The Extended battery will over triple the battery life but will also double the thickness of your UX and perhaps reduce the cool factor slightly. For people who are heavy WiFi/Bluetooth or just processor intensive the extra battery life is a great addition.

The battery can either be stored on or off the UX. If you keep it on all the time the external battery will drain completely before the internal battery is used. If you add the external battery after draining the internal battery it will slowly trickle charge the internal battery. With this being known you don’t need to keep the extended battery on the UX all the time. As an example if you are on a business trip where you won’t carry your charger or won’t be near AC outlets you could take along the extended battery and place the UX on it every night before you go to bed and have the extended battery recharge the UX without the power brick/charger.

The general agreement seems to be that the external battery is one of the best add-ons you can possibly get from your UX. It isn’t made of magnesium-alloy like your UX but the extra battery life is great for heavy users of their handhelds.

There are a couple different screen protectors available for the UX series of handhelds. The two primary types are the adhesive and non-adhesive types. The adhesive types are held on by using a sticky layer on the bottom side of the protector, which goes against your screen. Some of these are prone to trapping air bubbles or being applied in such a way that they must be removed and reapplied before they are straight and free of bubbles. The non-adhesive type of screen protectors are either held on by static, a small sticky pad right in the middle of the screen protector (rather than covering the entire surface) or by being slightly larger than the screen so they can be slid under the frame of the PDA.

Depending on the brand most screen protectors come in packs of one or three. Just because you are getting more protectors does not necessarily mean you are getting a good deal. Brands such as Brando only come with one protector but they expect that one to last the life of your PDA. Quality is important.

Things to consider when purchasing screen protectors is how you like your screen to feel. Do you like it to be slightly tacky so when writing on the screen it feels like you are writing on paper or do you prefer a glass-like surface? Also, what clarity-loss are you willing to tolerate and do you want your screen protector to be anti-reflective (the last two tend to be a trade off)?

Here is a list of currently available UX40/UX50 Screen Protectors:
Boxwave ClearTouch - Slightly sticky back. Easy to apply, remove and clean. Paper-Like feel.

Martin Fields Overlay Plus - Sticks using Static (no adhesive). Smooth Surface. Very Clear.

Brando Screen Protector - Paper-like feel. Anti-reflective. Slightly sticky pad on back used to hold protector in place. Reported to be highly scratch resistant.

JavoScreen - Non-Adhesive Protector. Anti-reflective.

This thread on Cliesource discusses screen protectors for the UX series.

Fellowes has now started making screen protectors for the UX40/UX50. They are available at retail outlets such as Bestbuy/CompUSA etc.. If these are like their previous screen protectors they are the highly-sticky type and come in packs of 3-5.

Sony also has their own screen protector for the UX40/UX50 with the model number PEGA-SP40. The reviews on this particular screen protector model have been mixed to date.

Any external IR keyboard with PalmOS 5 drivers should function with the UX40/UX50. A thing to know about external keyboards is that you should disable the driver (and your infrared receive if it is not automatically disabled) after using the keyboard so it does not continue to drain power from your handheld. Just like with any accessory evaluate what is important to you and choose the proper keyboard for your needs.

The current compatible keyboards on the market in common distribution are the following:
PalmOne IR Keyboard
Website
Format: Fold-Up keyboard.
Price: Retail 69.95US
What type of batteries does it take? Two AAA Batteries
How long do the batteries last? Unknown
Can it be used with the extended battery? Yes.
Are there any known complaints? No dedicated number row. In order to use the number keys you have to toggle to them.
Does it have any notable advantages? Small high quality keyboard with no split spacebar. Cursor keys are in proper place.

Belkin IR Keyboard
Website
Format: Fold-Up keyboard.
Price: Retail 59.99US
What type of batteries does it take? Two AAA Batteries
How long do the batteries last? Unknown
Can it be used with the extended battery? Yes.
Are there any known complaints? Stiff Keys
Does it have any notable advantages? Full number row, no split spacebar. Cursor keys are on left-hand side of keyboard

Targus IR Keyboard
Website
Format: Fold-Up keyboard.
Price: Retail 79.99US
What type of batteries does it take? Two Watch Batteries
How long do the batteries last? Unknown
Can it be used with the extended battery? Yes.
Are there any known complaints? Watch Batteries, Split spacebar, larger than the average foldable keyboard.
Does it have any notable advantages? Full number row and there is almost no delay between typing on the keyboard and the text appearing on the screen. Cursor keys are controlled by holding down a function key and moving a joypad on the right-hand side of the keyboard.

