updated Sony's latest handheld is half Treo 90, half Tungsten T. Available only in Japan and Europe at the moment, it sports Bluetooth, a thumbboard, Palm OS 5, and of course a Sony screen.
The latest addition to the Sony family is the newly announced CLIE PEG-TG50, available only in Japan and Europe currently. The TG50 is Sony's first non-clamshell OS 5 model, and takes cues from competitors Palm and Handspring.
 | The TG50 is Sony's first non-clamshell OS 5 device
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The TG50 is a svelt 71.6 x 126 x 16.2 mm and weighs 184 grams. The slim aluminum case includes an attached, non-removable flip cover similar to that on the CLIE PEG-SJ33. Rather than a writing area, the TG50 has a thumbboard for character input. The screen is a square 320x320 pixels. The thumbboard is a QWERTY layout, apparently the same as used on the CLIE PEG-NZ90. The keys are also backlit orange for night-time usage.
All of the usual application buttons are also present, byt unfortunately, they appear to be rather thin. The rocker is, at least, not the same stick design as the CLIE PEG-T665c. There are also two extra hard buttons, one on either side of the application keys, for the usually silkscreened functions. It also has, of course, a Sony scroll wheel, back button, and voice recorder, as well as mp3 support through the Memory Stick slot. The TG50's Memory Stick slot is, according to Sony, compatible with the Memory Stick Pro cards.
On the software side, the TG50 runs Palm OS 5 with all the usual Sony extras. There is a voice recorder, mp3 player, Flash player, and so forth, as well as the Sony CLIE Launcher first seen on the NX70v. The specs are standard for a Sony OS 5 device, too. The processor is a 200 MHz Intel PXA250 XScale ARM-compatible processor backed by 16 MB of RAM. The TG50 also includes a Class 2 Bluetooth radio for connecting to Bluetooth-enabled cellular phones or other devices. Sony also includes a new remote-control feature to connect to and control selected Sony cameras and camcorders. Users can setup the Bluetooth-enabled Sony DSC-FX77 Cyber-shot digital camera or DCR-TRV80 Handycam in a good location that is difficult to access, and then control the cameras through the Bluetooth connection on the handheld complete with a viewfinder.
The PEG-TG50 is available now in Japan for 39,800 Yen, or about $340 USD. If Sony follows their usual pattern, it should be available in the United States within the coming weeks for between $300 and $400 USD.
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