Home :: PDAs & Handhelds  

Accessories
Linux OS
Palm OS
Pocket PC OS
Smart Watches
Sony Clie PEG-TJ27/U Handheld

Sony Clie PEG-TJ27/U Handheld

List Price: $199.99
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Delighted first time PDA user
Review: I researched PDAs fairly extensively before I settled on my Sony Clie TJ27. Well it has been about a month, and I am delighted with it so far. Originally I was interested in a Palm but was frightened away by all the negative reviews everywhere. My Clie came with free Dataviz software (upon registration of the product on the Sony website), including word, excel and "Slides to Go" (similar to Powerpoint) and I have had no trouble transferring data from files on my PC to my Clie and performing hot sync operations.

I've taken pictures (okay, you need to get fairly close to your subject with the 2x zoom limitation, but if you want topnotch photography, buy a digital camera). The only area needing improvement is the battery power. When you use the camera, it eats batteries faster than if you were just working with data. All in all, I love it and would highly recommend, especially to first time users who don't expect it to be their morning alarm clock (honestly, who would rely on a handheld for this); a top-notch digital camera or their desktop. It is what it is - a great value for the price.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: TJ27 - Fragile Glass
Review: I've had my Clie TJ27 for 3 weeks and generally liked it. However, the glass cracked when I left it in my vehicle due to the heat (about 80 deg F) outside. Customer Service wasn't interested, claimed it had been abused because I left it in my vehicle and so not covered by the warranty! Also, the replacement glass was quoted at $130.

Just note that Customer Service/Warranty don't count for much on this product, spare parts/repair costs are "over the top" and the glass is fragile.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Product great; service lacking
Review: If I were reviewing the unit alone, I would give it five stars. However, one must consider the whole package, including service and support, and here there are problems. When my Clie first arrived, the battery had a serious problem: it would drain from full to zero in less than 24 hours, whether I turned the unit on or not. So I was all excited to get the Clie, only to find that it was unusable. I sent it in and waited. After being without the thing for almost three weeks, it came back from the Sony service department with the same exact problem! To call this frustrating is an understatement. So I called and emailed and called again, getting various stupid suggestions (one Sony tech insisted that I was leaving the unit turned on 24/7--I am no Einstein but for cripes' sake I'm not THAT stupid!). So I sent it in AGAIN. And waited AGAIN. This time the gurus at Sony decided there really was a problem and--at my insistence--they replaced the Clie. Now it is working great and I love it. So buy the unit, but be ready for some battles if you need service!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Glad its not a Palm! - Good product
Review: My Palm m500 died 2 months ago (never dropped, stoped working from one day to the next) and was very PO'ed with the COMPLETE lack of service from those fools - wanted to charge $100 to fix or 20% off high end replacements. I refused to purchase anything from them, but all programs/data backed up on "palm" device. So purchased this device.

Very good product for the price. Fast. Charge does not seem to last long 3-7 days depending on usage.
Love the Clie launcher program.
Only problem is with the stylist. It is retractable and it gets caught when taking it out. Going to see if there are other options.
Not rated 5 since too early to tell, but so far its great!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Pretty to look at....
Review: One of the things that originally attracted me to the Clie was its sleek styling and compact design, especially since I carry it everywhere I go. However, after the disappointing technical/customer service I've received from Sony (ignoring my e-mails) and the difficulty in finding a replacement stylus for this product, I would not recommend buying this handheld. Even if Sony is discontinuing its handheld line, they should have some sense of loyalty to their customers and continue to support their product. After going to four electronics stores and visting the Amazon and Sonystyle websites, I am still without a replacement stylus (extends & retracts) for this product. If customer service and ease in obtaining replacement parts is a consideration in your purchase of a handheld, don't waste your money on Sony.


