Sony Announces Superslim T415 with Hi-Res Mono Screen (Updated)

Posted By: Ed Monday, October 22, 2001 6:00:25 AM

Sony has announced a new mid-range handheld today, the PEG-T415, a 320 by 320 monochrome model that is, according to Sony, the world's thinnest PDA. Though only .39 inches thick, it has a Jog Dial and a Memory Stick slot.

It tries to strike a balance between serious and fun. For business users, it is the first Sony model to come bundled with Documents to Go for compatibility with Microsoft Office. For fun, its infrared port has been enhanced to let it be used as a TV/VCR remote and it has an improved speaker and audio abilities.

It will be available near the end of November for $300.

It runs Palm OS 4.1 and has 8 MB of RAM and 4 MB of Flash ROM. It uses the 33 MHz Dragonball processor from Motorola.

Update: The T415 is actually only .39 inches thick, not the .41 inches originally published.

The T415 is 4.75 by 2.88 by .39 inches and weighs a light 4.3 ounces. The majority of its casing is made from a single piece aluminium that wraps around the screen which not only gives it a professional look but increases its strength.

It comes with a flip cover but there don't appear to be any photos of it. A Memory Stick is not included.

It has the Jog Dial that has become a standard on Sony models. It includes a small back button that works like the back button on the N series.

As mentioned earlier, it is bundled with DataViz's Documents to Go Standard, which means that it users can use Microsoft Word and Excel documents and spreadsheets on their handheld.

But it isn't all business. The T415 comes with an application called the Clié Remote Commander which lets it be used as a remote control for TVs, VCRs, DVD players, and other such electronics. The infrared port has been strengthened to give it a range of up to 15 feet.

The T415 also has an improved speaker and audio capabilities compared with most Palm OS handhelds. MIDI and WAV files on a PC can be converted and played on the palmtop. This means alarms don't have to be just beeps, they can almost any sound the user would like.

The T415 also has a built-in vibrating alert.

It runs on an internal lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery which Sony estimates will last for about 15 days with normal use.

The T415's smaller size means that it can't use other Clié peripherals designed to attach to the serial port. Therefore, Sony has announced they will be selling a special version of their clip-on Audio Player just for this model.

With the inclusion of this midrange model into Sony's lineup of handhelds, the company feels they have a product to fit almost almost everyone's needs.

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a BIG wOW !!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 6:08:46 AM #
A very cool PDA !!

RE: a BIG wOW !!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 7:45:01 AM #
>>"With the inclusion of this midrange model into Sony's lineup of handhelds, the company feels they have a product to fit almost almost everyone's needs."<<

I think somebody finally "met my needs." Unless Palm comes out with something amazing before November, I'm sure this will be my next PDA.



RE: a BIG wOW !!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 9:10:05 AM #
Yup, high-Res , Expansion card, Jog dial, good battery
,reasonable price and very thin and light !! It's almost perfect.

RE: a BIG wOW !!
rsuplido @ 10/22/2001 11:50:30 AM #
Did you all notice that the holes at the back are now covered? No more dust - Yipee! (hope dust don't come in the MS slot though).

RE: a BIG wOW !!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 12:55:01 PM #
I just purchased a PEG-S320 and I am already ready to buy this one. I think it will be a christmas present to myself.

If it was colored, it's perfect!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 6:31:33 AM #
But come to think about it, a slim, hi-res, palm OS device which plays WAV/MIDI isn't bad at $300.

I guess Sony is targetting professionals now. This just really kills m500.



RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 6:39:59 AM #
And remote commander - to kill omniremote.

Just wondering what color is it's backlight. Hope it's blue like Sony's Universal remote commander:
http://www.sonystyle.com/images/250x250/shots/rmav2100.jpg

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 8:09:54 AM #
Isn't the term Japanese-American more politically correct than colored?.. *heehee*

Joking aside, this looks like a great machine. Well priced, well spec'ed.

However, I think they should have considered including 16 megs onboard instead of just 8.

