PEG-TJ37 delivers wireless freedom, rich productivity and multimedia features. With built-in wireless LAN (802.11b), you can access the Internet wirelessly at home, the office, and public hotspots where the Wi-Fi network is available. Take a picture with the built-in digital camera, make a free-hand note, and email the files to your office. TJ37 also offers natural handwriting recognition by Decuma Input. TJ37 makes your office portable - with Picsel Viewer you can review Mircosoft documents and PDF files. Enjoy MP3 music with TJ37 on your flight home from your business trip. TJ37 has all of your business and personal data needs covered.
1 Great PDA for PDA functions
People are asking too much for a PDA to be a PDA. If you want to get an all-in-one device, then get a smartphone/black-berry kind of thing. This is a PDA and it worked well for me. The only thing that doesn't come with it is the voice recorder (but you can alway make some notes). I got it for about $155 brand new in the box, and I think it's worth for the price.
Sony screen resolution is alway the best. Internet connection is great. Yes, you need an extra memory stick (but it's cheaper now with 512MB MS-Pro for about $55 online). Sony stops making PDAs. Therefore, these PDA will be "collectable" Sony brand PDAs soon.
2 Clie is the palm to go with
I read through many reviews on amazon before buying so I thought I would give my opinion on some of the issues. The two biggest complaints I saw were about the stylus being too small and the battery being too delicate. I was a little worries about the stylus because I write a lot (actually wore out my last palm's writing surface), but I figured I would carry my own stylus. This was not necessary because the Clie stylus is great! I have no idea what the complaints were based on. It is a retractable stylus, meaning it is small when you remove it but it extends to the length of a normal, comfortable stylus. In fact, the design is very smart :) As for the battery, mine works great -- although I've only had the Clie a few weeks. however, I imagine that some people who were complaining about battery failure did not take care of the battery. Every lithium battery is delicate. The best way to preserve the life of your batter is to calibrate it once every 3 months. This means completely draining the battery down to 0 before charging it up again. if you don't do this your battery life will become less and less over time. In conclusion, this is the best Palm I've ever used. It is snappy, runs 3rd party apps very well, has an easy to use launcher, nice graphics, camera takes nice pictures, wireless works great (although it supports limited encryption types), all in all a great purchase :)
3 Extended Warranty is worthless on this unit
I purchased the Sony Clie PEG -TJ37 because it had the features I was looking for at a reasonable price. I did't want to learn a new operating system. The unit worked perfect for the first six months. I did experince some problems with the built-in software but was able to upload patches to fix the wireless connectivity problems. The camera was excellent. Being able to take digital pictures and then send them via the internet wirelessly was such a comfort. I never used the mp3 player. All other funtions as for as hot sync's of software was a snap. The problems I had were due tothe flimsy cover to protect the screen. It lost one of the rubber hinges and didn't offer much protection. I purchased the 2 year extended warranty from Sony. That also was a big mistake. My unit would not cut off and the screen was cracked due to an accidental drop. The warranty was to have covered this, but I found out later that it didn't cover the cracked screen. I am very hesitant about buying another PDA from Sony for this reason. I will never pay for an extended warranty again. I have been asked to pay 147.00 to repair the unit even after purchasing the extended coverage which i refuse to pay. Hopefully I can find another unit and if I do pay for any insurance I wll make sure that what is told me by the salesman is also written and underlined in the contract before buying.
4 Good features, bad construction, ugly customer support
I purchased the PEG-TJ37 because it had an excellent suite of features. I was disapointed to find out that some of those features didn't work unless you threw down another 100 bucks for a reasonably sized memory stick. I was happy with the WiFi feature, which was the main reason i got it. I also thought the camera was great. Many people thought of it as a gimmicky extra feature, but it works better than any cell phone camera that i had used, and it seems more fitting for a pda to have a camera. It was especially useful for capturing signs or pages in books at the library, and i could see potential for it in a lab environment to get quick snapshots of results. Sony could have done more to legitimize it's integration into a pda, like including optical character recognition software to allow you
to take pix of text and incorporate it into memos.
