Official Sony VAIO P-series Owners thread

i am am skipping the p series and buying the flagship sony vaio z series in december

 

i am buying a computer in december or january if the the p series does not have pineview by then i will buy the z series

 

i was going to buy the P but

i went to the sony store to check out the laptop when i was there.
the vaio P w/ 1.86ghz and 64gb ssd is still slow. it's running vista but the darn thing is slow as hell. took forever just to launch a IE browser.

i also hated the mouse. the keyboard was pretty nice to type on.
as for the screen, nice screen, but i don't want to spend half the time squinting to read the text

 

Well, for sure is full of Sony bloatware. Once you take the crap of Sony, is totally another thing. It also needs a lot of tweaking (Vista) so you have a nice fast machine. My brother has the 1.6 ghz model and 128 GB SSD, and after a clean install it opens a web page as fast as my Z!
Now,if the resolution of the screen bothers you, you did good to not buy it.

 

@ Jack I haven't been keeping track of the P but how is it doing with XP? and is it fully working?

 

My brother's P works great with XP. Video playback is smooth, and all the feaures works just fine. I think now Sony gives a XP downgrade disk for those that they purchase the P.
Is coming soon a P with Wimax:

http://www.pocketables.net/2009/07/sony-vaio-p-wimax-edition-expected-this-month.html

I am personally expecting the P with W7 preinstalled. Hopefully the next release in the fall will have it!

 

Link

 

Great news Jayayess, +1!

You made my day, I was kinda of worried that Sony will discontinue the P series, when they release the W netbook.
So, November are coming new models. I am sure that W7 will be preinstalled and will have a much faster boot-up time. Can't wait! It seems that the P is selling quite a lot in the business world.

 

I wasn't really worried that they would discontinue it. I guess to a big extend the Vaio P caters to a market segment that is not so price-sensitive. Back in May when I was at the Sony Style Store in Berlin the guy responsible for the Vaio department told me that Sony underestimated the demand for the highest spec'd P21 in Europe, that's why it was sold out quickly and only came back as the current P29 more than two months later. Of course the demand might not be huge but the markup is probably not bad for Sony and might have found an interesting niche here.

 

The new Sony Vaio P is labeled Mark II and will be on the market in October/ November. There is not much information on the Netbook, but the company assures Japanese boot times faster and better system performance. Everything suggests that the future operating system present in the P Vaio Netbook will be Windows 7, which is officially launched on 22 October 2009. Most likely the hardware will support any change with the introduction of the new Intel Atom processor N450.

http://translate.google.it/translat...-6032.html&sl=it&tl=en&history_state0=&swap=1

 

I don't know about the N450 part. Is Intel going to stop making Z series processors when Pineview arrives?

 

New P hits FCC

 

HOW TO IMPROVE VIDEO STREAMING

I have a Sony P Series VGN-P19VN/Q, 1.6 GHz, 2GB ram +128 SSD fro, ebay for just £650. This model is currently selling for £1399 at Sony store in central london. Got very lucky.

I was so disappointed with the overall performance with the stock Vista Business install. It was honestly so slow and completely unuseable, not even with just MS Word and Internet Explorer open at the same . Let alone worrying about playing You-Tube videos.

So, I went about upgrading the OS to Windows 7 Build 7100 and applied all the patches and the latest Sony Bios update.

Now, it runs pretty smoothly with minimal lag. In terms of Video performance, AVI files using VLC player is fine with no stutter. In terms of web streams using Flash HD format such as You Tube, 101greatgoals.com etc...

The trick is as follow:

1. Under Control Panel in Windows 7 (forget about running Vista, way too resource hungry for this tiny laptop and XP downgrade too complicated), go to Power Option and set it to High Performance.

2. Remove all the unnecessary processes (non-Microsoft) using msconfig from start-up and services tab. I basically have the minimal processes running.

3. When playing flash videos, right click on the video and disable hardware acceleration. Don't ask why but it worked for me and hardly any dropped frames.

Give it a try and see what happens. It works for me.

Good luck.

 

Any news from the upcoming Vaio P mark 2? Will be based on the Pine Trail platfrom? Because others say that is coming in 2010 and other sources in Q4 2009!

 

Windows 7 works on the Vaio P? Also the GPS function and the function-keys?

 

I installed Windows 7, but how to let the GPS work?

 

Someone else with a Vaio VGN-P15G with original software? Does it have GPS?....

 

how about a link as to how to get the 1080p(lets say even 900p rez playing smoothly since its a 1600x900 p rez screen right?

I read a pocketables or some such other link a few months back but can't seem to find it right now...any clear info for someone looking to playback hi rez mkv's would be much appreciated

 

Try MPC-HC using Cyberlink Power DVD codec.

Guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=399952

 

Try Gomplayer. It was originally a Korean player. I use it exclusively on my HP 2133 which has a VIA 1.2ghz. It is probably the poorest performing CPU on any netbook on general release in Europe. A 1.33 Vaio P is significantly faster than it in real life. It craps on VLC from a great height and imo is even better than MPC.

http://www.gomlab.com/eng/GMP_download.html

 

are there any new infos about vaio p and windows 7?

