VAIO P in-depth impressions

Yeah, we saw this when it first hit the FCC, nabbed blurrycam spyshots before the debut, got the drive-by snaps of the laptop at launch, and pitted this thing against an assortment of laptops the other night, but now that we've finally gotten some quality time with the thing, we've got a better idea of what the VAIO P is -- and isn't -- capable of, outside of inspiring deep, deep gadget lust and nerdy debates about netbook terminology. Check out our thoughts and some video after the break.

Gallery: VAIO P in-depth impressions

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Design

At first blush, this thing is just stunning. It's impossibly thin, light and "short," seemingly designed to merely accommodate a keyboard and a screen, nothing else. The glossy top along with the perimeter buttons, lights and ports are distinctly VAIO, which should probably tell you as much as you need to know about the aesthetics -- Sony isn't breaking a lot of new ground here design-wise.

The shiny lid is incredibly smudgable, but while the screen on the flip side is fairly glossy, it's not distractingly so, and the utterly sharp and bright screen LCD cuts through any glare that might occur -- still, you're in for a bit of trouble using this thing outdoors. And that resolution? It's pretty dang squint-inducing, but for some reason it's clear enough to actually be usable, and if it's not there are zoom in and out function keys to make the experience a bit easier on the eyes -- just make sure to get your glasses prescription checked before you drive yourself to blindness.

We found the keyboard a bit stiff at first, but it's been growing on us -- the hard button presses are somewhat reassuring. The layout is very natural, and we were touch typing in no time, something we can't say for a majority of our netbook experiences. The trackpoint-style pointer has grown on us as well, and we actually appreciate the subtleties of its movement as compared to a touchpad, since the high resolution screen requires some very specific mousing to be able to work with. We're also big fans of the mouse button layout, perfectly placed below the spacebar. If you're a real ninja, you can actually click with the trackpoint, but it's a bit sensitive, so we're still building up to it.

Unfortunately, as well as much of this seems laid out, we're still having a bit of trouble with the form factor. It's difficult to use on a lap or when lying down, and even when flat on a desk there's some awkwardness to the "shortness" of it all. There's no palm rest, so as thin as the laptop is, there's still a bit of a lift to the keyboard, which isn't exactly angled to meet our fingers.

More exciting is the incredibly small power brick, which can be attached to a small breakout box that has a VGA port and Ethernet, and plugs into a small proprietary port on the side.

Performance
This is probably going to be the main pain point with this laptop. Windows Vista is a hefty load to bear, and even with a stripped down XP install or Linux distro, Atom is Atom -- all that sexiness doesn't make it go away. Perhaps the best illustration of this fact is Sony's own XMB, which has a dedicated shortcut button under the keyboard, is slow to load and choppy to use, ironic for an interface that runs just fine on a $200 PSP.

We've seen worse netbook web browsing experiences, but we certainly wouldn't call this "snappy." Scrolling is choppy, and pages take three or four times longer to load than on a "real" computer. It's better than smartphone browsing, but it doesn't seem like $900 worth of surfing.

Other aspects of the OS seem a little better -- Word launches pretty fast, and we haven't had any trouble hopping into connection utilities and connecting to WiFi and EV-DO. Sony's proprietary apps and utilities are, as always, the real killers (in the negative sense of the word), and we're guessing a clean install that lets us avoid those entirely is the safest way to avoid slowdowns and frustration. Our other thought here is that Window 7 -- well enough optimized -- could be the P's real killer app, so we'll be looking into that.

Wrap-up
So yeah, it's not the netbook that will replace your laptop, not by a long shot, but there's some cool stuff happening here. $900 worth of cool things? That's your call.

[doctor_bart @ Jan 10th 2009 4:16PM]

That looks pretty cool! I can surf engadget on that from the crapper!

[hamidxa @ Jan 10th 2009 4:47PM]

Yeah its a super slick design, but there are a few changes I would make to it:

1) faster processor
2) touch screen
3) load Windows 7 on it (not a problem really, I could do that myself)
4) reduce the size of the bezel, thereby allowing the screen itself to be larger
5) shave a few hundred off the price, no need to be silly like Apple when it comes to milking your customers dry

[loosely_coupled @ Jan 10th 2009 5:09PM]

To anyone considering this thing, I'd say WAIT for generation two. Intel will eventually relent on their stupid ass restrictions and start allowing new dual-core Atoms into netbooks and small laptops, which should help immensely. My god, Sony could at least have used a 1.86Ghz version instead of 1.33Ghz!

I think Sony should have used a ~1.2/1.4Ghz Core 2 Solo ULV, even if they had to include a heavier battery for decent battery life. Atom is just too damn slow, particularly with Vista!

Similarly, Intel will probably have faster 32nm atoms out by summer, and most netbook version will undoubtedly be >~2Ghz and dual-core.

[TareX @ Jan 10th 2009 6:05PM]

With a screen that small and no trackpad, the touchscreen seems like the obvious missing spec.

