Quick Look at the Sony Vaio P- Coolest Notebook Ever
About 20-minutes ago my friend at FedEx dropped off the smallest box I have ever received with a full computer inside. The box is even smaller than the one that contained the Sony U-70 so long ago. This box has the Sony VAIO P ultra-portable notebook like the one Kevin and I saw at CES early this year.
This VAIO P comes to me on loan courtesy of Dynamism, importers of cool Asian computers. This model is currently only available from Dynamism as it is a Japanese model that is not sold by Sony in the U.S. It has an Intel Atom processor running at a fast 1.86GHz, a 64GB solid-state drive and 2GB of memory. I’ve only had it in my hands for about 20-minutes so no real impressions yet, but here are some photos showing just how small this thing is:
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- Tiny box
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- Tiny box w/ iPhone on it
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- Nice jade green
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- Bottom w/ battery in black
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- Front (closed)
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- Vaio P w/ tiny A/C adapter
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- A/C adapter w/ iPhone for comparison
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- Open for business
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- I can touch-type on this
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- Nubbin trackstick
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- jkOTR full-screen (1600×768)
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- Zoomed in with ctrl-+ in Firefox
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- Windows Experience Index
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- Side profile
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- Super-thin display
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- Comparison w/ iPhone
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- 3/4 profile
so funny! my boss just dropped our demo unit off at my desk today too! hehe.
very solid hardware but not so sure if i like the screen; too high rez to be readable.
we’ll see how i feel after this weekend
They should have made it a bit smaller say 7.5″ long by 4.25″ wide that would still provide a good touch type keyboard input but would make it really a jacket pocket device. I’ve seen the video and it is not really pocketable at all in a practical standpoint.
Al, again I’m asking (out of curiosity): what’s your definition of a “touch type” keyboard? I can touch-type on the Sony P keyboard, but not if it were smaller. What does “touch type” mean to you?
If this keyboard was any smaller it would not be touch typable.
Want.
(maybe after my AIG Bonus check clears, minus that 90 percent tax rate, that should leave enuff to pick up one of these)
Cool looking little thing.
Way back in my ThinkPad days I loved the “pencil eraser” pointer. My dislike of trackpads continued for a long time (but the glass one on MacBooks has won me over). What’s this nub like for moving the pointer around?
I’m surprised by the graphics/aero score in the WEI. What GPU are they using?
Intel Media Accelerator 500 is what is showing. The nub takes getting used to but is better than I remembered from Vegas. I have been using a BT mouse with it which is great.
I just cant stand this device or the popularity it gets. No touch screen and a very poor choice in GPU combined with a price point that even the word “outrageous” cant describe fully make for a terrible computer (at least if you bought the model James has). But I expect nothing less from Sony to begin with. Can someone explain what makes this device worth 1000 – 2000+ dollars and what makes it better than everything on the market?
got me.. i think its mainly just how nice the actual hardware is. however functionality-wise; 3 steps backwards for a netbook.
i’d take my msi wind w/touchscreen kit over it.
the one i’m playing w/is the 1.3ghz atom and it runs SO SLOW and waking from standby or hibernation literally takes about 3-4 minutes. (has the 60gb p-ata).
its like i want to love it but just can’t w/the too high rez screen, super doggy slow speeds, and lack of a touchscreen. this size would be perfect w/a 1440×800 resolution and capacitive touchscreen.
played with a Vaio P at sonystyle, rez way too high for such a small screen. It would really make more sense if this thing had a lower rez screen and a touch screen!!!! I hope a Netbook comes out with a touchscreen before Apple pretends they re-invented the netbook market
This is a fantastic little notebook! I spent about half an hour playing with it in the duty free Dixons at Heathrow as I was flying home from London last week.
I was VERY tempted to buy one! It is small, fast, has a great keyboard, a great screen, built in 3G (which works well in South Africa). But then I thought that I would never use it INSTEAD of my Macbook Air. The air is just a more versatile machine for my needs. I travel a lot, I need a fairly large screen because I work with text, and of course it’s a MAC.
But, I may just pick one of these up when I go to Hong Kong in a month’s time…
Thanks for the great posts.
Dion (Cape Town, South Africa)
The 3G works in Africa? I don’t think so. First, the laptop is only sold in Japan. Basically, it’s sold in two versions:
1. The one with the 1Seg TV Tuner
2. The one with the 3G + GPS
The 3G is unfortunately locked to NTT Docomo, which means I can’t even use it in Softbank in Japan, much less overseas.
Noah, the laptop is definitely NOT sold only in Japan – and in Europe it is not locked to any provider (unless you buy it with a contract).
DO NOT BUY A SONY!
Google “sony vaio memory slot problem”. There is a pending class action law suit in California, but we outside the US probably won’t benefit. Apparently Sony are known for occasional dodgy soldering. This affected ram memory slots in sony vaio laptops, including mine (VGN-FS25GP).
Simply avoid Sony.
Avoid Sony? Apple has more problems than them…with graphics chips and hard drives. Every Sony device i have ever picked up was excellent build quality and every device i have from them has lasted many years. From my 20 year old TV to my new TV’s to my 4 year old Sony Vaio laptop and psp. they also have great support and sexy designs.