The VAIO P's designer spills some secrets
By Nilay Patel 
posted Jan 15th 2009 5:23PM
posted Jan 15th 2009 5:23PM
[Thanks to Andy Yang of Engadget Chinese for the translation!]
- The VAIO P has its roots in the Mini Cooper, Takuma Tomoaki's favorite car. They're both small, but sophisticated.
- The VAIO P is designed around the "the smallest usable keyboard" -- everything else (such as the near 2:1 screen ratio) is a result of that decision.
- There was a debate on whether a 16mm pitch or a 17.5mm pitch should be used for the keyboard. They settled on 16.5mm.
- The depth of the VAIO P was decided to be 120mm exactly.
- A larger panel was planned in the prototype, but reduced to make more room for antennas on each side.
- One of the requirements was that there be no stickers on the bottom.
- The top side is made from aluminum alloy, the bottom side carbon fiber, and the inside plastic -- a compromise between weight and strength.
- Takuma Tomoaki also designed accesories to go with the VAIO P, but they were ultimately dropped because of high costs -- the red one above would have gone for $1000.
- Noise reduction headphones will come with the highest spec'ed VAIO Ps.
Some questions and answers:
Q: Why such a high resolution screen?
A: Because the VAIO P is designed with HD movie viewing (720p) in mind. Hence the 1600x768 resolution.
Q: Any possibility of an interaction between the VAIO P and the Playstation family?
A: Yes. Not just the PS3 and the PSP, we're also considering integration with the Walkman family.
Q: Why use a thumbpoint instead of a touchscreen?
A: Because of three reasons -- power, thickness and costs.
Q: Will the external monitor port support a resolution of 1680x1050?
A: Yes. Whether it is supported or not is a matter of Intel drivers.
Q: Was the VAIO P claim influenced by VAIO C1?
A: The VAIO C1 is a classic, and of course influenced the design of the VAIO P, but while the C1 was for spec fanatics with no concern to aesthetics, the VAIO P's design is centered on aesthetics.
Q: Will the instant-on be available on other VAIO family products?
A: No plans made at this moment.
Q: Will the VAIO P be downgradeable to Windows XP?
A: No drivers are currently provided for Windows XP. Any OS upgrade and downgrade will be considered.
Wow it's cool. I hope it's gonna be the final design.
The final design is already available for ordering, I believe...
For some reason vista sp1 ran better then windows 7 on my Samsung Q1 ultra. it was so sluggish. (bad install?)
I'd love to see the Vaio P in person and see that gorgeous display up close.
Yeah, I got to see one at a Sony store in Taipei on Monday. The screen is the hotness, but they had it set up with such massive icons that there were only 4 in each column on the desktop. But like Engadget said, it's really not up to the task of running Vista...
I just saw one here in HK at Harbour City at the Sony Style store. It is pretty slick. Keyboard is not bad, but will take a little getting used to. The pre-loaded system is a little laggy. In general, it is a nice machine and am considering picking one up.
Only problem being that it can't actually play back 720p without it being a slideshow :(
Frame dropping galore!
I was wondering the same; didn't Engadget write in their Vaio P review that even vga videos were stuttering?
really?? why the guy say that then...
The Atom Z520, 530, and 540 processors include hardware H264 decoding which can handle 720p content perfectly. If the software players aren't setup to recognize/use the hardware decoders, then it'll fall back to software decoding, which will cause stuttering. Chances are all the early reviews (especially with Windows 7, which might not even be setup for hardware decoding) did not have the software setup correctly.
Search youtube for videos of other netbooks playing 720p content; it's possible, it just hasn't happened with the P yet because no one has had enough time with it.
Why did he say it? Because he's a designer, he doesn't know/care about performance issues. (And it's true that the performance issues will almost certainly be gone at release, on account of drivers; but it's still not his field.)
It looks gorgeous, but I hate using nubs vs. touchpads. It'll still be fun to look at though.
Does it come without all the crapware that normally come on Vaio's? Seriously, after spending most of christmas day decrapifying my mom's new system Sony is not high on my list, sexy hardware or not.
Somehow I find computer de-crappings to go much faster than that, perhaps you were going about it wrong?
decrapification, sorry.
Hey. If you can tell what I mean, it's good enough for the mess we call English.
What the heck, $1000 for that leather sleeve??
Btw, I love this part:
Q: Will the external monitor port support a resolution of 1680x1050?
A: Yes. Whether it is supported or not is a matter of Intel drivers.
It's like saying "yes, I don't know". :D
the leather is from baby seals....
What the heck, $1000 for that baby seal leather sleeve??
That's only worth it if you get to club the baby seals yourself.
@Mystic Alpaca: That sounds reasonable. "Only the best for our customers!"
