Sony joins the Netbook party as expected
As expected, Sony has entered the netbook market at CES with the launch of its incredibly svelte Vaio P-series 'lifestyle notebook'.
The P-series is touted as the world's lightest eight inch notebook weighing just 636 grams and is the first truly pocket sized netbook we've seen to date. Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer proved the point by pulling one of his suit pocket during his keynote yesterday.
It features a 1,600 x 768 LED backlit ultra-wide display with an eight-inch diagonal and incorporates HSDPA, 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth connectivity options.
Like most netbooks, it's based on Intel's Menlow platform, but unlike every other netbook, Sony has opted for a slower 1.33GHz Atom processor and equipped it with 2GB of RAM. Storage options include a 60GB mechanical hard drive or a 128GB SSD.
Sony says the P-series features a four-hour battery life with the standard battery, but there is a larger battery option available which will take that up to eight hours.
Expansion slots include a Memory Stick Pro, MMC and an SD memory slot. There are also two USB ports (one on either side), a headphone jack, a display/LAN adapter port with a breakout cable and a webcam with a microphone.
Click to enlarge
Probably the most disappointing thing about the P-series netbook is that Sony has decided to install Windows Vista Home Premium on the machine. We think that's a mistake given the limited horsepower on offer and, what's more, it's not even a 1.6GHz Atom and our experiences with Vista on netbooks hasn't been particularly great, frankly.
And with the P-series configurations starting at $899 USD, pricing will be another kicker as well. Frankly, it's a lot of money to pay for a netbook, even if it is as svelte as the P-series is.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyThat and the price...
What's with the eraser mouse and no trackpad?
Seriously? It may look sweet, but it's usability goes down the crapper doing that.
That looks like a swish bit of kit - I'd have that with XP on it if I were looking for a classy portable. :D
I assume that's a touchscreen, as I don't see a trackpad. And that would be just a little bit of an oversight for a laptop
I's not touchscreen, it's one of the old kind of mice, from like.. what.. 15 years or so ago? The little button thing that you bend in the direction you want the mouse to go
http://xkcd.com/243/
As to the netbook though, can't see anything to justify the cost since IMHO its not even that pretty.
For that price, I would rather buy another 4870, a 64GB SSD and a watercooling kit.
will wait and see what happens when it is readily available....maybe the price will drop a bit...
No thanks.
But at that price, I doubt I'll be getting one any time soon.
May I present, The Sony VAIO C1 Picturebook. As made in 1999 (IIRC): http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/history/product/1990/pcg-c1.html
They continued to refine the design, and increase the specs, until the early '00s, at which point the PCG-C1xx line stopped being made.
I'm glad to see this return to form for Sony. Here's hoping it does them well once again.
Yes but Asus gave us the "little PC that fits in your pocket for peanuts" The sony is too expensive imo and i cant see it selling well. If it had an apple logo on it however it would sell like hotcakes!
Should go nicely next to there blackberry or iphone..