Rumor: More Details on Sony PEG-N610C/V (Updated)

Posted By: Ed Thursday, June 14, 2001 11:15:56 AM

Another webstore has posted more details on the Sony PEG-N610C/V. According to Insight, the forthcoming handheld will run Palm OS 4.0S, have 8 MB of RAM, and a color screen. They also say it will have MP3 playback capabilities. They are selling it for $400.

This product has not yet been announced by Sony but it first appeared on the CDW webstore yesterday along with another unreleased Sony product, the PEG-S320. Insight doesn't have anything on the S320.

Update 1: The N610C/V has been removed from the Insight webstore.

The Insight product description contains at least one mistake. They refer once to the PEG-N610C/V's 480 by 240 pixel screen, but then later say several times that its resolution is the same as the N710C's, 320 by 320.

Insight doesn't mention one of the most important facts, how many colors the N610C/V can display. It was discovered recently that the only thing preventing the N710C from displaying 16-Bit color was that it was running OS 3.5. As the new model is using OS 4, which does have support for 16-bit color, the N610C/V might be able to display 65,000 colors.

The size and weight of the N610C/V listed by Insight are the same as the N710C's.

Update 2: When asked for more information on these new handhelds, the PR manager for Sony's handhelds said, "All I can say at this time is that we are not ready to make a formal announcement, but once we do, I'd be glad to share that information with you and your readers."

Thanks to Mike Cane for the tip. -Ed

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PC Zone has it listed too.

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 11:22:13 AM #
http://www.zones.com/cgi-bin/zones/zbs/scripts/product/product_summary_page.jsp?id=250011

Note that there is no memory stick mentioned
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 11:48:09 AM #
Also note that there is no note of a free memory stick with the product. This may be another way of trying to reduce the price.

RE: PC Zone has it listed too.
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 11:55:27 AM #
PC Zone has no details other than a price, $400.

RE: PC Zone has it listed too.
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 12:05:18 PM #
insight mentioned that it had a memory stick

RE: PC Zone has it listed too.
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 12:40:52 PM #
> insight mentioned that it had a memory stick

Insight mentioned that it has a Memory Stick *slot*. No mention of an included Stick.

RE: PC Zone has it listed too.
wilco @ 6/14/2001 2:46:32 PM #
Maybe this is just a bare N710C. I.E. No memory stick, no earphone but same functionality unit specially made for the US market where there's a ongoing price war among Palm PDAs. If it was a major revision to the unit, Sony would have released it first to the Japanese market and information or rumors should emanates from Sony's Japanese site not US vendors and SonyStyle.

RE: PC Zone has it listed too.
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:08:34 PM #
I'm sure that is exactly what it is, a 710C without the headphones and memory stick. Now the only question is, is it OS 4.0?

RE: Trimmed Down Version
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:45:25 PM #
You also might not get a cradle. You'd get a HotSync cable and a power one.

Insight Mistaken?

RobZombie @ 6/14/2001 11:52:06 AM #
I think that Insight has some of the details wrong. How can Sony offer a handheld that is better than the N710C for less? Why would anyone buy the N710C? Why would Sony give a *lower* product number to something that is their current model with an OS upgrade? I think the earlier rumors were correct and the N610C can't play MP3s, which is cool with me.

this is hillarious

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 12:06:09 PM #
have you guys paid any attention to what insight says!?! It is funny! They have so many typos anf flaws in there . . . in addition to how many contradictions!?!

-Bubba Gump

RE: this is hilarious
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 12:33:56 PM #
The only contradiction I found was that it gave two different screen sizes. And they said "palm" when they meant "Palm".

It looks like their description was supposed to be broken up into paragraphs with subheadings. For example:
Memory Stick expansion slot
Virtually unlimited storage for applications, images, and data content.

Jog Dial navigator2
Access your information on the fly with the easy-to-use Jog Dial navigator

Other than that it isn't too bad. Anything I missed?

RE: this is hillarious
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 12:45:11 PM #
It's called a "CLII".

The battery is "rechargable."

Although the "Product Weight" is 5.65 oz, the "Weight of Product" is 1 lb.

RE: this is hilarious
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 12:58:12 PM #
This was probably put together by some $5 an hour data entry person who doesn't know what a Clie is and was just told to take a product description from Sony and put it on their site.

RE: this is hillarious
bcombee @ 6/14/2001 12:58:13 PM #
Weight of product is correct. The box containing the device, its cradle, the manuals, and all the packaging weighs 1 lb. That is a useful number for the shop, since it determines their shipping cost.

