Clash of the titans

Handheld heavies Palm and Sony shared the honors on an eventful Wednesday that saw a whopping six PDAs launched.

Despite being fierce rivals, there were parallels between the two Palm OS licensees, as each unveiled a high-end connected model, a mid-range executive offering, as well as a budget entry for first-time users.

Todd Bradley, president and chief executive of Palm Solutions Group, began the day with a keynote on Convergence 101 at the iX 2003 conference in Singapore, before unveiling his new products in front of reporters here. But Sony nearly stole the show later with the announcement of the ultraslick CLIE PEG-UX50's Asian availability.

"Whatever you compare handhelds to, from a market perspective, there is still enormous amounts of growth that we can all participate in," said Bradley, dispelling suggestions that the handheld market is dying. He argued that PDAs are still in a "very evolving stage" and that there were opportunities in various audience segments and countries such as China and India.

Palm is hoping that its three new models--two Tungstens and a Zire--will fill part of that demand. It will, however, face more than a bit of competition from Sony's UX50 and all-new TJ series--officially announced for the first time globally.

Match-up Palm's entry Sony's pitch Featherweight feud: Electronic organizers Palm Zire 21 See more pictures Sony CLIE PEG-TJ25 See more pictures Pricing S$200 (US$116) S$369 (US$214) Vital stats Palm OS 5.2.1; 126MHz processor; 8MB memory; monochrome display. Palm OS 5.2; ARM-compliant 200MHz processor; 16MB memory; 65,536-color display. Our thoughts The Palm Zire 21 improves upon the plain ol' Zire with a faster processor and more memory. However, we can't help but bemoan its lackadaisical monochrome, non-backlit screen. The S$369 TJ25 offers a pretty 16-bit color display with a faster processor, more memory, and a more stylish exterior than the Zire 21, but may in turn be outshone by the music-playing Palm Tungsten E. Dressed to kill: Multimedia for execs Palm Tungsten E See more pictures Sony CLIE PEG-TJ35 See more pictures Pricing S$378 (US$219) S$489 (US$283) Vital stats Texas Instruments 126MHz ARM processor; 32MB memory. Palm OS 5.2; ARM-compliant 200MHz processor; 32MB memory; 65,536-color display; MP3 playback. Our thoughts Both classy and elegant devices, the Palm Tungsten E and Sony CLIE PEG-TJ35 are pitched at the executive crowd. There aren't any frills to speak of--no fancy Bluetooth or camera features, but for a sub-S$500 price tag, you get a presentable gadget for listening to music and getting your life organized. The S$378 Tungsten E hits the sweet spot as far as pricing is concerned, and looks a strong sell against both TJs. No limits: Connectivity and more Palm Tungsten T3 See more pictures Sony CLIE PEG-UX50 See more pictures Pricing S$718 (US$416) S$1,189 (US$688) Vital stats Palm OS 5.2.1; Intel XScale 400MHz processor; 64MB memory; Bluetooth; large, 320x480-pixel display. Palm OS 5.2; Sony Handheld Engine processor; 64MB memory; integrated digital camera; Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; full QWERTY keyboard.. Our thoughts Sony, style-meister extraordinaire, outdoes even itself with the UX50, a swiveling clamshell with a landscape display, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and an integrated digital camera. The Palm's slider mechanism was cool yesterday but is now looking a tad dated with the third iteration of the Tungsten T. But when it comes down to getting the job done, the Bluetooth-enabled T3 notches up a CNET Editors' Choice-winning performance.