VAIO P vs Eee PC... fight!

We've got a VAIO P in the house, and we thought it'd only be fitting to put the quintessential "it's not a netbook, we swear!" up against the quintessential netbook, ASUS's Eee PC (in convenient 7-inch and 10-inch flavors). Stand by for further impressions, but boy is that screen densely packed with pixels. There's another shot after the break of the P being swallowed by a 17-inch MacBook Pro... juxtaposition!

Gallery: VAIO P vs Eee PC... fight!

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[outie @ Jan 9th 2009 1:55AM]

Boy that makes the eee look even more like toys for my nephew.

[Sean @ Jan 9th 2009 2:04AM]

I have to admit it, i think im going to buy one of these vaio Ps

[glenskey @ Jan 9th 2009 2:38AM]

weird long netbooks FTW!!!

[put4558350 @ Jan 9th 2009 3:31AM]

just remind you that vaio p is $1000 atom netbook

[John Doe @ Jan 9th 2009 7:56AM]

I think it looks like a swelled up Xperia X1...but it is hell gorgeous

[ProfessorDex @ Jan 9th 2009 8:45AM]

Sony has once again proved that there are people with more money than brains.

[cduran01 @ Jan 9th 2009 10:12AM]

@ProfessorDex: Having two engineering degrees myself (BS and MS in Electrical) I happen to think I have a bit of brains, but I do like stylish electronics. That right there is stylish electronics.

Some people would spend that much or a lot more on an analog Rolex watch, I'd instead spend it on a Vaio P which is both stylish and a lot more functional than a watch.

[Jakob @ Jan 9th 2009 1:55AM]

Wow the VAIO P looks awesomme.. but breaking news? Really? Engadget!?

[AlDeezy @ Jan 9th 2009 2:11AM]

Endgadget does, what Engadget wants, and yes the vaio P looks awesome.

[Knee to the Groin @ Jan 9th 2009 2:18AM]

It's this or another iPhone article... your choice...

[Uncontrol @ Jan 9th 2009 4:57AM]

knee to the groin there's been like no iphone articles lately, shut the hell up

[Rocketboy @ Jan 9th 2009 9:00AM]

Which is best explained as why we have this article. You see how it confirms itself?

[big j @ Jan 9th 2009 10:27AM]

Why are all Sony laptops so overpriced? From my past experiences with Sony VAIO's don't even have good build quality.

[OneLove @ Jan 9th 2009 12:03PM]

for me its Vaio P or OQO 2+. FIGHT!

[Shyam D @ Jan 9th 2009 1:55AM]

It would be nice if you already had the further impressions rather then teasing us with kibbles and bits.

[Nilay Patel @ Jan 9th 2009 2:00AM]

We're trying to actually use it a little first -- you can read our hands-on from yesterday if you want snap impressions.

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 9th 2009 3:26AM]

Cool!

[Clyzm @ Jan 9th 2009 1:56AM]

God dammit... I know I'm going to end up buying one of these despite my wallet protesting.

[M. @ Jan 9th 2009 6:04AM]

There is one thing I am truely wondering, what the hell is pulling me towards this thing?
I love it's size and the nubby thing is not such a bad thing I think. The trackpad on my Compaq Mini 700 sucks so need to sell that.
Hmmm.. I guess I'm buying a unibody macbook. Unless windows 7 would rock on this? Cause how can this run Vista fast enough without driving me crazy.

[Vitaliy @ Jan 9th 2009 1:56AM]

Nice, but no trackpad?

[Jakob @ Jan 9th 2009 2:07AM]

A nubbin should be enough for the gentleman.

[Hawkman @ Jan 9th 2009 7:18AM]

That's exactly what I thought. Gorgeous piece of kit, but a nipple mouse in 2008?!

[Jason @ Jan 9th 2009 7:57AM]

My first thought was, "a thumbstick?! No touchcreen? What is this, 1999?"

[tom @ Jan 9th 2009 8:30AM]

A thumbstick is COOL. My T61 has a thinkpad and i got it last year!

[E. Douglas Jensen @ Jan 9th 2009 6:40PM]

I will never buy a trackpad PC, having used ThinkPads and TrackPoint keyboards for years.

