Thanks for the information about this machine. How big is the keyboard as percent of standard size?
IMHO small screens need higher resolution for the sake of readability. This machine looks nice based on the screen: the rest is I am sure a standard Atom system.
I can see why they avoid the netbook term as it's hardly a netbook if official claims are only 4 hours battery life. Very poor for a netbook, especially at such a high premium price (which is higher still when you have to buy proprietary peripherals as Sony like to lock you into their products).
Will you be able to transfer a Blu-Ray you have purchased to this to watch on the move? I very much doubt it. Sony will probably come up with yet another proprietary DRM format, this time a download format launched on a iTunes-like service and charged at a premium (pay per view even).
This is more like it - a proper Vaio. Not just another expensive notebook but something dinky and novel. Nicer if that "1.6 GHz CPU" actually 2GHz, but the rest looks good. And in truth £595 is not bad - early Vaios cost 2 grand+ for (obviously) much less spec.
It's an Atom. French Sony site lists some of the configs as an Intel Z520, which is a 1.33GHz single core Atom. Others are the Z530, which is the 1.6GHz single core part.
Pity as it's pretty much the only downside I can see to this machine...
*Why* do so few of these reviews mention one of the most important features of an ultraportable - and a selling point for the eee?
Weight.
I am tired of lugging laptops and notebooks considered - by manufacturers and reviewers - to be portable and weighing over 3 Kg.
The eee - **including the charger/power supply** - weighs 1050gms - and has all the functions I actually need for meetings, internet access and email.
Please, if reviewing a new notebook or netbook, could you include the *weight* of the PC - and preferably include the weight of the power supply as well?
but 2G RAM + weak processor/graphics combo + Vista = fail. Shame - I seriously might have bought one with XP. But MS won't license it to machines with more than 1GB RAM. Still, what's the point in having a monopoly if you don't abuse it, eh?
Um, a screen of 2.08:1 so will pillar box 16:9 content but still not wide enough for the full cinema 2.39:1. Suspect painful to use for normal desktop use due to the lack of height. Strange choice.
...yes, it's a very high resolution screen (although not as high as, say, the Touch HD) with an odd aspect ratio. No, it's not the obvious choice for playing videos, and if you try to read it from three feet away with default font sizes, you may struggle. This does not make it pointless, it makes it exactly what I was looking for when I was struggling to program on a mini-note 2133 recently (I couldn't fit a useful amount of code on the screen).
I'm plenty not-fond of Sony as a company for many things, but kudos to them for producing something that a small proportion of the market would find damned useful. I'll be saving up.
I like the screen, and I'd probably be able to live with that irritating keyboard nubbin mouse, but there are some other issues.
Lack of an Ethernet port is no good really. Sony should have called this thing the Vaio Air. The fact is that I probably won't have an 802.11N network for a while, and even when I do, it won't be nearly as fast as the gigabit port on my HP2133 (or probably even as fast as the piddly Via cpu bottleneck will allow an nfs copy to go.) They'll probably supply ethernet via a docking station that goes in that proprietary port.
Mostly, though, I just seriously doubt that Linux will work on this device at all. Sony has historically done things in as proprietary and bizzare a way as possible, so you more or less have to run Windows and use all the Sony software. Who knows if you'd even be able to run XP.
So I guess I'll just wait for that HP2140, since it's so cheap I can justify replacing my 2133 after a year... especially if I can get the damned video drivers to work properly.
Sony will obviously not call this a Netbook, as Psion have rightly been asking companies not to because they own the trade mark for "Netbook". Why I have not seen this covered by Reg I am not sure.
I had a play on one of these on friday at a trade show... I liked the look when i saw hthe CES preview... and im inlove now that ive used it for real! Vista, yes bloaty and a bit much for the atom, but... its not overly bad! the screen! WOW! crisp isnt the word for it! but the res does make for eyesquinting joy! text is miniscule!
build is tops... head and shoulders above any netbook... and the keyboard is almost full size! £600 is a lot for a netbook clone... but this isnt one of those! yes it has netbookish specs, but its more than that! when 'she' isnt looking i would like to make one mine!!! :)
Velocity Micro Edge Z30 Midsize Desktop (2.66GHz Intel Core i5 750, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVD±RW DL, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit)
Apple iMac All-In-One Desktop (3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR2, 1TB, DVD+-RW DL, Mac OS X v10.5 Snow Leopard, 27" LCD)
HP (Hewlett-Packard) Pavilion p6210f Mini-Tower Desktop (2.6GHz Athlon II X4 620, 6GB DDR2, 640GB HDD, DVD±RW DL, Windows 7 Home Premium)
HP (Hewlett-Packard) Compaq Presario CQ5210F Mini-Tower Desktop (2.7GHz Athlon 64 X2 215, 3GB DDR2, 500GB, DVD±RW DL, Windows 7 Home Premium)
Apple iMac All-In-One Desktop (3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR2, 500GB, DVD+-RW DL, Mac OS X v10.5 Snow Leopard, 21.5" LCD)
Sony intros 8in notebook-not-netbook
E
Question #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:17 GMT
Tony:
Thanks for the information about this machine. How big is the keyboard as percent of standard size?
IMHO small screens need higher resolution for the sake of readability. This machine looks nice based on the screen: the rest is I am sure a standard Atom system.
Anyway, thanks again.
Bod
Battery #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:17 GMT
I can see why they avoid the netbook term as it's hardly a netbook if official claims are only 4 hours battery life. Very poor for a netbook, especially at such a high premium price (which is higher still when you have to buy proprietary peripherals as Sony like to lock you into their products).
