With the CLIE PEG-UX50, Sony blur the lines between PDA and sub-notebook media centre. Anthony Newman discovers if things come off without a hitch.
Sony's range of CLIE handhelds are known for a number of things, among them their media-led focus and their high-priced flagship models. With the PEG-UX50 the Japanese giant seems to have pulled out all the stops and created the ultimate PDA - on paper, at least. The proof of the pudding is always in the eating, though, so we took our seat at the table to see the end result.
 | With its swivel-hinge design, the PEG-UX50 certainly stands out in a crowd
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Design
Sony have chosen a nearly-unique form-factor for this handheld, forsaking the usual tablet arrangement or the now-familiar portrait clamshell of their other CLIE units. Instead we find a mini-laptop, roughly comparable in size to other PDAs: dimensions of 10.4 x 8.9 x 1.8 cm make it chunky but not huge, while at 170 g it is at the higher end of the scale. Yet within this package the UX50 boasts the largest thumbboard of any device in the U.S., with the omission of the Sharp Zaurus CL-760. Unlike conventional clamshells, the screen of the UX50 can rotate to lay flat on the keyboard, creating a normal tablet PDA.
The UX50 is finished in a classy satin magnesium shell, with the non-metal parts in an identically-coloured plastic. We found no problems with durability, and in fact were impressed with the unit's build quality. This included the potentially-fragile rotating hinge, which struck us as very sturdy, and very positive in operation. Whether in clamshell or tablet mode, this CLIE sat well in the hand and felt very usable, with a number of exceptions, which we shall investigate shortly.
Displays have always been the strongest point of Sony's CLIE line, and the UX50 doesn't disappoint with its 320 x 480 pixel 16-bit TFT displaying bright, even colours and delightful sharpness. This is partly due to the relatively small 3.2" diagonal size, which appears even smaller thanks to the heavy black border around the screen.
We were a little disappointed to find that the screen could only operate in landscape mode, whether in clamshell or tablet. We were also very annoyed to find that the screen emits a persistent high-pitched whine: potential buyers are to be aware that this may affect other units than that under evaluation here. The touchscreen, which unfortunately sees a lot of use due to some poor thumboard implementation, is perhaps a little spongy but by no means terrible.
The stylus, however, is: not only is it of the horrendously short, cramp-inducing telescopic variety that plagues many modern PDAs, but it also resides in a somewhat loose protruding silo. We could envisage a situation in which the stylus simply falls out, especially while using the prominently positioned lanyard loop opposite the silo.
Buttons litter every surface of the UX50, but offer up some grave usability issues. The trademark Sony jog dial has moved to the front edge of the device, under the space bar, and has transformed into a wide roller. This is uncomfortably positioned whether in tablet or laptop configuration, and difficult to depress consistently. Furthermore, it seems to operate too slowly for any serious scrolling.
This roller is backed up by just three application buttons, which are accessible in both modes and are bound by default to the web browser, CLIE Mail application and the Date Book. We don't really miss the fourth button, as the dedicated number row on the thumboard can be bound to launch applications - although gamers might disagree. Replacing the fourth application button we find the usual Sony 'back' button, which works as advertised.
The hinge of the unit is the repository for the rotating camera, which we'll discuss below, but also hosts the dedicated capture / record button. The inclusion of a hard button for this function is much appreciated, as is its accessibility in both modes.
Finally, Sony have included their new power / hold combo switch, which is located on the left side of the device. Sliding the switch towards the user will turn on the unit, while pushing it away will lock the buttons and turn off the screen for music playing. Closing the clamshell has nearly the same effect, hiding most of the buttons and shutting off the screen, but we still appreciate the hardware switch.
The inside of the clamshell is graced by a generously-proportioned thumboard, backlit orange. Five rows of buttons are present, including a full row of number buttons, proper arrow keys and full punctuation. Each row of keys sits at the peak of a wave, with the surrounding metal plastered with alternate characters. Arrangement was generally good, and the slightly rubbery, clicky feedback was pleasant for long typing sessions. However, if anything we found the keyboard too spacious: our thumbs were moving all over the place to type, while the layout remained too cramped for proper typing.
The most critical flaws of the board are omissions, however. Unless we, in our hours of frustration, are gravely mistaken, there's no dedicated 'home' button, meaning that users must either resort to a delicate fingernail on the screen to tap the annoyingly small 'home' icon there or use a key combo to return to the launcher. The same is true of the 'menu' function. In fact, we found ourselves resorting to the stylus quite a lot of the time. Thumbboard input offers up more flaws: the CLIE will not auto-capitalize, auto-punctuate or auto-complete, and in most applications the Graffiti area remains stubbornly present.
On a slightly more positive note, the PEG-UX50 is not short of LEDs. A green light on the power switch illuminates whenever the device is on, while on the other side LEDs indicate Memory Stick access and recording status. Finally, in the border of the screen a yellow light notifies users of Wi-Fi activity and a blue light represents Bluetooth. These are annoyingly placed right next to the screen, but at least they aren't too bright.
Audio is a bit of a mixed bag on the UX50. The headphone output, of the standard 3.5 mm variety, is very good quality, but Sony make their usual mistake of providing a wimpy speaker further hindered by its placement on the bottom of the device. This, in a mini-laptop configuration, is unforgivable.
The camera, which sits on the device's hinge, is capable of recording still images of the outside world or of the bearer at VGA resolution with 3x digital zoom. It can also record video at 160 x 112, and when not in use the camera rotates to a protected position.
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