Clie to go
Sony has launched its Palm-compatible Clie handheld organiser - it is pronounced KLEE-ay and stands for Communication Link for Information and Entertainment - in the US and Japan. But if Sony has a Clie, does it have a clue? The price is high at $399 for a machine that adds little to the Palm Vx except a jog-dial, and that is only useful to right-handers. It has the same limited 160 x 160 pixel mono screen, no built-in MP3 player, and no extra speed or memory. It uses Sony's proprietary Memory Stick for expansion, which is less versatile and not a standard like the CompactFlash slots used in PocketPC machines and the TRG Pro version of the Palm; it is also incompatible with the Springboard slot introduced by Visor.
What will further annoy Palm fans is that the Clie connects to PCs running Microsoft Windows 98 and 2000 but not to Macs or PCs running GNU/Linux: this will limit the Clie's appeal against the better looking and more versatile Compaq iPaq, a fast PocketPC machine. Sony is selling the Clie online at www.ita.sel.sony.com/CLIE and from today plans to offer it at www.sonystyle.com. That looks the most likely market: Sony groupies.
Ear marks
You are listening to the radio and hear a song you like. In real life there's almost no chance that the DJ will credit the track in a comprehensible manner, so you risk never hearing it again_ unless you live in the US and buy Sony's eMarker, which should be available next week. Press a button on this tiny 26g device, which attaches to a key-chain, and the eMarker will mark it. Upload the data to a PC running Microsoft Windows 98 (no Mac users need apply) and you should be able to get the title, the name of the artist, and perhaps a preview of the song from the internet.
Obviously the service depends on Sony logging your favourite broadcasters, but the company claims it already covers about a thousand US stations. And even if you miss a few, it's no big deal for a gadget that Amazon is selling for only $19.99.
Get a head
Digimask would like to make a 3D model of your head that you and your friends can play with: they will be able to twirl it around and make it say whatever they like. The Digimask model is quickly generated from two digital photographs, one full face and one profile, uploaded to its website www.digimask.com. Gary Bracey, the British start-up's chief executive, says the virtual heads can be used with computer games, on internet chat sites, and on mobile phones, as long as they have been written to work with Digimask's system.
Users will also be able to have three free Digimasks, protected by PINs, for different purposes : for example, you might not want to use a wholly realistic avatar in a fantasy game. Bracey is still negotiating with third parties to support the system - three have just been announced - and hopes to hold a consumer launch later this year.
