Sony VAIO P Gets 2GHz Atom, Windows 7

Sony VAIO P Gets 2GHz Atom, Windows 7

Sony has updated its 8-inch ultraportable VAIO P with a faster 2.0GHz Intel Atom processor and Windows 7. Unfortunately the new 2.0GHz chip fetches a hefty premium and is only available in the top-end $1,900 model, which also features a 256GB SSD. The most inexpensive VAIO P still has the 1.33GHz processor, an 80GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, and mobile broadband support.

Sony Product Page
Via (Electronista.com)

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• Sony VAIO P Review

 

$1900 for what is essentially a netbook? Wow...that is just...overpriced.

Well, it is Sony after all.

 

Playing with the Vaio P in Fry's, I feel it is an interesting and novel netbook - but it is severely overpriced, even by Sony standards. The price definitely needs to be cut for this to be anything but mere novelty.

 

2.0 ghz Atom? What kind of atom it that?

 

The Z550 .

 

It's more meant to be fashionable rather than practical.

 

I couldnt agree any more.

The footprint is terrible though. Too wide and too small the screen.

 

I disagree. If it were between 4 and 600, I'd probably buy one today. I love the Vaio P. It's biggest problem is simply the price. The resolution is insane, and running Windows 7 it offers enough performance to handle any regular netbook-ish tasks.

 

I agree, I played with it at my local SonyStyle and was a fan of its design and very high resolution screen, insanely high DPI.

But my problem is not only the price but the battery, where it only has one battery option and I believe only gives up to 3.5 hours of battery life. That is the larger problem with such a portable computer. What's the point of having a computer that fits in a pocket but needs to be recharged constantly?

 

There's an extended battery available. But still - I honestly can't remember the last time I needed more than 3.5 hours of computing time away from an outlet. Possibly when I fly but even then I tend to get tired of it and start reading something on my ebook reader.

 

I saw the review on the higher end model pre 2GHz and it was dog slow. Video was choppy, and it seemed to be a paper weight rather then a tool for doing anything. Now if it could actually run VS2008 and watch movies it would be a great rig for the 1000 price point. But being as you can get a much better working netbook for a tiny fraction of the price sony is charging Id steer clear even with the 2GHZ in it. Now if the video performance and price were lower Id probably have one.

If they fixed the video playback being choppy and it ran vs2008 and in that price range Id buy one in a heartbeat. Heck Id even put it on the Credit card and risk life and limb with the wife for it. But alas its a sony and will never be reasonably priced.

 

What is the res on this thing?
I have not noticed that, but the design, overall, I dont find it appealing...I know it is subjective, but sorry, too expensive, and does not really say "hey buy me" IMO.

 

people need to realize this isnt just some overpriced netbook. Look at the form factor and the kind of stuff they crammed in there, it's a premium product. No I'd never buy one, but it isnt just some 200 netbook with a 1900 price tag.

 

Wait is does this mean the 2.0ghz can be now finally be purchased here without going through some Japanese import site, like Conics? Then again I can get the 2.0ghz with the 80gb ssd or HDD for 1500 from Conics, not sure if that with Win7 now, but a while back it was with XP. I'd like to get one just for the size and the fact you can fit it in your jacket pocket, but its the battery life that really kills it for me. If Sony were able to get at least 7 hours out of it I would have gotten one with 3G and make it my portable audio/light video device.

 

Believe it or not, 1600x768, insanely high resolution on an 8" screen.

 

Yeah, I loved the screen when I was playing with it at Fry's. The Vaio P has some very unusual and high-end specs for a "netbook," but I'm pretty sure it's not worth more than $1000 to most people.

 

That thing is the same as most notebook nowadays!! That is VERY high

 

I had the first generation of the Vaio P. Cool concept, but too small, too impractical and poor performance made me decide to sell it after a few months of use. Stick to a netbook!

 

I had a visitor to the office some weeks back who had one of these things, and I have to say that I was impressed with it in every single aspect EXCEPT the battery life. The price tag for some of the "lower end" models could be justifiable in some cases, I guess, but once it started to get up around 800 and above it was just absurd.

But then again Sony seems to be be pretty good at innovating an idea and then making it totally impractical at the time, yet maybe a year or two later other companies take the idea and offer it for a lower price. Sony, for example, really had a niche market with what we now call "netbooks" with their 11" machines - and they were expensive, but they were nice machines.

This process does not always happen, of course, with all their products - but every once in a while it does. If I was given one of these I would definitely have use for it - if it had the extended battery. I am sometimes away from outlets for long periods of time (days) and the longer the machine can go in small or somewhat lengthy sessions the better for me.

 

I would disagree a bit here as Lenovo had the 11in U110, Asus had the U2, and LG had the 10.6in X100 and P100 tablet, which competed with what Sony offered at the time.

If I had extra cash, I would get a Vaio P once it gets better battery life and the gpu is at least a newer/better intel GPU.

 

I am thinking in particular of the tx series ... this is interesting - the other companies you mention had them available then in 2006? I didn't know about LG, but vaguely remember the U2 by Asus and the U110 by Lenovo....

 

if the 2.0 Ghz Atom Z550 is faster than the 1.6 Ghz n270 and n280, why are they not found in other netbooks?? why O why?

 

It consumes somewhat more than the others, and perhaps it is more expensive, and considering netbooks are sold dirt cheap and profit margins are so small, adding a more expensive part, would mean upping the price but not really gaining a lot more from that...

 

Yeah, except Sony's been doing that form factor since....the beginning of time, comparatively, starting with the TR back in 2002/03, then going to the T in 04/05, TX in 06, TXN in 07, TZ later in 07 and the TT last year.

The U110 was 2007, as was the U2, and the LG 10.6" was in 2006.

 

I think everyone forgets Averatec, aside from the warranty issues they had they were pumping out decent ultra-portables in the days before they turned into "netbooks". Think about the 1050 here.