Sony Clié model PEG-SJ22

The SJ22 is Sony's replacement for their first affordable high res color PDA, the now discontinued SJ30. They are so similar, you could just read our SJ30 review, and know nearly everything you need to about the SJ22. What's different? The price is a modest $199, significantly cheaper than the $299 SJ30, the screen is a tad brighter, and Documents to Go is no longer bundled with the SJ22. It will be available in the US on March 21st, 2003.

The screen is an excellent backlit hi-res 320 x 320 pixel, 65,000 color TFT screen and offers sharp images, text and icons. Compared to the SJ30, the SJ22's screen is a little bit brighter and doesn't have the SJ30's strong blue cast— a small but welcome improvement.

The front buttons are easy to use, especially compared to the un-ergonomic up/down buttons used on the Clié T665C. You'll also get the standard Sony jog dial for moving up and down in apps and etc., which is very popular with users, as well as a back button positioned just below the jog dial.

You'll be able to use Clie T and NR series accessories such as their Memory Stick camera, cradle, mini keyboard, game controller and more with this PDA.

No MP3 Player but you can add it later

If you really wanted the built-in MP3 player that comes with high end models, but don't want to spend the money now, you can buy Sony's accessory MP3 audio player adapter for $129 later and you will be able to listen to MP3 music with the SJ22. Otherwise, consider the new SJ33, which has an MP3 Player and 2x faster processor for $299.

Power and Expandability

The SJ22 has a 33 MHz Dragonball VZ processor that's fast enough for the average user's needs. 16 megs of internal memory is enough to store a heck of a lot of contacts, appointments and notes, along with a nice collection of 3rd party apps. Out of the box, 14.7 megs of the 16 total are available to the user.

If you find you need more room, you can store docs and apps that are expansion-card friendly to optional Memory Sticks. Like past Clié PDAs, the unit is expandable via Sony's Memory Stick technology. These are tiny stick-shaped removable memory cards already used in some Sony digital cameras, and supported by newer Sony VAIO notebooks. The unit will not support the new Memory Stick Pro media, but is compatible with other Memory Stick formats.

Software Bundle

The software bundle with Sony PDAs is always excellent, even for budget models. Sony includes their own software for image viewing and editing that runs at high resolution, and you get some nice 3rd party software like Kinoma Player and powerOne™ Finance calculator. Unfortunately, Documents To Go standard edition from DataViz (for working with Word and Excel documents) is not bundled with the unit. The most recent Cliés haven't come with Docs to Go but have included Picsel Viewer, which allows you to view MS Office docs. Picsel is not included with the SJ22 either, but hey, this is a high res color PDA at a budget price. See the specs section for a more complete list of included software.

Size

Just as with the SJ20 and SJ30, the unit is rather thick compared to some of Sony's slimmer models such as the T-655. Other than the thickness, the unit is not nearly as long as the T665 and NX60/NX70V, and looks very modern with very little dead space surrounding the screen. The front bezel is black, while the rest of the unit is silver.

Conclusion

Pro: This is an attractive and highly portable PDA at a great price. High res color, 16 megs of RAM and a rechargeable battery. You can use Sony T and NR series accessories. The software bundle includes Sony's multimedia apps and Kinoma Player. Con: No cradle included. You'll get a USB cable for HotSyncing instead. You can buy an optional cradle, but prices for these are high. Documents to Go is no longer included, you'll have to buy your own software package if you want to work with Word and Excel docs on your PDA.

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Specs: