End of an Era: The Sony Clié PEG-TJ37 PDA

[@jweebs1986]

The non-user replaceable battery bit was both hilarious and sad at the same time.

[@bhirawamaylana466]

Agree what a sad reality.

[@wildbill23c]

Still the same today, many manufacturers of several devices claim certain parts aren't user serviceable or replaceable....well of course they will tell the consumer that, they want you to buy a new device every year, not replace a $20 part for example. They want your $1000+ for the new device over a replaceable part...that's why computer manufacturers are hell bent on soldering the RAM on the motherboard now...they don't want you replacing it they want you replacing the whole damn computer....hmm, wonder why the landfills are so full of electronics...there's the reason..."non-user replaceable" components.

[@Sb129]

Most Clies only needed to be unscrewed and it is a normal connector most for the time, the worst one by far was the Palm V/Vx which was completely glued together, some things never change

[@frunny1]

Apple do the same nowadays in all iphones

[@realvivifromloona]

@@frunny1 Literally every Android manufacturer does this... Not just Apple.

[@ReavoEnd]

Growing up, I received a folding model of Sony Clié as one of my most beloved Christmas gifts. Not only did it support taking photos, but video as well, Wi-Fi and... It had an AIM chat client with a dedicated physical keyboard on the bottom half! The camera was also built into a part of the hinge which could swivel to face backward or forward. Sony certainly knew what people wanted out of a device back then. I always facepalm when I think of how that prized possession of my childhood self was lost and/or stolen on some trip.

[@JigglyPKMN]

I miss the days when replacing a battery didn’t involve a warranty void and a 30 minute video tutorial.

[@jurisjancevskis9076]

I want people to go to the 2000s for phone design

[@NoobixCube]

Hell, I’d be happy with any battery replacement that doesn’t require a heat gun…

[@solidaudioTV]

Thanks for the video. I still use my Sony CLIE's to this day. To me, these are the best PDA's ever made and in many ways the origin of the modern smartphone. I have gotten alot of mileage out of these devices and they still work great. Of course, I have a modern phone which handles my email, browsing, photos, music, etc. While its miles ahead in terms of internet, processing power, and multimedia performance, I stil use the CLIE's for other things that I have not found a modern equivalent. The stylus still beats fingers for me when it comes to good note-taking, writing, and accurate copy & pasting of text (such as the Bible) when assembling my own documents on the go. I've used several TJ37's like the one shown here. It's a nice unit, but I've always ended up going back to other models like the PEG-T665c because it has better controls and feels better in the hand. The wi-fi, camera, and somewhat faster processor really don't make that much difference for my purposes. I found that CLIE's with the jog dial on the side to be far more useful than the ones that scroll in some other way. That jog dial really lets you do alot with just one hand.

[@subzerolives]

I have a few clies nz90 models brilliant design but sony was having problems with the camera sensors which were failing at the time due to a batch of bad camera cmos sensors.

[@someguy2135]

I agree. I still have my Clie SJ 20 and 22. Unfortunately the battery on the 22 is now unusable.

[@ErikTheAndroid]

Man I really miss the utilitarian design of these old devices. Actual buttons and ports and products that look different rather than the horribly boring world of blank slabs we live in now.

[@Mik_lackofbits]

Back then, 750$ were considered a waste of money for a cellphone way ahead of its time, whilist today a thousand dollar for an upgraded model of an existing smartphone is the norm. My, how times change...

[@gmcnewlook]

but unlike the palm treo of yesterday, you have lots of options with android devices to suit your budget, palm and the iPhone are "take it or leave it" I mean you can get an android as little as 100 bucks, wont be the best thing to use, but its an option

[@Mik_lackofbits]

@@gmcnewlook that's true, because the technology behind a smartphone is now well consolided and supported by market. Back then however, there were A LOT of groundbreaking devices that never sold well because their price tag wasn't considered worth such an investement. I mean, would we spend hundred bucks on a phone if only a couple of friends had whatsapp or facebook, or even worst if software was scarce and not worth the money?

[@bhirawamaylana466]

Back in day telephone and sending mail still a thing, but now day telephone network become Internet and mail service just become delivery package service.

[@joerig96]

Note 9 and Xs, Xs max

[@ahmedp800]

I am still in shock people pay $900+ or even $800+ for phones nowadays! And barely tap in to them feature wise.

