Well, let's start by the basics. This machine is HUGE by any means if you compare it to any other PDA. It's like, well, the Darth Vader of all the Palm Powered devices. It's black, it's menacing, it's all-powerful. You can stun an attacker with it if you whirl it over your head and hit him (it includes a convenient hand strap for that purpose).Jokes aside, it is well built (i used to have a Clie NR70V and it was very fragile), the hinges and swivels are tight, it won't open inside your backpack and get all scratched inside.
It is also a nice PDA, with all the useful stuff that any common handheld has. (Memo, Agenda, Address, To Do, Whatever). But it excels on the add-ons. That's the best part.
The digital camera is awesome (autofocus/manual focus, flash, 2.0 MP) and it can store hundreds of pictures. There are many options and settings to play with.
It also has audio recorder software. The sound is crisp, clear, and you can record many, many, many hours of speech, enviromental audio or anything.
As any other Clie, it has its own mp3 player. There's no need to buy the special SONY smartmedia card to use it: a Lexmark alternative will do the trick.
Of course, if you combine audio + pictures, you'll get a video camera. It works as one. Not great quality, it might be compared with having a webcam with you all the time.
What else ? Integrated keyboard, speaker, remote control, a couple of headphones, infrared port.
I can even speak about Bluetooth. I don't have any bluetooth gear in my house, but i'm leaving the wake-up option enabled and see if i find any BT devices in my office. Besides the blinking blue led looks cool :).
It has many improvementes since the last Clie versions. The memory stick has changed its place, so it doesn't flip out every time you put it in your pocket. The craddle is now foldable and you can take it everywhere to charge and/or connect your clie. You can even attach it to the PDA and carry it around.
Even when it is bulky, it is very well built and with a nice eequilibrium... you can hold it in your hand and it won't fall easily. That happened with the NR70V: the screen was heavier than the body, so it fell backwards always.
The keyboard is a lot better and easier to use by now. Also the back button has been moved a little and it's easier to use than before.
The camera doesn't rotate anymore... but i didn't miss the feature, since you can still use it in the open or closed form, to take pictures of yourself or others.
I would complain only about few things:
The pen is thin ! It looks thinner compared to the huge agenda. And it has a very weird way to attach to the PDA.
The picture browsing is waaaay slow. I'll better find a better program to handle the pictures.
I can't recall anything else, but i'm sure that there were some things that bothered me. Ah ! The memory !!! Yes. That's upsetting: you see, there are 16 Mb of RAM but you can access only 11 of them. Why ? I don't know. However the better use of the memory stick features compensates the lack of actual memory. I would have expected at least 64 Mb RAM for a beast like this. Well, let's say it's 4 and a half stars. Oh, the price !!! Wait a little until it drops. But even now it's worth every cent. For a journalist is the perfect tool. And for a physician (who i am) too.
And, it might seem crazy, but i find this size more comfortable for me than before. I don't think of it as a PDA, instead i think of it as a pocket sized notebook.
I truly enjoy playing with the NZ90. It has more functionality than the Palm M505. The camera and video features are amazing. The 2mb still camera produces decent quality pictures. One use I make with the camera is to take shots of documents from work. Now I can reveiw my work on my Clie without having to take home hard copies. The video function gives me the opportunity to film short clips on the fly of my baby boy. (I chose to defer purchase of a digital video camera and opted to use the video on the Clie.) The video quality is poor, but serves its purpose until my son begins to walk when I then plan on purchasing a digital camcorder. Also, I purchased the wireless card for the Clie. GREAT. I love this. You can check pop3 email and browse the internet without having to boot-up your laptop or computer. The easy power on/off of the pda makes it quick for me to check email as well as read the daily news.
2 negatives that needle me:
1) Batter life is poor, especially when using the still camera with flash. The flash drains the battery after 10 shots.
2) The size is a hurdle. Unlike the sleek m505 design, I have to carry the bulky NZ90.
I enjoy playing with my NZ90, emphasis on the "playing". As for practicality, I miss the m505 design as I daily use the address book, calendar, memo.
Buy Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 Handheld Now
I just got this recently and I am very happy I made the decision to spend the cash. Yes the price tag is hefty but you get what you pay for. I read some reviews from handheld sites that said the weight and size were annoying. Now that it is in my hand, I can say that NEITHER are annoying. It weighs more than the typical palm and certainly is bigger, but as an engineer who is used to holding TI scientific calcs., it is nothing that disturbs me. It is roughly the same weight as my TI-86 and is about 25% shorter.Pros:
The screen resolution is very crisp. As a matter of fact, the screen looks so good, you can decrease the brightness to 1/3 to improve battery life and it still looks fine. The sound that comes out of this little thing is quite clear as well. I love the fact that it can play music as well as play Flash and other movie files. You can also make voice recordings and they are pretty good. Also, the construction is superb...very solid and sturdy feel to it.
The camera is a huge benefit since I will never be anywhere without one. For a handheld camera, it serves its purpose and then some. No, it will never get better pictures than my Minolta Dimage 7i but then again, I would never carry the 7i around everywhere. The camera lens is protected by a flip cover. Very thoughtful so the lense doesn't get scratched.
The cradle design is extremely ingenious...no more bulky cradles. It is a foldup easel style cradle which is very transportable. Hot syncing is very easy between my PC and this unit.
I also love the fact there is a jog dial on the side that you can use to scroll between applications and select w/o having to use the stylus. This is useful for mass transportation users like myself.
Cons:
There are some design issues with this unit but nothing to go nuts about. The main thing is that there is a battery yo-yo effect when the flash is enabled in the camera. This is well documented in handheld website reviews and I assure you, this is a real issue as I am seeing it for myself. It seems that as soon as your flash is turned on, the battery remaining indicator takes a dip. Not a big deal when the battery is near full charge, but an issue when you get around say 50%. If the battery indicator dips too low, you cannot use the flash.
I can live with this b/c I am not planning on snapping countless shots on this unit BUT not everyone may be in that boat. I also fully expect SONY to address this issue (looks like it is a power management issue with the software) but if they don't, I will be very disappointed as it seems like it is a design flaw.
Another small con I have is the stylus location. I don't like the way it attaches to the side. I think that if I were clumsy, it would easily drop if I weren't careful when I tried to snap it back into the unit.
I want to amend my original review...I have stumbled upon one thing which is a little annoying but once again, something I can live with. You CANNOT play the recorded movie files to the TV. Yes, this is for real...I must say that SONY really didn't put much thought here as most digicams that can record movie clips allow you to show both still images and movie clips on TV.
All in all, I love this machine...very sleek and beautiful...very useful and at the same time fun as heck. I hope SONY addresses the battery yo-yo effect and maybe somehow upgrade a driver so I can show movie clips on the TV.
Read Best Reviews of Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 Handheld Here
Pros: Fast processor; built-in keyboard, Bluetooth, and 2-megapixel camera with flash; large, sharp display; removable battery; precise battery meter.Cons: Bulky; camera is slow to start up and shut down; no built-in Wi-Fi.
Summary: Sony's NZ90 is significant not because it's going to be the world's greatest handheld (though it might be) but because it raises the bar. A built-in 2 megapixel camera with flash, Bluetooth, mpeg movie record and playback, MP3 playback, voice recorder--these obviously are way beyond the basic to-do list/address book/calendar. If you buy an MP3 player, a 2MP camera, a voice recorder, and a color PDA, you may very well spend [a lot of money]. Having it all in one is nice. Sony's not perfect; they need to kick the memory stick habit and support CF/SD cards, which are much cheaper and more versatile. As others point out, the onboard RAM seems a bit stingy, though PalmOS doesn't require as much as PPC. Anyway, I'm excited to see this happening and I hope a bunch of other companies copy Sony. Competition is good for everyone!
Want Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 Handheld Discount?
Well, let's start by the basics. This machine is HUGE by any means if you compare it to any other PDA. It's like, well, the Darth Vader of all the Palm Powered devices. It's black, it's menacing, it's all-powerful. You can stun an attacker with it if you whirl it over your head and hit him (it includes a convenient hand strap for that purpose).Jokes aside, it is well built (i used to have a Clie NR70V and it was very fragile), the hinges and swivels are tight, it won't open inside your backpack and get all scratched inside.
It is also a nice PDA, with all the useful stuff that any common handheld has. (Memo, Agenda, Address, To Do, Whatever). But it excels on the add-ons. That's the best part.
The digital camera is awesome (autofocus/manual focus, flash, 2.0 MP) and it can store hundreds of pictures. There are many options and settings to play with.
It also has audio recorder software. The sound is crisp, clear, and you can record many, many, many hours of speech, enviromental audio or anything.
As any other Clie, it has its own mp3 player. There's no need to buy the special SONY smartmedia card to use it: a Lexmark alternative will do the trick.
Of course, if you combine audio + pictures, you'll get a video camera. It works as one. Not great quality, it might be compared with having a webcam with you all the time.
What else ? Integrated keyboard, speaker, remote control, a couple of headphones, infrared port.
I can even speak about Bluetooth. I don't have any bluetooth gear in my house, but i'm leaving the wake-up option enabled and see if i find any BT devices in my office. Besides the blinking blue led looks cool :).
It has many improvementes since the last Clie versions. The memory stick has changed its place, so it doesn't flip out every time you put it in your pocket. The craddle is now foldable and you can take it everywhere to charge and/or connect your clie. You can even attach it to the PDA and carry it around.
Even when it is bulky, it is very well built and with a nice eequilibrium... you can hold it in your hand and it won't fall easily. That happened with the NR70V: the screen was heavier than the body, so it fell backwards always.
The keyboard is a lot better and easier to use by now. Also the back button has been moved a little and it's easier to use than before.
The camera doesn't rotate anymore... but i didn't miss the feature, since you can still use it in the open or closed form, to take pictures of yourself or others.
I would complain only about few things:
The pen is thin ! It looks thinner compared to the huge agenda. And it has a very weird to attach to the PDA.
The picture browsing is waaaay slow. I'll better find a better program to handle the pictures.
I can't recall anything else, but i'm sure that there were some things that bothered me. Well, let's say it's 4 and a half stars. Oh, the price !Wait a little until it drops. But even now it's worth every cent. For a journalist is the perfect tool. And for a physician (who i am) too.
And, it might seem crazy, but i find this size more comfortable for me than before. I don't think of it as a PDA, instead i think of it as a pocket sized notebook.
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