No company releases handhelds at the rate of Sony. It seems that every couple of months the company comes out with a new PDA. Back in the fall, Sony released the CLIE PEG-NX70v, one of the first Palm OS 5 devices and the most feature rich Palm OS PDA ever released. Sony has done it again. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, the company announced the CLIE PEG-NZ90, a feature packed sequel to the NX70v.

The new CLIE, which is slated to ship by mid-February, costs a whopping $799.99 compared to $599.99 for the earlier model. Though it has the same 200MHz ARM-compliant processor and 16MB or RAM and ROM, the NZ90 is wider (3 compared to 2.88-inches) and heavier (10.3 compared to 8.0-ounces) to accommodate a bevy of new features, and comes in black compared to either silver or gunmetal for the NX70v.

One of these new features is the first digital camera in a handheld that has the same kinds of specifications found in standalone digital cameras. The built-in 2 Mega-pixel camera supports UXGA resolution (1600x1200) and includes several enhancements over the previous model's camera, which only supports 310,000 effective pixels and a VGA resolution (640 x 480), including a 2X Digital Zoom, Strobe Flash, Auto Focus, and Manual Exposure Adjustment. Like with the NX70v, users can record and playback video (MPEG-4) and store it on Memory Stick media.

The NZ90 is also the first CLIE to integrate Bluetooth like with Palm's Tungsten T. It also has a CF 1 slot to supports Sony's $150 WiFi 802.11b network card. The new CLIE, like the NX70V, also has a large 320 x 480 pivoting screen for tablet mode with virtual Graffiti and incorporates a voice recorder feature to record and playback voice memos. Another nice feature of the new handheld is a redesigned keyboard with square keys and a more familiar layout.

In addition, the NZ90 is only the second Palm OS PDA to include a removable lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack. Handera was the first. The "Smart LITHIUM" battery pack has its own circuitry to indicate the remaining battery life in minutes. Additional Battery Packs are sold separately for $ 79.99 each. The handhelds' new foldable USB cradle allows users to print images directly to a printer and it has an AV out plug to connect to a TV or monitor.