I have to say, this is one of the most impressive gadgets for these past couple of years (for me, anyway). Sony have managed to develop a small factor laptop with a useable keyboard, a TrackPoint (better than a trackpad, in my opinion - I feel it's more accurate), an unbelievable screen resolution, WiFi, Bluetooth and other technologies that come close (again, in my opinion) to justifying the almost-reasonable price tag.
Not only that, but regardless of how shallow anyone thinks buying gadgets for fashion is, it happens. All the time. Sony have made a device that caters to the needs of a businessperson, a journalist, a writer, etc. while making it as sexy as three oiled-up lesbians making love to each other by a fireplace in winter.
"...as sexy as three oiled-up lesbians making love to each other by a fireplace in winter..."
Sounds very good and poetic, but the fact that you have such associations from observing a computer design is somehow disturbing...
Is it a computer design you are so obsessed with or computer is just a tool to deliver a subject of your obsession?
I am not sure what I just said. :)))))))))
that's just the HD video he wants to watch on the thing...
would you stop fapping? it's just a notebook for god's sake!
Oh, you mean like the Fujitsu U8x0 series, which are even smaller and have been on the market for years.
The U820 starts at less than $1000, boast a 1280x800 5.6" rotating TOUCHSCREEN, fingerprint reader, GPS etc.
I'm gonna wait till they have a 1.82ghz atom and windows 7. Until then, I'll keep rocking my AAO.
I don't think I care too much about the computer itself, but those pics of the sketch book on the read link are great. Its neat to see the process.
I cant believe Sony would put Vista on the Mini PC. It would have run much faster on XP or Linux. I have a new Eee and run it on XP and find it is much faster than Vista.
This is a step in the right direction ... if that was slightly smaller, more square rather than rectangular ... touchscreen and had a longer battery life of around 5 to 6 hours with the same form style it'd be absoloutely perfect :-)
If they made this laptop more square, you'd only have to unnecessarily increase the depth (120 mm, according to the article), making it bigger overall. Why bother? They made a small one that you can put in a pocket, as long as the pocket is deep (the pocket can still be narrow though).
What the heck is it with computer designers that makes them create machines with displays which are anything BUT suitable for 720p?
16:10
4:3
Whatever crazy aspect the Vaio P is
ALL are not 16:9.
Hollywood movies are usually shot at 2.35:1. The VAIO P's 1600x768 screen comes the closest to that aspect ratio.
What is with this obsession with TV content? I know you guys love your Billy Mays in HD, but give it a rest...
Isn't the new cool ratio 21:9 ? cinema stz
I really like the form factor, but the specs and software just don't add up to me.
720p seems like total overkill for a screen of that size, same for vista. As it is now it seems like it's destined to be little more than a fashion accessory than a serious device that sells decently. The xmb looks pretty slick though, I just wish it were linux based.
too bad they decided against the larger screen. it looks much more in proportion. with that resolution and them wanting us to play 720p on it, its one of the silliest things they could have done. they could have added nearly an inch. thats more than 10% on a screen this size! i feel quite scandalized. all the ladies out there will tell you; an extra inch can go a long way.
For those complaining about vista; install win7, or xp, or linux.
I think the form factor is the best out there for mobility. The cpu is a bit underpowered but I bet it will be fine with windows 7. We need a fast boot option though...
I term of resolution, more is more!
I actually don't like that 3d model shown at the top of the article. Any notebook that has that cylindrical horizontal base for the screen to the body of the notebook is a bad design in my opinion. It is not smooth or sleek. I like how the Sony P ended up looking. I used it at CES, its feels right, looks right and will be in my future.
I just received one of my routine emails from My Sony, advertising the Vaio P. Note that I live in Australia:
"The VAIO P13 is available from $1,599 SRP, features a Intel® Atom™ Z 1.33GHz"
and this:
"The VAIO P15 is available from $2,299 SRP, features a Intel® Atom™ Z Processor 1.60GHz"
Given the current exchange rates, this is still at least a 15% overcharge, possibly more. A VERY expensive netbook in Australia.
I am beyond sick of reading about this stupidly shaped thing. I am not trying to be cranky, but the week after CES is really a drag around engadgetland.
I need another announcement like the Pre - this Sony Pos is a snooze fest...
The Macbook Air has more engineering and careful attention to aesthetics:
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/
This piece of crap VAIO has cheap plastic and worst of all.... VISTA!!!! OMG how could they... and before you say Windows 7, it's still in beta. Nobody uses Linux, and XP crashes.
I am afraid you are just an iTroll trying to get the Mac haters whipped up in a frenzy. So lame.
rediculous price, rediculous things to offer.
art is subjective after all.
Sony might finally be on the way back to design leadership. The P series is very clearly a competitor to the MacBook Air. A really good one at that.
