Retro tech review: the Sony PEG-UX50

The Sony PEG-UX50 is a dinky little thing, looking a lot like a miniature laptop than the personal entertainment organiser it is advertised to be. What's that you say? What's a personal entertainment organiser? Well, it could be the posh job title for a concierge at a brothel (do brothels have concierges?), but it's actually a media orientated personal digital assistant. Released in 2003, it cost $699. A cheaper wi-fi less model, the UX40, cost $100 less. Put into 2019 money, that's equivalent to $970, or £765 (which does not include VAT!). So what did this princely sum buy you 16 years ago? Well, quite a bit...

As you can see, this is switched on. There is a menu on-screen...

Let's get the elephant out of the room. This is ostensibly a PDA but it is also very much a convergence device, that lovely, near mythical beast of jack and master of all trades. And, like many attempts in the past, whilst Sony took a decent swing at the all-in-one concept, it ended up landing a glancing blow rather than  a solid hit. But it doesn't half look cool!

Ah, that's better! The normal menu view

Specs first, and we have a Sony CXD2230GA processor running at 123MHz. This is based on the ARM 5 core and gives the ability to run video playback at 30 frames per second. This was once a big deal! It also supports variable scaling of the clock speed, meaning if there was not much of a workload for the CPU, it would slow down to maximise battery life. Memory is a quite generous 104MB, divided between storage for programs (16MB), system back-up (16MB) and media storage (29MB) and it's the latter that explains the UX50's purpose.

The rolodex view: funky but impractical

The screen is rather good, for the time. With a 480x320 resolution and 16-bit colour (meaning 65,536 colours), it is also back-lit. This, by the way, is mandatory. With the back light off, it's nearly impossible to read, even in bright sunlight. It also swivels around to lie flat against the keyboard, making the UX50 a mini-convertible. Connectivity is well catered for with a proprietary Memory Stick slot, USB for desktop syncing, Infrared, Bluetooth and 802.11b standard Wi-fi. Given all of that, there is a fair amount of tech in the compact casing. It's not overly heavy either, being built with magnesium-alloy rather than plastic, which also means it is also quite sturdy. An extendable stylus, non-removable lithium-ion battery, mandatory (I'll explain later) docking sled and a rotating 0.3 megapixel camera complete the package. There is also a lip that overhangs when the device is shut. This contains some shortcut keys (back, internet, email and organiser) and a scroll wheel, more about which later. It must be noted that this was the time when Sony kept adding scroll wheels to devices and in the context of the UX50, it is a useful item. Oh, and what looks like a fitting for a lanyard. I have no idea who would attach several hundred dollars of kit to a bag, belt or wrist but if you ever felt the need, Sony have you covered.

Right hand side: MS slot and headphone jack. Stylus to the left.

Left hand side: Power switch, Infrared USB and lanyard.

Software is based upon Palm OS v5.2. The usual apps are present and correct and they cover a wide range of organiser type activities. You also get MP3 playback, a web browser, an email client, an audio recorder, as well as video and photo apps for the camera. Even a text message app for your ultimate in 2003 communication needs! The scroll wheel is handy here as if you use the rotary menu view as it helps navigate the menu in the style of a rolodex. It also does that in the non-rolodex view but it suits the former better. It's a bit of a dubious feature as the screen resolution doesn't allow you to make out much in the way of detail on the apps unless they are pretty much in the centre of the screen. But still, it shows some consideration to the UI.

SMS: So 2003, darling!

As for the rest of the hardware, comment must be made about the keyboard. Firstly, they managed to fit one in, so the industrial design of the UX50 deserves applause. Secondly, despite the keys being quite small and hard to press, they are well spaced (helped by the ridged effect) and with two thumbs, you can get some decent note-taking done. The ridged design also complements the look of the device.

Closed, with lanyard hoop (!), scroll wheel and shortcut keys

In use, it is a nippy little thing and even through casual use, you can't help but think that the UX50 would have been a handy device to carry around. If you had the cash, that is. And access to a plug. You see, at this point, the convergence device dream falters. Here we go!