Rating: 1 stars
Summary: DO NOT BUY A SONY CLIE TJ27!!!
Review: The Clie TJ27 is a piece of garbage!!! I wish I had stuck w/Palm. Not only do very essential features not work, but Sony product support is worthless and time consuming. Here is a list of what is not working:
1. Power/Hold button does not correctly, therefore the screen backlight is always off. I've trouble shooted this w/Sony, the power button is not working correctly & they confirm this
2. The 'capture' button for the camera is inoperable.
3. Silk screen area is unresponsive, rendering this PDA worthless
4. Sony support sucks. As I write this, I have been on the phone w/them on hold for over 2 hours!
I have attempted to return the Clie to the place of purchase, but they would not take it because I bought it 38 days ago & their return policy is 30 days. NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A SONY PRODUCT ON ANY KIND!!! SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! GET A PALM OR HANDSPRING!!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: SONY CLIE TJ27 vs. Tungsten E
Review: The TJ-27 is SONY's response to the $200 Tungsten E. Since the TJ-27's price is slipping to below $170 it's easy to see who's winning in the marketplace.

The TJ-27's great strength is that it DOESN'T have PalmOne's hacked up extensions to the PalmSource OS. That's why I sold my T/E and bought the TJ-27. That's not to say it's a great product; there are no great pocketable PDAs available today.

(...)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Solid, Reliable
Review: The TJ27 isn't a terribly exciting PDA-it has no sound capabilities so it can't play MP3s or video (with audio)-even though the rest of the hardware is more than up to the task. What it does have is Sony's typically high build quality and reliability. The screen is excellent (and unlike most PalmOne models, it doesn't hum loudly, and the backlight can be toggled on and off).
The button layout is questionable. A jog dial sits between two left/right buttons in the location that most PDAs have either up/down buttons or a 5-way navigator. Depending on the program, the left/right buttons sometimes function the same as up/down buttons on older PalmOS models, and sometimes the jog dial and left/right buttons function the same as a 5-way navigator. The 4 application buttons are a bit too small, too close to the left/right buttons, and are connected together. (The calendar and address book buttons are connected, and the to-do and memo buttons are connected). So the layout isn't the greatest, but it does work okay.
The camera, as with all integrated cameras, is almost completely worthless, but since it doesn't really raise the price any, it's not a big deal.
System speed is excellent. The TJ27's 200Mhz i.MXL CPU (Motorola's ARM chip) benchmarks only 27% slower than Intel's 400Mhz xScale. Of course that power is basically complete overkill, especially since the TJ27 can't really play video, but programs like Documents to Go, and the basic PIM apps respond very quickly.

All in all, this is possibly the best "basic" PDA on the market right now. No audio, a somewhat strange button layout, but far better reliability than you'll get from other companies.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Well, they're right about the glass
Review: This is a great product, except, as several other reviewers have noted, the glass is EXTREMELY fragile. Treat your Sony Clie like an egg. It cannot survive the abuse you are probably accustomed subjecting your PDA to. I have (well, now, had) mine in a padded leather case and dropped it about two feet onto brick. The snap that held the case closed pressed into the screen and the Clie is now toast. Now, keep in mind I practically ran over the first Palm I had and it was fine. You could drop kick one of those things down your driveway and it would survive unscathed. Not the Clie!

All that said, I loved this Clie so much I will probably buy another one. I would have to pay much more for similar features in a Palm, and I'm not willing to pay much more. However, this time I'll get one of those padded metal cases for it!

Really, those of you who have a Clie or are thinking of getting a Clie, it's a fabulous product but be very, very gentle with it. Nothing about it (glass, toggle, etc.) is built to last. If you don't break the sceeen, you might get 2-4 good years out of it, which is about all I'd expect from any handheld these days.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sony Clie TJ27 Perfect for beginners!
Review: This is my first handheld. I absolutely love it. The hotsync worked perfect with my computer without a hitch. It is light, convenient and very easy to use!!! The stylus is very thin and a little uncomfortable to hold, but I wound up buying a stylus that was pen-like and fits in my case perfectly and works with the clie with no problem. The photo feature is really cool too. It is not the best quality,but hey, when you a need a camera quickly, just snap a quick photo with the clie. It is easy to use, you can store photos on the handheld or use a memory stick and it's very convenient! My tasks, contacts and calendar sync quickly and easily with Microsoft Outlook. I don't think it will work with Express, but you may want to research that. I do all of my work on the computer and then sync it to the clie and boom, there's all the info! This is a great choice for a first time handheld...


<< 1 2 3 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates