Sony CLIÉ PEG-NR70V/M

Description

Sony CLIÉ PEG-NR70V
Sony is putting a new twist on PDAs. Not only does the CLIE PEG-NR70V have a slick, clamshell design with a swiveling display, it also houses a built-in digital camera, a keypad, and a host of multimedia functions. Roughly the size of a swanky cigarette case, this CLIE will no doubt turn heads. But with an asking price of 9, Sony is catapulting Palm devices into the high-end Pocket PC range. This PDA's design is pretty clever. When closed, the brushed-aluminum case feels rugged, and the large, colorful, 320x480-pixel transflective LCD is well protected. You can open the casing to use the keyboard, or you can rotate the screen 180 degrees, fold it back down to cover the keyboard, and use the NR70V like a traditional Palm device. Measuring 5.5 by 2.8 by 0.7 inches and weighing 7 ounces, this CLIE is bigger and heavier than almost every PDA that we've reviewed recently. It slips easily into a jacket pocket but will weigh down your shirt pocket.
This CLIE's cradle is larger than that of most PDAs and includes a stylus holder on the side. True to Sony design, even without the CLIE inserted, the cradle doesn't look out of place on any desk. Unfortunately, unlike other CLIEs, the NR70V doesn't ship with a dongle or a USB cable, so if you want to sync or recharge the batteries, you have to do so via the cradle.
The NR70V is powered by Motorola's 66MHz DragonBall Super VZ processor, which is zippier than the 33MHz processors found in earlier high-end Palm OS devices. The faster processor allows for better video playback, but the 16MB of built-in RAM can't hold much in the way of video files. So count on buying a large Memory Stick to store your videos, photos, and MP3s. Yes, that's right--the NR70V also has a built-in audio player.