More VAIO P specs leak out
By Nilay Patel 
posted Jan 2nd 2009 9:38PM
posted Jan 2nd 2009 9:38PM
[Via UMPC Portal, image from Pocketables]
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Eh? I thought Euro to USD conversions were dangerous indicators of US price since electronics were more expensive in Europe?
Right. Europe pays higher taxes.
That €700 for a netbook is just insane (with current pound-euro parity). If this thing costs £700, good luck trying to sell a single one.
you're right and it's not about the taxes.
It's called rape of the european customer.
Cowon S9 16Gb $240 in the USA turns 279 euros in France.
That's $400 ++
More than 70% price increase. And I've never heard of a 70% taxe in any country in the world.
I might actually buy this is its $1000 or under. OMG!
That's the one thing that kills me when I go to Europe is how expensive everything is there. The last time I got back from Italy I got something at the airport in Atlanta. I felt like I'd found a great deal, a bucket of coke and three meals worth of food for 5 bucks lol.
Anyway, I think besides VAT, aren't there tariffs and shipping costs and this that and the other? I know my friends in Brazil get SCREWED when it comes to electronics (The Cheapest stand-alone Blu-Ray player over Christmas was about $2,000, I nearly had a coronary, considering the PS3 is only about 1000 bucks for the 40 gig version lol).
is the P model is close to what the TT is then its not going to do well, also being close to 1000 it will def fail as a money maker for sony. looking at some of the specs this netbooks is close to whats out there but yet double the price. sony will never learn thats why i stopped buying sony products like 8 years ago
I love Sony products, but unless they're still hiding an ace up their sleeve, I think you're right. Especially with the state of the economy, this just doesn't make any sense.
@WILLIAM
Its a Sony.
It will not be called "VAIO P". That "P" thing was just some lame photoshoped pictures. Wait and see.
It's a glowing prism of ever radiant light- it's so awe-inspiring that I'd go so far as to call it divine. What netbook would Jesus use? This one.
Isn't it the Atom Z520?
We shouldn't yet criticize on the choice of OS since that 2 GB of RAM is the real difference between the Asus's R50A and Sony's Vaio P
*if* it is in fact an Atom Z520, then either:
A) It maxes out at 1GB Ram like the Asus -- if using the only Intel chipset available for the Z520 (SCHUS15W) http://ark.intel.com/cpu.aspx?groupID=35466
B) it is using a 3rd party chipset -- NVidia 9400M??? I don't know if it is possible yet, though NVidia has certainly made noises to the effect that they want in on Atom action
atom = epic fail
low power consumption , silent and no heat=fail ?
then i would rather fail
@ sinjinn
i bet your used to failing too.
@you: I bet you're used to being a fuckwit, eh?
@sony meh:
you = epic dumbass.
1 grand for a netbook? I find that hard to swallow.
this isn't a netbook, its a UMPC, they're different.
How is a netbook different from a UMPC when they share the same specs and are about the same size?
Netbooks tend to use the midrange Atoms, UMPCs tend to use the high-end ones. (The only difference being power consumption.)
Oh, and UMPCs are about $500 more than netbooks. ;)
Sony used to be the leaders of every single category imaginable, now I can't think of a single category where I would want to buy their products.
Sony has one of the best sounding music players.
Ummm... Their tv's and portable speakers are pretty beasty, though quite overpriced.
Yes I can read cnet too.
iPod sound quality is fine and it completely destroys Sony when it comes to ease of use and all of the iTunes stuff.
Many people swear by their mp3 players, P&S digital cameras and DSLRs still now. They've recently started making much better products in those areas.
Sony make the best PSP's!
PS3 FTMFW.
I would not say no to a nice BRAVIA display...
They are expensive for a reason generally. I'm willing to bank on that this will be the best looking and most useful portable work netbook out there.
Well they are just the first to everything. You cannot always be the best though even Ipod's will one day go down (not in quality but market share) possibly the only thing that will not go down is Microsoft Windows.
Personally for game consoles, all in one computers, Laptops and obviously TV's i see Sony to be STILL TEH ONE!.
is it going to be hard on the batteries?
you know, with the whole glowing case thing...
you have a good point although i have to say it does look shooped
$900 and I have to use Vista? No thanks. Sony can't play the netbook game, it seems.
What the fuck is wrong with Vista?
What you should really be asking yourself is what is right with vista.
Why don't you go back to your rock that you've been under for the past couple years... :P
Get with it man!
Actually....I really agree with you.....that was just sarcasm. :P
"What the fuck is wrong with Vista?"
The fact that it's Windows.
Windows is the more productive OS. I make tons of money on it cause my softs cant run on anything else.
Vista is great for regular laptops, but with the low specs of netbooks, it would be frustratingly slow to use (IMO)
I'm just curious, if not Vista (and by extension in most of the comments, windows as a whole), what operating system would you rather it run? Sure, Linux would be great but that lacks mass appeal and the certain je ne sais quoi of something a little more polished. I'm sure everyone here would shit a brick if they used OS X, Vista sucks, and XP seems like it's just a compromise. So what operating system would you have it use?
XP Pro with at least 2GB of RAM would be a nice start!
I wonder how many of those who claim Vista sucks recently actually touched Vista. I remember when it got introduced and pretty much nothing worked while it ate away all the resources it was crappy but lately with the updates it goes well. It kinda reminds me of another OS..Y. Anyways yes XP would do for most and certainly at low-powered hardware it would be more convenient but slowly MS will make sure you can't get around Vista, be it with WM10 or sooner or later the IE releases and new software. The neat thing is for us techies we got an explanation but Joe the plumber grabs his mobile and calls 0900-Sony and asks wtf is wrong with it. Better deliver something a tad slower but for sure future-proof then something speedy and risk a lot of calls.
That said, calling something with so much low-power consuming high-end hardware a netbook is kinda odd. You don't call a cake-slider a netbook while this won't be that much slower. This seen the price/hardware fits more between the netbook/laptop ie its a UMPC. I kinda wonder though what Sony is going todo with it as their UX 50 might be sweet but didnt seem to hit the market so well. And for a little more I rather buy a Sony TZ.
It's probably going to weigh 1ounce!
Obviously.
I mean, look at how it's levitating in that guy's hands.
Light as a feather, I say.
This is probably the most anticipated Vaio so far... Sony has done well with all the teasers given how many Engadget articles have been about them. Free advertisement.
1 grand? I could get 2 netbooks of close specs for that!
Wow
I hope this thing is as awesome as the price tag proclaims.
This thing should have been turned into an ultraportable.Take that form factor and keep the awesome screen, perhaps make it LED backlit as well. Use carbon fiber and/or aluminum for the case and more importantly use a 1.4Ghz Core 2 Duo ULV and a fast/expensive 64GB SSD. It could compete well with the Macbook Air if they can make it real thin and keep that unique footprint.
As it is now, it's too slow (I won't even look at netbooks until they get a dual-core ~2Ghz nano/Atom) and way too expensive for the market it is trying to capture.
It's going to run Vista Home Basic, so performance should be decent.
i just had to say your avatar is fucking awesome. everytime i see this avatar i'll automatically +1 vote it
I have to agree..... your Avatar is just awesome.
http://www.maxim.com/slideshows/index.aspx?slideId=3854&imgCollectId=206
Since when is a slow 1.8" drive "standard"?
Since the MacBook Air.
@Graham Wellington (formerly tyrone washington, or marsha goldberg)
Osx86 will run on an amd cpu
Kalyway Leopard 10.5.2 DVD Intel Amd u can probable find on
piratebay or some other place like that
but notice the amd in the name
apple os x is still just darwin unix hence can be scald to run on anything
now to be on topic
link to cpu spec http://ark.intel.com/cpu.aspx?groupId=35466
Intel® Atom Processor Z520 (512K Cache, 1.33 GHz, 533 MHz FSB)
if sony is using this cpu i will say this is doom to fail with
no 64 bit support and no dual core support u can actually get a
better cpu in a far cheaper netbook
this is way over priced for the specs
i would have thought Sony would have used this cpu Intel® Atom
Processor 330 (1M Cache, 1.60 GHz, 533 MHz FSB)
link to cpu
http://ark.intel.com/cpu.aspx?groupId=35641
whoops, removes foot from mouth. my bad, i've been out of the loop for quite some time, but that's awesome news (to me atleast). sorry about the post aaquib, im a dummy :)
@Yoyo -- your preference for the Atom 330 would require a 41 watt TDP for the processor/chipset, so although probably a nice performer, not likely in an ultraportable.
1.8" is the standard HD size on Sony subnotes... See T, TR, TX, TZ, etc.
You thing a new religion will be built around this product?
think*
No. Apple already is the religion. And I believe in monotheism.
Fk..I just blew 300 bux on upgrading a 4 yr old pc..