The Clie PEG-UX40 and UX50 are handheld computers developed by Sony, which run the PalmOS 5 operating system. Some of their unique features include that they are small even by PDA standards, they support video and MP3 playback out of the box and they come with a easy to use thumb operated keyboard. The physical design is called a "clamshell" design. Think of it like a Notebook computer on a very small scale. The screen can also be rotated to be used in Tablet mode where the keyboard is not exposed at all. There is a camera included with the UX that can take pictures of resolutions up to 640x480, not good enough for documenting your family events but plenty good to take occasional snapshots and having fun.

Both organizers comes with the a standard list of features including rechargable batteries, Irda ports, Bluetooth, voice recorder capability and 480x320 resolution screeens. The UX50 also has 802.11b wireless built-in enabling you to connect to the Internet and networks at wireless hotspots everywhere.

Here are a couple of pictures (taken straight from the Sony website) of the UX50 so you can get an idea of what the organizer looks like: UX50 Open and Tablet Mode

So far it appears that this problem is fairly common in the UX community. Some of the screens do not whine at all, some whine very little, some whine a lot. A couple people have reported that the whine started very low and over a period of weeks got very loud. If your unit has a whining screen that is loud enough to be annoying you will need to contact Sony tech support and get your unit replaced. Just because your screen whines it does not mean that you should replace it, most units with the whine do not have any further problems and are not very loud.

Some people have reported that Sony support knows about this problem and will replace the units and others have reported that Sony stated that they had never heard of this problem before. Regardless of what Sony states you are not insane and this problem is known by the UX40/UX50 community.

The bad news at this time is that the only fix for this problem is to get your handheld repaired/replaced by Sony so you better hope you have a current warranty or an extended warranty by a third party.

Not at this time. This is a dream of many UX40/UX50 users but a good solution has not been found. Due to the UX40/50 not charging through the USB sync port it would be a very interesting cable/case/device that you would attach to the UX to provide both power and sync.

One of the points that users have made is that many UX40/50 users sync using Bluetooth or WiFi most of the time making the sync cable unnecessary except for data import duties.

At this time I am not aware of anyone who has overclocked or otherwise modified their UX50 to any large degree. You could be the first! Just let the rest of us know what you did and how successful it was :^).

With the above statement being made there have been some cradle modifications made by individual users so they could use external power sources (battery packs, etc.) with their charging cradle.

A hard reset gives you the ability to restore your UX to a factory software load and get around all but the most horrendous crashes. By following this procedure you will not lose your data in RAM unless you specify on reboot to erase all data from RAM. Normally you should stick to using soft resets rather than hard resets but if all else fails this is the way to get around almost all software created crashes.

Perform a hard reset on your device:
1. Hold the power switch down like you are turning the UX on.
2. Press and hold on the reset button on the bottom of the UX until you see the power light blink. This will indicate that the UX is rebooting.
3. The UX will ask “Erase all data? Yes=”up” button/No=any other button. If you erase all data your backup will not be lost but all data in RAM will be gone.

Bluetooth is a wireless communication option built-in to the UX series, but to take advantage of it you must have a Bluetooth adapter for your PC or a Bluetooth enabled. Bluetooth adapters can be found on ebay for about $20. Once you have your adapter, you can sync your PC and your UX without need for a cable.

The first thing you need to do is install your Bluetooth adapter and make sure that you have the latest driver for that adapter. Once the latest drivers are installed, and you''ve installed your Palm hotsync software, you need to configure it for your preferences.

