a sharp screen (the PalmV has slightly less glare), a similar form factor (the Clie is slightly longer and thicker), and 8M of RAM. With the rebate and clueful on-line shopping a Clie can be had for under $300 dollars! Plus, Sony has added two rather neat features: a jog dial and 8M Memory Stick! I don't require either of these, but they're growing on me as geeks in Japan (where the Clie is like manna) continue to write new hacks that capture their potential. However, the real plus is the (slightly noisy) backlight. I kid you not, comparing the backlit screen of the Clie to the PalmV, is like comparing the PalmV screen to my original Palm: I can't believe I used to use the PalmV backlight! Everything about the Clie design is sweet: the stylus slots in like Excaliber returning to its sheath, (a stylus three pack comes included), the case is one the best I've ever seen, and the lightweight charger can be taken on the road and power the Clie without it's cradle -- yes, infrared hotsynchs work fine. While I hear that the USB is somehow married to a COM/serial port (and consequently not as fast) it's about twice as fast as my PalmV synchs through a serial port. The only hardware complaint I have is that the hotsynch cradle isn't as solid as the PalmV's.
The gear is tight, and if you don't stray far from the Palm PIM and Eudora, the software is fine, though using the included TrueSynch for dealing with Outlook can increase one's stress levels. However, the Clie's presence in the US seems to be a Japanese afterthought and consequently (aside from its great price) its presence in terms of marketing and service are less than satisfactory in the US. If you want accessories (keyboards, GPS, and modems, etc.) they were just shown at CES, so you're going to have to wait a bit for them to appear on the shelves.
However, given the incredible price, awesome hardware, and strong user community, I suspect I might be sad a few years down the road when it's time to move on.
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