Sony Unveils New Clie Handheld

The newest Sony Electronics Clie handheld PDA (personal digital assistant), announced Monday, can replace most of the remote controls for its owner, and two new accessories may replace a user's camera and MP3 player.

The Clie PEG-T415 model has a 320 x 320 pixel resolution monochrome screen using version 4.1 of the Palm operating system, a Dragonball VZ 33-MHz processor from Motorola, 8MB of DRAM and 4MB of flash memory. In addition to the enhanced infrared port with a 15-foot range for controlling audio and video equipment, it has a Universal Serial Bus port in the desktop synching cradle and a Memory Stick port.

"It really does share the entertainment aspects that the other Clie handhelds are known for, the slim form factor as well as the extended features," says David Yang, a spokesman for Sony Electronics. The channel changer in the IR port can control TVs, video cassette recorders, digital versatile disc players, and audio-visual receivers, but not cable TV boxes. Not yet, anyway. "The remote commander is software driven," Yang says, noting that an upgrade could add the function, but he did not offer a time frame for the upgrade.

New Modules Released

Sony also released two modules for use with Clie PDAs--a camera module for photography and an MP3 music player module. The PEGA-MSC1 Memory Stick Camera Module enables the Clie T415, N760C, and N610C handhelds to take digital photos. The camera plugs into the Memory Stick port. Images can be recorded on Memory Stick or onboard memory. With a maximum resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, image quality is too low for print photos but high enough for sending photos by e-mail or posting them to Web sites.

The PEGA-SA10 Audio Adapter reads MP3 audio files stored on Memory Stick media. Files need not use proprietary or copy-protected formats like Microsoft Windows Audio for music files, as other Sony handheld devices have required. The adapter plugs into the serial port located at the base of the T415 handheld model. It comes with headphones and installation software with supporting applications.

The T415 model will be released in North America in November at $300, Yang says. The camera module will be released at the same time for about $150, and the audio adapter for $130. No launch plans for other regions were announced.