Dell Mini 10 is the obvious winner.... hell the Everun Note is better than that "netbook".

[waterwagen @ Jan 10th 2009 6:16PM]

Buy an ipod touch and save yourself some money.

[hamidxa @ Jan 10th 2009 6:50PM]

Waterwagen,

Maybe I should buy myself a bridge so you can live undernearth it.

[KarlW @ Jan 10th 2009 6:55PM]

I just love the idea of a computer that's small enough to fit in my coat pocket. Pull it out, slip it back.

I can't seem to find out which graphics card it has. Sony's site has it has an Intel GMA, but it doesn't appear to support Aero Glass. Obviously you're not going to be playing games on it, but it's nice to know.

[i.c. weiner @ Jan 10th 2009 8:36PM]

@ hamidxa

I see what you did there

[dnl2ba @ Jan 11th 2009 4:04AM]

@finnith We're getting a ways off topic... but anyway, I give MS a lot of credit for vastly improving security starting with XP SP2 / IE6 SV1 / Vista / IE7.

The more relevant thing to the Vaio P is the performance. Other browsers will run faster than IE7 and hopefully end up using less power (by virtue of being less CPU-intensive), plus those of us Engadget readers who use Windows probably run Firefox or Chrome.

[Jimmy @ Jan 10th 2009 4:18PM]

Did you try using a real web browser? Or just IE7?

[Ashwin @ Jan 10th 2009 4:24PM]

You and I might hate IE7, but I would consider a browser with 68% marketshare a real browser.

[Mobius_1 @ Jan 10th 2009 4:29PM]

Just means 68% of people don't know about the superior FF, Opera, or Chrome. IE7 is nowhere near as responsive as those three, and Chrome is IMO the fastest and very, very good, especially considering it's first attempt. However, AdBlock (sorry, Engadget advertisers :P) means I'll stick to FF for the time being.

[yo @ Jan 10th 2009 4:30PM]

I believe he meant real like one that doesn't suck. Marketshare has nothing to do with suckability.

[Marcus @ Jan 10th 2009 4:30PM]

@Mobius

I agree on every single point.

[Danny @ Jan 10th 2009 4:37PM]

@ yo

yeah... Windows sux.... but has much higher marketshare than OSX, which sucks much less, or linux, which sucks a little bit less than windoze

[Saad Rabia @ Jan 10th 2009 4:42PM]

For me, IE7 just works, I don't care if some geeky company thinks that FF is 1.33 seconds faster in loading a 5 KB page, or Opera loads faster than all other browsers, or Chrome is made by god! I tried all of them and based on my experience, IE7 was always the best performer between all; it loads all the pages I visit (Lots and from all genres), it loads in a max of 2 to 4 seconds when I start it, and pages look just like I would see them on other browsers, and I tested many with every update they get out every single week.

I use IE7 on Vista and run it along with IE7Pro, and I love the experience.

[giuliop @ Jan 10th 2009 4:57PM]

When he said "real", he didn't mean "important"; he meant "not imaginary".

[Jorvay @ Jan 10th 2009 5:20PM]

68% market share is good? Until Firefox came along, IE had near-100% market share. I didn't realize it had dropped so low! Just goes to show how nice FF and all it's glorious plugins really are.

[Danny @ Jan 10th 2009 6:02PM]

I really hate how more than one person can have the same user name.

[dnl2ba @ Jan 10th 2009 6:27PM]

@Ashwin: That's lovely that so many people use IE7, but I don't care about IE7 performance since I'll rarely use it. Still, if Engadget's comparing rendering time against IE7 on a Core 2, it gives us a good sense of the difference.

@Saad: You might appreciate the performance difference better if you started using a netbook with a 1.33GHz Atom CPU. ;) My current laptop is a Fujitsu Q2010 with a 1.2GHz Core Solo, and the differences between various browsers are very noticeable. (I ended up sticking to Chrome.)

[Saad Rabia @ Jan 10th 2009 6:39PM]

Exactly dnl2ba, until I buy a netbook my IE7 experience on my desktop is great.

[finnith @ Jan 10th 2009 11:29PM]

What about the security issues that IE7 has, Saad?

[Kelmon @ Jan 11th 2009 6:15AM]

@Mobius_1

The problem with IE is that it is so ingrained into corporate applications and you often have to use it. If you are using the Sony for personal computing then perhaps this isn't a problem but businesses (assuming that they would even consider such a device) will continue to rely on IE. It's annoying but this a fact of life that I have come to accept, yet I hope that at some point my corporation will change its IT standards to allow alternative browsers.

[metal @ Jan 10th 2009 4:18PM]

I know this is kind of stupid, but that space on most laptops below the keyboard thats usually void of keys? I like that, I rest my wrists there, and sony removing that would in my opinion make this laptop a little less comfortable to use.

About $500 less comfortable to use.

[oZ @ Jan 10th 2009 4:26PM]

Use a typing position that won't hasten your carpal tunnel, and you won't have that problem.