My disillusionment with this product began with the poor battery life. That coupled with the switches tendency to be turned on in my pocket was a disaster. I went for a run of losing data everyday due to the battery being completely drained. Luckily
i did go ahead and purchase a memory stick so i was able to back up the clie and restore the data from anywhere, once i managed to get it charged.
Within a month of owning the clie i noticed a screw was missing,
now at 4 months all but one have fallen out.
3 months after i got it, the camera button stopped working.
at 4 months the digitizer on the screen broke while it was in my pocket.
This made the device useless so i called customer service to get it fixed. I was given the same run around as others on this sight, "the screen isn't covered no matter how gentle you were
with it, pay us $140 and we'll fix it." That is more than half of it's current value.
You know, I could have looked up the warranty before i purchased
this product and seen that screens weren't covered. I probably would have purchased it anyway, not knowing just how darn fragile
the clie was. Maybe I was naive to think that Sony would make a quality product and that if they messed up they would stand behind the product anyway. But they made a poor product and have failed to stand behind it. This is my third pda and the first that essentially fell apart. My first was a Palm m100 which i replaced because i needed something better, but it stood up to 3 years of use and still works. My second was a Visor pro, which also proved to be very durable, lasting about 2 1/2 years before the buttons started to malfunction. And now here i am 4 months after purchasing the most expensive of my pda's and it's a paper weight.
5 Decent PDA, but extras left me wanting.
The Sony TJ37 is my fourth PDA since 1998, when I jumped on the bandwagon with the first Palm III (since then: IIIxe, Clie SJ30, and now Clie TJ37). Back when I first had the Palm III, I wrote a memo to myself entitled, "When this technology will be worth it" The items I wanted in this palm-sized device were:
1) A full-fledged desktop computer with unrestricted internet access
2) A radio
3) A TV
4) A telephone
5) A weather station (therm., baro.)
6) GPS device
7) Almanac
The TJ37 offers none of those. It does have 802.11b support, which comes in handy if you're at a hotspot. The bundled browser is a passable solution for on-the-go email checking, although it doesn't work with certain websites, like Gmail). Other bundled software is appreciated, but not the boon to the PDA industry it should be. PicselViewer is the only stand-out among the new Sony-specific applications (a multi-format document viewer). I still found myself going back and installing apps that go above and beyond the limited offerings of programs for DateBook and the like.
The biggest selling point for me was the inclusion of MP3 support (via the slick-looking AeroPlayer) and the digital camera, both of which excited that part of my brain that's excited about convergence of technologies. But, as with all Swiss-Army-Knife-style gadgets, the add-ons were underwhelming in their functionality.
AeroPlayer is limited to how much Memory Stick storage you have available (an empty 64 MB stick will get you less than a full album's worth of songs) and the anemic battery life while playing the music.
The camera is likewise underwhelming, performing particularly poorly in low light situations. Exposure time is automatic, with no user control available, so unless you have a steady hand, you'll find yourself with grainy, blurry, yellow-hued pictures more often than not. Pictures in settings with more ambient light fare somewhat better, though the low resolution makes this camera far from a replacement for the dedicated digital cameras on the market now (even the cheapest ones have resolutions four times higher than the Clie's highest resolution setting. Still, the camera is good to have in a pinch.
The TJ37 was my first exposure to Palm OS5, and I found the OS unable to meet the hype of its rollout. It includes a new Grafitti handwriting-recognition algorithm that more closely resembles normal handwriting. The downside of this only occurs to folks who have become used to the old style of Grafitti. I found myself unable to create captial letters, T's, I's, L's and K's properly until I forced myself to relearn the system. But that falls under the category of annoyance more than debilitating feature.
In terms of form factor, it's almost exactly the same as my previous Clie, the SJ30. The JogDial has been moved to a position of prominence between the four hard-wired buttons below the silkscreen area, a change I appreciated very much. Flanking the JogDial on either side are a pair of navigation buttons that would be extremely helpful if they'd been used by more applications. Perhaps the best feature in the case is the addition of a "hold" position to the power button. This prevents the Clie's power being sucked dry by a accidental pressing in a pocket or purse. The new stylus design did not bother me as much as it has some other reviewers, and indeed I appreciated the engineering it took to get a full-sized (if telescoping) stylus in to the case. The drawback is tha tif you lose it, you're pretty much out of luck, as it's a stylus design common to no other PDA.
