Sony To Release Mini-PC In US

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/5319' target='_blank'>http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/5319</a><br /><br /></div>Just when you thought it wasn't going to happen, Sony has released their mini-PC and it will be hitting the North America this time. Called the U750P, it has a 5" LCD and a Pentium M processor. It'll run XP Pro by default, but presumably you can install XP Tablet PC if you can get access to the CDs.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20041110-SonyU750P.jpg" /><br /><br />It won't be cheap -- $2,000 -- but man, does it look pretty. Still won't replace my PDA, but I want one nevertheless. ;)

[ipaq_wannabe]

god, you've got to believe sony...

this didnt sell well in japan, so they discontinued it...

and now, they throwing it in the states...

sony, do get your act together...

[Underwater Mike]

I could see getting one of these, although the CPU is a bit slower than I'd like. As far as form factor, the Actius MM20 is what I'd prefer, but the Experion is supposed to be pretty pokey.

I would've liked to see a PCMCIA slot on this, but I guess you can't have everything. Also, I'm surprised that they're using XP Pro instead of the tablet OS.

[Sven Johannsen]

Seemed pretty neat untill I saw the max 800x600 screen resolution and the lack of BT to attach peripherals like a keyboard and mouse.

[Underwater Mike]

Yeah, I was kind of disappointed by the 800x600, too, but how much more could you see on a 5-inch screen w/o killing your eyes? I think that 7 inches would be necessary to go up to 1024x768 comfortably. Lack of BT is a goofy omission, but if you have a BT CF card you're good to go.

An optional upgrade to 1GB would be nice. But at least it includes USB2.0 instead of the slower port often found on these things.

Seemed pretty neat untill I saw the max 800x600 screen resolution and the lack of BT to attach peripherals like a keyboard and mouse.

[wocket]

looks cool but usability wise not cool. We got a HP tablet PC in work to try out when it came in I played with it a bit and then handed it over and got some others who are teachers to try it out and they hated it now it just lives in my cupboard.

If you need a laptop get a laptop and if you need a PDA get a PDA something inbetween just does'nt work in my opinion.

[Darius Wey]

The "cool" factor certainly is there, but for the amount of money you pay for it, I'd rather stock myself up with a decent laptop. There's a fine line drawn between what is and is not a PDA. ;)

[scary]

I would love to use it as a GPS navigation system in my '04 Maxima. I opted not to get the manufacturers system because it cost too much and you would always be stuck with it. This would probably fit in the space where the GPS unit would have gone (it is presently an amber display with all the radio/AC info displayed). Stick a BT GPS on the dash and this thing would be awesome.
I use a PDA with GPS and have used various Garmin and Magellan car solutions, but the displays just aren't large enough. I also hate to pay a lot for something that only performs one function.
Hmmm. It might even take the place of my iPod at the same time. It would need more HD space, though. I already have a 60G iPod filled to the max with music.

[Marcel_Proust]

I wouldn't buy this one, but as they become more powerful, and smaller, and cheaper, won't these devices start taking a bite out of the Pocket PC market, especially the higher end machines? Why run two platforms?
In two years lets say,there could be this machine at twice the speed and memory, bluetooth and all, for half the price...

[JimPAQ]

looks cool but usability wise not cool. We got a HP tablet PC in work to try out when it came in I played with it a bit and then handed it over and got some others who are teachers to try it out and they hated it now it just lives in my cupboard.

If you need a laptop get a laptop and if you need a PDA get a PDA something inbetween just does'nt work in my opinion.

Why live in your cupboard when it can live in my hands... :wink:

[dochall]

Sorry hang on a mo while climb onto my high horse.

looks cool but usability wise not cool. We got a HP tablet PC in work to try out when it came in I played with it a bit and then handed it over and got some others who are teachers to try it out and they hated it now it just lives in my cupboard.

If you need a laptop get a laptop and if you need a PDA get a PDA something inbetween just does'nt work in my opinion.

A tablet pc and a ppc are not the same thing at all. They never will be. I currently run a Tosh 3505 and a 4700. They are complementary not competing technologies. I find the tablet pc so usable that I would not go back - I am currently thinkg about replacing the tosh and first thing on my list is that it has to run XP tablet edition.

