----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Lutz"
Subject: Re: CLIE and U1
Date: Friday, December 27, 2002 8:31 AM

Hi,

Thanks for your feedback.  For my part, I find that I tend
to use both devices equally.  They seem to have different
roles, and neither is yet a full replacement for the other.

The U1 is a full-featured WindowsXP machine, which I use 
for more demanding tasks--writing, larger emails, programming,
and so on.  For me, the CLIE gets used more as a traditional
PDA--notebook, budgeting, planning, and entertainment tasks
that don't require the memory or horsepower of a full-blown
machine (MP3s, photos, and mpeg video clips are fine on 
the CLIE; some formats still require conversions, though).

The difference in roles seems to reflect the hardware differences.
The CLIE doesn't have the memory space or ports of a traditional
computer like the U1--you can't do things like hook it to a vga 
projector, or run a firewire DVD drive off it (out of the box, at 
least).  For example, I use the U1 to project Word documents and 
HTML files, and run live programming demos during classes I teach; 
I may be able to do some of that with CLIE add-ons, but it might 
not look as nice, and some programming tasks may not work at all.
The U1 keyboard is also better for writing (a common task for me).

On the other hand, the U1 battery drains much faster, you can't 
stuff even the U1 into any reasonably sized coat pocket[*], and 
you can't use the U1 at all until Windows boots up--not very nice 
if you just want to jot down a quick note or show someone a photo.  
Because of that, I tend to carry the CLIE with me all the time; 
I take the U1 only when I'll be away for a few days, and need the 
extra utility.  At home, I use both equally.

So: different devices for different purposes, from my perspective.
Of course, your mileage may vary on this a lot.  If you don't need to 
do some of the things I do on the U1, my difference in roles may
be less important to you.  It depends on what you want to do.

Cheers, 
--Mark Lutz  (http://www.rmi.net/~lutz)

----
[*]Size details: Even the small U1 is almost 4 times heavier 
than the NX70V: at 1.8 lb versus 8 oz, the U1 is like carrying 
3.6 CLIEs in your pocket.  The U1 also occupies 2 1/2 times as 
much flat space as a CLIE (7.3"W x 5.5"L versus 5.5"H x 2.87"W),
and is twice as high as the CLIE at both devices' thinnest and 
thickest ends (1.2"H to 1.8"H, versus 0.68"D +/-).  In other 
words, you could pack about 5 CLIEs in the space taken by a U1
(assuming your broke one in half).  Unless you're very good at
sewing, the U1 is probably not viable as a pocket device.