On another note, when are the higher speed Dragonballs due out? The 45 Mhz and 66 Mhz?

Wasn't there a rumour that Handspring was about to launch one some months ago?



RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 10:45:23 AM #
Just got a 760C for $430(from someone selling an unopenned unit from this board), and while I think the T415 looks marvelous and wonderfully THIN, I must say I'm a fan of the color screen on the 760. I find it's far easier to read text on this screen than on any of the Palms I've owned in the past. Also, I put a bunch of color jpegs in the photo album, and they look superb.

But I'd also agree that these devices need 16M minimum, not the 8M they ship with currently.

EB

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 10:57:07 AM #
This device is nice, but at best it's an incremental upgrade on what exists in the market and certainly nothing revolutionary.

I could be asking a bit much, but they could have had at least one of the following to make the package more attractive:
* 16MB RAM
* Faster processor - 45 or 66MHz
* Free memorystick

Otherwise, it's just an M500 with a hi-res screen. And IMHO, the hi-res screen is no real add-value because it's greyscale.

Next-generation Dragonball CPUs
bcombee @ 10/22/2001 11:06:30 AM #
The next Dragonball speed grade is 66MHz, in the DragonBall SuperVZ chip. These should be shipping in quantity early next year. See http://makeashorterlink.com/?P5222691 for details.

Turn it into a color unit and you have a customer
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 12:45:30 PM #
I am a buyer if the color units sells 50-80 extra. This form factor is EXACTLY what I have been waiting for. I know you can do it! Just do it soon or wait'til ARM processors come out with it!!!!

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 2:10:44 PM #
I think Sony intentionally included 8 MB RAM instead of 16 MB RAM to encourage the purchase of Memory Sticks. PDAs are a great vehicle to enhance the visibility and sales of their Memory Sticks.

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 2:43:50 PM #
No. Please No Coloer. At least Not Yet! I just bought the 760. So... No Color Please...

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 7:32:47 PM #
This looks nice (colour is a waste). Nearly as good as m500, but I'm sure Sony will catch up with the next model!

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 2:00:31 AM #
Yeah, if Sony would only lose the Hi Res, drop the MP3 capabilities, change the IR range from 15 feet to 3 feet, drop the jog wheel, and maybe slap a plastic back on this puppy,and lose the remote control capabilities, why, I think they "may" have an m500 killer on their hands!

Yeah, right.

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 6:31:42 AM #
>".....Nearly as good as m500...."

That's funny, M500 is a loser compared to T415. Yes, no
hi-res, no jog-dial, no enhanced Ir, "bricky", plastic
back... Wake up, man...

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 11:48:47 AM #
I'll give you every criticism of the m500 except "bricky." After all, the m500 is basically the Vx shape, and that's ANYTHING but "bricky."

Next time, don't reach so far--it weakens your argument.

RE: If it was colored, it's perfect!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 6:52:41 PM #
So-called "features" which are useless for most practical purposes are not not worth having. You are welcome to through away your money, if you want to, whenever some overweight marketing guru comes up with another useless gimmick which is called a "feature". Just don't post your infantile whims here - I don't want manufacturers to be influenced by your noise.

They say the backlight is white
martianviking @ 10/23/2001 9:13:38 PM #
They say the backlight is white, to answer the question up above... not bad, I think. (Just wish they wouldn't've changed the port on the bottom; apparently you can't use cables and accessories from the other Clie models, a la the Handspring Edge not being able to use other Handspring stuff).

Wow! What's next...

Christian @ 10/22/2001 6:39:14 AM #
This is really a beatiful and small palm-device.

I hope that the contract of co-working between sony and ericsson will result in an palm-cellular-phone with an design like that for 2002!!

Greetings from Switzerland
Christian Stocker

RE: Wow! What's next...
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 6:44:49 AM #
I agree. This model is an unexpected release from Sony. I hope they release their new model to compete with Treo and i715.

If Sony can release a palm OS based unit this thin, I'm excited to see what they would come up next!