All in all, the TJ37 seemed to promise much, but the overall execution left it wanting. The new features, while appreciated, were carried out in the lackluster manner that befits a line of products that Sony is phasing out of America.
6 Poor product design - Awful customer service
I purchased the Sony PEG-TJ37 to replace my trusty old Palm 505. The key selling point was the high resolution screen and the WiFi 802.11b. The screen looked great even after I put a screen protector on it. The 802.11b left a lot to be desired... very slow. Web surfing was pitiful and hot synching via WiFi took 10 minutes. WiFi use also sucked up the battery. 30 minutes of surfing and you needed to recharge.
Here's the real nightmare. 2 months after I bought the TJ37, Sony announces that they were bailing out of the handheld business. Great! Now the entire Clie product line is an orphan.
Then 1 month later my TJ37 slid off of a chair and traveled 1.5 feet to a carpeted floor. Much to my horror the screen cracked and lost all touch sensitivity. COME ON!... 1.5 feet to a carpeted floor! My previous 4 Palm's all took much worse wear and tear that this. A quick call to Sony's service and I was told that the repair would not be covered under the warranty. The charge would be $70 for a screen repair. I begrudgingly boxed up the unit and sent it in for repair. 10 days later I still had not heard from Sony so I called to check on the status. Now they tell me the screen charge is $138. The unit was $299 new. Why should I fix something that is this poorly designed? I requested that they return the unit. I'm out $299, but Sony is out several thousand dollars of my future electronics purchasing. I'm headed back to Palm for my next PDA (Treo 650?). Toshiba for my next television, Apple for my next computer. This will be my last Sony product.
7 Sony Customer Service
What a nightmare. The Clie I had purchase from Amazon.com was a TG50. I had bought it less than a year ago when it refused to stay on. After several trying to do a "hard boot" on it and having to constantly restore my data from my back up I called what Sony loosely refers to as Customer Support.... What a misnomer. It took me approximately 10 days just to get a person on the phone that understood the problems with my Clie and agree to let me send it in for warranty repair. I found the Service Tech's rude and very hard to understand. I needed to repeat what the problem was with the unit several times and was told it wasn't under warranty. I had to prove to them the date of purchase...not a problem.
Once they got their hands on it they decided that it had physical damage that caused the problem. I had had an area on the screen that had faded for at least 1-2 months before the problems began on a unit I used several times a day. After 10 days they phoned me back to say it was physical damage and they needed $138.00 to cover the repair and shipment of my unit. After I had paid the ransom for the return of my Clie to me it took another 15-20 days of constant phone calls to get status of the repair. Once they stated it would be sent the next day and to call for a tracking number. Once that they were waiting for parts, then that it was in for exchange due to the fact they were unable to keep it booted. This was my initial problem. The excuses and phone calls were and still are endless. Finally after over a month of hassle I had someone call back from Sony San Diego stating that they no longer made my model and want to send me a sub-standard unit to replace it. If I want them to replace mine with a like unit that had the equipment on it I once had I would have to give them another $60.00. If I didn't take the sub-standard and be glad of it they would just simply send back the one that is broken and state the problem was physical damage. This is impossible. They have little respect for their customers and have no qualms in using the old it was physical damage to make up for a poor warranty service. To this day I still have nothing resolved. I would give anything to have bought from any other company than Sony.
J. Peterson R.N.
8 Great PDA
The time had come to replace my aging Palm IIIe. My immediate instinct was to replace it with a Palm Zire 71 or 72. But, after reading some not so favorable reviews of Palm's spotty quality these days I decide to broaden my search. I looked at the Clie TJ27 & TJ37 as well as iPaq's and the Toshiba Pocket PC. Though I liked the way the PocketPC's sounded on paper, a few trips to the store demo'ing them cured me. I know some people swear by PocketPC , but it seems too awkward to me.
So, I was back down to the Zire 72 or the Clie. I decided on the Clie TJ37 because of the built-in WiFi, which is more useful to me than the Bluetooth on the Zire. I have been very happy with the PDA. Here's my Pros/Cons list:
Pros:
1. Great screen, very sharp and nice colors.
2. Super fast when running 3rd party apps.
3. Decent battery. When using under normal PDA use I get about 1 week per charge. Note that using the WiFi drains the battery within about 2.5-3 hours.
