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VAIO P doesn't have nothin' on these other awesome pocket-friendly PCs
We can't decide what's more hilarious: these pictures, or Sony's attempt to convince us we can fit the VAIO P in a jeans (or Jimmy Fallon's jacket) pocket. Comedy ensues after the break.
Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo
As promised, we've made a run over to check out Viliv's forthcoming S7 netbook tablet, bringing along the ever-popular VAIO P to see how the two stack up (as well as an Eee 1000H for good measure). As you can see, the S7 actually isn't that much larger than the Sony, maybe 30 percent thicker and a little bit wider, but also a bit shorter. The thing manages to find room for a track pad on top of the keyboard, but it's an awfully small one, so thank goodness for the (non-multi) touch screen. Also small is that keyboard, which is one of the most painful we've yet experienced on a netbook, featuring arrow and punctuation keys that even a pygmy would fat-finger. But, compromises must be made when making machines small, and small this one is. Viliv has written a custom skin that overlays the Windows XP install, demonstrated in a video below. It's reasonably pleasant to use (minimizing the need to rely on that tiny trackpad), but is also easy to exit if you're not feeling it. We already know the specs of this tiny convertible, so the only mysteries left are "when" followed immediately by "how much." The answers we received to those questions are unfortunately a bit vague: "before this summer" and a rather predictable "less than the VAIO P." We're guessing it'll be a lot less. Oh, and for those examining the gallery, don't worry about the rough edges you might spy: this is a pre-production S7, so things should be a good bit more polished when it hits retail.%Gallery-41617%
VAIO P, now with more Windows 7
We just couldn't help ourselves, and put this Windows 7 .iso we had lying around exactly where it belongs: on Sony's VAIO P. After mucking around on "the internet" figuring out the best way to install it, we ended up going the lazy route and dragging / dropping the plain files onto a folder on a USB drive, hitting setup.exe and watching the installer do its magic -- and it worked flawlessly! We weren't timing it or anything, but we'd say 45 minutes or so is a good guesstimate for the install. A few thoughts: It boots fast! Not that Vista was that bad on the boot front, but we're pretty happy with this. No Aero. That's to be expected, but the lack of transparency and visual effects makes the OS look quite a bit different than most of the screenshots out there. It's very responsive. To be honest, a lot of that could be from the fact that this is a clean install, minus all the crap Sony loads on. Still, we're very happy for the start menu to pop open instantly, windows to redraw like God intended... it's pretty great. Browsing is 100% better. Internet Explorer pops open in a flash, and pages load in times nearly on comparison with "real" computers. Also, scrolling is ultra smooth, whereas with Vista it was stuttery all the way down. There's a lot more to explore. We've just scratched the surface, but we love what we've seen so far. Update: both videos are after the break!Update 2: for those who've asked: yes, the webcam works, and no, we haven't had any luck getting Aero up and running, though we have the video drivers loaded -- we're not saying it's impossible, in fact, it's likely very possible, since plenty of other similarly specced netbooks can pull it off, but it's just not happening for us just yet.%Gallery-41532%
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-41519%
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-41271%
Sony speaks about VAIO P, evidently thinks it's not a netbook
What's up with companies suddenly not wanting to call their netbooks, um, netbooks? Sony's Mike Abary sat down with LaptopMag in order to discuss the VAIO P, and as always, the company didn't hesitate to shoot off a few more-than-controversial tidbits. For starters, Mr. Abary insinuated that the 8-inch machine wasn't actually a good fit for the netbook category, noting that "the type of premium customer it is targeting probably doesn't even know what a netbook is." Furthermore, he reckoned that around 60% of prospective VAIO P buyers would be women, and it doesn't view 12-inch laptops as a threat. If you're hungry for even more one-liners that you can jump all over, head on down to the read link -- just remember, yelling at your LCD doesn't do anyone any good.
Sony VAIO P ripped apart
Well, that didn't take long. Mere hours after we saw the ultra-lovely Sony VAIO P make its official debut here at CES, some industrious, sadistic folks have seen fit to tear it to shreds, exposing its guts for all to marvel (or tear up) over. We have to say, it's just as good looking on the inside as it is on the outside, but see for yourselves after the break, where there's a beautiful / horrifying gallery to stare at, and hit the read link for the full project.%Gallery-40986%[Via jkkmobile]
Sony VAIO P hands-on
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/hardware/VAIO_P_hands_on'; We just grabbed a first look at Sony's new VAIO P. At first glance, the screen is bright and ultrasharp -- certainly stretching the limits of our eyesight. We'd say the keys are a little bit light and shallow for our taste, but good as far as most "netbooks" go, and the "nipple," like all like pointers, will take getting used to and careful calibration, though it's definitely sensitive. It's certainly not hefty, but we'd say there's the standard amount of Sony build quality, and while high for a netbook, $900 doesn't "feel" too far off. We love lightweight, but this netbook almost feels like it lacks innards, the real deal seems almost like it's a mock-up device. Videos of all its best sides after the break.%Gallery-40928%
Sony's VAIO P ultraportable revealed
Chicklet keyboard, check. Tiny pointing nub, check. Looks like this is Sony's Vaio P series ultraportable on display at CES. By on display we mean, on display as these shots were taken off the display monitors in Sony's booth. Engadget was first in the world to reveal the P from the FCC specs so it seems only fitting that we bring you the first authenticated pictures dontchathink? The Sony Picturebook... it lives again at CES!%Gallery-40753%P.S. Sorry for the blur, best we could do before the security hammer came down across our knuckles.
More VAIO P specs leak out
Sony's not playing it too coy with the upcoming VAIO P -- some more detailed specs on the widescreen netbook have leaked out, and they're just about what we expected: a 1.33GHz Atom Z520, 2GB of RAM, standard HDD with optional SSD, GPS, and a 3G WWAN card, all for about €700 ($974). No word on that crazy rumored 1600 x 768 display resolution, but apparently that sexy Photoshopped VAIO TT pic we saw is close to the real thing, trackstick and all. We'll see -- for close to $1000, this guy had better run Vista a hell of a lot better than the similarly-spec'd ASUS R50A UMPC Portal just trashed in a review.[Via UMPC Portal, image from Pocketables]
Sony teases the VAIO P's keyboard and tracking nub
Sure, that Photoshopped image of the VAIO P we got on Sunday wasn't the real deal, but it looks like it might have some relation to reality -- Sony's got a teaser up for a "VAIO New Mobile" that includes some brief shots of a very swank-looking keyboard and tracking nub. We'll be honest -- we're totally stoked to check this thing out at CES. Counting the days! One more shot after the break.[Via Pocketables]
Is this the VAIO P?
Sony isn't being too coy with the VAIO P, is it? In addition to that teaser image, oh-so-beautiful FCC shot, and mistakenly-posted specs page, CNET's uncovered this pic of the rectangular netbook with its lid open. We can't really tell if the machine pictured has that crazy 8-inch 1600 x 768 display we'd heard about, but there's a lot of the VAIO TT in those lines -- so much so we're wondering if it's a 'shop, albeit a super-hot one. Of course, there's no word on pricing, but we're hoping it's somewhere close to reasonable -- we'll find out in just a couple weeks at CES.Update: We knew it looked a little too much like the TT -- it's a 'shop. Oh well, at least we can dream.
