Review rated by 19 Ciao members on average: very helpful
This review received a counterstatement by a party concernedRead Comment
Well, it only took 15 months to write this review but that is exactly what this is, a REview. That's because my equally beloved and abused TG-50e has just died on me!
I bought this item a while back for a bargain on eBay with original packaging plus receipt showing it had only been bought 3 weeks before listing so I knew it hadnt been abused already! Upon picking it up I was taken with the looks much more than I had been from the pictures I'd seen. Immediately I noticed the hinge was somewhat delicate, never mind, I'm not!
For a few weeks I was just getting used to using it but soon I started to really explore the capabilites of the device. My first disappointment came when I tried to synchronize contact information with my PC and found
that the Sony CLIE Desktop (the office and synch software) would only communicate with Microsoft Outlook, but crucially NOT Outlook Express (this is a major pain for most windows owners who just dont need to purchase Outlook). With a little searching I found an alternative which, although not licensed or endorsed by Sony, did the job I needed it to do, most of the time.
My next disappointment came when I tried to send MP3s directly to the memory stick via the data cable and discovered that it had to be "converted" first by the studio software accompanying. Not a problem, I thought, well thats what thinking did for me! Eventually, after navigating the software thoroughly it became easier, as is usually the case. I am not a novice with technology but I found OpenMG software to be needlessly complex to learn but functional once mastered.
Graphically this machine was faultless (until now, the screen has died completely) and I enjoyed watching many movies stored on memory stick(s), the screen coped competently with full screen movies but had occasional difficulties with widescreen formats. One of my favourite apps was a Matrix screensaver which mimicked the scrolling characters from the opening of the Matrix movies superbly!
In fact the range of software available for these devices is astounding, including star-finding software which was much more comprhensive and easy to use than the freeeware I had for my desktop PC with the added obvious advantage of portability!
Sound quality when listening through good quality headphones is excellent, however the tiny onboard speaker does little justice to anything more than basic sounds.
Processing power was seemingly much more than the 200Mhz stated but I guess that was down to clever use of processor time. I never experienced any lock-ups or crashes and task times were always less than 15 secs, no matter what I was doing!
The stylus was easy to use although the device uses specific symbols for handwriting rather than handwriting recognition. The keyboard, although tiny was functional and even my big thumbs had little problem using it. Whilst still talking about the stylus, I found that after 10 months of everyday use, it began to slip from it's integral holder, time for a case! Also about this time, after having dropped the device several (who am I trying to kid, it was MANY) times the rather delicate looking hinge was starting to come loose and wobble from side to side.
The bluetooth function was perfect for connecting to the net whilst out and about, say on a train or bus although lost connections in tunnels was a bane of mine on several journeys!
After familiarising myself with this wonderful little computer, it surpassed my expectations on so many levels yet ultimately let itself down for it's occasionally over-fiddly interactions with my PC and the compromise of screen-space for keyboard was frustrating at times.
All in all, as a standalone device this is superb but if you want instant communication with your PC, you may not like having to use the interface software as it can be fiddly to get the hang of.
Build quality is superb and the flip-lip lasted much longer than I first expected. The screen was sensitive enough to be useful but not so over-sensitive as to want to try to understand the little glances of palm or little finger as I wrote.
by (84%):
01.06.2005 08:56
Hiya, Welcome to Ciao. Tea xx
31.05.2005 11:46
Hi and welcome to Ciao - great first review - Cat x x
30.05.2005 22:29
Hi and a warm welcome to ciao. Some super info there in your first, well-written review. I hope you enjoy the ciao experience, as I do. Ray