Buy Sony CLIE PEG-NR70V Handheld PDASony CLIE PEG-NR70V Handheld PDA Product Description:
- Built-in digital camera for taking photos on the go; save files on optional Memory Sticks
- High-resolution reflective color display includes front lights for excellent visibility indoors and outdoors
- Built-in MP3 audio player; includes stylish headphones and remote control
- 16 MB memory, 66 Mhz processor
- What's in the box: Clie handheld, Headphones, Audio remote controller, USB HotSync cradle, AC adapter, Stylus, installation CD-ROM, application guide
Product Description
If you're like most people, your life is filled with appointments, social engagements & meetings. Keeping track of it all can be tough. Until Sony created the Clie, that is. From a Palm OS 4.1 & 8MB built-in memory to Calendar, Appointment & To-Do List functions, this is one sharp organizer. But it doesn't stop there. It also includes great entertainment & expansion features, like a Memory Stick expansion slot, a built-in MP3 player & a video player. Who says life has to be all work and no play?
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
50 of 51 people found the following review helpful.
CAMERA INFO HERE
By coolreviewer1
I agree with many of the reviews (buttons poorly placed, keyboard arguably not faster than Graffiti, excellent screen color, etc.), and love the device in general; but would like to give you more info about the camera to help choose between the V and non-V models. I have owned a 3.2 megapixel digital camera, and the Handspring expansion Eyemodule camera for comparison. The CLIE camera takes descent color photos. They appear particularly nicely on the small PDA screen, and can easily take photos in good light (mandatory, no flash), especially of close objects (within 5-6 feet). Great for quick photos of people (can even take mini size and attach to address files!), kids, etc. At a distance, slightly grainy for sure, but I have photographed my house, my car, and even my flagpole with good success. Again, bright light is required for a good shot. Can take MANY shots without wearing down the battery (exactly how many i do not know, but would guess dozens and dozens), and they are all thumbnailed in tiny size in the PDA program to allow access, review. Can import/export to Memory Stick, and I have a 128MB Memory STick in the slot [price] and can store hundreds of color photos. Uses: I have a friend househunting who uses his to take photos of each home. Take car wreck damage photos, take people you meet at a bar photos, take road sign photos for directions, a quickpic for on-line sales, covertly snap people you work with to show the spouse ("this is Jennie that I work with...see, she ain;t so cute"), etc. The fact that you have the camera all the time is a major plus! Can change effects, can take B/W pics, can change lighting sensitivity, can even do some (useless) fun picture effects (solar, negatives, etc.). All photos can be modified on the CLIE with PaintWorks (included) right on the CLIE to add funny gestures, change some colors, and such (but does not crop, enlarge etc.) Negative: unlike my Eyemodule Handspring that can hotsync the images to a PC, Sony has decided to make us buy a Memory Stick and Reader/Writer ([price]; the knock-off reader only is [price]) to get the photos from CLIE, to Stick, to PC. Once on the PC can modify with any software program you use, as these are JPEG images. Can email, print hard copy and the like. The Sony Memory Stick reader/writer is also very helpful, but I do not beleive required, to get your CD collection on Memory Stick MP3s for CLIE listening. So, bottom line, you will be spending another [price] dollars beyond the PDA price to get a large size Memory stick and the reader, count on it. I personally use the camera every few days, which is more than I can say for my digicam that I never seem to have when I need it. For the extra [price] bucks, the camera, in my humble opinion, is very worthwhile. Happy shooting!
50 of 54 people found the following review helpful.Sony Clie PEG-NR70v Plus and Minus
By A Customer
The new peg-nr70v is an excellent machine. While this review lists the plus and minus features to help you make your choice overall I rate this device as the top PDA I've owned.
Pro1) Beautiful Screen. The best on the market2) The dropping of the silkscreen area for a software replacement is an excellent design (Sony did not lead the way here however) and smacks of many future possibilities.3) The software graffiti area allows for instant feedback of text entry mistakes.4) The magnesium case is rugged and attractive. It will scratch though.5) The clamshell design is a breakthrough. Anyone who has a PDA needs some kind of case or cover. In my experience these things are always a pain. No longer.6) The camera and mp3 player are nice additions and send a clear message about sony's business model.7) The keyboard works but I am faster with graffiti.8) The rechargeable battery has excellent life. I recharge it every three or four days even though the indicator still shows full.
Cons1) The traditional hardkeys (date, phone, task, note) are really badly placed. With the screen rotated you cannot get to them at all. It would have been "easy" to incorporate these buttons as soft keys in the new graffiti area (or just below). This is my biggest negative.
2)The pen is too skinny. This is the skinniest pda pen going and it can get tiring to hold it.
3) The return button on the side of the device is tiny and difficult to depress. Sony got it right in earlier Clie models I don't know what happened here.
Wishlist: loose the keyboard and add wireless email. I just don't use the keyboard enough and the additional space provided by its absence is more than enough for Sony to add additional small miracles.