The next thing you need to do is make sure that your port settings are correct. To do this, right click on your "My Computer" icon and choose "properties". Then go to Hardware/Device Manager and look for a set on the list that pops up called "Ports (COM and LPT)". Expand that list so you can see all the configured devices. There should be a few there, some of which may or may not be Bluetooth. Take note of all the numbers that say COM and pick a number that does NOT conflict with any of the existing numbers (unless the number is just generically assigned to BT, then it's okay). All you're doing here is checking for conflict -- don't change anything. Just pick a number (in your head -- don't select it). Now close out of that.

Next you need to set the port that your Bluetooth uses for serial connections. To do this go to My Computer/Control Panel/Bluetooth Configuration. That will pop up a tabbed interface, and you'll see a tab "client Services" that should have multiple bluetooth device options (i.e. fax, data transfer, serial connection, etc.). Choose Serial Connection from that list (single click) then hit the button "Add COM Port". Pick your number between 1-10 (mine's on 5) and then you're set on the BT side.

Next you have to make sure the hotsync is using the same serial port as the Bluetooth. For this, go to Hot Sync application (from your tooltray) and make sure that you have your Hot Sync set to sync via Serial. Now go to Setup/Local and make sure that your COM Port is set the same there as it is in the BT Config menu.

Finally, go to your Clie's hot sync application (on the PDA) and choose Local from the top button and from the drop-down underneath the Hot Sync icon "BT to PC." That should set you up with all that's needed to hotsync your UX with your PC wirelessly.

One work-around that has been identified for this problem is to use a chunk of tape to balance the screen out.

Here is a short procedure on how to perform this operation:
1. Open the screen and turn it to the halfway point. You should see two screws and two "pads" under the sides of the LCD.
2. Get a small piece of scotch tape and place it over the pad on the left or the right hand side of the LCD depending on what direction it tilts.
3. Flip the screen back to the regular position and check the alignment. If it is still not even attempt to use another layer of tape. If it is even you have completed the work around.

Not all doors fall off easily. Luckily this is a minor component of the UX and as long as you are gentle it shouldn't be permanently broken if you accidently pull it out or have it ripped out by some freakish accident. You could probably make the plug that holds the door in slightly larger so it will not fall out but we have not heard of a success story along these lines.

At this time we don't know of a part number for a replacement door but if you are still in warranty you could always try to call Sony and see if they will ship you out a new one if yours won't stay in. Or, they might just laugh at you.

The edge cap beside the camera is held on with some sort of adhesive.

Mine originally came off when I was pulling the UX50 out of a fairly tight bag that I keep my UX50 in while doing day to day stuff. I found that by pressing on the cap really hard it seemed to stick back on and has not been a problem since.

If anyone knows any further information about this topic or has had this problem with a different resolution please tell us about it.

Personally I use Pricewatch or some other pricing engine to get the cheapest price as long as you aren't worried about the vendor. Dell or Amazon will also have sales on a regular basis where you can get memory cheaper than standard pricing. I would also suggest you shop your local vendors who have weekly ads (Bestbuy, CompUSA, Circuit City) to find out when they have good sales worth taking advantage of.

If you have a better answer for this question or additions please post your answer!

The standard warranty that comes with most personal organizers only covers manufacturer defects or device failures. It does not cover things such as drop damage or cracked screens, which happen to be some of the most common damage types that PDAs take. Replacing a cracked screen can cost hundreds of dollars and leave you without a PDA for weeks or months.

The replacement plans that stores such as Bestbuy and CompUSA offer cover almost all types of failures that can occur with a PDA. They do not normally cover battery failure but other than that you can drop, throw, slam or otherwise abuse your PDA and still get it replaced on their plan. Considering that a two year replacement plan might cost $100 and save you weeks of not having your PDA and cover cracked screens I consider it worthwhile purchase, especially on a >$500USD PDA.

This FAQ came about out of an idea presented on the ClieSource forums. From there I (saono) took the idea and started building a FAQ based around commonly asked questions on the forums.

The current moderators of this FAQ are Crazy_Smeggie, c0mm0n and Saono.

