U70 review extension

This is an extension to the main review on the site. Suggest you read that first.

Yes you can play homeworld without the keyboard. One of the japanese sony apps can assign the two bottom right hand keys and the three bottom left hand keys to any keyboard key. Of course in japanese it is very hard to discover, but luck is on our side as it is fairly simple to translate the entire program (called sony notebook setup) into english. Around 60% is already done and a workaround for not having to install asian language support files is already documented. If you have a japanese friend or you are japanese please contribute at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VaioU70/ (sign up takes around 24 hours).

The dovaio music program is also in need of a translator although is less of a priority (dovaio is sony's proprietry music player but great if you have hundreds of atrac3 encoded files). Also when using dovaio to play music, the remote can be set to show the song name or any info about the song. The review hardly touch on the remote, but I can tell you that it works with any multimedia program including wmp and winamp.

I got higher speeds through wireless g (averaged at 36) but varies according to the router used. The u70 is a brilliant device and it takes a while to get used to the fact that it is a full computer running a full version of windows xp. Headphones included are very good (I already had a pair for my mp3 player). I would definately suggest getting some sort of screen protector (I ordered mine with the "overly brilliant" for an extra three pounds) as the screen will pick up scratches.

Performance is as to be expected, in that it is very good for all general computer work. Games are not out of the question. I can play ut2004 at low to medium settings. Farcry is probably the maximum you can hope for. Homeworld 2 runs fine at low to medium settings. Of course first person shooters are impossible to control without a mouse, but I could say that for any laptop in exsistence. Racing games play quite well on the go if you set up the controls properly.

One rather major disadvantge of the u70 is that it can't stand up on its own. What I mean is that you can't have it standing at an angle without the dock. One solution is to buy the optional case which includes a clip on the bottom to keep the u70 at an angle. Or you could just prop it up against some books.

Another slight disadvantage is the fact that there is only one usb port. Existing external optical drives which require two for on the go power will not work. The sony optical drive uses firwire and so cannot be used without additional power. A little searching came up with many single usb powered external optical drives and most work fine. Of course ordinary mains powered optical drives work fine, I'm just talking about optical without mains power.

The folding keyboard is fine, although I don't do any major typing at all so touch typists beware. Of course there is a usb port so you can connect any keyboard you want.

The screen is fantastic. Clarity is awesome. No bluring/ghosting that I can see. Nothing bad to say.

Battery life isn't so impressive. Without wireless on it is adequate at around 3 and a half hours. Wireless on it is around 2 and a half hours. Remember I have a u70 not a u50 and so have longer battery life due to the processor. Extended battery is a definite as it literally doubles the battery life. Downside, aanother 140 grams, though you can't really feel it.

The hard drive is adequate. 20gigs isn't going to get you far in regards to games, music and movies, but I already had some portable hard drives. No, you cannot upgrade the internal drive. The next size up, 40gig, is 2.5mm too high so no go.

That's my review extension. If you do decide to take the plunge remember to sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VaioU70/ and be part of a growing community. Also get access to tranlasted apps so its definately worth it. I bought mine through kemplar, google search will show you the address. Might as well get the u70 if your going to spend that much money. Any questions just ask.