Battery life: despite the processor scaling and the easy to use docking sled, reviews at the time commented upon the sub-standard battery life. Three to four hours of steady use was about the limit, and wi-fi would hammer that even further, meaning the UX50 could never get through a full day unless you barely used it. Add the back-lit screen and whilst there are many things you can do with the UX50, you would need to do them rather quickly before you killed the battery. In the actual model I have, the battery lasts about an hour, decent enough considering its age and unknown previous use. Oh, and that sled? That is the only way to charge the device. There is no charging port on the UX50 itself. That means you need the sled and power cable which, by the way, uses a power brick that also takes up a fair amount of space and a separate lead for the plug. Hmmm.

On its sled, that port is Sony's own design.

The screen - it really is a bit too small. The relatively low resolution means that the small text in the web browser is almost impossible to see. That and the grainy effect destroys much of the quality of any video or photographs you may wish to view. Speaking of images, the on-board camera is also very poor, though for the time, it was possibly considered decent. Age has not been kind to imaging expectations. The screen also makes using the rotary menu view a bit too difficult to use for comfort. As noted above, without the back light, you ain't seeing diddly squat.

Screen folded over, actually pretty neat!

Storage is another issue. If music or video is your thing, then you are going to have to use the Memory Stick slot to add extra storage and that is a pet hatred of mine. Not the external storage per-se, more Sony's attitude to memory cards. Rather than use cheaper and more widely available Secure Digital format cards, they used their own proprietary (and suitably expensive) MS cards. True, this was a source of income for them, but as was proved with the PSP and PSP Vita handheld consoles, people were turned off by the idea of the costly extra memory, especially when you compared prices and realised how much they were gouging you for. But as already noted, Sony liked their proprietary standards back then.
The stylus. Whilst the UX50 has a touchscreen, it is resistive, so you're going to need that stylus or a finger nail. The supplied stylus is too small to use comfortably, even when extended and very easy to mis-place.

Size. It may seem churlish to decry the keyboard. After all, I have just said that it is decent. But the hard keys will wear you down over time and whilst good for note taking, they are no good for longer periods of use.

In the here and now, the PEG-UX50 can be seen for what it was: an attempt to have an all-round entertainment/productivity and organiser tool. The form factor is something I really like and, prior to touchscreens entering the mobile phone market, is one of the best examples of the mobile keyboard format I have seen - my favourite yet has to be a Blackberry 9300 but that's just me. The thing is, the UX50 was hobbled by the technology of the day and, to be honest, the target market it was aimed for. As in, what was the target market? For entertainment on the move, it was expensive and individual devices could offer a similar capability for a combined price lower than $699 and doing a better job all round. True, you'd have more kit to carry but money does talk and the amount this cost when released (and the equivalent now) is far too much for the consumer market. Indeed, many consumer devices have faltered with an RRP north of $500. As for the mobile professional, the price was bearable but the added entertainment features may have been considered unwarranted and the battery life too poor (it also doesn't help that the internal battery is non-removable so that docking sled would need to be carried too, reducing the usefulness of having to carry only one device given the sled's size). It is certainly well made and very well designed, just not overly practical.

Convergence devices always sound like a good idea (Teas maid/alarm clocks spring to mind), but they are often less than the sum of their parts. That should never be a reason not to consider them, just accept that there may be compromises that hobble the usefulness of the device. Even today, whilst the ubiquitous mobile phone can be considered the generic equivalent to the UX50, there are still issues that demonstrate these compromises. Battery life could always be better. Controls, especially for gaming, are impacted by the touchscreen interface, whereas physical controls may often prove better. Then there is the screen size itself, limited by the physical need to have the device able to be used by one hand. And no, I will never buy into the folding screen dream, that's just one more thing to break.

Still, as a history piece, the UX50 is worthy of remembrance, for the alternative ideas back when industrial design, greater competition and market focus had not succumbed to the homogeneity of today. And it still looks cool!