Current contributors include the following people in no particular order:
JustaNoob
Omniphil
Dannn
c0mm0n
Crazy_Smeggie
Saono (saono-faq@artificiallives.com)
ClieSource.com Users - All the great registered users of ClieSource

On Memory Stick Types:

Regular Memory sticks (purple color) are compatible for use with any OS devices from OS3.x to the latest OS5.2. These devices do not support the ATRAC3 music format.

Regular MemoryStick (White Color) are similar to the regular purple MS but has "magicgate" supporting Sony's ATRAC3 music format.

MemoryStick Pro is for OS devices with MS Pro support, aside from slight speed enhancement, storage volume can go up to a maximum of 1G but doesn't support Sony's ATRAC3 music format (Note: All MS Pro units above 256MB now support Magicgate).

MemoryStick DUO is half the size of a regular MemoryStick.
Aside from the tiny size, it's basically the same in function as the regular sized MemorySticks. It's also available in purple DUO, white DUO, & MS Pro DUO, all the functions are the same as listed above. The DUO is designed for smaller devices such as Sony's mobile phones. You'd still need to use an adaptor if you want to use the MS DUO with the current Sony Clie lineup.

Note that just because a Memory Stick has Magicgate support does not mean you are forced to use it. If you purchase a memory stick that supports magicgate but do not use a magicgate enabled format (ATRAC3) to record to the memory stick the magicgate technology has no effect on your use of the media.

Originally Written by Eddy from the Cliesource forums - Information Edited/Added by saono.

I've compiled a table to help you compare the various Memory Sticks on offer.

http://www.ottaky.com/sticks.php

It should also help you decide which stick best meets your requirements.

The FAQ is not a message forum. If you are having an issues such as "X Software doesn't work in this way" or "When I click on this nothing happens" and it appears to be specific to you rather than the community as a whole please post the message to the CliseSource or PDAStreet forums and get some assistance from the community.

When I delete a question that needs to be discussed in the message forums I repost the message to ClieSource. If you had a question deleted please check over there to see if I have posted the question for you.

If the problem is widespread please feel free to re-post the question to the FAQ after it has been resolved along with an answer so we have permanent documentation of the issue and the resolution. If we don't have a resolution yet but the problem is common please feel free to post a question with an answer linking to the forum message where the issues is being discussed.

Definitive guide - UX to T610 to Internet

I wanted to post something for the folks still having issues, can an admin please make this stick to the top of the forum? I have seen alot of guides, but nothing covers it all, so here goes

If you have a UX and a T610/T616 and want to get to the internet read on...

First off, both the phone and clie have to be configured or you will get nowhere fast.

Second, there are 2 ways to get to the internet via your phone.

1. GSM - Basically you use your phone as a dialup modem to call your own isp, this uses your phones minutes on your voice plan, this is limited to 9.6k (Think old 9600 baud modem)

2. GPRS - This uses you phone to connect to the internet via your phone service provider's ISP (Tmobile, Cingular, etc...), this is not dialup per say, connection time is faster as there is no dialing, and speed can exceed 9.6k depending on signal strength, your provider, etc. You should be at least twice as fast as a GSM connection. TMobile claims 56k max for example. This also requires that you have some sort of data plan with your carrier (Tmobile unlimited internet, etc...) This does not use your voice plans minutes.

Third, you do not need any external software to make this happen, the clie mobile connection wizard just helps you with settings, if you know the settings you dont need the software.

Fourth, download the SonyEricsson BT T610 Driver here...
http://24.34.88.87/clie/sony-et610.prc
And install it into you UX.

Fifth, get the to devices paired together using the bluetooth on each device.

Ok, So are we ready to go now?

---GSM Instructions---
Phone first
1. Go into connectivity menu
2. Select Data Comm.
3. Select Data Accounts
4. Select New Account
5. Choose GSM Data
6. Enter in a name (any name will do)
7. enter in your number, user id, and password from your ISP

UX next
1. Go into Pref and selection Connections
2. You should select BT to Sony-E T610 and click Edit
3. Connect to = Phone
4. Via = Bluetooth
5. Device = T610 or whatever you called your phone during pairing
6. Model = Sony-E. T610
7. Click Detail
8. Speed = 115,200
9. Init String = E0X1+CMEE=1;+CSCS="GSM";+CMGF=0;V1
10. Click ok, and ok again.
11. Go into Network and create a new service
12. Enter in your username, password and phone number
13. For connection choose BT to Sony-E T610
This should get you going.....

