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CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 09/23/2002
- Updated on: 02/05/2003
- Released on: 06/24/2002
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| Sony's motto: Design, design, design. | The CLIE's top hosts the usual suspects. |
Below the screen are the typical four application controls. In the middle of those is a minuscule scroll button that's small enough to be nearly useless. Fortunately, there's a jog dial on the left that can perform most of the same functions.
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| The jog dial is thumb-thing special. | The lack of a clasp may irritate some users. |
To protect the screen, Sony provides a removable, black-leather flip cover, but since it lacks the magnetic clasp found on other CLIEs, it tends to flop around.
A small USB cradle is supplied to connect the CLIE to your PC. To recharge the built-in battery, you can plug the AC adapter into either the cradle or the CLIE itself via a small dongle. It would have been better if Sony had found a way to permanently attach the dongle so that you wouldn't have to worry about losing such a vital accessory.
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| This cradle doesn't rock. | A small--and easy-to-lose--dongle makes for cradle-free connectivity. |
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 Thanks for the Memory Stick. |
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 Sing along with strictly Sony-sanctioned songs. |
Aside from audio apps, there's a lot more software to be found on the included CD, though many titles are trial or demo versions. Worthy of special mention are Documents To Go Standard Edition for working with Word and Excel files and Margi's Presenter-to-Go, which plays PowerPoint slide shows. If you're looking for something a little more fun, there's also Sony's signature gMovie (a video player) and PictureGear Pocket (an image viewer) to show off the high-resolution screen. With CLIE Paint, you can draw freehand or on top of photos that are stored on the device.
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| Why doctor a photo if it's not sick? | Like changing channels with a stylus? You'll love Remote Commander! |
As an added bonus, Sony includes remote-control software so that you can use your PDA to command your home-theater gear, although we didn't like using the stylus to navigate the menus on our TV. Our only serious gripe with the CLIE software is the absence of Mac support; you can, however, buy third-party Mac software at an extra cost. For most day-to-day tasks, you'll have a hard time noticing this CLIE's faster processor. The Palm OS is remarkable for its ability to provide a snappy user experience from meager hardware. But if you put a T615C beside this newer model and play a video clip in gMovie, you'll see that it looks slightly smoother on the T665C. The difference is real, but most folks won't find it significant enough to warrant replacing their current PDA.
One drawback of the faster processor and the built-in audio support is that battery life is a bit limited. According to Sony's spec sheet, the T665C should last for 5 hours of regular use--30 minutes each day for 10 days--or 4 hours when playing MP3s with the screen turned off. In our tests, we got 3 hours with the backlight on and played back MP3 music for 5 hours, 20 minutes with the screen turned off. That's a bit short compared to previous Palm OS devices, and some Pocket PCs that we've tested can do quite a bit better.
One thing to keep in mind while shopping is that this CLIE--and other Palm OS PDAs--seems to use less power when turned off, so you can leave it unattended for a week or more and it will still power on when you return. Conversely, many Pocket PCs drain their battery completely just sitting in a drawer.
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 Sony's smallish screen offers decent image quality. |
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