Sony Clie PEG-SJ22 Handheld

Display
The PEG-SJ22 features high resolution on its 320 x 320 pixel backlit color display, which can display over 65,000 colors.

Operating System
The Sony Clie PEG-SJ22 is powered by Palm OS 4.1, which comes with programs such as Address Book, Calculator, Card Info, Date Book, Mail, Memo Pad, Palm Desktop v. 4.0.1 (for PC), Security, and To Do List.

Extra Software
The PEG-SJ22 comes with the following Sony software: Clie Paint, Clie Mail, Memory Stick Autorun, Memory Stick Backup, Memory Stick Export v. 1.2 (for PC), Memory Stick Gate, Memory Stick Import, PhotoStand, PictureGear 4.6 Lite (for PC), PictureGear Pocket, and World Alarm Clock.

Compatibility
The Sony Clie PEG-SJ22 is compatible with Windows 98 SE, Me, 2000 Professional, and XP Home and Professional Edition (not Macintosh).

In the Box
The Sony Clie PEG-SJ22 comes with a USB HotSync cradle, stylus, AC Adapter, AC cable, protective cover, installation CD-ROM, Start Up Guide, End User License Agreement, Graffiti card, and limited-warranty statement.

The buttons and controls on it are well designed (even the odd choice of an up/down rocker that's harder to press up than down works fine). The screen's excellent, for any price point really, let alone the price Sony's charging for this thing. It's significantly better than Palm's Tungsten T or M515, though maybe not quite as good as the Zire 71 or Sony's NX line. When inserted, Memory Sticks are flush with the casing, so they can be left in the unit all the time. I would have liked a slightly easier to press power button-but that's a minor complaint. Even the included leather flip cover does its job better than I expected. It also includes Sony's standard metal stylus. It's a bit too thin, as all Sony stylus' are, but I appreciate that it's metal. Many significantly more expensive PDAs include plastic stylus, which really don't feel as good to use. I don't find the job dial and back button particularly useful, but they're well designed, unlike the PocketPC PDAs that include them (the jog dial actually rotates completely around, it doesn't just tilt up and down).

The SJ-22 also uses Graffiti. REAL Graffiti, not "Graffiti 2/JOT" that the PalmOS 5.2 devices are using. For me that's a big deal, as I can't stand JOT (to the point where I may never buy a PDA that only uses it).

While it has "only" the same 33-mhz Dragonball processor that's been in PalmOS PDAs for years, it actually feels and benchmarks faster than any other 33-mhz Palm I've used...meaning it's very fast. For the heck of it, I tried playing some movie trailers I created in the Kinoma video format, and was surprised to find that the SJ-22 actually plays 30fps full screen video extremely well (looks almost identical to the faster ARM based PDAs). If this had more advanced sound instead of the standard old PalmOS speaker, it would actually be very good at multimedia (without more advanced sound, video is more of a curiosity than anything else). Obviously the included 16MB goes far on a PalmOS device, especially when many programs and documents can be stuck on a memory stick. Unsurprisingly (since it's a Palm), I haven't had a single crash or any strange behavior since I've started using it. I'm sure there's SOME weird piece of software out there that doesn't agree with it, but the dozens of programs I've been using for years work great.

One small complaint is that the SJ-22 doesn't seem to do that great of a job displaying photos from a memory stick taken from a Sony digital camera. It seems to `cheat' when displaying them and cut out a lot of detail-something Sony's higher-end NX line doesn't do. Importing pictures from a computer to the SJ-22 using Sony's Picture Gear software DOES use the screen to its full potential (which is really quite amazing looking), but it would have been nice to get the same quality when viewing pictures directly out of a Sony camera, as the SJ-22 has a larger screen than most cameras.

Battery life seems to be excellent. I leave my PDAs plugged in to my computer while at work, so I rarely go more than a day or two before recharging. That said, even with fairly heavy use I don't think I've seen the battery indicator drop below 100%. A Tungsten T I tried seemed to blow through the battery when just browsing through a To-Do list for a few minutes. The battery compartment is user accesable. I don't think Sony has any official replacement for the battery (the compartment was designed to be opened so that the battery can be recycled), but it may be possible to use a third party battery when it dies in a few years.