4. WiFi! It's great to be able to send/receive email and do a little surfing. Email is definetly more usable than surfing, simply because of screen real estate.
5. The camera is really quite good. It is LOW RES, so it's not suitable for print quality (even little 4x6). However, it's perfect for taking shots that you are going to email or put on the web. And with the WiFi capability you can snap a photo and send it from the PDA. Very handy if you happen to work on the road a lot. The ergonmics of the camera are quite good, much nicer than the Palm models.
5. The built-in software, Picsel, is quite good. It reads a variety of documents, PDF, Image files, HTML, etc. from your memory stick. I like the rest of the bundled software too, DataViz's Docs to Go is essential and it's good that they included it.
Cons:
1. The stylus is just to small. Sony obviously had to make it a telescoping stylus to fit the camera, I just wish it was fatter.
2. For $300 it would be nice to have a case. The cover is good, but a carrying case is necessary.
That's my 2 cents.
9 A thorough look at a weak product
After much research, reading, thinking and more reading I was torn between 2 PDA models, the Clie TJ37 and another model (whom I shall not mention here because I don't want to come off as shilling for a competitor).
Since I was a return Clie customer I thought it a good move at the time to lean toward the Clie line. Once I waded through the nay-sayers and detracters of the Clie line, I arrived at the store with money in pocket. Spending a few minutes alone with the stylus-less floor model & the runner-up, I finally decided to purchase the TJ37. I and ran home with it tucked under my arm. (after paying of course)
The out-of-box experience was excellent, everything you need packaged neatly in a sturdy, green, cardboard box. Ahhh, just like the first time, I thought as I opened it up. After patiently charging it for four hours, I was ready to rock & roll with my new Clie. This is the first color-PDA I have ever owned, oh how I looked forward to this moment.
I picked it up and pulled out the stylus. And that's where the disenchantment began, that cruddy little telescoping stylus. Here are the bad points of the TJ37 as I see them (and each one made me madder)
Cover - at least Sony included a cover with the Clie, one of the few things they are good enough to throw in. The old Clie's had the cover attach to the top of the unit. That was a good, ambidextrous orientation and was easy to flip up and out of your way to use the unit. The TJ37 however, has one clipped to the left side of the Clie, like a small book. Making it harder & less comfortable to hold out of the way.
Stylus - there's no excuse for a stylus this small and this bad. Uncomfortable, hard to hold, cheap, difficult to use and you cannot even replace it with a normal sized stylus because the holder won't accept it. I have average sized hands and this stylus was way too small. Hard to use and easy to loose!
Lack of base - I am also quite tired of paying good money for a PDA and then have to shell out MORE money for a deskcharger base when it should come standard with the unit! This goes for ALL makers of PDAs. But, I especially ding Sony here b/c they squandered their development money on frivolity (integrated weak-camera, their own cruddy software) instead of being pragmatic or even innovative they chose the route of often made mistakes. Next time include a deskcharger base with the product.
Sony's proprietary s/w - I am sick of companies overwriting standard software with their own interpretation. It wastes system resources and you cannot delete it! The money it took Sony to develop that crappy Clie Manager software, which no one will use, could have been saved and help deliver a more affordable unit to market. I buy Palm PDA's for PALM o/s not to use your idea of what PALM should look like!
Chinsy cameras - and chinsy is a nice way of saying cheap-a** garbage!! Cameras have been integrated into phones to such an extent that you cannot purchase a decent cellphone without an integrated camera, a camera you probably won't ever use btw. And Sony follows suite with a cheap, weak performing 310k pixel camera - why bother? A third of a mega-pixel camera? You have to be within 5 feet of a really well lit subject to get a blurry, washed out image. Wow - what a feature! Again, waste of development time and construction materials to deliver something no one will use, and few wanted. Again, that money could have been saved to offer a more affordable unit on the market. Why not include a Swiss Army knife next time at least that would be a useful feature!