[@hippiedave1362]

I miss tech with physical buttons

[@corgikun2579]

I still use a dedicated Sony Walkman for my mp3s, bought it in early 2016 and has physical buttons :) I had a Samsung touch screen mp3 player in 2008 and wasn't convenient to navigate

[@someguy2135]

Me too. I still use my Palm Treo 700p for everything but making phone calls and texts. I carry an Android phone for that.

[@loganmacgyver2625]

@@someguy2135 what can you still do on that?

[@someguy2135]

@@loganmacgyver2625 I use "Handy Shopper" for my shopping lists. I use a solitaire program and other games, I found a calculator that I like. I use a metric converter. I have a password app that lets me store all my passwords so I only have to remember one. I have Leonard Maltin's movie reviews which is still good for older films. I sometimes use an app that lets me draw on the screen and store and retrieve the drawings. I have some ebooks and use some ebook reader software that I like. I have some data bases that I use. I have a countdown timer and stopwatch that is more reliable than the Android version. My Android is a cheap portable, basic phone, but it has good battery life. Not too good for apps, though.

[@TheMIBlack]

@@someguy2135 same with iphone

[@GeekTherapyRadio]

Loved my Palm. Another kid in study hall had one and we'd play chess from across the room with our IR sensors aimed at each other. I was carrying around Palms and Windows CE devices in the late 90s getting made fun of. I'd tell people to remember making fun of me in 10 years when EVERYONE was carrying a computer in their pocket and you'd be uncool NOT having one.

[@wildbill23c]

Well I still don't carry a computer in my pocket...I leave that on my desk.

[@GeekTherapyRadio]

@@wildbill23c Ok wise guy ;)

[@someguy2135]

Which Palm did you own? I bought a string of them trying to find the perfect one.

[@asmc1492]

William Sevier so you leave your smartphone at your desk? It is a computer too

[@tylerchambers6246]

@@wildbill23c So you don't have a smartphone? Because that's what smartphones are now, computers... Cuz you browse the internet on them, watch videos, listen to music, play games, etc. And occasionally, make calls.

[@Dorktoys]

I don’t know why these videos are mesmerizing, but they are. I keep remembering being super into my Palm Treo Small feedback: You showed a cell phone on the left, then a PDA in the middle and a BlackBerry on the right. If your point (as explicitly stated) was that smartphones were PDAs and cellphones meeting “in the middle,” position the Smartphone in the middle

[@wildbill23c]

HAHA people shrugged at $600 for the Palm cell phone yet they'll spend $1200+ on a damn iPhone.

[@narosser]

Worked at Palm from 2004 to 2009. Was part of the Treo team, and we saw the traditional PDA market dying every year…

[@ShinyElGhosteo]

I used to have this exact PDA when I was little and was devastated when the screen broke. I hope someday I can find another. Thank you for making this video.

[@Sponge1310]

Ah the memories of the good old days when pda’s still were a thing... always wanted a Sony Clié but ended up with a Palm Zire 72, unfortunately didn’t get too much use out of it in school, besides listening to music... probably should have bought a iPod instead 😅

[@someguy2135]

I bought quite a few PDA's including a Clie SJ20 and 22. The ergonomics were excellent. I loved how they feel in my hand.

[@jackkraken3888]

I was always mildly interested in PDAs, but their high price point for me was basically a no go, also that stylus was simply begging to get lost. Now its interesting to see how it makes so much sense to combine the two gadgets, one is something you need ( a phone) with something you want ( a PDA style device). Although now both functions are basically considered a necessity. Mind you the first iPhone wasn't exactly cheap with the 4Gb version costing around $499 although the prices do start to go down after that. Its would nice to see what ideas existed before the iPhone came out, I'm sure there will be a few things that even now are impressive and maybe should be added to smartphones. One that I liked was the flashing LED of certain Blackberry devices, the color representing whether you have missed messages or calls all without even turning on the screen.

[@wildbill23c]

With the ever increasing number of spam phone calls I don't need a damn phone either.

[@EgoShredder]

@@wildbill23c I barely use my smartphone for calls or txts etc, and so I could easily carry on using my Dell Axim x51v PDA which can still get online anyway, and even use Google Street View, plus has battery life that last for days of constant use! That includes using WiFi, GPS with TomTom and playing music.

[@kaseyklynstra2210]

I was an avid fan of my Palm m105 and E|2 back back when I was a kid. I recently found a T|X in the electronics recycle basket at work and I just knew I needed to rescue it and toy around with it (luckily I'm a packrat and had kept the charger for my E|2). Powered up perfectly, almost like it had never been used. Oh, how I wish PalmOS still had a place now that we have so many low-power IoT devices around.

