Two New Clies Debut in Japan

Sony Japan today added two new models to its NX-series of Clie handhelds. The new models, the PEG-NX80V and the PEG-NX73V, appear to be successors to the Clie PEG-NX70V model currently available in the United States.

The major improvements include a better digital camera, improved battery life (40% better than the NX70V, according to Sony), support for the new Sony Memory Stick Pro and standard CompactFlash memory cards, and the latest version of the Palm operating system, Palm OS 5.

The high-end NX model, the PEG-NX80V, sports a 200MHz Intel XScale processor, 3.8" high-resolution color display, built-in keyboard, 32 megabytes of RAM, 32 megabytes of ROM, dual expansion slots (MemoryStick and Compact Flash), a voice recorder, an MP3 player, Bluetooth, and a built-in 1.3 megapixel flash camera capable of capturing images up to 1280x960.

The NX70V replacement, the PEG-NX73V, is in many ways identical to the NX80V, but comes with only 16 megabytes of RAM and a less advanced digital camera -- only 0.3 megapixel and lacking flash.

Both the PEG-NX80V and the PEG-NX73V sport 200MHz Intel XScale processors, 3.8" high-resolution color displays, built-in keyboards, and are roughly the same size (2.8 inches wide, 5.2 inches tall, .86 inches thick, and approximately 8.1 ounces).

The devices are expected to be available in Japan in June, and while no date has been set, Sony historically releases new Clie models in the U.S. approximately 2-3 months after launching in Japan. Pricing is not yet available for these new models.