[Mainman @ Jan 10th 2009 8:57AM]

There is a small nubby button that is a miniature track ball....check it out!

[jareduarunorudu @ Jan 9th 2009 1:58AM]

I look forward to your impressions!

Hopefully I'll be able to pick up one of those little Vaio P Buggers.. I've got some cash to spare (after I sell my N810, and Mylo 2, that is) that I'd love to spend on one of these, or a CS notebook ;)

I love the asthetics though, so please provide full details on how the day-to-day tasks work out, and how well it can play videos. (my girlfriend's c2d was apparently unable to play 720p mp4 in quicktime that I recorded from my camera without 3 different conversions... -.-)

Thanks! I'll be glued to this ;)

[suprxtragrav @ Jan 9th 2009 2:00AM]

I think the vaio P is pretty innovative in terms of its design (whereas the eee pc looks like it was made in the late 90’s). But really, its an engineering exercise, something that will let sony say, "yeah that totally just fricken happened, we built a freakishly thin netbook". However, the real appeal of a “netbook” is not only its small size, but its low price. The price is really what defeats the purpose of the vaio P.

The eee is really a pc i would use along side my laptop, Its a computer i can take to class and write notes, or something i can carry in a messenger bag during my commute (while not having to carry around the laptop). For lack of a better term, it really is a "disposable computer", So if it breaks, no big deal.

However, with the vaio P, although it may be smaller and lighter, i would be afraid to carry it around with me for fear of bumping into someone and shattering the screen or breaking the notebook, which would end up costing a hefty $900. (and with that $900 i would rather have an actual notebook, such as dells new 13 inchers)

[jareduarunorudu @ Jan 9th 2009 2:09AM]

Well, Seeing as how the Vaio P isn't a netbook, no biggie.

That's why an article interview talking about the mini notebook revealed that their target market probably "doesn't even know what a netbook is"

I simply love the portability, and the freedom to be able to put this in my coat pocket, and walk to class without having to carry around a bag.

If I'm going to be carrying around a messenger bag anyway, there's no point in not getting a full-fledged laptop by that logic, so why get a netbook? The Ogio ubuntu messenger bag can fit up to a 17"- and with things like the new macbook pro and the 24 hour dell laptops and such, why get a measly 5-6 hour netbook with low power, when you can get a portable computer for a bit more? Price.. pfft. Learn to save money and balance finances, if something's worth buying, you find a way to buy it.

I already paid 450$ for my N810 internet tablet, if this can easily out perform that, then I'd easily be satisfied (it's a spankin' lil machine)

[shugg @ Jan 9th 2009 2:43AM]

asus eee 10" is a heck a netbook. i got mine in august only paid $345 for it. cant beat it 160 gb 1 gb ram,fast 26 seconds to restart ,3 usb's etc.i mean $900 for sony netbook ,no thanks, i paid $1050in september for my new sony vaio 17" laptop that plays blurays n has a 1080p screen with hdmi output.,exactly.

[giuliop @ Jan 9th 2009 5:59AM]

"I think the vaio P is pretty innovative in terms of its design (whereas the eee pc looks like it was made in the late 90’s)"

Strange, I wouldn't have said it looks that innovative; in fact, the VAIO P's form factor reminds me of Handheld PCs (like the HP Jornada 720), which were in fact produced in the late 90's.

However, I agrre that all in all this is a very limited interest PC. I don't see Sony selling that many, certainly a small fraction of the number of Eee PCs sold.

[FILA @ Jan 9th 2009 2:07AM]

and really i recall Sony having a small laptop a few years back, i think it was only like 10 inches or so, way before Netbooks became a term. you remember that, just this one is more wider.

[jareduarunorudu @ Jan 9th 2009 2:10AM]

Indeed, it was called the picturebook series.

