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Epson goes miniature with Endeavor ST100 micro PC
We know Epson's engineering team prides itself on cranking out the tiniest, most miniscule products they possibly can, and the company has veered from the printing / scanning world for a bit to unveil its Endeavor ST100 "micro PC." While the Endeavor NA101 did its wee thing on the laptop side, the ST100 packs an Intel Core 2 Duo (T7200, T7400, or T7600) processor, ATi's Radeon Xpress 200M graphics chipset, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 40GB to 160GB SATA drive options, and a dual-layer DVD burner. It also sports a ho hum port assortment including VGA, audio in / out, Ethernet, 56k modem, and six USB 2.0 ports with a pair of them being on the front panel. While it doesn't quite undercut the Mac Mini's 6.5- x 6.5- x 2-inch enclosure and 2.9-pound weight, this PC weighs in at just over five pounds while boasting a 7.28- x 7.68- x 2.95-inch package. Those looking for an ultraportable desktop on a budget shouldn't find much to complain about here, as the ST100 starts at just ¥59,850 ($508), but we're sure adding a speedier CPU and gobs of RAM will ratchet that right up.[Via Akihabara News]
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]
Sony's UX50 on the gray-market, ready to order
We know, we know, it didn't exactly pull the best reviews, still there's something undeniably sexy about Sony's UX Micro PC. If you can live with the lackluster battery life and a keyboard void of tactile feedback, well, wait no more friend for that wee XP fix. Dynamism now has the Japanese version of the 1.06GHz Core Solo UX50 available for import for $1899 -- a full six weeks or so ahead of the mid-July US launch. Sure you could wait it out and nab the domestic version with 1.2GHz Core Solo, US keyboard, and EDGE while saving a Benjamin or more in the process. But go ahead, scratch that itch, we understand the need to bleed on the edge.[Thanks, Scott J]
FCC approves Sony Vaio UX50?
It's distinctly clear that whatever the hell's on the bottom of this portable is rather large, possibly keyboard-accommodating, and certainly does not match the shape of Sony's recently released and much-hyped UX50 Micro PC. Dug up from the FCC, it looks like Sony's got two new Vaio tags in the form of the PCG-1J1L and 1K1L, Windows machines with 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, and cellular data in US spectrum. That's about all we know for now though, so keep your eyes peeled, we'll let you know.[Via UMPC News]Update: Micro PC Talk hooked us up with some very enlightening images of the UX50 that we certainly wish we'd seen before -- this thing definitely looks to be the UX taken from an angle we weren't entirely expecting. Even though its badge states otherwise, the UX50's coming to America folks, so hold on to your wallets.
Vaio UX reviewed
Even though Sony prematurely created -- then killed -- the UMPC market a couple years back with their U-series ultramobiles. Many seemed stoked to learn that they're back at their old tricks with their Vaio UX "Micro PC," and none too soon with competition from Samsung, TabletKiosk, and Asus. DWT got their hands on a UX and gave it a thorough once-over; seems like they were quite enamored by the 4.5-inch 1024 x 600 display (that sometimes requires use of zoom keys to actually read that tiny, tiny text), and the Japanese version's IC-card reader for SuiCa. Unfortunately the keyboard is supposedly quite terrible, with "almost no tactile feedback from key presses and typing is a real chore," and the battery life wasn't doing much more than 2 hours, dropping out at 1.5 hours under relatively heavy use. Basically it doesn't sound like they're recommending the UX all that much, but as with any Micro / ultramobile PC, if you really want to pony up the couple of grand to get one you've probably got a very decent reason why.
Sony's UX latest to get naked
You must know by now how much we adore gore n' guts of new toys -- especially those particularly small, compact devices that boggle the mind as to how they fit all that junk inside. One thing we didn't realize about Sony's UX UMPC Micro PC was that it was so freaking thick, but that said, it's still something of a little marvel of engineering that they got all that gear into a package as small as the UX appears to be. So sate yourself and look into the delicate, fragile inner workings of a device we're sure could not possibly be properly reassembled after being torn down.[Thanks, Jan]
