Hasta La Gadget!

The keyboard? It rocks. The screen? Beautiful. The trackball is just the right amount of gritty, so your finger sticks to it and doesn’t slide off onto the keyboard. The instant-on OS? Classy.

The keys are small, but just the perfect amount of small—you’ll only have a problem if you have fingers the size of fried carnival pastries. It took me about 15-30 seconds of mistyping to adjust and type just about perfectly, though your hands won’t feel as loose as they are on a full size keyboard by means. They’re really punchy, though shallow, too. Overall, good. The trackball is a little oversensitive, but adjustable too. What I do hate are the mouse buttons. They’re too small and not distinguished enough, so easy to miss. Oh, and it’s a smudge magnet.

The form factor looks weird in the press shots, but in person, it works—incredibly well. It’s very clearly a Porsche compared to the Chevy-esque standard netbook. In fact, Sony guys insist it’s not a netbook, which is true. It’s officially throw-it-in-your-bag-and-forget-it-sized, which netbooks are not.

I like the instant-on OS. It’s essentially a Sony XMB that gives you access to photos, internet and movies, much like other instant-on OSes, but the P’s seems exceptionally classy.

Every SKU has the same 1.33Ghz Atom inside (the Z series not the pokier N)—not incredibly speedy, and 2GB of RAM, which lets them all run Vista okay. Screen is, duh, gorgeous thanks to that incredible pixel density. The built-in 3G is Verizon only, and they wouldn’t comment on a GSM version. Oh, and that $900 pricepoint? That’s for Vista Home Basic—you’ve gotta drop a grand to get real Vista. Otherwise, the 4 different SKUs vary based mostly on storage—60GB starting up to a 128GB SSD in the $1500 model.

You’d almost think you could work on it, but we’re not so convinced yet—that’ll take some much more extensive hands on time, a couple days at least. At the very least, you’d have to widen and shrink your workflow. But we’re definitely curious to find out. Overall, it’s certainly an interesting machine—not a netbook, UMPC or laptop, but something in between all of those. What exactly that is, we’ll have to figure out in the longer haul.

We just grabbed a first look at Sony’s new VAIO P. At first glance, the screen is bright and ultrasharp — certainly stretching the limits of our eyesight. We’d say the keys are a little bit light and shallow for our taste, but good as far as most “netbooks” go, and the “nipple,” like all like pointers, will take getting used to and careful calibration, though it’s definitely sensitive. It’s certainly not hefty, but we’d say there’s the standard amount of Sony build quality, and while high for a netbook, $900 doesn’t “feel” too far off. We love lightweight, but this netbook almost feels like it lacks innards, the real deal seems almost like it’s a mock-up device. Videos of all all its best sides after the break.

Continue reading Sony VAIO P hands-on

Filed under: Laptops

Sony VAIO P hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LAS VEGAS — Sony on Wednesday introduced a subnotebook that it touts as "the world’s lightest 8-inch notebook."

Dubbed the VAIO Lifestyle PC, the subnotebook weighs 1.4 pounds and is small enough to fit in a jacket pocket.

The device sports an 8-inch, 1,600-by-768-pixel display. Other features include a 3G modem, 802.11N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and turn-by-turn GPS.

The VAIO Lifestyle PC also features an instant-on mode called Xcross Media. In this virtual environment, users can instantly access a Web browser, music, video and photos — without booting into the OS. The subnotebook ships with Windows Vista.

Sony said the keyboard was engineered to provide the feel of a full-size keyboard, with plenty of spacing between keys to reduce typing mistakes.

The battery will reportedly last four hours, according to Sony. There’s also an option to purchase a higher-capacity battery, which will last eight hours, Sony said.

Considering the device’s size, some might feel compelled to call the VAIO Lifestyle PC a netbook. However, Sony avoided that label. And the company’s correct in doing that: With a $900 price tag and GPS, the subnotebook doesn’t appear to fit in with the netbook category.

Sony also said the "netbook" label was inappropriate because the device doesn’t require an internet connection for data access. Because it has a 3G modem, all it needs is a connection to Verizon’s mobile network.

The subnotebook begins shipping February.

Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com

Sony’s much-hyped Vaio P Netbook has finally come out from under wraps, weighing under 1.4 pounds, sitting under an inch thick, and packing in an 8-inch screen with a 2.08:1 aspect ratio (1600×768!).