Will you be able to transfer a Blu-Ray you have purchased to this to watch on the move? I very much doubt it. Sony will probably come up with yet another proprietary DRM format, this time a download format launched on a iTunes-like service and charged at a premium (pay per view even).
Dan Keating
nice ...but.... #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:17 GMT
Vista?
Gary Walker
A real Vaio ... #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:17 GMT
This is more like it - a proper Vaio. Not just another expensive notebook but something dinky and novel. Nicer if that "1.6 GHz CPU" actually 2GHz, but the rest looks good. And in truth £595 is not bad - early Vaios cost 2 grand+ for (obviously) much less spec.
jonathan rowe
A nipple mouse #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:17 GMT
At last! - A netbook with a nipple mouse, this is what I have been waiting for
Jake
It's an Atom #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
It's an Atom. French Sony site lists some of the configs as an Intel Z520, which is a 1.33GHz single core Atom. Others are the Z530, which is the 1.6GHz single core part.
Pity as it's pretty much the only downside I can see to this machine...
Anonymous Coward
Ultra-portable should mean light.. #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
*Why* do so few of these reviews mention one of the most important features of an ultraportable - and a selling point for the eee?
Weight.
I am tired of lugging laptops and notebooks considered - by manufacturers and reviewers - to be portable and weighing over 3 Kg.
The eee - **including the charger/power supply** - weighs 1050gms - and has all the functions I actually need for meetings, internet access and email.
Please, if reviewing a new notebook or netbook, could you include the *weight* of the PC - and preferably include the weight of the power supply as well?
Duncan Hothersall
Hardware looks good, price is okay... #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
but 2G RAM + weak processor/graphics combo + Vista = fail. Shame - I seriously might have bought one with XP. But MS won't license it to machines with more than 1GB RAM. Still, what's the point in having a monopoly if you don't abuse it, eh?
Anonymous Coward
Sexy... #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
But i'll wait and see what CPU it has.. a 1600 resolution on a 8" screen may be a little to tiny for my poor eyes.
Anonymous Coward
Psion Organiser 3 revisited? #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
Is it just me, or does the first photo look surprisingly similar to the Psion Organiser 3, of happy memory?
Whenever I see the word 'lifestyle' I clasp my wallet more tightly...
Anonymous Coward
Not Core2 and not cheap #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
According to Sony's site, its an Atom processor (a Z530 to be precise). And the basic model will go for £969! Ouch!
(Paris because she knows all about making people pay over the odds for low-end performance)
druck
Funny aspect #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
Um, a screen of 2.08:1 so will pillar box 16:9 content but still not wide enough for the full cinema 2.39:1. Suspect painful to use for normal desktop use due to the lack of height. Strange choice.
paul
not sure if good / bad #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
Good:
Screen resolution -I have a HP netbook with 1280x800 and a EEE with 800x480 - the difference is major.
Quick Boot to internet.
N wi fi
Bad:
Price
Vista (well for me it is anyway - prepares to be flamed by balmer bum boys)
Unknown CPU - atom or core2 is a big difference. Atom isn't going to make vista fly now is it.
Sony exploding batteries (joke! - but makes the xbots feel better)
Tom
Great! #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
Sony have produced something I might actually consider buying at a great price for its spec =)
Andrew Garrard
To pre-empt the ranting... #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 14:20 GMT
...yes, it's a very high resolution screen (although not as high as, say, the Touch HD) with an odd aspect ratio. No, it's not the obvious choice for playing videos, and if you try to read it from three feet away with default font sizes, you may struggle. This does not make it pointless, it makes it exactly what I was looking for when I was struggling to program on a mini-note 2133 recently (I couldn't fit a useful amount of code on the screen).
I'm plenty not-fond of Sony as a company for many things, but kudos to them for producing something that a small proportion of the market would find damned useful. I'll be saving up.
Nexox Enigma
Close, but I won't be buying... #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 16:44 GMT
I like the screen, and I'd probably be able to live with that irritating keyboard nubbin mouse, but there are some other issues.
Lack of an Ethernet port is no good really. Sony should have called this thing the Vaio Air. The fact is that I probably won't have an 802.11N network for a while, and even when I do, it won't be nearly as fast as the gigabit port on my HP2133 (or probably even as fast as the piddly Via cpu bottleneck will allow an nfs copy to go.) They'll probably supply ethernet via a docking station that goes in that proprietary port.
Mostly, though, I just seriously doubt that Linux will work on this device at all. Sony has historically done things in as proprietary and bizzare a way as possible, so you more or less have to run Windows and use all the Sony software. Who knows if you'd even be able to run XP.
So I guess I'll just wait for that HP2140, since it's so cheap I can justify replacing my 2133 after a year... especially if I can get the damned video drivers to work properly.
Anonymous Coward
Psion Netbook #
Posted Thursday 8th January 2009 19:15 GMT
Sony will obviously not call this a Netbook, as Psion have rightly been asking companies not to because they own the trade mark for "Netbook". Why I have not seen this covered by Reg I am not sure.
Anonymous Coward
Very cool device indeed! #
Posted Sunday 11th January 2009 18:24 GMT
If I didn't already have a UX1XN, I'd be getting one of these.
Matt
lovely... #
Posted Tuesday 20th January 2009 11:59 GMT
I had a play on one of these on friday at a trade show... I liked the look when i saw hthe CES preview... and im inlove now that ive used it for real! Vista, yes bloaty and a bit much for the atom, but... its not overly bad! the screen! WOW! crisp isnt the word for it! but the res does make for eyesquinting joy! text is miniscule!
build is tops... head and shoulders above any netbook... and the keyboard is almost full size! £600 is a lot for a netbook clone... but this isnt one of those! yes it has netbookish specs, but its more than that! when 'she' isnt looking i would like to make one mine!!! :)