Looks like palmOne and Sony are going to go head to head in fighting for consumer dollars in the lower-end market of color Palm OS devices. As most of you know on Oct. 1, Palm announced the new Tungsten E at $199 that includes such goodies as 320x320 transflective screen, MP3 player, 32MB (28.3MB useable), OS5, ARM processor (all coming under 5oz, 4.6 oz to be precise). That to me was the price breakthrough for most consumers who wanted a faster and more versatile Palm OS5 device but were unwilling to lay out top $$$ for the device.
Now, Sony is joining the fray by introducing two new devices at this price point: TJ25 and TJ35. Both devices feature high resolution 320x320 screens, 200MHz ARM processor, OS5, and a slim form factor (and also coming under 5 oz, 4.9 oz to be precise). However, the T25 only comes with 16MB RAM (11MB available) and no MP3 player. The T35 does come with a MP3 player and 32MB RAM (23MB available). The T25 and the T35 cost $199 and $249 respectively; so, they are a tad more expensive than the Palm Tungsten E. Now Sony is upping the ante by offering $20 and $30 rebates for their models until January 3, 2004 (making them $179 and $219 effectively).
So, it will be interesting who will win out this market segment at the end. Let us know what you think.
I've heard more than one person talk about Sony tripping themselves up with a FUD effect. By introducing so many new models so often, some people are afraid that if they buy a Sony now, in two weeks a new model could appear, with more features and at a cheaper price. In the end, they buy Palm.
Also - and this one I know firsthand - the repair and exchange service that Palm offers is superior to Sony's. You can exchange your defective Palm device for a new/refurbished one immediately, and are never without your handheld. With Sony, you have to send in your defective device, and are bereft of your PDA for weeks!
Finally, at the moment I feel the SD platform has more legs than MemoryStick. Sony has shown that they have the capability to be strong in storage media, but they still have a way to go with this one.