Sony CLIE PEG-SJ22

Sony's new CLIE PEG-SJ22 is nearly identical to the SJ30 in nearly every way, differing mostly in the software that ships with unit. But we're not complaining; if you can make the software sacrifice, this SJ22 is a capable, colour CLIE that matches the SJ30 hardware and at £126 (ex. VAT) is affordable.

Design
Like its sibling, the SJ30, the PEG-SJ22 is compact, measuring 7.2 z 10.4 by 17cm. The CLIE PEG-SJ22's moulded-plastic case helps limit its weight to 139g, so it's easy to carry in a shirt pocket. Sony managed to shrink the bezel of the unit, so the 2.9-inch, colour LCD appears larger than it really is. One thing that we immediately liked about the SJ22's design is the battery; although it's rechargeable, it's also replaceable and can be accessed easily by removing one screw from a panel on the unit's back. Below the screen and the Graffiti area are the typical four application buttons and the scroll rocker. The SJ22's buttons are big and easy to use. However, the controls--and the rocker, in particular--are still not large enough to play a fast-action game comfortably. Fortunately, there's a jog dial and a Back button on the side of the unit to speed up scrolling and switching between programs. The PEG-SJ22's nylon flip cover is detachable and includes two nubs that keep it from touching the screen or activating the buttons. The cover lacks a clasp, however, so it easily slides to the side or flops open. In lieu of a cradle, Sony includes a small, plastic adapter, and power and USB cables. This is a lightweight and efficient package for the frequent traveler, but we would have preferred an adapter that's not so easy to lose. If you must have a cradle, you can purchase one from Sony.
Features
Sine this is a Palm OS 4.1 device, the PEG-SJ22 is equipped with a 33MHz DragonBall processor and 16MB of RAM. While 8MB of RAM should be more than sufficient to store a ton of contacts and calendar information, if you need additional space there's a Memory Stick slot at the top of the unit. Aside from the Memory Stick slot, the CLIE has few hardware extras. There's no MP3 playback, though the unit does have a speaker for system sounds and alerts. Sony includes a suite of CLIE programs with the SJ22, the most notable of which are geared toward showing off the handheld's high-resolution screen. PictureGear Pocket, when used with the included PictureGear Lite desktop application, lets you convert and view files on your PDA. This is a nice perk, but we would have preferred JPEG support out of the box. Once you have images on the device, you may either display them as a slide show in Photo Stand or edit and embellish them using CLIE Paint. The biggest difference between the SJ30 and the SJ22 is that the latter lacks a couple of software titles that the earlier model had. The first is Documents To Go, which lets you view and edit Word and Excel files on your Palm. And though Sony includes Palm Desktop, it leaves out Intellisync Lite, which lets you sync with your e-mail and contacts with Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes. Sony still does not include a Mac-syncing application, so Mac users will have to shell out for third-party software such as Missing Sync. Our favourite app is this CLIE's World Clock program, which allows you to set up to five different daily alarms. You can even select the type of chime or whether the alarm emits a constant tone or builds to a crescendo.
Performance
As we already noted, the CLIE PEG-SJ22 has 16MB of RAM and uses a 33MHz DragonBall processor, which can't compare with the 66MHz processor found in the NR70V or the 200MHz Intel processor at the heart of the TG50 and NZ90 CLIEs. Despite this, the SJ22 handles any PIM task with ease, although it falls short in processor-intensive activities such as displaying graphics. The unit had no problems sorting through long lists of contacts, but unlike the NR70V, it couldn't keep up with the action when we played the arcade game Zap 2016. The SJ22's built-in lithium-ion battery delivers an acceptable amount of operating time. With the auto-off function disabled and the screen set to maximum brightness, the battery lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes. This is a far cry from Sony's estimate of 15 days of usage at 30 minutes per day. Of course, you can extend the battery life by using this PDA without the backlight whenever possible. However, when the white backlight is off, it's difficult to read text on the high-resolution, 320x320-pixel screen under certain conditions. If you happen to be outdoors, it's easy to see the screen display and even most of the colours, but when you're inside, the backlight is a must. And while the text is much crisper than that found on competing 160x160 handhelds, the icons are still blocky compared to those of a Pocket PC.