/off-topic
My brother just got a new computer for $300
Gateway
2.2Ghz Athlon Dual Core
1GB RAM
320GB HDD
...Vista.
I keep telling him to run the Windows 7 Beta or OS X, but he says Windows 7 will be full of bugs and OS X is for girls and gays.
sorry friend-o, osx wont run on an amd processor. wish it did though.
Sure, OS X will run on AMD, you just need a few patches. Just google for 10.5.5 amd, and you'll get started.
@ Aaquib: I resent that comment...... although Justin Timberlake HAS become cuter since I got my MacBook Pro, hmm
Sony Computers = overpriced and under specd crap!!!!!
I believe your describing another company I know...
@Aaquib : dude I just can't see who you're talking about....
does it begin with a A and finishes with a "pple" ?
I can't see myself buying this without the ULVC2D.
Save your cash up and buy the freaking vaio tt. Screw them low specd netbooks.
Well, I mean, when you buy the VAIO you are looking for style, so I agree with the poster to get OS X and a much nicer notebook for $300 more.
What a joke! For $300 more you can get a Rev. A MacBook Air with a 1.8GHZ Core 2 Duo, and a useable OS.
Sorry Sony. Maybe when Windows 7 releases.
A notebook that can't even run Youtube smoothly?
Engadget said it, not me.
a air? no no... you dont replace something underpowered and overpriced with another underpowered overpriced computer... for that price lets get that new dell Studio 15 2.4ghz and HD 3650 vid cards with 4gb of ram... play crysis very well indeed!
I hope that $970 is for the fully loaded laptop, not base config... if it is, then base might be as low as $500.
Finally a netbook with a good vertical screen resolution. 600 pixels doesn't cut it in today's web.
Good luck making out those pixels on an 8" wiiiiide screen.
For $970, why are they using the 1.33GHz Atom? Why not the fastest Atom- 1.83GHz- for that kind of money, or a dual-core Atom?
you should of known, SONY=overpriced shit. This aint worth it anyway. I have the first gen Eee and its fine by me, you dont use them for to much shit anyways to spend a 1000 on.
Maybe the extra screen resolution is so that WinXP can preside in the middle, while the left and right sides of the screen are touch sensitive menus.
It's a stupid idea, but this thing does cost $1000, and it was made by Sony, so it's probably full of stupid ideas.
Y is Sony doin that teasin' us we need to C it now n know if the price is affordable.
I agree the specs are underwhelming, But for the premium consumer who doesn't want to flesh over 2K for the TT, but still needs portability this may be an alternative solution. The loyal Sony consumer knows they will buy this, but with these kind of specs Sony is not luring any new customers in an already inflated netbook market.
Netbook specs for a Laptop price. A bigger HDD and a faster Atom would be nice.
I've personally seen a prototype of this and the screen is just... ..
Based on the dimensions compared to that guy's hands the keyboard seems like it'd be too small for finger typing and a bit too big for thumb typing. I wonder how it'll pan out in the end.
Come on... the 700€ price is just rumored...
And even if it's true, a 700€ price never translate to a 1000$ price... in the real sad world, it's more 700$ in the US, 700€ in EU. Just look at the PS3 (sony product, well known) it has always been priced at 1$ = 1€.
So please, everyone keep cool, keep the bashing and ranting for when Sony gives the real price and specs.
Yes exactly which is why I hate you americans so much, with all the crap you do all over the world you still get asian hardware for a lower price than us.
Where is the justice ?
People don't seem to understand the point of the "P." What really makes this laptop different from other netbooks is the shape. It's pretty much cut in half, the whole portion that hangs under the keyboard is gone along with the attached trackpad. Not only does this cut a huge amount of weight and mass, but it also allows that 8 inch screen to be a super widescreen, which enables the keyboard to be super wide as well, at least a bit wider than your average netbook keyboard. Average netbook keyboards tend to be slightly shrunken, so this design allows the keyboard to be as wide as possible without wasting any space, and that's why I love this design
I dont belive itll have Z520. Please tell me - who is this Sasha? Some kind of german guru who knows more then everybody on this planet or just a guy who wants to increase visit rate of his new webistes? Is it confirmed by somebody else? Because if its not I can make hundreds of Pseries rumors for my site in ten minutes.
Seriously, the source for this article is basicly "I know a guy who knows a guy who says he knows what the specs are"
I'll believe it when I see it from a real source...
With the lateness of this entry into the netbook market, the underwhelming specs, and the undoubtedly typical Sony style steep price, this will no doubt be an epic fail. My 2 cents...