 

I bought a P29H_Q in Shanghai a few months ago. Z530 1.6, 1 core 2 logical, 2g installed, 4g total memory 160g drive, and got a Samsung ext DVD writer SE S084 cos it doesnt need an external power supply as the sony ext does.

I replaced the chinese vista home basic with Vista Business complete reinstall.
PowerDVD for XP works great.
PROBLEM
I cannot fid a driver for the motion eye camera.,...which doesnt function in skype...any ideas please?
I think I downloaded the P2 drivers abd installed them ok, but camera doesnt work....I had a battery recognition problem so stopped the battery checker loading on startup but before i found that solution i deleted something and am not sure if it had anything to do with the camera..I dont think so...thks for the help in advance

 

Save $500 off select P models.

 

the prices are still cheaper in china....

 

This offer is valid untill the 13th of October...Should we think that is coming then the Vaio P "mark 2"? They are just trying to sell the old models, so it comes the new P.

 

video playback

if you use powerdvd 9 in vista then,
yeah you should be fine,
long as you have upgraded to the latest vista driver(some videos might be a headache),


if you install XP,
media player classic and VLC will let you play back any blueray rip,
you can also open the menu bar and no NAGS,
if you play a true 720p film then media player classic and vlc
will suffer in full screen but in 4:3(not full screen) will be fine,
now if you use powerdvd 9 in Windows XP,
then you can play back any HI Res source, be it 720p or 1080p,

i still say XP is the best...........
only reason i upgrade to windows 7(fresh install home prem),
i read about the new windows 7 driver....

 

Sony UK have 'unleashed' new Vaio P models on the UK public. If this is the Vaio P Mark 2 then Sony can shove it where the sun don't shine. Same screen, ram, hdd/ssd, yadda yadda. But you do get a 2.0ghz Atom, the one the Japenese have had for months. And likely twice the price yet again. And to think I waited for this crap instead of buying from Japan. I feel sick now.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/07/sony-uk-site-unveils-new-vaio-p-with-2ghz-atom-and-windows-7/

 

Oh that is sad, I was looking forward to a better processor, RAM, etc.

The P doesn't have to be super fast as long as it can do the "every day tasks" well, such as using Word, surfing the web, watching videos without lag etc. I certainly hope Windows 7 will be able to help the P's performance cuz at the moment, the Atom in the current generation of Ps is just rubbish.

 

Sony's new laptop event is in progress as we speak and Engadget are reporting on each launch so watch that space (I have it on 30 sec auto refresh). The Vaio X is starting at $1,299 so unless Sony are planning a sub $800 Vaio P with last years specs or something with a 9" screen I'm going to start breaking out the Howard Stringer voodoo doll and a can of petrol.

 

Keep us posted Jurisprudence!

 

Love to but its 2am here and need some zzz's. Will check back at 6am when I'm up (gonna be a long day)

Ya here that Stringer, ya got 4 hours to pull your finger out of your rear and make me a P to be proud of or I torch your skinny voodoo doll hide (shakes fist randomly at sky like demented retard).

Night all.

 

Sad times, according to Sony.co.uk, the new P comes with an Atom only with 2GB max RAM.

 

I'm not sure what you were planning to do on an Atom that requires more then 2GB, but what ever it is, you're probably better off with a CULV platform.

Windows 7 runs very well with 2GB and it's more than enough for normal netbook usage.

 

I don't think that is this the Vaio P "mark 2". This is just a cpu refresh for Europe. Instead of the 1.6 ghZ now we can have 1.86 or 2.0 ghZ CPU. Nothing else changed as you said. I believe that in Japan will come soon the new P "mark 2".
Like engadget says: "This certainly looks like a modest Win7-related spec bump and not the rumored VAIO P mark 2."

 

But is kinda strange that Sony didn't announce a new P in this event of New York. Only X, CW and L.
Where is the Vaio P "mark 2" announced that will have a lot of improvements and faster boot time? And don't even tell me someone that is this that is listed in sony uk, because this model is available in conics for months now.
I am aftraid that because of the delay of Pine Trail, we will see the new P at January and not now.

 

And I have confirmation of pricing in print from one of the Sorry Centres in Dublin (cause its always 'sorry we don't have that').

List prices for the

VGN-P31ZK/Q 1.86ghz, 4200rpm HDD, 2gb ram. = €902 ex vat, + 20% VAT = €1,083 ($1,591 USD)
VGN-P39VL/Q.CEK, 2.0ghz, 128gb SSD 2gb ram. = €1,215 ex vat, + 20% VAT = €1,458 ($2,142 USD)


There is no 256GB model listed in Europe according to the Sony rep who had checked with his gods above before handing over the details.