RE: this is hilarious
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 1:06:50 PM #
But the site also lists the Weight for Shipping as 2 lbs. Maybe they'll correct these when they actually start selling the things.

Has anyone put in a pre-order here or from CDW?

New products bane for the Palm OS

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 1:00:59 PM #
While new products "Should" excite the Palm OS community, this recent rash of releases only serves to depress the market. The preannpuncement of the m50x series cause potential buyers to putoff their purchase. With the release of the m50x and CLIE 710, it's looks like time to make a decision on what unit to buy. But the rumours on the new Sony's will throw a monkey wrench into the equation once again. Potential buyers will wait for more information yet again. Maybe these new devices isn't helping Palm at all...

This is just like how Palm hurt Vx sales
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 2:38:03 PM #
Sony is really dropping the ball, just like Palm. No real info, just a low price, with features so similar to the 710C that it might hurt it's sales. (Low as they may be). This really doesn't help Sony to do this now.

RE: New products bane for the Palm OS
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:14:40 PM #
I completely disagree with the notion that Sony is "dropping the ball" by diluting to Palm market with their handhelds. The N710C and the N610C both have distinct differences and each will find a niche in the handheld market. The N610C offers the customers who really don't use MP3, an outstanding handheld at a very affordable price.

Just like Palm and Handspring, Sony now hand a handheld represented at the different price and market ranges.

1. The N710C is the top-of-the-line PDA

2. The N610C (and N610V?) will be the middle of the road PDA

3. The S320 will be the lower end of the PDA market.

I think that SONY has done a fantastic job, offering a variety of choices.

The only hurting in the Palm market will be Palm itself. The N710C at $450-$500 and N610C at $350-$400 will absolutely kill the m505 and the m500. The S320 at $188 will offer some stiff competition for the m100 series.

A little drama:(mostly kidding of course)
Sony smells blood!!! With Palm in its weaken condition, Sony is going in for the kill and will take away the Palm OS as prize.

RE: New products bane for the Palm OS
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 4:30:26 PM #
How do you quote stuff like that? The NC610 C will be a distinct machine? You didn't know it even might have existed till this morning? This is the same thing that happended with the other Clie, it was hyped senselessly, and then deliverded a great product, but nowhere near as well as the hype. The screen is quite glary on the Clie, and it doesn't run thousands of colors (yet). The memory stick has been around for years and has never caught on, and it is thicker, heavier, and taller (but not wider) than the m505. The graffiti is not back-lit, the buttons are cheesy. The screen has a weird bounce to it, and scratches quite easily. The Clie was hyped to be the ultimate Palm, and while it is good, it is not the Ultimate Palm. Hyping this Clie will not help your cause.

RE: New products bane for the Palm OS
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 4:41:53 PM #
Trying to downplay how much better the Clie N710C is compared to the m505 will not help your cause either.

RE: New products bane for the Palm OS
slot_machine @ 6/14/2001 8:26:45 PM #
The memory stick hasn't caught on?? Ten million memory sticks have been sold to date!

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=1352&MODE=FLAT

Check your facts please!!

RE: New products bane for the Palm OS
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 8:45:45 PM #
For one, 10 million shipped isn't a large number, and doesn't really apply to this discussion. There are about 11 milion PDA's, and about 2-3% of those are Clies. Sony packages a memory stick with almost every product it sells, computers, digital cameras, digitial video cameras, walkmans, and Clies. That number is hardly impressive. Your story is also almost a year old. I would like to see a recent report to see if sales have slowed, which would explain the lack of news about it.

RE: New products bane for the Palm OS
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/15/2001 12:29:46 AM #
Funny you should bring that up, the Memory Stick now controls 25% of the market: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6282230.html?tag=mn_hd


RE: New products bane for the Palm OS
drw @ 6/15/2001 2:18:30 AM #
Re: putting off purchases

The story in the desktop market has always been, "you wanna buy a computer? wait 6 months, prices will be cheaper then"

You know what? Sometimes you just need to buy something. The people that waited on the 505, then waited on the 330, and 710, and now choose to wait on the newer clies will find that handspring or somebody will leak news of fall models so the sos keeps going on. What are they going to do? Wait their whole life for the perfect product to be produced, or do what I do and upgrade every two years and be satisfied with whats out at the moment?

