Sony Vaio UX50 on pre-order

We know you're probably utterly sick of hearing about the UX50, but at this point Sony's probably not going to be able to milk many more stories out of us on the thing -- it's officially available for pre-order on their Sony Style store (or on Amazon -- or Dynamism if you want a Japanese version) for $1,800. Quite a bit of cash for a 1.2GHz, 512MB, 30GB Windows PC, but you know you're not buying this thing for its specs, you're buying it for its dashingly, erm, ok looks and head-turning portability. Not that you need to justify this thing to anyone (but your spouse), so enjoy.

[Via I4U]

[dzieci @ Jun 7th 2006 12:38PM]

sick! it is looks like cell phone and it is very expensive...

[Peter @ Jun 7th 2006 12:46PM]

You know, I'd really like to see a comparo between this and the OQO. I'm thinking about getting a UMPC for school, because sometimes a laptop is just too bulky to be lugging around.

[Pete Avila @ Jun 7th 2006 12:57PM]

Man I want one of those...but I have no use for it :(

[matt @ Jun 7th 2006 1:11PM]

i would love one of those, but its a vaio, it will b terribly overpriced...

[ChillyWilly @ Jun 7th 2006 1:18PM]

I just can't justify $1800 for something like this. That doesn't exclude the cool factor of having Windows XP in your pocket (or backpack), but the cost is just way too much for this gadget lover.

Take it down to under $1k and maybe it will start to be more attractive.

[Joe @ Jun 7th 2006 1:32PM]

I had thought about throwing away too much money on this, but didn't want to have to sign on with Cingular in order to take advantage of the full capabilities. However, according to Sony, it is possible to have the unit unlocked and use a SIM card from another wireless provider. (T-Mobile is cheaper and has more - and more convenient - hotspots.) So damn it. Do I go into hock up to my eyeballs just because this thing is so cool, or do I hope the price comes down? Decisions, decisions...

Also: I'm curious about the name of this thing. Every time Engadget refers to it, it's called the UX50, but the Sony Style site calls it the UX180. Are these the same pieces of hardware? If so, why the discrepancy?

[paul @ Jun 7th 2006 1:59PM]

can i run osX on this?

[scott @ Jun 7th 2006 2:08PM]

UX50=Japanese version, CF card, XP Home, few other differences

UX180=US Version, no CF, WWAN (Edge), XP Pro, few other things

[9tinyfingaz @ Jun 7th 2006 2:10PM]

Has anyone realized that "UX50" name was used by sony on the last US Clie they produced which would have run palm and pocketpc out of business if they stayed around.

[R J @ Jun 7th 2006 2:40PM]

Cool dashing looks. Nice finish (it seems). Nice piece of eq. But one thing that strikes me ...the screen is open..exposed to being easily damaged. Especially for the travelling folks, and security procedures which means taking the lappie out, putting it back, the security staff [man]handling it etc. For $1800? NaaaaaaaaaHH.
Good to look at though!.

[W0lfw0od @ Jun 7th 2006 6:31PM]

The price is way to high and you just have to wonder how it feels, and it doesn't look like it would feel good.

[wisnu @ Jun 7th 2006 8:43PM]

I checked this device in Yodobashi camera (electronic store in Japan) few days ago. Just few impressions on the device:
- I feel it is way too bulky looking, especially its thickness (roughly 2 cm from front to back).
- The LCD is small in area, it is difficult to read without using the zoom function. I had to either squint or bring it up closer to look it up without the zoom function.
- The keyboard is not convenient to type into actually. But I think this is nothing new for those familiar with small devices such as this (PDA, smartphone users, etc.)

So yeah, overall impressive tech. packed into a relatively small unit, but I wouldn't want to spend 1,800 bucks on it :)

[Moumoune @ Jun 8th 2006 8:52AM]

The UX50 is only at $1,630.28 at this site:
http://geekstuff4u.com/

[brandon @ Jun 8th 2006 9:43AM]

I got to play with this the other day. If money was no object then this is the coolest toy out there. As far as really being something thats useful then thats another story. buy a laptop.

[Lorin Thwaits @ Jun 11th 2006 12:17PM]

I bought one at Yodobashi camera a week ago, and used in lots in Japan. Absolutely love the machine. It's about 20% faster than my aging Dell laptop with a 1.8 GHz Centrino. But I don't think the memory is upgradeable, so I'm stuck with 512 megs. Still what an amazing machine! I can't get over how excellent the screen is. And it will play back beautiful 720p high def video that's been resized to 1024x576 at a full 60fps!!! Amazing. More info:

http://geekswithblogs.net/lorint/archive/2006/06/10/81423.aspx

[Matt @ Aug 29th 2006 12:15AM]

damn i wish i had one of those

[sub100 @ Sep 25th 2006 10:56PM]

Why they price such a high
sub100
http://www.fastluxurycars.com/