This had better not be the fabled Mark 2 or for me its the 3rd strike for my wallets long standing (and often painful) relationship with Sony's products

Words cannot describe how angry I am at Sony's continuing attitude to the EU market over this. Because we are so tiny with only 500 million people and a bigger consumer market than the US. I will never purchase a product from your EU market again. You show continuous and belligerent contempt for European customers in both your pricing and support across your entire range of products (€300 for a PDA replacement screen anyone, excluding labour). Having had access to your financial reports for my country not so long ago I can state emphatically (but not specifically for legal reasons) that Sony are gaining a net from this country, and likely others in Europe, far disproportionate to gross revenue. Their margins are truly shocking and believe me the old 'blame it on the EU' BS does not hold true with this corporate. Its disgusting.

Since the Vaio P can fit into your back pocket why don't you go a little further and try fit it into a very nearby crevice.

 

I will only upgrade if there ditch the intel graphic chip,
hopefully go for the Nvidia 9300,

my mate has the asus n10 and that runs like a dream....

if any of you dont get the windows 7 upgrade then dont waste your money,
XP runs 5% faster on the Vaio P...

 

Couldn't agree with you more. +1

I am waiting for the P "mark 2" that Sony said is coming in October/November from July. I decide to wait to see this P2 and now this! If are these models that you posted the new P, well then Sony is making fun of European customers. I imported from Japan my last two laptops and it seems I will continue doing it, if Sony Europe continues like that. I really hope in Japan we will something different than the old P with W7.

 

The Nvidia 9300 creates way too much heat for a laptop the size of the P.

The P will probably be updated with the Pinetrail platform next year.

 

Conics.net has on the web page a new model of the P series:

Sony Vaio P92: 2.0 ghz, 256 GB SSD, and Windows 7. Ships late November.

http://conics.net/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_40&products_id=474

So, nothing changed from the previous models, just it come with W7 installed. Ah, there is another "big" change...there is an option of carbonite black as a colour. I think in January we will see a significant upgrade of the P when the Pine Trail comes.

 

Quite nice the 2.0 ghZ and 256 GB SSD, but nothing really new. I thought Sony promised a better Vaio "mark 2", with better performance and boot-up time. If they intended that only the new OS W7 will do this..
My question is: Is it really worth it in terms of performance, battery life...etc to wait for a P with the new Intel Pine Trail platfrom? Will it be again the GMA500 as graphic card? Or I should just pull the trigger now?

 

Yes the graphics in Pinetrail is still GMA 500, but their are more improvements. See here for more on Pinetrail: Link

Pintrail is due to be announced during CES 2010 (Jan 7-10) alongside Arrandale.

 

I think if you want to wait for newer technology you will always be waiting forever.

The most important thing for me as I consider a P is whether it is ALOT snappier running Windows 7 with a 2.0GHz processor. If not, then Sony has really not done their homework. All good have a super portable laptop but when it doesn't do everyday tasks at a decent speed then the experience just becomes disappointing.

 

I totally agree. The ironic thing is that Sony thought that the new Pine Trail platfrom would come in Q4 of 2009, and was planning to release the new P with Intel N450 CPU. At the end, it was delayed for January 2010. I check at the link of Jayayess1190 and I can say that made more confuse. Yes, Pine Trail gives a lot of advantages as power saving, less heat, better battery life...but the question is how much better? Will the actual P (2.0 ghZ-W7) be a lot slower of the Pine Trail P that will come in January? Because if the difference is barely understood, maybe is better to buy now. I am so angry with Intel that delayed Pine Trail, I don't wan't to buy a P-which is not cheap here in Europe-and after few months will come a much better model.

 

Can't wait for the reviews of this new model. I am tempted to order from conics that has a non-glossy black colour. Finally! But as exetlaios saying, I don't want as well to buy now and the upcoming in CES 2010 new P, will be a better machine. Ah, decisions...

 

From the moment they release the P series, I am waiting always for the next refresh to see what's new. Now, we will have to wait until January/February? I think that I will order from Conics, I am tired to wait. Anyway, Pine Trail it will not make a big difference in my opinion.

 

so i hear people have gotten 1080p to work on the vaio p... does that mean the screen resolution they're watching the 1080p videos on is 1080p??? i thought the max was 720p???

 

I would really like to know how people can get a 1080p video to play!

 

Also, when is the 2.0HGz version released in the UK and Australia? Japan has had it for months, when is it released elsewhere?

 

Installed several build dates of Windows 7 over the past several months.... including RC and had a few minor problems along the way....
The most annoying was not being able to install the Power Management since it would put the computer into perpetual REBOOT....
Several days ago... I was talking to a few contacts in the Sony Tech department and was set up with a FREE installation of W7 with a required flash of the Bios to run W7 without problems.
Afterwards I removed some of the SONY bloatware and burned a Recovery disc using the Maintenance program.
Over the next several days I received more than 70 updates for W7, but the system is still working very well on the P530H.
Tested most of the programs and they all seem to work fine.... The only problem to date is trying to figure out how to configure the GPS module for the P530 for Microsoft Streets and Trips 2009.