2003 looks to be the same as 2002 for Sony; fast and furious. Larry Garfield looks at the newest Sony CLIE to reach US shores, the CLIE PEG-SJ33. It fixes a few problems from the T665c, and is otherwise Standard Sony.
Not one to rest on its laurels, Sony is continuing its rollout of devices at a variety of price ranges. The latest mid-range device out of Sony is the CLIE PEG-SJ33, a moderately priced but feature-rich handheld. It excels at everything that Sony usually excels at, but has a few flaws that Sony always seems to have.
 | The SJ33 comes in multiple colors, including a hot orange
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Design
The SJ33 comes in an all-plastic casing. As with a few of Sony's previous models, though, it comes in a variety of colors; in this case "Lucent Black", "Azure Blue", and a limited edition orange. The front panel itself is a light gray. The overall case is smooth and rounded, fitting nicely in the hand. It also sports a non-removable flip cover in front that is slightly domed and rounded at the edges. It opens to and holds at a comfortable 120-degree angle. The flip cover is semi-translucent, but since it also covers the buttons on the device it cannot be easily used while closed, even though the screen is semi-visible through the cover.
The screen itself, however, is gorgeous. It is a Sony HighRes 320x320 screen, sadly with no virtual Graffiti. The screen is crystal clear and bright, roughly on par with the CLIE PEG-NR70v. The refresh rate is nice and fast, with no ghosting or streaking.
The overall device measures 73.0 mm x 107.8 mm x 22.0 mm and weighs 172 grams. As with previous SJ-series models, it is somewhat shorter than a usual Palm OS device. It does include all of the standard buttons, including two directional buttons. Each of the application buttons is a small, slightly dimpled button that sits in a sunken "pit" in the device. They're not the easiest buttons we've ever used, but they are certainly better than the PEG-T665c's buttons, and work well enough for games. The directional buttons are also in a "crater" impression, each one a semi-circle spanning the outer rim. While it looks cool at first, they are not the easiest to use.
The left side of the device has the standard Sony scroll wheel and Back button. Both are very deeply indented and towards the back, however, making them a bit difficult to use compared to many other wheel controls. The left side also includes the power switch. We say switch, not button, because Sony has completely rethought the power control for the SJ33. Sliding the textured switch downwards will turn on the device, and the switch will move back to its original position. Sliding it up will lock it into the "Hold" position, which turns off the screen but keep the included mp3 player running, to conserve batteries. Users frequently hit the Hold switch by accident on previous Sony devices and then couldn't figure out why their handheld wouldn't turn on when they pressed power. Combining the two into a single switch neatly solves that problem, and makes sense given their function.
On a more amusing note, though, pressing the switch down and releasing it rather than letting guiding it back up with a finger will case it to spring all the way to the Hold position. We can only chuckle and sigh in response.
There are two LED lights on the SJ33. One is next to the Memory Stick slot, and is an activity indicator that we wish more handhelds had. The other is an orange power LED, which is unfortunately situated right in the middle of the directional buttons in front. The light turns on when the device is on, or when it is off and charging, and turns off when the device is fully charged. Unfortunately, it is a very piercing orange, and is pointed directly at the user's face. Ouch.
A lanyard loop on the top right back of the device next to the stylus silo allows the user to attach a hand or neck strap. The device even comes with a fairly high quality hand strap that the user can attach if they wish. The stylus itself is the thin standard Sony stylus.
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