Sony VAIO "U"

Sony VAIO Hybrid lands U moniker in leaked ad, not much else -- Engadget

It's real! Could hybrid machines be the future of Windows 8?

 

About time - a U replacement. Looks like a ~10 incher to me - probably 1366 x 768?

But I would imagine it probably won't drop until W8. As I've said elsewhere, having ragequit Windows 8 CP on a regular notebook, I think a convertible or a slate are the only machines that really makes sense of the half-butted (thanks, NBR language filter) duality of the W8 interface.

However, I'm in the process of almost ragequitting Sony, so there's not a 100% chance I'll be getting this, though it's right up my alley...

 

Maybe it is just me, but I think it is ugly.

 

If it's more powerful than the P and has a comparable screen I'll be the first in line!

 

Wrong, it is not the prototype from CES, it is the Freestyle Hybrid PC back from last year that was shown alongside the new Z. The prototype is much better looking than the new U series.

Link 1 to pc watch

zlink 2 to pc watch

edit, the device looks a bit thick, especially the screen, I am hoping this is not the case.

 

Sony “Hybrid” CES Concept Could Be Reborn as Sony Vaio U Series Windows Tablet | Netbooknews - Netbooks, Netbook Reviews, Smartbooks and more

 

Touchscreens are fine for PDAs and some specialized applications but I just don't see them as particularly relevant to general computing.

 

I would consider touchscreen / keyboard combo computers like this to be "luxury" versions of an Android tablet or iPad. But I wouldn't pay too much more than the equivalent iPad. I also would not consider replacing a work computer with one of these.

There seems to be a large group of Windows groupies out there who are holding off on buying an iPad or Android tablet in favour of Windows 8 on a tablet. I would be one of them. This kind of Vaio would appeal to me as a domestic "arsing around" computer for me and my wife. She would probably not need a typical laptop anymore. But again the price has to be right; somewhere between the iPad and Ultrabook pricepoints would be ideal..

 

Not if you wanted Ultrabook performance, which I personally think is the absolute baseline for an actually usable machine in this day and age.

 

Being Sony don't count on it being around iPad pricing. Think closer to a grand (IMO).

 

Have you actually checked how much Sony priced its S1 tablet at?

Besides, a 64GB, 4G/LTE iPad with a wireless keyboard is at $900 already...

 

OK then $2-3K since that's how much the old U was. I was thinking (wishfully hoping I guess?) that it'd be in line with the second gen P pricing which was $900 since they seem to be similar in form factor. But what do I know?!

If this thing runs an Atom I can't see it being over the $1500 barrier because $2k+ for an Atom machine is crazy, even by Sony standards!

If this thing runs a ULV i3 or i5 then I can see Sony pricing it into the stratosphere.

 

Sony's prices are better than Apple's in a head-to-head competition.

 

Yeah but this isn't an iPad competitor, it's a tablet + full computer (full OS).

 

Oh no, say it ain't so! I thought you had become a full fledged "partisan," though with objective critiques of faults in design and support. What's putting you close to the edge? (I'd miss you in this forum, especially now that we've stopped tossing barbs at each other )

By "better," do you mean that they are better at getting people to pay more for less - a competitive prize Apple has owned for years - or do you mean Sony's prices are lower than Apple's for equivalent hardware/performance? The latter may be more indicative of a desperate quest to boost sagging market share and/or a sign of the market's increasing unwillingness to pay the premium they used to for the Sony brand, as opposed to, say, a sign that Sony's product and manufacturing engineering excellence has enabled them to become a low cost producer of competitive products.

Sorry Louche, I can't resist taking a repectful shot at you when you speak from your Sony "fanboy" perch. Turnabout and all, tee-hee.

 

And the rest! Knowing Sony, around £1200. Then they wonder why they've only sold 7.

 

Interesting. Another collection of new gadget that has been release recently this 2012, Unlike Apple they didn’t invent the tablet PC. There were plenty of portable PCs several years before the iPhone was released, though they were incredibly expensive. One of them, the Sony VAIO UX series, had a touchscreen that was 4.5 inches across diagonally, Wi-Fi connectivity, front and rear cameras and, according to the 2006 review on CNET, also had a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, just like a lot of modern smartphones. The device was a bit expensive, at $1,800 for North America, but it did just about everything the modern tablet does. Jump here Sony may be releasing VAIO hybrid tablet to read more about this gadget.

 

Thanks for pointing out that interesting Sony "folklore." That was the tail end of the days when creative ideas could reach product stage at Sony though, in truth, ideas like this one probably lost the company some bundles of cash - which they would also stand to lose and, in these times, not likely green-light unless the product form made sense as a stand alone or as the "showroom" model that lures people in and has one of those other-worldly Sony price tags but which is quickly followed by a series of lower cost/higher volume models along the same concept [which I think is] a 10" +/- touchscreen device with a keyboard slider and a "real" OS - ie, W7/8. Stylus would be a wild card (which would greatly increase my interest if it had a WACOM-like active digitizer) and cameras would be, well, there would be two and at least one would be pretty good but in a device this size who cares about anything but a front facing one for video chat?

So, to recap, it appears Sony may be looking to produce something of a Swiss Army Knife tablet/hybrid Pc-ish thing that, at the end of the day, might have a helluva hard time winning many fans unless it was priced in the same stratosphere as the Asus Transformer Prime, which is a jewel of a device that fits the same general description as this U-thing we're talking about except that it is strictly Android - but totally best-of-breed design/hardware/build quality with a honey of an 800p 10" screen soon to be replaced with 1080p. (while we're on the subject, now that Apple has spilled the beans that there is a commercially available screen tech that they don't own!! that provides for 10" 260ppi, 400 nit IPS-like displays in $499 tablets - read about it here - whatever this "U-turn" (my code name for this new Sony U-series successor) screen is, it will at best be market-competitively nearly perfect(!) and unless they get a rush on they will again as in recent years be too little, too late for way too much cash.

Now, to re-cast brilliant sunshine on the parade I just stormed down, it is truly fun hoping that along with the $100s and $100s of millions they are losing annually, Sony may let just a couple million go to fund some cool, semi-outlandish, possibly even inspired designs with a gaggle of proprietary and off-shelf features, a very high P-like price/value ratio but an equally high smiles/$ ratio. Those are the kinds of products Sony can still seduce a vocal minority of us with the joy that accompanied our (or in your case, your parents' ) "First Sony" - the tag line of a very successful ad campaign in the prehistoric 90s!

As always, thanks for indulging me the PgDn keystroke to move past my screen-hogging commentary. Keep those cards and letters coming.

And thank you, Marryhall, truly, for unearthing that 2006 gem.