The only `issue' with the SJ-22 is that, as has been mentioned by others, Sony cut corners with what comes packaged with it. No cradle (a $30 extra), although the included cable works fine, so it's not a big loss (it just means one has to manually click "hotsync" from the hotsync app rather than hitting a button on the cradle). It also lacks software to sync with Mac OS, or Outlook, and lacks an Office type program (though all are available separately if desired). I don't feel remotely cheated though-the SJ-22 is a great piece of hardware, and is worth the price just for the hardware even without many included extras.

One last note-I was hesitant to buy the SJ-22 because for some reason every store display model I tried seemed to have inaccurate Graffiti. Letters just seem to come out semi-randomly for me. So far, after two weeks of use I've had no problems at all with my unit. It might just be that the graffiti area is a bit smaller than on most PalmOS PDAs, and I just wasn't used to it.

The SJ-22's price is cheap, and they cut some corners on the software bundle, but they didn't cut corners on the hardware. The hardware's actually a great design, and in many cases preferable to or competitive with PDAs three times it's price (aside from the lack of much media support). Well worth considering if you don't care about playing videos/listening to music, or if you just want a good price on a good PDA.


Excellent deal for the price   November 2, 2003
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

I upgraded from a Palm IIIc to the Sony Clie PEG-SJ22.
Some of the reviews I read worried me because they said extra software is needed in order to sync with Microsoft Outlook. What they didn't say is that everything you really need is on the cd-rom that comes with the pda.
The palm IIIc was not compatible with my updated computer so I was forced to update my pda. I was bummed because my palm pilot was great, but the Clie is even greater. It syncs much faster, there are great games (in color) included in the package, it is smaller, lighter and very easy to use.
Overall, I am VERY happy.


I love my brain   November 14, 2004
M. Harner (Toccoa, GA USA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

My Clie is the first PDA I've owned, and I've had it for about 2 months now (I bought it on eBay for a nice, cheap price after using Amazon's rating system to decide which PDA I wanted). It was definitely a good purchase, especially if you're looking for basic PDA use. I keep track of everything in it, and have been much more productive as a result.

It is easy to use, and the screen is clear. Battery life seems to be pretty decent, especially when the backlight is not turned up too high. Even on low backlighting the screen is easy to see.

I have downloaded a few programs to it, as well as some books/Bibles. Once you figure out the downloading system, everything flows together pretty smoothly.

I bought a keyboard to go with it. That didn't turn out too well. Amazon matched the wrong keyboard to this Clie, so be careful when buying a keyboard. Make sure that the model you're buying (even if it says "for Sony Clie") actually matches the Clie you have. Amazon doesn't always match things correctly. But I'll be buying another one, which will be useful when I go to graduate school this fall.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this product. I've had to do a couple of hard resets, but I didn't lose anything at all. I don't know whether that's just "beginner's luck" or what. Anyway, this Clie has become my brain. I know where to be and when because of this thing, and I love my brain.


Sony comes through with replacement software   June 2, 2003
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

As mentioned in a few other reviews, Intellisync Lite was NOT included with the software bundle accompanying the SJ22. However, in July they came through and offered a free download of the latest edition of Intellisync Lite for all registered owners of the SJ22. This bit of software is essential for syncing with MS Outlook.

The other well-publicized missing software application is Documents 2 Go. While not essential for normal operations, it's good stuff to have for those who transport Office documents between work and home or who like to work on docs during a commute (or during boring meetings).

If you don't absolutely need color, go with the SJ20 instead; it includes all of the above applications and it's cheaper. The resolution is still higher than the Palm Zires and you'll get the friendly Sony screens and operation. If you must have color, go with the SJ33 instead and you'll get faster processing and all of the above software.

Sony went for a price point and sacrificed some "free applications to get there. But Kudos to Sony for getting back in the game and offering the Intellisync Lite download (after so many of us complained).


Great PDA - Save some cash   November 29, 2003
Brian Giovanoni (Massachusetts)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I have had a PDA since it was Palm Pilot. This was before Palm creator left and created Handspring (which was recently purchased by Palm). Before Palm Pilot was purchased by US Robotics and then 3Com. Before 3Com spun the company off as Palm.

I have given up my PalmPilot (Upgraded to 2MB) to move to this.

This machine has:
Crisp color.
Rechargable Batteries.
Great BASIC PDA software
Thumb wheel.
Screen Saver (which in the optional AC Cradle will be a virtual photo album on your desk).
16 MB
Expandable with the 128 or 128x2 (256) Memory sticks.

I am happy with my purchase (plus it was under $100).

As far as Outlook compatability...Buy the software or spend the extra $100.