Connection adapter - the IO/power adapter used to plug into the bottom of the Clie gave me my first, real "what the H! were they thinking" moment with Sony! A cheap little piece of plastic less than 1 inch square needed as a go-between for the USB & power cord. So, what happens if I loose it? Or if it breaks? Guess I'll have to stuff more money into their pockets to buy one - and while I wait, I won't be able to use my PDA...another great idea from the cheap marketing-driven minds at Sony! Clearly Japanese traditions of quality are being replaced at Sony with marketing delusions, when they could benefit by marrying pragmatism.
By the time I was done, I threw it back in the box (none too happy), went back and returned the TJ37. I read someplace that this is one of the last Clie releases Sony plans for the US. GOOD, I say, because I do not plan to purchase another Clie (unless my demands, above, are met). What a waste of time, effort and money ... steer clear of this Clie.
The upshot, I learned some new things on PDA's and I purchased the runner-up, which is excellent!
10 This is a great PDA
My husband used to support the Microsoft Pocket PC products and they were buggy as heck. As part of his job he got them free. After all the aggrivation he had with his, he spent the money on his TJ37 and loves it.
His HP product had to be hard reset every two weeks. He had several MS approved apps on the Pocket PC that had to be reinstalled, a 30-40 minute ordeal. A hard reset on a Pocket PC is similar to reformatting your hard drive. Hard resets also caused him to run out of validations on his ebooks. Contrast that to the TJ37. He's never had to do a hard or soft reset on the Clie. Like a Timex watch, it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin. He did try a hard reset on the Clie once, but everything returned when he synchronized the newly reset Clie with the PC.
My husband's associates at his firm asked advise on which palm device to purchase. He enthustically recommended the Clie, but his associates purchased Compaq's at 50% off. Consequently, they're having to perform hard resets, the alarms quit working, etc., yet my husband's Clie just keeps plugging along.
11 My first PDA
I've held off for a few years before going to a PDA..basically because I was so used to paper day planners. I am glad I finally got a PDA. I guess I got tired of going to meetings and watching everyone deep into their Palms while I looked out of place with my paper notes. But aside from image, I can honestly say that I am very impressed with this device. I did some reasearch and found that Palm OS is better than the other MS devices because there is much more software. Palm OS is also more user friendly. I really like all of the enterainment options on the TJ37. I haven't been able to figure out how to connect the mobile internet and the MP3 stuff yet but I'll make that a careful study. But I did download tons of cool software and this thing has more than enough memory to handle all of the software up-grades, e-books, games, etc. The graffiti works pretty good too..it didn't take me long to get the hang of it. I recommend this to those of you who are contemplating taking the big leap to a PDA. The TJ37 is the perfect little mobile office and coupled with a nice leather case (you have to kinda search for one that'll fit on the internet becasue they don't supply one to you) you'll have a nice little executive mobile office. I can tell you that the stylus is pretty annoying. It is a thin piece of metal that is retractable. It is too flimsly and contracts in your hand sometimes as you using the device and does not pull smoothly from the device..it kind of tugs a bit. Also the battery life kind of drains pretty quickly. But the bottomline is that for the price and what you get it's a very good deal..highly recommended. This thing has everything and the Sony brand is about the best you can get from a electronic device..the quality is very good.
12 Great first impresion with my Cliˇ
I have had Palm powered PDAs since they were called Pilot, and the Clie is definitely the best bet on my 5 minute "cost-benefit" analysis done before buying it.
I sure feel that the price is lowered by the 3 months warranty, which for sure kind of makes me think why?, but I hope it will last more than 3 months and 1 day.
The size, color, and SW makes it really great to use. The camera is very handy to take low res pictures, not compared with a normal 2 or 3 meg camera. Since carrying the camera is normally the most important part, this one gets to go everywhere.
In short, I am very happy with it, and still recommend it. Although the Cliˇ desktop and Clie viewer could use some integration, but aside that "all good".
13 Theres nothing better for the price!
Only those who have not any intuition with technology can rate thi PDA low.
The WiFi is just as powerful, stable and fast that makes this Clie work even better than many laptop computers with integrated antennas.
Configuration was as easy as my old Zire 71 and the camera quality noticeable superior!
Fip cover is useful and discret, you wont have problems being ready to use your PDA to enter some text, take a picture being protected all the time.
Tho Palm OS5 works great under Sony's hardware plus the Clie Navigation Bar that makes it even better.
Light weight, elegant, compact, powerful and affordable! Tell me where you can find such a perfect combination?
14 Most of everything I need in a small, light PDA
I have owned a Sony Clie T615, TG50, and now recently purchased the new TJ37. I can honestly say that the TJ37 is the best of the three models. It has most of what I need in a PDA, and is a small, light form factor that most people will find enjoyable and useful.
Measuring just 4.5 x 3 x just over half an inch thick, the TJ37 is only 5 ounces and fits nicely in your pocket. The built-in camera is well-designed and perfect for catching a photo of the occasional flying saucer or moose wandering in the road.
More memory, nice software and oh yeah, wireless Internet and email rounds out the list of features. It doesn't come with a cradle, but the charger cable and connector are identical to the one used on the TG50.
No need for a built in keyboard, as Sony has included an updated handwriting program for entering data. A portable keyboard is a viable option, or just HotSync with your computer on a regular basis.
I wish the Clie still had a "back" button and a voice recorder, and that's the only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars.
15 Great PDA great accessories battery life is not enough
I bougt this PDA because i have a Sony Cibershot Camera to easye share pictures from my camera to my PDA, i also use a wireless net in my work an home and is great wirelees pda.
i think that the battery life is'nt enough becouse it only last 2 hours using wireless lan.
16 BEST most affordable PDA on the market!!!
I bought the sony clie PEG-TJ37/U because I needed to connect to wireless internet and view word/excel/powerpoint/adobe acrobat files. The sony clie TJ37 has an excellent crisp & bright screen, one of the best on the market. It has an integrated WiFi card so you can browse wireless internet at a lot of "hot spots" these days. It's very quick in loading websites and loads sites just like you would view them on a computer.
When you purchase this sony clie, it comes with a free download called "documents to go" which is like having microsoft office on your PDA. You can view and edit word/excel/powerpoint files which is very handy in this day and age.
It has a digital camera that takes amazingly good pictures. The pictures can be taken in 3 modes color/black and white/sepia.
Overall, this PDA is like a laptop replacement for me. I can browse the web, check my e-mail, view and edit word/excel/powerpoint files play some pretty good games, organize everything and even take pictures! The only difference in this PDA and lugging around a 7 lb. laptop is that it doesn't have a keyboard (which can be purchased) and you don't have a CD-rom drive.
The battery life is pretty good. If you go on the net to "browse" for a long period of time, you should be close to a power outlet. But if you're just going to check news/stocks/e-mail it doesn't eat too much battery.
The price is truly a bargain. I looked into other PDA's that have integrated WiFi cards and they were much more expensive, sometimes one or two hundered dollars more. The sony clie gives you everything you need, with exceptional sony quaility with a low price.
17 Excellent Combination of Style, Functionality and Price
The Sony Cliˇ PEG-TJ37 is the perfect combination of Style, Functionality and Price. The silver finish is very cool and distinctive. The Cliˇ Stylus is retractable and made out of Metal, not cheap plastic. The navigation buttons are very simple and the Cl’e Application Launcher (Sony's Display Format, similar to Windows CE) is quite simple to use and very original too.
It comes with the Documents To Go from Dataviz Application (You have to register your Cliˇ to Download it first, but it's a simple process), which allows you to edit Word and Excel Documents, as well as viewing Powerpoint applications. The Camera is very good, I previosly owned a Palm Zire 71 and I have to say resolution is better with the Cliˇ. The only downside is the lack of a Flash. Under low light conditions you get zero, nada... The MP3 player application is OK, although I prefer the Real Player application that comes with Palm Products than the AeroPlayer App that comes with your Cliˇ. Overall it has improved Memo Pad (Cliˇ Memo is something like a pocket paint), Adress (you can include pictures), and its comes with other handy apps like Contacts Pro, Agendus and the usual Date Book and To Do List which remain virtually unchanged. The Picsel Viewer technology is very nice, but you need a memory stick in order to use it (it allos you to see Word documents, PDF Documents, JPEG Images, Excel Worksheets and many other formats). Kinoma Player Version 2 is OK, I don't see too many changes from the first version. The Audible Player allows you to download audio like interviews, news, etc. The Presenter-To-Go application is a very neat idea, but its basically a tease for you to buy the Module which allows you to present Powerpoint Presentations directly from your Cliˇ to a Data Show Screen Projector using a special Cable/ Software.