I upgraded to the Kyocera 6035, but I fear that this and the Samsung palmphone coming out at the end of the summer (oh yes, more vapor) will be dropped by the Wireless Service providers because they (verizon, sprint) don't have the ability to handle technical questions, and because of that they'll find that the customer returns make the phones unprofitable to sell. I'll be ok with that so long as bluetooth has taken hold by then.

David in Pflugerville, TX

as hard as I try

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 1:23:48 PM #
as hard as I try to look this up, none of our distributers can find this product!!! No specs, and no proof of its actual existence! It is getting rather frusterating looking . . .

oh well, what else should I do? WORK!?!?!?!

It's Gone!

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 1:39:46 PM #
Like dust in the wind, the fabled N610 has disappeared from insight.com.

RE: It's Gone!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 10:54:30 PM #
It is not quite gone.

http://www.insight.com/cgi-bin/bp/2089285620/web/result.html?a=s&f=p&t=A&d=clie

It's not a rumor!

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 2:07:16 PM #
My friend spotted this rebate coupon several days ago on Sony web site. I thought it was a printing mistake.

At least we know now it's not just a rumor.

http://www.sonystyle.com/vaio/popup/connectandcreate.pdf


RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 2:28:21 PM #
Yep, right there in the middle they are offering a $30 rebate on the N610C. Sony appears to be leaking info on this product like a sieve.

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 2:43:39 PM #
either sony is really bad at keeping a secret, or they're compplete idiots. There is no reason to let info like this out! All it'll do is hurt sales of their current model (n710c)! I just never understood the point of "accidental" leaks like this! Why would a company do such diliberate damage to itself? Unless they're making really bad profit margins, it just seems foolish

My 2 cents,
Joe Schmo

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 2:46:58 PM #
"It's not a rumor!"

Isn't that what Arnold Schwarzenegger said to that classroom full of kids in Kindergarden Cop?

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:07:01 PM #
I don't see any reason why it would hurt sales of the 710 if it was dramatically different. It seems logical that something big will be missing between the 610 and 710 and mp3 playback is probably a likely candidate and along with that, the earphones and maybe even the memory stick.

It's a good way of segmenting. Now they can reach two different levels and beat the m50x series til Palm gets blue in the face.

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:11:52 PM #
The price tag of $400 would put M505 right in the middle between 2 Clie models. This strategy may work on potential customer trying to choose between Sony and Palm. If I don't need MP3, Sony 610 is $50 cheaper than M505. If I want MP3, 710's only $50 more than M505. Either way, Palm loses.

BTW, the Sony promotional page where the coupon link is from mentions only 710. I guess Sony tries to be quiet about the 610 but thinks it's cheaper to include it in the coupon now instead of reprinting the coupon when it's out.

http://www.sonystyle.com/vaio/promotion_connectcreate.htm



RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:14:05 PM #
Okay. It's undeniable now.

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:39:14 PM #
This won't hurt sales at all. Give me a break- we all knew that Sony wasn't going to use it's current model forever.

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:48:10 PM #
I think this period when we know there will be some new models out soon but we don't know much about them will cut sales of ther N710C a bit. In my opinion, if you buy a N710C today you are a fool. Sony might release a better and cheaper tomorrow or next week.

As long as Sony announces the N610C soon then this won't have much of an impact. But if they try to sit on this story for months, buyers will hold off until they know all the facts.

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 3:51:37 PM #
I hope the 610 has no MP3/Atrac3 capabilities, thus is thinner and/or smaller. It would hurt m505 sales "a bit" (just because of a brighter screen)...

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 4:08:50 PM #
Well, the leak of the N610C may slightly affect the sales the N710C. I don't think that this leak will damage Sony like the leak of the m500's hurt Palm in March. The m500 and m505 is Palm's primary product. The Clie is only a small part of Sony, selling a few less N710C is not going to affect Sony at all.

Sony is so big that it can affort a leak like this, they may even encourage the rumors because the N610C may affect N710C sales, but it also could affect the sales of Palms.

If these new Clie's are anything like the quality of the N710C, Palm is in serious trouble. Unlike Handspring with their sprinboard slot or HandEra with their dual slots and engineering innovations, Palm has nothing unique to fall back, their OS 4.0 is a combination of its licensees, its form factor is old, its SD slot technology and color screen is borrowed from Sony and Handspring.

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 4:52:50 PM #
uhh...is it me or has the 610c been removed from the sony advertisement?

RE: It's not a rumor!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/14/2001 5:04:36 PM #
Well, I didn't see the coupon before, but it definitely only mentions the N710c now. Does anyone have a copy of the original coupon which mentioned the N610c?

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