Digital World Tokyo Reviews the Sony Vaio UX50

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.digitalworldtokyo.com/2006/05/review_sony_vaio_vgnux50_handh.php' target='_blank'>http://www.digitalworldtokyo.com/20...nux50_handh.php</a><br /><br /></div><i>"It's rare that a new product causes as much of a buzz as that surrounding Sony's take on the UMPC that was announced here in Tokyo on May 16... Put simply, the UX50 is one very attractive piece of kit — the sleek blacks and silvers it's made of instantly ask that you pick the thing up and play with it... Throw in a few novelty items, such as the typically Sony IC-card reader, a touch-sensitive screen, a fingerprint scanner and a blue-backlit sliding keyboard for a pretty stunning first impression."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ekkie_vaio_ux_review_200606.jpg" /><br /><br />Of course, this is the same unit that Sony is looking to use to compete with the new wave of Ultra-Mobile PCs, but does Sony deliver the goods? It's a stunningly beautiful device to be sure and it has some nifty high-end features, but to pay $1500 for something that essentially performs like an "entry-level PC". Hmmmm... Check out the review. There are a lot of nice photos and plenty of good observations.

[whydidnt]

It's a stunningly beautiful device to be sure and it has some nifty high-end features, but to pay $1500 for something that essentially performs like an "entry-level PC". Hmmmm... Check out the review. There are a lot of nice photos and plenty of good observations.

Of course you realize you're not paying the $1500 for performance, but for the small package. It's actually around $1800 in the US, but just like the OQO people that purchase will do so based upon size and funcitionality, not the ability to run Doom3 at 200 FPS. Yhe biggest obstacle to overcome is still battery life. By the sounds of things this may be even worse than the OQO. Until this problem is sovled these devices will probably continue to be niche players in the market.

[Daimaou]

And here you have a HD Video 720p of the very SAME UX50 ;)

http://www.akihabaranews.com/news-11833-.html

Monday I will publish a HD Video with a UX50 Core Solo 1Ghz 30GB and a UX90 Core Solo 1.2Ghz and 30GB in order to compare performances

But the Core Solo 1GHz is REALLY NOT ENOUGHT ! on this computer

[Darius Wey]

Of course you realize you're not paying the $1500 for performance, but for the small package.

And also the name. You can't buy a Sony device without escaping the "Sony premium". ;)

[isajoo]

1500 for anything sony is cheap, they always over price their crap. i would have expected them to price it atleast $3000 based on their other products...like wireless 7" lcd tv for $1000...crazy, craz sony...when will u learn.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Of course you realize you're not paying the $1500 for performance, but for the small package. It's actually around $1800 in the US, but just like the OQO people that purchase will do so based upon size and funcitionality, not the ability to run Doom3 at 200 FPS.

Yes, the main draw to this device is its size and personally, I can assure you that I have no interest in running "Doom3 at 200 FPS" but...

After a week of testing the UX50 in everyday use, it’s safe to say that performance is on a par with a very entry-level laptop: in other words, it’s just about acceptable, but no more.

For me, if I'm going to shell out $1500-1800 for this device, it will have to serve as a laptop replacement for at least a large majority of use cases and personally, an "entry level" PC in terms of performance is not going to be acceptable despite the very strong appeal of having a smaller, more mobile unit.

That said, there undoubtedly is an audience for this device and I agree that size is going to be the overriding factor for most buyers, but that doesn't mean all users who have a potential interest won't care about the performance (or lack thereof); as a potential laptop replacement, the performance has to be weighed and considered just like it would be with any standard laptop or PC (and from an enterprise perspective, I can assure you that most all performance requirements that I've ever seen for laptops have little to do with 3D gaming benchmarks).

[ipaq_wannabe]

one thing that turned me off (when i was almost about to make a purchase) -- absolutely unsuable keyboard... key-pitch is so small, and almost no tactile feedback!

and if the keyboard is so unusable, what good then is that extra weight?

also, the extra battery that allows it to run for about 7 hours (the regular one supplies only about 3-4 hours of charge) costs an extra US$300...!!!

PS: tried playing around with the models in display before ordering online (since sonystyle-japan was offering it at 0% interest for up to 24 months of installment payment: which equals around US$100 a month for the top-end customized model plus accessories)

[saru83]

IMO this thing rocks, i personally have an OQO now, although its a lil bit smaller but will get the Sony anyday. It does what its intended to do, no fancy applications.. thats cool. Its simply a piece of art.

[Typhoon]

IMO this thing rocks, i personally have an OQO now, although its a lil bit smaller but will get the Sony anyday. It does what its intended to do, no fancy applications.. thats cool. Its simply a piece of art.

So was the OQO worth it? How about typing on it? Easy?

[jayson]

WOW,

U wont guess it! I:m in Japan now on vacation, and yesterday i saw this!!!!!!!!! It is SOOOOO nice!!! It has some VERY nice features too!
And it:s 1600 dollars here too! I think i:m going to get one today too! lol
well, talk to u when i get back in about a week!

Jayson

[Typhoon]

It makes me wonder...has there ever been a thumbboard that has been actually usable?? The only one I have tried that I could easily type with was the one on the Palm Tungsten C. That one worked well. Why do they keep making thumbboards that suck?