New Vaio?? Vaio VGN-U70

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/sony_micro_pc/

Now if you're a fan of the almost vaporware OQO or Antelope, this might be the machine to fill the void. Despite it's looks, it is actually meant to be a full functioning device complete with TFT LCD (possibly up to 1600x1200), supplied cradle and collapsable keyboard, 1ghz processor, 'Centrino' chipset, 20gb HD and 512mb of memory. The article also mentions USB 2.0, compact flash, and MemoryStick Pro for expansion. Happened to stumble upon it before leaving work so I thought I'd share. I need to have one of these in my hands before I can pass judgement. Cool nonetheless.

 

I wouldn't mind having one, but I'm not sure the market is ready for this...in the US anyway. And with a pricetag that will surely approach $3,000, is it a worthwhile investment?

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

$3000, heck no. You can't possibly be that productive with a device of this type. Chalk it up to Sony wanting to push the envelope and being able to claim they're always on the cutting edge.

 

I don't think the market is ready for this or uPCs. It just seems like such a niche product; you have to develop an application around it to use. Just looking at it, I could see myself using it to access documents or listen to MP3s. At the same time, I could just as easily do that with my existing PDA...and save myself $3000. To use it as a primary device would be futile. I'll be watching Dynamism for this little puppy.

EDIT: Damn they work fast...http://www.dynamism.com/u70/specs.shtml

 

Well, I made my first mistake.... I just e-mailed Dynamism about the pre-order for the U70. Lord only knows I don't need another machine right now, but it keeps calling me. You know what it is? I've been interested in the OQO and Antelope uPCs. This machine will actually be out and available.

At least it'll be easy to get past my wife. Not that I advocate dishonesty in a marriage...but lets face it. They sneak in clothing, what's one more laptop?

If I do go through with this, I'll post a review unless someone beats me to it.

 

Dynamism sells the U70 for $2799 and the U50 for $2299. www.icube.us sells them for $100 cheaper at $2699 and $2199. I don't know about shipping though. Check them out.

 

Thanks for the tip. I've never purchased anything from Icube, have you? If so, what have your experiences been? Really, I'd like to just 'rent' the machine for a few months to play with. I know after I get it, I'm going to say I do fine with my PDA and v505, but it just keeps grabbing my attention. I may even go with the celeron model (U50)since it's just the experience I'm after, not really the features. I need a worse job so I can stop spending money[ ]

 

As the article says, the prices in Japan are around $1600 and $1900 which seems surprisingly reasonable.

For someone (like myself) who doesn't already have a PDA and has been shopping for a subnotebook, this is very tempting. It seems like Sony has finally found the right balance between PDA, tablet PC and subnote. I'm not a fan of Chiclet keyboards on PDAs or the tiny keys on the U101, so the fold-out looks great. When you don't need it, you can just leave it behind. As is, the Type U looks like it should do everything I had been looking for in a subnote: light writing, email, internet and video playback.

If you plug this into an external monitor and add a full-size mouse and keyboard (depending on how the fold-out works), you've got a competent desktop that has enough power for most general-use tasks. The only thing it won't be good for is heavy multimedia production, gaming or other CPU-hungry applications.

 

I can get by with the small keyboards out there for PDAs. I had a BlackBerry at one time and refined those skills. It just never appealed because that's not what I see myself using my PDA for...to type. I'm much better off using the notepad and writing in shorthand. Minitaure keyboards on a subnotebook are no better. This was one of the chief reasons I traded up for a v505 from my Toshiba Libretto. The whole purpose was to have a light machine that was easy to carry and I could be productive on. Well, on a bus or train, you can't be too productive with a Libretto. The keyboard was just too small so I often missed my intended letter. The speed was also less than desirable (Transmeta Cruesoe TM5800 @ 933 mhz); it took about 10 minutes for a full boot-up, 3 minutes to open OutLook, about 5 or 6 to office an Office application...too much. Heaven forbid you try to start an application while it was booting up......my grandmother moves faster.

Looking at the specs for the device, I can see myself using it for MP3s and to review documents. Absolutely no gaming....maybe....maaaaybe a Hoyle card game set. I was disappointed in that I read it was to come with PC-Card expansion, but really only has CompactFlash. One of my intended uses was with a Sierra Wireless Aircard for internet service. The memory stick will be good to transfer documents between my machines. One use I think I'll really like is for the video out. I'll probably use it (if I get it) for all of my presentations.

 

Big Calhoun, I have only bought a sony mouse and my TR series case from icube so I cannot really say much about the site (I have never bought a notebook from them). But I often see Icube featured next to dynamism in gadget notebook magazines though. The transaction was smooth when i bought my mouse and case from them. Excuse my english i am not a native english speaker.

 

Thanks rtjan. I'm still sitting on the fence as to whether I'm going to go for it or not. An employee of mine threw another wrinkle into everything. His mother worked for and retired from a major airline. She is going to Japan later this year on one of those all-inclusive tour deals. She's offered to pick it up for me while there.....decisions decisions decisions.

 

Hey guys,

I had a chance to visit VAIO World 2004 in Odaiba and play with the new Sony U70/P. While fumbling with the device I made videos of both English and Japanese Explanations as well as Japanese demonstration. As always the videos are very rough and amateurish so please don?ft expect much. However I think you will find the videos useful if you intend to purchase one in the future. You can find links to the other movies I took at my website: www.kurnspatrick.com

www.kurnspatrick.com/u70penglish.WMV - 14 Min (22MB) Sorry it?fs big.

Regards,

Lawrence Camera
www.kurnspatrick.com

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Big Calhoun