---GPRS Instructions---
Phone first
1. Go into connectivity menu
2. Select Data Comm.
3. Select Data Accounts
4. Select New Account
5. Choose GPRS Data
6. Enter you APN, ID, and password, provided to you by your ISP
(For Tmobile I used APN = internet2.voicestream.com and a blank password and user id)
7. Also note your CID Number for later...

UX next
1. Go into Pref and selection Connections
2. You should select BT to Sony-E T610 and click Edit
3. Connect to = Phone
4. Via = Bluetooth
5. Device = T610 or whatever you called your phone during pairing
6. Model = Sony-E. T610
7. Click Detail
8. Speed = 115,200
9. Init String = E0X1+CMEE=1;+CSCS="GSM";+CMGF=0;V1
10. Click ok, and ok again.
11. Go into Network and create a new service
12. Enter in your username, password
13. For Tmobile the phone number is *99***2# (replace 2 with your CID #)
13. For connection choose BT to Sony-E T610
14. Note, for Tmobile even tho there is no username and password you have to input something, I just put a space for both, you cannot leave them blank.

Ok, you should be surfing now, or maybe crawling at these speeds?
Note: you can have both configured (GSM and GPRS) like I do and use either, just in case. I dont find the GPRS to be that much faster, maybe twice as fast. Its ok for simple stuff.

Again, I hope we can make this sticky and eliminate the confusion, TMobile doesn't seem to know how to make it work so we have to use these formus for help Every time I called TMobile for help I got a different set of directions that didnt work.

Most applications previously developed for the Palm platform were developed for resolutions of either 160x160 or 320x320 pixels. Today there are also 320x480 (HiRes+ Portrait - like most modern Clie handhelds) and 480x320 (HiRes+ Widescreen - like the UX series) resolutions but many applications has not been adapted for these resolutions yet.

In order to work around this problem there are utilities such as CodeDiver to stretch compatible applications but it does not work in all cases.

Some software is not fully supported by the UX50 display mode. Due to it being a fairly new resolution (480x320) many old programs (especially games or graphics intense programs) may cause display corruption. In some cases this might result in a soft reboot necessary to repair the corruption.

If you are just looking to get a program to fit the screen or would like to muck with the settings to try to make a program reliable try out CodeDiver (explained elsewhere in this FAQ).

At this time Fonts4UX and CodeDiver are the two semi-necessary utilities available for the UX. You can live without either one but these two are commonly agreed upon as the two that you should budget for immediately after purchasing a UX. There are many other recommended utilities out there but most serve a specific function, these two focus on making your UX more usable as a whole.

Yes. Keeping RAM free has become a quest for some Palm users and therefore multiple ways of freeing RAM have been found. One method built into the UX is utilizing the AliasExt trick.

Apparently when Sony customized the PalmOS for the UX they realized that a method of running software from someplace other than RAM was a good thing. Therefore if you put applications in the \Palm\Programs\AliasExt directory on Internal Media or Memory Stick then perform a soft reset an alias/shortcut will be created in the main RAM enabling you to utilize applications and some databases that normally only reside in RAM. Once these shortcuts are created your UX will sync the applications as if they exist in RAM.

The major limitation known about this method is that if you have a database or application in your Internal Media or Memory Stick that you want to utilize you must have enough free RAM so that application or database can be copied to RAM when executed. To give an example if you load a complete map of your city into Internal Media that consumes ten megabytes you must have ten megabytes of RAM free when you launch the application utilizing the database otherwise the launch will fail.

Here is a short procedure on utilizing the AliasExt Trick:
1. Load the application/database to your Internal Media or Memory Stick.
2. Copy the application/database to the \Palm\Porgrams\AliasExt directory (Filez is an excellent freeware app you can use to do this).
3. Soft Reset your device.
You should now see the application appearing in your regular launcher menu.

