Dec 28

Is this the VAIO P?

Posted in: netbook, rumor, rumors, sony, Today's Chili, vaio

Sony isn’t being too coy with the VAIO P, is it? In addition to that teaser image, oh-so-beautiful FCC shot, and mistakenly-posted specs page, CNET’s uncovered this pic of the rectangular netbook with its lid open. We can’t really tell if the machine pictured has that crazy 8-inch 1600 x 768 display we’d heard about, but there’s a lot of the VAIO TT in those lines — so much so we’re wondering if it’s a ‘shop, albeit a super-hot one. Of course, there’s no word on pricing, but we’re hoping it’s somewhere close to reasonable — we’ll find out in just a couple weeks at CES.

Update: We knew it looked a little too much like the TT — it’s a ‘shop. Oh well, at least we can dream.

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Is this the VAIO P? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 24

Psion Says: Stop Calling them Netbooks!

Posted in: netbook, Today's Chili

Psion's netBook (with capital B)Another sign that trademark and copyright law is completely out of hand: Psion Teklogix, a company that once made a failed product called the netBook, is sending cease-and-desist orders to Web site owners who write about the modern-day crop of mini-notebook we all call netbooks.

Psion’s letter (viewable at JK on the Run) claims trademark of the name in the United States, the EU, Canada, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The company doesn’t make its netBook anymore–it hasn’t for years–but still makes accessories. The original netBook was actually a lot like a modern netbook (sorry, mini-notebook!) with a QWERTY keyboard and flip up screen, but wouldn’t have run Windows 98 let alone XP. They were based on either Windows CE or a version of the Symbian OS, which Psion created and later rolled out to phones.

Will a bunch of C&D letters stop use of the term? Maybe for a few innocent Web site owners who don’t have the money to defend against corporate lawyers. But the genericization of the term is too far along for this to get much headway. Psion can cry in their beer over it with Kleenex, Band-Aid, and Xerox.

Just in case, Technologizer is already looking for new terms just in case. My suggestions: negligi-books or pygmy-tops.

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