32 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
Your New Best Device
By cinemagirl
Once, years ago, I had proclaimed, "I could never use a PDA; I'd always be worried about running out of batteries or losing the information. Good old paper organizers are enough for me." That was then. A while later, while sorting through all my Post-It notes and hand "archiving" them into the back pocket of my fabric organizer, I decided to look into PDAs. Couldn't I keep a typed list of things to do without straining for hours to decipher my hasty handwriting on yellow bits of paper? Wouldn't it be nice to put an organizer that weighed a few ounces into my bag instead of the one I had which was quickly reaching the weight of a brick? Being a student, I wanted something reliable that also scored exceptionally well in the "coolness" section. My first inclination was to go with a Palm Pilot - after all, they're everywhere, right? Palm this, Palm that. Celebrities swear by them according to a few magazines, ads show off shiny new models all the time, and "Palm Pilot" seems to have become synonymous with the word "PDA." That's it, I had decided. I'm going with a Palm m100 or m105 (a decision purely determined by price); the next day, I said, "That's it, I'm going with the Handspring Visor (the decision purely determined by the cool case colors).
Little did I know that seeing a PDA on the web is very different from seeing a PDA in person. Like supermodels and magazine covers, most photos of PDAs seem to go through this "retouching" phase thanks to Adobe. When I saw the Palms, I was immediately disappointed; the screens were barely visible to me. When I saw the Handsprings, I was again disappointed; the supposedly vibrant "colors" turned out to be rather dull and unimpressive. After asking others for their opinions, I was told that the Sony Clié was the best way to go. The Sony what? I had never even heard that Sony was in the PDA business. A sales guy showed me the Sony Cliés - it was instant love. I first purchased the Sony T-615, a perfectly competent model that did everything I hoped it would; until, that is, the NR-70V came out. As someone who loves the latest and greatest, I traded it in for the newest model. A built-in keyboard? Better resolution? A camera? I was sold! Of course, there were those who jealously defended their Palm Pilots, insisting that Palms were the best in this and that, that Sonys can't even touch what they had. Well, I was already taken by the Sony. I now laugh that I went from the... 150 m100 or m105 to the... NR-70V. What a leap!
I had just returned from a summer vacation to Thailand. I always use a vacation as a diagnostic test on how effective an electronic device is. Why? Because while at home I am gingerly handling the device, careful not to scratch it, afraid of wasting the batteries, terrified of using it too much; while on vacation, however, thrown into, ironically, hectic situations (handling airline schedules, quickly converting currencies in line at the store, checking world times before flights, bringing up dictionaries to haggle with store owners), I am forced to break out the device to apply it to life situations. In Thailand, the PDA never left my side. Carefully protected in its Brando leather case, I used it for everything (see parentheses above). I even took pictures with it. Be careful to note, however, that the camera on this device is not top quality; they're pictures you take for fun, not ones you take to print out brilliant photos later. So, if you do want to take digital pictures on vacation, be sure to bring a capable camera. However, there's great value in having a camera with you all the time. The camera is great for taking quick photos when you don't have the time to whip out your digital camera (or even when you forget to bring it). "I wish I had a camera with me!" Well, now you do.
A variety of programs can also make your NR-70V even more useful. BugMe! is a program that is designed like Post-It notes (you know, the pieces of paper I used to have all over the place pre-PDA); you just tap the icon on your device, bring up a new "sheet," and use your stylus to write right on the screen in your own handwriting. A great program for those who don't want to use Graffiti or type on the cumbersome mini-keyboard. Another program called Energy Dimmer is great for automatically dimming the backlight of your PDA after a number of seconds. If you are going to use this PDA for typing up notes, keeping the backlight on will drain the batteries quickly (along with using intensive programs such as games). Download this program so it will dim when it is idle, thus saving you batteries and the trouble of turning the device on and off every few minutes.
After visiting three airports, countless stores and restaurants, and many scenic sights, I have to say that this is the best PDA on the market. There are several good reviews out there that contain more technical jargon than I've provided here; I just hope this review has been helpful for those seeking a more "day-to-day" review. Some more specific points and tips to help you decide:
* The button placements are not ideal. They are awkward, requiring one to reach in and push into the heart of the PDA.
* The built-in keyboard is not very user friendly. The buttons are small; not much of a relief from using the Graffiti. It is a pain to capitalize and use numbers. I recommend getting the newly released PEGA-KB11 keyboard. It's a fold-out and full-sized keyboard that allows you to type as though you are on a laptop.
* If you want to use the camera instead of a digital camera (meaning these are just fun photos, not to be printed at great quality), use it with plenty of light, as there is no flash included. I took photos of some people in my tour group - one in a dark restaurant, the other in a bright restaurant - the difference is great. You can take pictures of people with this and insert the thumbnail photo in your address book.
* The MP3 player, in my opinion, is not very useful. First of all, you need a special white memory stick (different from the blue ones) to store the files. The price can add up. The design of this PDA is also a bit bizarre, so it's not really convenient to use it as a music player.
* The screen resolution is the best on the market right now. Some PDA screens will become almost unreadable with the backlight off; the Sony is still readable (with some reasonable ambient light) without the backlight.
* Be sure you can live with the clamshell design. Many people find this design awkward and unnecessary. Personally, I think it gives the PDA a "mini laptop" feel and plenty of versatility. You can sit it open like a laptop, flip the screen over like a spiral notebook, et cetera.
* If you don't want to use the cradle to charge or hotsync, purchase a cable that'll allow you to charge and hotsync via your computer (using the USB slot).
In conclusion, the Sony Clié NR-70V is a great buy if you know it'll be compatible with your needs. It is always with me, and many programs and add-ons can enhance the experience. This is your all-in-one device: an organizer, a camera, a currency converter, a laptop, a photo gallery, a subway map, your international watch, a music player, a remote control, a movie player, etc. After having this for a few months, I can't believe I ever preferred a paper organizer over this. This is definitely everything you want it to be.
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