Netfront is included with your UX series. A version of Web Pro (included with Palm handhelds) is also in circulation but you need to locate a modified version to run on the UX. Web Pro will run in widescreen with CodeDiver and Netfront supports widescreen natively.

NetFront seems to do better direct web page rendering but Web Pro seems to be cleaner and faster when you let it run through the proxy server it is configured to use by default. Web Pro will utilize the default fonts on your UX after being modified by programs such as Fonts4UX enabling you to have an easier to read screen.

There are people who complain of slowness either way so try both and see which one fits your browsing style and preferences better.

One type of web page compatibility question very commonly asked is "How can I access my Exchange webmail at work?". Web Pro does function with an Exchange/Outlook Web Access server.

If you are interested in running Web Pro I would suggest you refer to this ClieSource thread.

There are a couple of ways to get to the advanced mode on the UX series handheld. The easiest way is to press Control-R (crtrl-r) while in the Power Save utility under prefs. Outlined below is a way to get to it without using the keyboard.

1. Go into the Prefs > Power Saving menu to get to the Power Saving mode where you can backup your UX.
2. Starting on the side of the screen wherever your graffiti area is run your stylus all the way across the middle of the screen to the far side. The screen should change and show the number of Modified Databases since last backup. You are now in the advanced mode.

The advantages this mode offers is that you can backup the UX without turning it off and also see the number of recently modified databases before you backup the device.

Freeware Utilities:
Austin – Vulnerability/Host Scanner
Httpd – Palm Mini Web Server
Lftp – FTP Client
Mergic Ping – Ping Utility
Network Assistant – Circuit/Server Inventory/Tracking Software
Net Info – IP/Subnet Calculator
PalmVNC – VNC Client
Ptelnet – Telnet and General Serial Console Program
PW Generator – Generates Passwords
SMBClient – Text SMB Client for PalmOS
SMBMate – GUI SMB Client for PalmOS
Sntp – NTP Client for Palm
TuSSH – SSH Client
VSFTP – FTP Client

Games for the Unix/Linux Geek:
> kMoria
iRogue
iLarn

Install CodeDiver
Launch CodeDiver
Add Quickword to CodeDiver
Add Quicksheet to CodeDiver
Add Quickpoint to CodeDiver
Add Quickchart to CodeDiver

Edit the properties of each of the above programs in CodeDiver:
Click the "Virtual Silk" button
Change the following settings:
SizeChg: Force
StartedSize: Long
StopedSize: Long
Leave the rest of the settings and hit Ok.
Hit Ok again to get back to the main CodeDiver screen.

You will want to make sure that CodeDiver is turned On in the main CodeDiver screen.

Here is a current list of applications that have been verified to work with CodeDiver. If you know of additional applications please post another FAQ answer and I'll merge them in.

Acidimage
Adobe Reader
Agendus Mail
AIM
AudioPlayer
Avantgo
BackupMan
BeamPro
Beyond Contacts
Blazer Browser
Bob's Alarm
BrainForest
BTToggle
DateBk5
DateMate
Documents to Go
ExpensePlus
FileMaker Mobile
FileMaker Pro Companion
Filez
Free Journal
Handstory
iSilo
Java HQ
MacroPlay
MegaClock (Has Issues)
MegaHolidays
MemoPlus
Mergic Ping
Metro
Monopoly
MyBible
NeoCal
PalmReader
PalmaSutra
PalmVNC
Pilot SQL
Planetarium (Has issues)
PowerRUN
Quickoffice Premier 7
RepliGo
RiteMail
Rummy
Sheet to Go
Sketcher
Slap
SmartChart
SmartList
SMS
Snappermail
Solitaire 1
SoftTrack!
Spades
Splashid
Splash Money
Rand McNalley's StreetFinder
TealAlias
TealDoc
TealMover
Time Place
Time Travel
Triv
TuSSH
Vagablog
Versamail
VeriChat
VSFTP
Wassup
Web Pro Browser
Wide Notes
Word to Go

Here is the current thread on ClieSource that discusses this topic. Much thanks to Smeggie for starting the thread and creating the initial list. The entries above were gathered from the thread above and from my own experiments.