[Sarig @ Jan 10th 2009 6:07PM]

So uh, skip this one and buy an Eee?

[mc9000 @ Jan 10th 2009 4:19PM]

That's about $399 worth of cool things for me.

[Ashwin @ Jan 10th 2009 4:23PM]

I might want to actually try this out when its available. Although, I bet 1.33 GHz Atom running under Vista is really going to suck performance wise, especially with that resolution screen.

[hamidxa @ Jan 10th 2009 4:40PM]

Simple.

Don't use Vista then.

Use Windows 7 instead.
It works wonderfully with a wide range of devices, even lower powered units such as this where Vista would cause performance issues.

If you even like, I have 3 serial keys, 2 of which Im not using that I could send your way.

[Ashwin @ Jan 10th 2009 4:54PM]

That would certainly be a good idea to try. I would appreciate it if you send one of those keys my way to [e-mail].

[kamakaze @ Jan 10th 2009 5:58PM]

@ pmcculfor

HOLY CRAP!

i want to marry you right now.

i've been scouring the internetz for a product key for the past several days for my torrented win7 and YOUR'E MY HERO!!

[Bhargav @ Jan 10th 2009 6:46PM]

I couldn't have agreed more.. Vista is one of the worst OSs ever.. Its been about 3 years since i left windows.. I have been using linux since.. Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch etc etc. I'm loving it..even the latest versions need less than half a gig of RAM and with programs like Compiz installed, visual effects better than those in Vista can be achieved (@ far less load on the PC in general).

[jake @ Jan 10th 2009 4:25PM]

I don't see any usb port? Then how people going to use it for external harddrive or usb mouse?? Really want it first, but now I think I'll pass :|

[Temple @ Jan 10th 2009 4:35PM]

You need glasses or need to learn how to use google. There are two USB ports on the left and right of the Vaio P.

[sjdurfey @ Jan 10th 2009 7:54PM]

sue over what?

[sjdurfey @ Jan 10th 2009 7:55PM]

crap, that was meant for Newone, under Ben's comment

[ben @ Jan 10th 2009 4:25PM]

when its closed, that thing reminds me a lot of the PSP.

Anyways, this seems to be typical Sony fare...excellent aesthetic and design mixed with proprietary cluster f#@ks and similarly designed software.

[Newone @ Jan 10th 2009 7:09PM]

Waiting for Apple to sue for using their business model

[sjdurfey @ Jan 10th 2009 7:56PM]

sue over what?

[huh @ Jan 10th 2009 4:28PM]

Too bad. A 1.4 lb computer you can fit in a large pocket would be nice. And it looks awesome, I know from my old Fujitsu P series a small, bright very high res screen can be very readable. Maybe next version they'll make it an inch higher, with a faster cpu. And give it a touch screen.

[oZ @ Jan 10th 2009 4:28PM]

A MacBook Air is a slightly thinner 13" laptop. This is not that market. The MBA isn't any easier to carry around than a standard MacBook.

Screw that.

[sportscrazed2 @ Jan 10th 2009 4:36PM]

can you remove vista and put ubuntu or another linux distro on it?

[Jorvay @ Jan 10th 2009 5:25PM]

Sony has a bit of a history of making machines that are tricky to get linux distros up and running...especially when it's a newly-released piece of equipment for which some new drivers might need to be created. So you probably could do it, but I'd want to wait a few months to see if someone with more expertise has got it figured out.

[Priaptor @ Jan 10th 2009 4:36PM]

Ok, so this piece of garbage is going to cost you close to 1400 if you want the SSD. Why, why why???

I am as big a gadget freak as the next guy, but even I must draw the line on this. I have been one of the fools who bought into that UPMC of Sony and swore never again. So again we have a slow, underpowered, impossible to read, albeit it "great screen" micro/mini/tiny notebook that is basically useless.

For the bucks, the competition blows it away.

Just think, for less money you can pick up a first gen MacAir.

[hamidxa @ Jan 10th 2009 4:43PM]

Why on God's green Earth would anyone want a Macbook Air though.

Just because you don't want this does not mean your only option left is the Macbook Air...it should still remain as the last option on anyone'e list, not 2nd, not 3rd, and by no means 1st.

[FordGT @ Jan 10th 2009 4:41PM]

All I can think of is a giant iPhone. Thanks Jimmy! XD

It's very nice but the price is nuts. $1000 just for the base model? WTF Sony.

[STINK @ Jan 10th 2009 4:48PM]

A killer app would be a Sony-sanctioned PS2 emulator...

[Kage @ Jan 10th 2009 4:50PM]

Looks like I'll wait this one out. Thanks for the impressions.

[Ian @ Jan 10th 2009 4:52PM]

So......it says it's slow even with TinyXP. If it's slow with a stripped down version of WinXP, how can it possibly run Vista at all?

[xmitman @ Jan 10th 2009 5:11PM]

Can OSX be installed? I will wait to see what develops. How well does it do Adobe Lightroom with Vista and RAW photo files?