Internet and Mail apps are great, specially when using the IEEE 802.11b port which is similar to the Centrino Chip used by Intel. It allows you to connect wireless to the Internet so you can check mail, do some surfing, etc. Very handy, but it only works where public access points are available and they come with a charge, depending on the provider. Biggest problem is that it sucks battery life dry in just a couple of hours.
The only major complaint I have with this product, for which I didn't award it five stars, is that like all Sony Products, they force you to buy additional hardware like a Memory Stick if you want to listen to MP3, or if youn want to transfer pictures from your Cliˇ to your Laptop or Desktop. I recommend you go for the Memory Stick Pro expansion card (256 will do, 512 is optimum). Finally, it does not come with a docking station / cradle, but just a simple USB connector that looks rather cheap. You have to buy the Docking Station separately.(standard with all Palms).
Overall its a very good product, just remember to buy a Memory Stick, Docking Station/ Cradle, and remember always to bring your Power Source with you cause Life Battery isn't exactly great. One last thing, try buying a solid Carrying Case if you want to avoid scratching your new toy...
18 overall good, wireless internet, short battery life
Internet: The included browser does support cookies and java scripts. It can view most pages. However, if you try to view frames, it gives you a lot of troubles. Also, it didn't come with an email client that you can download emails from your pda, but you can search one for free on the internet and install it. Due to overloaded surfing last night, I have to hard reset my Clie! Required a memory stick if you try to download other files from the internet.
Battery: Battery life is very short, if you continue to surf the internet with this Clie, It's not going to last more than 2hours, maybe less. And Sony stated that the battery can last 10 days. Also, the battery is not removable.
MP3 Player: You need to buy a memory stick in order to use the MP3 player. The build in speaker is very good, better than excepted.
Software: The software included in this Clie is great, you also going to get a free copy of the software "Documents ToGo", which is like having MS Office on your PDA.
Screen: The color is very good, if you have a high quality picture, you can see it VERY clearly on your screen. If you try to see the screen under sunlight/light directly, it's so bad that it's almost unreadable.
Clie Stylus: Very short, light, only fit a child's hand. Sony designed this Clie for Japanese only? They forgot about the Americans.
Voice Recorder: No voice recorder, no microphone, but all MS Pocket PC PDAs have voice recorders.
Cover: You Clie are going to be open like a book, because this Clie come with a cover, is not same as the pictures shown on amazon.com. This is excellent, because you don't need to buy a case.
Overall, this Clie is COOL! High Quality, Stylish Design, Nice Cover.
19 It's ok but battery life is weak
I bought this as a replacement to my Palm Tungsten C which has been returned for 3 replacement units and I've lost confidence with Palm.
So far this Sony Clie is not as nice as the Tungsten C (when the Tungsten C works properly) and the battery life is much worse. I cannot go a weekend with moderate use (no WiFi) without recharging. WiFi makes it much worse. The recharging also takes much longer, 4+ hours if almost fully depleted.
The Wifi setup is not nearly as intuitive as the Tungsten C. It also doesn't seem to work with my Netgear MR814 router while the Tungsten C had no issues with it.
I like having a camera with me everywhere but I would easily give that up for more battery life and better WiFi support and intuitive WiFi configuration.
I'll probably keep this until the next version(s) come out.
20 Great PDA
The Sony Clie PEG-TJ37 is easy and quick to set up. This is an easy unit to use. The Palm OS works well and is quite simple to get used to. The Grafitti 2 has a few changes from the original Graffitti but after a couple of days it is no problem. The stylus is somewhat small and difficult to write with but there are plenty of aftermarket "full size" stylus to choose from. Overall, the TJ37 is a great PDA. I'm very happy with my choice.
21 First week with the TJ37
I bought this pda to replace an clie sj-20, which I liked quite a bit.
I bought it primarily for the wireless connection, since I have access to wireless and home and work. Rather than run off to my computer to check email, I hoped to be able to pull out the pda, check email, and sync later.
So far my plan is working very well. As others have noted, the wireless connection settings are very easy. Setup of software was also easy. Unlike another reviewer, I like installing components one by one to avoid having things I don't want.