This has been particularly pushed by 2005 and Office 2003 which really pushes up the usability.

I wouldn't buy this one, but as they become more powerful, and smaller, and cheaper, won't these devices start taking a bite out of the Pocket PC market, especially the higher end machines? Why run two platforms?
In two years lets say,there could be this machine at twice the speed and memory, bluetooth and all, for half the price.

We should also see the ppc develop at the same kind of pace. The two distinct areas which will get it for me are instant on and battery life. I don't see them catching up in these areas.

[alwindeclercq]

I wouldn't buy this one, but as they become more powerful, and smaller, and cheaper, won't these devices start taking a bite out of the Pocket PC market, especially the higher end machines? Why run two platforms?
In two years lets say,there could be this machine at twice the speed and memory, bluetooth and all, for half the price...

Many people really aren't satisfied easily. My most powerful (and largest) computer is a 1-year-old Acer Tablet PC with 1Ghz Centrino and 512mb ram, and I am very happy with it. When buying a new PC would rather go for a smaller one than a more powerful one. A 1Ghz Pentium M processor is powerful enough for playing video with a 800x resolution, so I guess do to the ultra low power consumption this is the perfect processor for this kind of device. The Sony vaio U750 has an average price for a subnotebook (and at least it doesn't use a Transmeta processor).

The one thing which really should improve on this type of devices is the battery power, although the Japanese versions of this vaio already had much better battery power than the OQO. BTW, a CF slot is a nice replacement for PCMCIA slot (and an adapter to plug a PCMCIA card into a CF slot still exist).

[IpaqMan2]

I could see this being a success and even placing the use of PDAs in certin situations, but not at $2,000. Even at $1,000 this would be a hard sale, but more doable.

[baralong]

I have to admit I want one. It's just too cool. Things I don't like: no bluetooth, memory stick (rather than SD or PCMCIA) and Sony (this last one is not a rational thing so don't go there) although the two go together.

On board LAN would be good too for fast connections/work.

Can you get a bluetooth memory stick? I wouldn't use that slot otherwise.

It would be too big to replace my 4150 but would be great for when I need a bit more power and my laptop is too big/overkill.

[Floodguy]

god, you've got to believe sony...

this didnt sell well in japan, so they discontinued it...

and now, they throwing it in the states...

sony, do get your act together...

You got it right. I could say I'm almost a Sony fan, I supported them a lot, and I always bought Vaio's. Even compared to the former U series (U1,U3,U101-->there were top sellers) this machine is the most unusable one I've seen in my life. They could have easily improved the former ones. And it doesn't look quite as cool in real life as it does on the picture. Sony has good photographers. Not to mention that ugly keyboard and holding system. I think they must have changed the designer somehow. Look at that ugly Clie VZ90. This is a brick!

Don't wast that money.
:roll:

[Cybrid]

I wouldn't buy this one, but as they become more powerful, and smaller, and cheaper, won't these devices start taking a bite out of the Pocket PC market, especially the higher end machines? Why run two platforms?
In two years lets say,there could be this machine at twice the speed and memory, bluetooth and all, for half the price...

Many people really aren't satisfied easily. My most powerful (and largest) computer is a 1-year-old Acer Tablet PC with 1Ghz Centrino and 512mb ram, and I am very happy with it. When buying a new PC would rather go for a smaller one than a more powerful one. A 1Ghz Pentium M processor is powerful enough for playing video with a 800x resolution, so I guess do to the ultra low power consumption this is the perfect processor for this kind of device. The Sony vaio U750 has an average price for a subnotebook (and at least it doesn't use a Transmeta processor).

The one thing which really should improve on this type of devices is the battery power, although the Japanese versions of this vaio already had much better battery power than the OQO. BTW, a CF slot is a nice replacement for PCMCIA slot (and an adapter to plug a PCMCIA card into a CF slot still exist). cf to pcmcia will not run everything. cf is 16bit while pcmcia also can be 32

[Vidge]

Thanks to all of the postings here, I'm no longer drooling over this thing. I got a Mobile Planet catalog this week and this was in it (at $2599). I almost ordered it.