[@notvitalkanev]

The scrolling wheel is called *JogDial*, as I remember

[@jchsf]

Виталий Канев you are correct! My Vaio GRX notebook from the same era also had a Jog Dial, and I loved it.

[@someguy2135]

My Clie's had a jog dial on the side where your thumb could control it while you held it.

[@half23]

I think people forget cell phones cost up to 3k back in the 90s because they got cheaper. But then all minutes and you’re spending hundreds a month per line. All of these devices were only meant for business people. Which is why push emails and gprs and edge+ was really needed. Nowadays we have a device with all the information in the world and yet, people still don’t utilize its potential.

[@DaisyChaine]

my older brother had this back in the day, back then these things were so advanced, especially with the camera

[@GameplayandTalk]

Great video! It's crazy to think how quickly Palm OS devices went out of style after their peak of popularity.

[@someguy2135]

The damn iPhone killed it. I still prefer physical keys on my Palm Treo.

[@atomsk9000]

The only problem with that evolution of smartphones is that iPhone happened. As a result of that, we've lost the beautiful qwerty keyboards like on Palm Treo series, and are now forced to put up with the sensor displays without any valid alternative.

[@Chriva]

Xperia X1. One of very few phones I've kept after upgrading to a newer model. Another one worth saving is P1, exceptional little thing for its age :)

[@wojtekpolska1013]

I would rly want to try and buy this kind of device, It seems very cool to use a stylus like that. also the lack of bloat compared to modern phones would be very nice.

[@archivushka]

It's all depends where to begin.

[@AleksyGrabovski]

I always wanted a PDA back then, but I was a child and I didn't have money for them, now I have money, but modern smartphones aren't cool anymore.

[@MartinKidd]

Nice video! A blast from the past!

[@whatsupdoc4709]

In high school I joined a tech program. As part of it I got a dell PDA. This was back in the early 2000’s. I loved having that little computer. I was so mad when I accidentally broke it. I would still like to have one. iPhones are not quite the same.

[@KaotiqInOz]

I had one of the earlier Clie PDAs, the NR70V was pretty fun back in the day, might even still have it somewhere, must go digging ....

[@LordvonWaffy]

I love my Clie NX80, still keep it a collectible as I haven't seen a better design since its days. Sony should revisit this old vertical clamshell design with new dual-screen concept running their own softwares.

[@wojtekpolska1013]

I wouldnt mind the low camera, nobody would expect to take family photos with this kind of device, i assume most people who owned this device, would use it to make photos of documents and stuff like that

[@migsvensurfing6310]

Still have two ipaq 2210. Great devices. Sad the manufacturers didnt see the needs consumers had back then. All were made for bussiness people and manufacturer location and message readouts were an absolute no go. What we have today is a powerful entertainmentbox with lots of crapware installed. Thanks for the video.

[@NOOBEPICASSO]

great video broski, im jealous that you have all these devices in pristine condition

[@EgoShredder]

I can never understand why so many people manage to scuff, scratch, break their devices. I've got things that are over 30 years old and look like the day I bought them, and all I do is use with care and clean hands.................that's it!

[@michaelhill6453]

Excellent documentary.

[@liamgbooth]

I had one of these in 2006 and I now wonder how the term PDA was lost to smartphone?

[@Lurker1979]

I have an early Clie from a year or two before this was released. I loved it. It was a great product line.

[@mutestingray]

I still think, despite how impressive modern phones are today, we are still missing something about the ease and utility of pen and face buttons. Creating a calendar event feels cumbersome at times on my phone, whereas PDAs had this and other tools front and center. I guess I miss that.

[@a-dutch-z7351]

We've come a long way.

[@MissouriMatt54]

Thank you for the video.

[@markynio]

I had this model. I loved it.

[@labrat8876]

I miss the PDAs, I’ve always loved gadgets!

[@uvtube2008]

As early as 2003, there was QTek (XDA) and soon later i-Mate from HTC using Windows Mobile OS and were fully qualified to be smart phones!