Not because the specs are the same - they are very different - but because it's going after the same target market. Sophisticated non-geek computer user who is prone to take their laptop everywhere they go. People with money who use computers for email, web, and word documents and not much else.
The best thing about the P is that it's lost the garish green power light that fuglify all other Sony laptops. I hope the idea spreads to other Sony laptops. Large, bright green LEDs are not cool, and not pretty.
To whom did Sony lose design leadership? I'll agree the P and the MBA target the same kind of consumer (although I would add another demographic of power users who already have a main computer and are looking to use the P just as an on-the-go communication device), but considering Apple previously took on some Sony product designers, the similarities are hardly surprising -- consider it a "lineage". Perhaps if you cited the Envy or Adamo there would be a better point of reference, although those are still one-off designs (for the time being), unlike Sony which has been doing the VAIO line for a very long time.
As for the green LEDs, to each his own. I don't mind them, and much prefer the aesthetics of carbon fiber chassis (say, of the Z series) to the dull plastics of various Dell models et al.
"the P was inspired by the Mini Cooper"
Not only did I lose my lunch, upon reading this, but also evacuated are any lingering desires to acquire the P (as if the performance woes weren't enough).
The P is small, so it must've been inspired by something that's small; ok that's lame, but honest. Only the Mini isn't actually small, it has just been marketed as small; it's a modern pop-culture metaphor for small, and us readers are expected to simply bask in this designer's amnesia and forget that the particular metaphor in question is actually a full size car!!
Maybe the designer suffered a moment of panic when he was asked from whence inspiration struck and, feeling that the adoring public couldn't identify with an aswer like "I created it using my own brain, logic and not one single bit of borrowed industrial design," he simply blurted out the most contrived, hollow answer he could conceive.
Both possibilities considered, I still won't buy one.
Wait, the Mini Cooper isn't small?
...
Well, whatever it is you're smoking, I want some of it.
Anyway, if you don't want the P, no big deal. You don't have to make up half-baked excuses to justify your decision. I think the comparison is apt: it's by no means the smallest laptop, but it is comparatively smaller than others; it's not marketed as a performance laptop; it's aesthetics are a step up from from other compact laptops; and while its pricing reflects that, it's still relatively affordable compared to high-end performance ultraportables. Can you not say that about the Mini?
I think it was based on the original Mini Cooper which was small, not the new one which is much bigger and fatter
The Original Mini Cooper was a very nice car, I would love one - See the Original Italian Job movie
Agree, the original mini is quite charming. But I think it would be hard to draw any respectable comparisons that are anything other than convenient or generic.
My point was that, while the P is attractive, I don't think the designer is offering fair credit to himself or the P by suggesting that it begged a single breath from something as garish and inflated as the Mini (not the original). The association totally sullied the P's image for me.
And fh's comparo can be adapted to just about anything, like so.
The P drew inspiration from a banana I just saw at the store, I'm sure of it: it's by no means the smallest banana I've seen, but it is comparatively smaller than others; it's not marketed as a performance laptop (since it's a banana); it's aesthetics are a step up from from other bananas; and while its pricing reflects that, it's still relatively affordable compared to high-end performance bananas. Can you not say that about the P?
Again, the comparison feels very contrived; that's all I'm saying.
And fh, I'm not justifying, gentrifying or supercalafrajafying; I'm commenting. This section still says 'comments' right, not 'fh's super mediocre comparison pit,' right?
Why is it that when a device has a nice design and aesthetic to it, it automatically claims unique features even though other manufacturers have done it before? This is the case with countless Apple 'innovations' and now the Vaio P.
"Of course, there's a story behind the unique form factor..."
No, there's nothing unique about the form factor. It's a widescreen notebook style, and the Raon Digital Everun Note has very similar dimensions. In fact, there's not a whole lot that's unique about the P all around. The only thing they did differently was the screen resolution, which I think is a great upgrade. It doesn't seem worth it though, to pay twice the amount of a regular notebook for one that is slower and stuck on Vista.
The "P" is not so slim!
Which model is this: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3530/3198422411_6743898d1b.jpg
ON THE TOP?!
no, from the same flickr page, look here:
http://flickr.com/photos/cool3c/3199269770/in/set-72157612548885827/
The question is: the picture, what Engadget show in this news is NOT the "P" model, so which model form this picture is???
Vaio P is: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644608896&SR=ces_2009:products:computers:vaio_p:ss
Strange, the longer I look at the Vaio P, the more I want one. Damn these shiny gadgets !
Only Vista which run very slowly/laggy is keeping me away though.
Let's see what will happen with windows 7 and hopefully some windows XP drivers.
Yeah yeah, thanks for the ad effort, $900 for a 'pocket' computer though, cya
I would prefer to have a system which has touch screen and has tablet pc like screen. I could use it as a ebook reader rather than buying a ebook reader separately :D.