The netbook also has Verizon WWAN 3G mobile broadband, has a keyboard that’s only 10% smaller than the Vaio TT and 802.11n wi-fi. It also comes with an instant start pseudo-OS that lets you access things like music, internet and email without having to fully boot Windows Vista (using the same Xross Bar UI as the PS3).

The Sony Vaio P will be offered in 5 colors (red, green, black, white and onyx), will sell for $900 (pre-orders beginning tomorrow) and will start shipping in February.

SONY UNVEILS WORLD’S LIGHTEST 8-INCH NOTEBOOK
Full-Featured VAIO PC Fuses Style, Mobility and Connectivity for Anytime, Anywhere Computing

LAS VEGAS (CES Booth #14200), Jan. 7, 2009 – Sony today took the wraps off the world’s lightest 8-inch notebook— the new VAIO® P Series Lifestyle PC.
About the size of a business envelope and roughly as thin as a cell phone, the VAIO Lifestyle PC weighs just 1.4 pounds and is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket or handbag while integrating full-PC features.
The model incorporates a high-resolution, 1600 x 768, LED backlit 8-inch ultra-wide display (diagonal), making it easy to view everything from entire spreadsheets to full web pages— no side-to-side scrolling necessary. It also incorporates Sony’s XBRITE-ECO™ LCD technology, producing images in brilliant detail for razor-sharp viewing on-the-go.
Stylish enough to take anywhere, the unit is available in an array of eye-catching colors, including garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic black. Matching carrying cases and Bluetooth® color-coordinated mice are available to complete the look.
“The VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC is your portal to the world, delivering entertainment and computing in a head-turning device that’s small enough to put in your pocket,” said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. “Designed for the fashionista in all of us, it’s the ideal companion.”
Engineered to provide the feel of a larger notebook, the VAIO Lifestyle PC provides a convenient typing experience by extending the keyboard to the perimeters of the chassis maximizing the typing area. The spacing between keys has also been engineered to help reduce typing mistakes making it perfect for long fingernails.
The notebook incorporates built-in wireless WAN 3G Mobile Broadband, 802.11n wi-fi and Bluetooth technologies. Users can toggle among various wireless options for the most efficient connection – Wi-Fi for working at a coffee shop; Bluetooth for peripherals; and Mobile Broadband service on the Verizon Wireless nationwide network when traveling outside the reach of hotspots (subscription required).
The unit features up to four hours of battery life with the included standard capacity battery and eight hours with the large capacity battery (sold separate).
It also incorporates real-time GPS functionality, making it easy to find restaurants, hotels or special sites of interest. Destinations can be found by simply typing in an address or keyword and then following the turn-by-turn directions. The Lifestyle PC even includes estimated drive times to let you know how far you are from a destination. No Internet connection is required in the United States or Canada.
The unit also has an instant-mode option that launches directly into Sony’s Xross Media Bar™ interface, so you can rapidly boot up and access music, video, photos and the Web. A built-in webcam lets you video chat with family, friends and colleagues. A third-party service is required.
The PC comes with the Windows Vista® operating system, supporting office applications and all the software programs routinely found in full-size notebooks. A windows arrangement utility has been added to easily organize all open documents or websites with one touch, positioning them neatly along side each other on a single screen.
The VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC will retail for about $900. It will be available for pre-orders tomorrow online at www.sony.com/pr/pseries. It will also be sold at Sony Style® stores starting later this month and at other major retailers around the country beginning in February.
###

Not that we really needed Sony to tell us something we already knew, but we certainly appreciate the gesture. The hotly anticipated VAIO P is for real, and it’s coming in as the world’s lightest 8-inch netbook at just 1.4 pounds. The Vista-based device packs an almost unbelievable 1,600 x 768 resolution LED-backlit XBRITE-ECO LCD display, 802.11n WiFi, 3G WWAN, Bluetooth, a battery good for four hours (eight hours with the optional high-capacity cell) and a GPS module for good measure. You’ll also find an instant-on mode that launches directly into Sony’s Xross Media Bar interface, and the inbuilt webcam will keep the video chats going well into the morning. It’ll start shipping in early February (in garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic black hues) for $900 and up, and you can peek the full release just after the break.

Continue reading Sony gets official with VAIO P: world’s lightest 8-inch netbook

Filed under: CES, Laptops

Sony gets official with VAIO P: world’s lightest 8-inch netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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