[@Charlesb88]

There are still a few devices on the market that one could describe as the modern incarnation of the PDA. The iPod Touch, basically in many respects a PDA and is still being sold for those who want the features of an iPhone just without the Phone part, such parents who want something iPhone-like to give to their kids who don’t need a full smartphone. Even on the Android side a few devices are being sold that would qualify as PDA’s, such as Sony Walkman NV-A100 series is a series of Digital Music Players (DMP, formally known as MP3 Players), which run Android and as such can run PDA-type just like any other Android phone, tablet, etc. So the PDA’s isn’t entirely dead, at least not yet, even if it’s a rather small niche market these days.

[@yjk_ch]

5:09 Seeing the X1 brings back memories when I really wanted that phone, probably because it looked really cool. Seriously, the Xperia X1 is one of the coolest looking smartphones ever.

[@zephibr]

What's the name of this Tetris like game on the end of the video?

[@AndreaBordoni]

Hi, I was wondering, is it possible to connect it to the PC?

[@danijel-ch2gk]

Two of my schoolmates had a Motorola A925. Back then, it was a monster.

[@cristianarreola8582]

Can you still put MP3's on the Clié? It sounds like it'd be cool to use nowadays.

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

You can, actually - just get a card reader that supports Memory Stick, then copy the files over.

[@RWL2012]

Hey Colin, it's going not too shabbily thanks.

[@Valnoten]

Damn, this video makes me want one right now. Seems dope

[@drwatson32bit]

I had a couple of Casio Cassiopeias and an Ipaq in high school, early 2000s. I've thought about getting the same models again for nostalgia's sake, but after being spoiled with Android, I can't see it being worth what would ultimately be consumed drawer space. I do wish that Android had a WinCE emulator for those few good games that never got ported, though. Back then, my dream PDA was a Toshiba e740, then e755 after the former reviewed poorly for bugginess. I'd skip lunch and go to the library and droll over the reviews and project images online. I think I could get one for under $20 these days, sometimes I still look... yes, I've clearly been on the fence about this for ages lol

[@spidertron575]

I thank Tucker for making me lookup PDA's XD

[@sjm4306]

When I get home I'm gonna break out all my old pda's and see if they still power on. I fondly remember playing gameboy games and listening to mp3s on my tungsten E. Those were simpler times ...

[@XzTS-Roostro]

They really said, "the user can't replace the battery, because they don't have a screwdriver with the proper heads" back then. Now it's more on the lines of, "They can't replace their own batteries, because we sealed the entire thing shut."

[@hbarudi]

Ah the memories of when phones had pens and touchscreen at once, while the touchscreen got better, the pen got discontinued except select phones such as samsung note phones. Thing is while the phone would be at a $600 price, you can pay like $200 and a 2 year contract for $60/month that also includes talk, text, and data. For the stylus, it is a generic stylus like the one on the nintendo ds and 3ds line of portable consoles. You can get a replacement very easily, but as that technology ages out, those stylus are starting to diminish in numbers.

[@Pyroja]

Man, I wanted one of these so bad. I wouldn't get a smartphone until 2009.

[@EgoShredder]

April 2014 for my first smartphone as I held off as long as I could. I'm still using it in December 2020, an exact clone of a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 called an Elephone P8 released in late 2013, and cost a mere £160 GBP.

[@RIZFERD]

Palm PDA, then BlackBerry, then ends by Symbian OS Sony Ericsson P1i in 2008 just before Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 with Windows Mobile OS. Had them all.

[@gmcnewlook]

if you think about it , the ipod touch for now is a modern day PDA it does everything a PDA can (and a bit more) but cant make calls...

[@wildbill23c]

The iPod touch for me was a complete waste of money, 3 of them in a matter of weeks as a matter of fact...never will I waste money on any Apple products, those things weren't cheap and to have all 3 fail within a matter of weeks after purchasing them, Apple can keep their garbage...on the other hand my 7 year old no-name MP3 player that has been dropped, stepped on, and been soaked with a pressure washer, rained on, left in a hot car, left out in freezing conditions, still works just fine...you don't get what you pay for.

[@DSC800]

@@wildbill23c yeah, that Apple company ain't gonna be around for much longer.

[@sr.kaiser6875]

Did you try to connect wifi? Still works?

[@Sb129]

I got a ton of Palm OS software if you need some

[@Sb129]

@GoldenMagikarp1020 Mostly OS4 and OS5 but plenty work with OS3, what'cha need?

[@Sb129]

@GoldenMagikarp1020 Most Palm software pure purely digital, that's why it's so hard to find but I do have a few physical releases of Palm Software

[@coreybabcock2025]

I used to have a Sprint treo back in summer 07

[@yeety1208]

Just bought one!