Palm OS v5.0 is somewhat of an improvement, although it isn't clear to me exactly what is palm and what is Sony. I do like the 'desktop,' which seems vaguely MacOS X-like.
I very much like that the TJ37 works with previous clie peripherals - I have a terrific fold up keyboard that is a marvel of engineering (the newer stowaway) which works much better with the 200mhz processor of the TJ37 than the 33mhz in the sj20.
And as others have noted, the camera is a great addition. Used closeup and without zoom the camera takes very serviceable pictures. And they are quick, without the annoying lag we experience no our 4megapixel Canon. Since I always have my palm with me, I'm taking many more pictures of the kids etc.
A couple of notes:
The TJ37 comes with a cover that opens like a book. It is the same material (which defies description) as my sj20. It opens like a book, I'm assuming, to facilitate the use of the camera. The sj20 has a flip up cover, which is more convenient. The TJ55 has a translucent plastic cover, which looks a lot better.
The version of intellisync included has less functionality than the version that came with my sj20, so I uninstalled the latest and reinstalled the sj20 one. In particular, the new version does not allow you to set date parameters for calendar sync...an annoyance.
The size of the stylus does not bother me in the least.
Netfront web browser is quite good.
I bought it for wireless and the unit really delivers. Highly recommend at this price point.
22 great price, great machine
This machine is great -- WiFi that's easy to use, great Sony type programs like Piscel viewer that lets you see any document as it actually might print -- sort of like having Print Preview on your handheld. Good controls, nice programs, light weight, camera is just ok -- but you are not buying it as a camera.
My gripes are these: screen could be brighter and the stylus is annoying -- it's like it is built for a 5-6 year old. I like a sturdier stylus. Also, bluetooth would have been great. It's more useful on a handheld than WiFi is. I am sure they could have charged the same but kept the Wifi out and used Bluetooth in its place.
23 Value product from Sony
For the features you get (Wifi, camera, Free documents to go) at the price it's at- it's a deal.
Some minor irritants- the camera viewer application doesn't have slideshow (my zire 71 did), the buttons are bit too small and too many- I'm used to the simpler palm interface.
24 Best PDA in this price range.
I was looking for a PDA running Palm OS, WI-FI enabled, and had a built-in camera. The camera wasn't a requirement, but sounded like a neat idea. I settled on the Sony TJ-37, and I haven't been disappointed. Setup was a breeze. All Sony Cli¸ software is included in ROM, so it doesn't take up precious RAM memory. I liked the applications CD as I got to choose which apps I wanted to install. After installing the included IntelliSync Lite software on my PC, HotSyncing with Outlook was easy. I upgraded the included Documents-To-Go to the Premium version for the extra features, and purchased SnapperMail Premier edition. Now I quite literally have my office in my pocket! The included USB HotSync cable and AC charging cable are a bit awkward, but understandable since they crammed so many features into this PDA. They had to do something to keep the price down. I can't say much about the application buttons as I select all the apps on-screen, but the scroll bar seems to work nicely. The camera is nice for attaching pictures to e-mail, and works great in a pinch, but I wouldn't use it for family photos or anything you may want to enlarge. The included cover is okay, but not the greatest. But that's not a problem, because Sony sent me a FREE leather case with my new Cli¸. The case is very nice and protects the PDA from all sides. Except for the HotSync and Charging cables, I am extremely pleased with the Cli¸ TJ-37. You can't find a WI-FI enabled PDA for a lower price anyware.
25 Great camera but ...
I bought this item after an unsatisfactory purchase of an IPAQ. I have always loved the Palm but go through them like bic lighters so I tried the HP. When that failed (must be me) the Sony looked like a great choice. Set up was a nightmare. You have to install each program separately and it took a while. I could not get it to sync with my Outlook although if I would have spent more time on it I am sure it would have worked. While loading the programs I plied with it a little and did not like it. The scroll bar in the middle was awkward and tough to move. It is not like the palm based products I am used to. I did not like that no cradle only a cable was included. No case only a thin cover that snaps on. The Clie is $300 and merits more quality accessories. The camera is great though and would have been a welcome feature had I kept the Clie.