They also cost approximately 4 grand, so this is cheap in terms of price compared to those, and this has better specs to boot ^_^

[JZ @ Jan 9th 2009 8:04AM]

Those 10 inchers you can still get they are the Sony TZ line which costs you around 1400 euro for a starter so probaly 1400 usd as well. That said I wasn´t so trilled but when my gf saw this in a neat red colour she wanted to order it right away, shame it isn´t avaible yet in the Netherlands. The big difference between this and a netbook is that my gf touched a netbook and she figured out the keyboard is way to small (even while her hands are already rather smallish) and that the default OS ins´t her thing. She wants something stylish with an OS she knows how to handle. Those who buy a Sony TZ/P/cakecutter whatsoever aren´t the target group of the netbook users and visa versa. This won´t sell as mayor as an EEE but still for Sony will do just fine.
(Besides comparing an EEE with poor specs with poor upgrades to this.. still is a nogo to me. You don´t compare Powerbook with a Latitude either.)

[Stephen Lang @ Jan 9th 2009 2:12AM]

I wish the keyboard were an inch wider. It would be a shame to pay $800 (or whatever this costs) and not able to touch-type well on it...

[Uncontrol @ Jan 9th 2009 2:12AM]

People can say what they want about the VAIO P, they'll continue to diss it simply because it's out of their price range. It's certainly out of mine, as well, but it's no secret that VAIOs are luxury-minded, and the VAIO P is an awesome product for those who are fashion-conscious and want a small, capable PC to carry with them anymore. And that screen is just awesome and pretty much justifies the price.

[Rashad @ Jan 9th 2009 2:13AM]

That thing is soo cool, if its affordable I'm going to buy one and hackintosh it.

[jareduarunorudu @ Jan 9th 2009 2:16AM]

I would say make sure that that's possible, first.

How well does OSX run on a 1.33Ghz Atom w/ integrated graphics at 1600x768?

We shall see..

[Darren @ Jan 9th 2009 2:55AM]

OS X runs pretty well on a 600 MHz ARM processor with 128 MB of RAM and an 8 GB SSD.

[Chin-Poh @ Jan 9th 2009 3:04AM]

No, don't put your disgusting OS on this beautiful Vaio P!!! ; D

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 9th 2009 3:37AM]

OS X run shit on my G3... I bet the win7 beta is the best for that small wonder.

[Geoff @ Jan 9th 2009 2:24AM]

Makes the 7" Eee look old and fat ... incredible. I'm no fan of Sony, but they get a gold star for the design of this one, if nothing else.

[Uncontrol @ Jan 9th 2009 2:37AM]

Their design is generally always great, however I think their fit and finish leaves a little something to be desired. I remember that I was so pissed off with Apple and my white MacBook breaking I was thinking of leaving the Apple cult. Apple sent me one of the new aluminum MacBooks but I was still thinking of selling it before I opened it, so I went and checked out some VAIOs. They looked great, but handling them was a different experience ... they were very creaky and plasticky. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but the plastic the bottom of the computer was made out of felt like absolute garbage.

Hopefully the VAIO P feels a bit more substantial!

[Cesar Cardoso @ Jan 9th 2009 8:38AM]

Unfortunately, it's utterly expensive for a netbook-specced non-netbook.

[zero @ Jan 9th 2009 2:34AM]

I was so sold on this when I read that it was a touchscreen on some other site. While it does look really pretty; Oh,, my god. This is just like when I backed the psp over the nin ds. Not again sony, not again. This time I'll go with the one that looks like a toy, maybe I'll have fun with it, rather then just look pretty. nub? Really? Without a touchscreen?

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 9th 2009 3:36AM]

heu... why a touchscreen?! its a laptop, not a tablet...

[Down @ Jan 9th 2009 2:35AM]

How do you expect two laptops to fight with each other? They're laptops, they aren't fighting robots. Besides, what would they fight with? The sheer force of opening their lids?

[Clyzm @ Jan 9th 2009 2:48AM]

Clearly there's lasers coming out of the Vaio P...

[bootareen @ Jan 9th 2009 4:07AM]

Some of the side shots look like the bottom of an iPhone 3G with the curved black back and the silver trim haha. The P reminds me of a PSP too, same colour scheme and similar plastics. It's so Sony.

[7aji88 @ May 4th 2009 5:46AM]

if you think about it, it got a built-in GPS with what looks like a MS maps and streets (I forgot the exact name), and that will be about a 90$. An LED display costs more too, but the thing looks freaking awesome. Too it's out of my range.