[@rokero171]

About the wifi being flaky, it isn't actually, is just not compatible with modern WPA2 encryption, if you setup a network using WEP it will work without a problem.

[@tauhedushsalam3877]

So, this was what james in the house of the dead 4 was using: a Sony PDA !

[@robsquared2]

I remember my first Sony Clie V300 I think it was.

[@batracio2]

Las Palm Sony Clie , eran en diseño, como Apple para los smartphones.

[@edgarasu.6124]

Last time I used PDA was in Doom 3 xD

[@soulagent79]

Traded my Sony Clié for a Nokia 3650 smartphone back in 2004.

[@circuitsandcigars1278]

I bought a 3650 off eBay and loaded up.an Atari 2600 emulator w games. I kept using it so much my gf at the time took the phone and dropped it down her bra. I miss her lol

[@L4zy_Lun4]

i miss phones which you can replace batteries

[@plapbandit]

Damn I miss my Tapwave Zodiac II

[@shaolinXtreme]

damn that motorola c330 was my exact phone in 2004

[@vingof]

Yo tuve la cámara Fujifulm A-330 Finepix

[@Fantasmamuerto]

We are using a pda with cellphone capabilities and not otherwise.

[@joeyscleaninglady2877]

200lx was still the most popular "PDA" ever made

[@richards1708]

Wow all those features for a terrible camera is kinda sad tbh. I mean seriously VGA pictures in 2004? Wtf

[@Thomasjcolbert82]

I have 3 of those Palm Phones.

[@askjeevescosby2928]

Smartphones destroyed the world. I use to love fitire tech now i fear how much more damage it will do to man kind. We have never had such a mentally weak population. The widespread mental ilness is directly caused by smart phones and video games. Yoy get such a huhe dopamine hit from games and videos that actual activities seem boring by comparison. It tricks your mind to thinking you are accomplishing something when in reality you habent accomplished a thing.

[@Android-lk3cq]

Fun fact: Palm is about to make android smartphones.

[@Android-lk3cq]

Fun fact: BlackBerry makes smartphones with android.

[@johnnnm9689]

Awezome device.

[@bluebirdsigma]

Yeah, that's cool and all, but can it run DOOM?

[@NoahDesautels4814]

Know this one because of the stalker games

[@Yep6803]

i go for 2nd: pda with phone

[@rupertcortes3980]

No Asian buy this device long time ago because it was so expensive and worse useless. Sorry.

[@The8TrackChap]

Shit, I had a TJ27 years ago. Was a piece of crap back then.

[@finaltheorygames1781]

The PDA came and was gone as if it were nothing but a fad.

[@Strong846]

Remember what they took from you.

[@Android-lk3cq]

Fun fact: Sony makes android smartphones.

[@jericoba]

Actually, it isn't the end of the PDA. The PDA never went away. Our mobile pocket computers in form of Samsung and Apple and others ARE still PDAs. It's more like 'the end of the phone'. The phone is for a long time just an app like any other and not the dominant feature of our PDAs today. I don't know why people still call them smartphones. I don't. About the theory at the end, it's PDAs that got the phone part and became "smartphones". A term I still to this day find awkward and silly.

[@kabalu]

the PEG NZ90 was much better, not such a toy like the one in the video

[@nate1483]

Windows mobile will be the last one

[@infiltrator7777]

Please, please, please, STOP saying "how's it going" in your videos! We're not having a conversation.

[@sjm4306]

That's the thing that you focus on? Colin obviously put a lot of time and effort into the research, videography, voice over, and editing for this video and you are hung up on a trivial rhetorical question? Chill out and just enjoy the video.

[@infiltrator7777]

sjm4306 Yes! It's an annoying bad habit in the younger generation. In NO way does he care how my life is going. So don't ask.

[@andrewapperley]

How's it going @@infiltrator7777?

[@infiltrator7777]

andrew apperley Great thanks! See how that works when we're in a conversation thread?

[@sjm4306]

@@infiltrator7777 It has nothing to do with a bad habit or what generation someone is from, but more to do with how overly serious and impatient you are to things that you dont personally enjoy so you feel the need to criticize as if your problems are the world's. So what if someone asks a rhetorical question? Does it harm you in any way shape or form. I'd say the problem lies in the fact that you are being too uptight to let a tiny minuscule unimportant detail slide. And THAT is a bad habit of the older generation: inflexibility in the face of changes a person can't or doesn't want to understand!