The graphics of this PDA are awesome. Its easy to read even with aging eyes. I bought it to synchronize with my computer to check on my emails and Ebay activity. I am having some trouble getting it set up but it takes time and patience. So I will deal with it. I like the size and the many features that this unit has. I wish it had a flash unit for the camera. Taking pictures in dark conditions will result in poor picture quality. I am happy with this unit and with patience will provide years of enjoyment.
I love that this product is made by Sony. I have been a Sony fan since my first nice TV when I was 10. This unit has all the prime Sony characteristics: it looks cool, it functions well, it is sturdy and is user-friendly. Bluetooth makes it very easy to use for Hot Sync but the entire process in pairing with an EXTERNAL Bluetooth adapter has been aggravating. To be fair, there was a downside or two. When purchased, the battery was not in its prime. True you can buy a battery on eBay for less than $15.00 but it must be FACTORY-INSTALLED! This set me back another $130.00. Also the irDA is not as strong or far-reaching as the Palm Tungsten C so I must be closer to the irDA port of my printer. It also seems a bit slower than the C but not so bad. Overall I like the unit but I may go back to the Tungsten C.Read full review
I like the UX50 a lot... I use it for my primary mp3 player, watch videos on the go, all my PDA organization stuff, and web browsing when I don't want to carry my big ass laptop around. The only downside is the battery life. I havn't saved up enough to buy the EB40 extra battery yet so I am making-do with the measly 1.5 - 2 hours that I get with the standard charge. Very annoying when I'm not around an outlet to charge the damn thing, or when I don't have the charger with me (ugh why didn't they design it to charge from USB cable?) Aside from battery life and no USB charger there are a few other minor issues. I have read a lot of complaints about "screen-whine" from these units but this was dramically reduced with the application of a simple screen protector I had laying around from a previous PDA which I was able to cut down to the UX's size. There is a pretty good community of UX users at the www.1src.com forums that will help any new users get started and maximize the productivity of the UX50 and I have found that there is a lot of great 3rd party applications that make the perform even better than it did out of the box. Overall I would say that if you don't mind the short battery life or are planning on buying the EB40 battery extender then this unit is the best PDA on the market. Too bad Sony dropped the CLIE product line just when they were getting perfect because if this thing was any hint about CLIEs to come they would have been amazing.Read full review
I own a number of PDAs Toshiba e830, Loox 720, Sharp 1000, Treo 700p &c. The UX50 is nearly their equal and includes both bluetooth and WiFi, both of which allow synch and which can be set to auto-start when browsing. It does require the addition of 3d party software to allow full-screen and portrait use (CoreDiver and Portrait). A Major problem is battery life. I installed a new battery and can read books for about 6 hours but browsing is another matter; about 2 hours max. Netfront, the OEM browser, is very poor but other browsers work quite well, including Xiino, WebPro and Universe3. As with other palm devices a 3d party launcher and file manager are essential. Launcher X and Resco Explorer work well. Also HiLauncher to somewhat emulate multi-tasking--a serious shortfall of all Palm devices. Processor speed is perfectly adequate but apparently because it has a proprietary (Sony) processor, Java will not install and I have been unable to try the latest iteration of Opera mini. Music sounds fine. I use a 3d party player, Pocket tunes, and transfer mp3s to a 1GB memory stick. Streaming audio is perfect even at high bitrates, indicating a fast processor. The OEM email program works fine. All in all I am very pleased with the UX 50Read full review
The Sony CLIÉ UX50 is a great little PDA. Even in 2008 I find it more useful than a mobile phone-PDA. The UX50 has WiFi-B and Bluetooth, so it can link to a WiFi network, or sync with your computer, car, phone, or any BT device, including headsets. You can use a variety of software and games, plus organizer functions. The keyboard and graffiti features make it easy to input data. Other nice features are brighter screen, headphone jack to plug in portable speakers, headphones, or connect to a stereo. Memory Stick for removable storage, infrared to beam data between older PDAs, scroll wheel to navigate and built-in speaker for real sounds. My main negative is that the screen orientation is wide and cannot be changed to vertical if you wanted to. This makes the actual screen smaller and thus the text is microscopic and very difficult to read. I am legally blind-low vision and i have to use a magnifier to see what i am doing in certain programs (mostly NetFront web browser and sometimes AvantGo browser). The camera is only 640x480 resolution and very grainy but if you need to take good photos, bring a good digital camera or try using your phone's camera to shoot with. I use mine to track and manage my diabetes (separate software) surf the web, listen to music, and play a few brain games while in waiting rooms. My wife uses hers as her alarm clock, calendar, notes, lists, games, music, and web. We think this is the best PDA Sony has ever made and I am glad my wife and I bought them to replace our CLIÉ SJ22s.Read full review