RE: Wow! What's next...
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 1:36:05 PM #
If a Palm OS hardware maker partners with Nokia then Sony-Ericsson will have competition! But now, its hands down to Sony-Ericsson. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

RE: Wow! What's next...
Token @ 10/22/2001 2:52:16 PM #
Nokia is already a PalmOS licensee. Gotta keep their collective butts covering all bases (just in case Symbian/EPOC fails dismally).

RE: Wow! What's next...
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 12:47:48 AM #
Nokia scrapped their Palm plans. Maybe this will wake them back up and support the Palm Platform like they should!

RE: Wow! What's next...
Token @ 10/23/2001 1:28:19 AM #
They may have scrapped their plans publicly, but they are still a licencee. Its all about hedging their bets in a volatile and fickle market. I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't got a device in te wings to compete against something along the lines of the Treo ... but why take a risk when someone else can feel the waters for you.

Personally, I like their 9000 series phones. It was a breakout product technology wise, and IF it had been fully released in the USA (under CDMA - or with widespread release under GSM), I am convinced it would have gone a long way to solidfy Symbian/EPOC in the US market.

My $0.02 worth - YVMV.

Token.

Which is the thinnest and lightest?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 6:49:59 AM #
T415, m50x, Vx, or Edge?

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 7:09:14 AM #
T415 !!

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 7:13:13 AM #
Specs please.

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 7:39:04 AM #
Edge : 0.44 inch
T415: 0.41 inch

Edge : Needs the huge add-on for expansion storage
T415: Built-in MS slot + 320x320 + Jog dial

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 7:43:33 AM #
If we are concentrating on size alone, the m500 is thinner at 0.4 inches. The T415 is taller but narrower.

By volume:
T415 - 5.6088 cubic inches
m500 - 5.58 cubic inches

Density (which is very relevant to how heavy it feels):
T415 - 0.767 oz/in3
m500 - 0.717 oz/in3

But, of course, the Palm lacks the Hi-Res screen and the jog dial.

Tom

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 1:53:59 PM #
The palm Vx weighs 4 oz and it is also one of the thinnest at .4"

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 2:11:36 PM #
Actually, at PDABuzz, the webmaster just posted about Sony giving him the exact specs and the thickness is 0.39 mm making it the thinnest one out there.

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 2:32:08 PM #
PIC is right. Here are the specs from Sony:
http://www.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/415specifications/PEG-T415.html

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 3:22:22 PM #
0.39mm? wow thats like 4 sheets of paper.

Seriously though... When is Sony going to just buy Palm. They obviously have the vision that Palm lacks, they just don't have the brand. Go for it, Sony!

.4 is not necessarily .40
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2001 10:40:04 PM #
For those who forgot their math

.4 can mean .40, .41, .42, .43, .44, or anything less than .45

Since Palm didn't list their Palm 500 as .40, it shouldn't be assumed it's less than .41.



RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 9:04:59 AM #
It looks like YOU forgot your math.

.4 IS Equal TO

.40, .400, .400, .4000, .40000, .400000, etc.

an unlimited amount of zero's is assumed to the right of the last significant digit. No other number can be implied. Use your calculator.



RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 10:37:22 AM #
Wrong. It's called roundup. The numbers printed at Palm's website for their specs are not necessarily straight from their calculators. You do not know if they're rounding or not.

I hope you don't have a job in engineering or any of the sciences.

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 10:44:20 AM #
Since the Clie T415 is spec'ed at .41 (or .39 depending on who ask), do you think it's actually .410 or .4100 or .41000000?

Do you think the Palm is exactly .40 or .400 or .40000? By your explanation it is!

As if those devices are designed to have such rounded measurements. Think about it. Of course rounding occurs for the sake of not confusing customers with unnecessary preciseness.

RE: Which is the thinnest and lightest?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 11:31:06 AM #
The conclusion is : T415 rule ! T415 is thinnest and lightest !! Palm, you are OUT !!

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