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Sony Releases Smallest VAIO Yet
ephidryn writes "Sony Corporation has released their new VAIO laptop in Japan. The PCG-U1 is even smaller than their previous sub-notebook the C1 PictureBook. Measuring in at 7.3" x 5.5" x 1.4" and weighing a mere 1.8lbs the 6.4 inch XGA screen does 1024x768. The laptop uses a Transmetta Crusoe TM5800 processor and can house up to 384 megs of RAM." As a Picturebook owner, I can't imagine how a keyboard any smaller can still be usable, but this little guy offsets that with thumb controls to make input easier.
That's small. Really small. I'd call it more of a palmtop than a laptop. Looks like they've sucessfully breed a palmpilot/laptop hybrid.
...I'll procrastinate tomorrow...
What I'd really like to see is a PC laptop in an iBook form factor. Where are all the cheap smaller laptops? This is fina and small, but it'll probably cost like $2000, which isn't cheap.
--------- Beware the dragon, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
This has been out for MONTHS (I have one I got 2 months ago).
/. ever...
Check out the NEW version, the U3, here: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/PCG-U3/
Wow, that was teh most out of date story I've seen on
if memory serves me correctly this was discused some time ago PCG-U1
What's nice is that while the built in screen is limited to 1024x768, it has the ability to pump out 1600x1200 to an external monitor.
--------- Beware the dragon, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
It seems the mouse and buttons are above the keyboard which is strange but could be practical.
I used to have a picturebook in my previous job and I loved it. I have small fingers so it the keyboard size was not problem and I also have very good view so the size of the screen was not a problem either. And linux runs perfectely well on the old crusoe-based sony picturebook! (Not like on my current dell C400)
I'll do it for cheesy poofs.
we're definitely at a turning point as far as miniturization vs. usability.. our toys / technology can only get so small before it becomes impractical to use. It will be interesting to see what is innovated on besides speed once this hurdle is passed. Per John Carmack we're almost at a similar point in video cards functionality wise.
I made the mistake of buying a vaio assuming that the battery would be at least ballpark useable (eg. sales literature says 1-2 hours, I figure at least 1.25 hours doing text entry). Wrong--the wonderful BP1-A half-empty battery could barely keep the screen lit for 40 minutes.
I ended up having to buy a decent battery (BP-71A) on ebay for $200 extra.
Not a happy camper when people say Vaio.
Remain calm! All is well!
Sdo now my fgat finfgers.. Will ptress even more ketys tjhan they needf to.
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
The description includes :
"1x Biology U-Port"
What kind of beast is that?
{{.sig}}
I know I read Japanese very poorly, but what I gather from this is:
a) This came out April 1, 2002?
b) Has shortcuts for use with the thumbs, called Thumbphrase.
c) Has a Standby button to prolong battery life. At one touch, even.
d) A zoom in button? I didn't get much of that section. I think you can change from 1024x768 to 800x600 with one push.
e) It supports some wireless card from some company, 'cause I guess it has a PCMCIA slot. Well, they call it 'PC card slot.'
f) It can have 802.11b compatibility with a Sony card.
g) Connectivity between itself and a desktop through a port. I think ethernet. You can drag and drop file copy really easily. (Flying Pointer)
h) Adobe Acrobat ebook crap.
I hope that helps. And just asking... is there a Sony site in English that I just don't see?
20GB, XP Home
867MHz Crusoe(TM) TM5800 processor with LongRun(TM)
Power Management
10.6" wide-format SXGA TFT
256MB memory
20GB hard drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo drive
External USB 3.5" floppy drive
Built-in multinational 56K4 V.90 modem
Built-in 10/100 Ethernet
Quickpoint pointing device with scroll button
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
Model P2110, FPCM20091
$1,499
Yes go to Dynamism.com
-- If there is hope, it lies in the trolls... oh sorry I mean proles.
Top ten ways Linux (and OSS) hackers can adapt to this keyboard:
... Profit!!
10. Cut down on those Starbucks Venti Moccha Frappucinos
9. Make like a yakuza and chop-chop-chop your way to smaller fingers
8. Develop appropriate mouse-gestures for your favorite language keywords
7. Finger train to slim fingers with other than hjkl keys
6. Stop hacking with this keyboard. You're violating the DMCA anyway
5. Keyboard? Who needs a @#$(*& keyboard...it's an Apache server!
4. Don't buy it. Sony's the enemy this month. Er, I think.
3.
2. Ssh in from your desktop via your XBox Linux via your Sony PS2 Linux box
and the number one way Linux (and OSS) hackers can adapt to this keyboard:
1. Take your fat ass out for a walk instead of that debugging session
Forgive me for being cynical, but I can't see many uses for something of that size. It seems to me to have all the functionality of a PC, while having all the UI woes of a handheld.
Now, I can think of things like being a portable place to dump picture files, and *maybe* to take notes on if you have small enough fingers. Other than that, I can think of nothing. Would someone mind enlightening me as to why this uber-expensive gadget is useful?
--I hate big sigs.
Why is this story reposted 5 months later?
/. reader's long term memory. If no one notices, they'll start posting reviews of Redhat 5.2 on the next slow news day.
1. This submission's been stuck at the submission queue for a long, long time.
2. dude, this is Slashdot. There's no reason for reposting old stories, they simply do.
3. An experiment to test
4. Go pick up a newspaper tomorrow morning, it should say May 9th 2002. Congrats, the Beowulf cluster inside your Delorean finally did something.
5. Michael's been the one making the Cowboyneal entries for the poll, and Cowboyneal unchecked Michael's name for stories (hey look a Cowboyneal reference that's actually a legit option!)
I used to think like this. Lately they've let their game go IMO. They are certainly often on the upper end of the scale compared to other mass market / generic brands. You know, the ones that do everything. However they really aren't the best at anything anymore either. At least they have started to realise that their strength is often in just relatively cheaply producing others good designs (the Sony/Ericsson partnership?). Don't even get me started on the memory-stick nonsense! Why push a proprietary standard so hard when it has no (read few) benefits compared to what's already available? The last thing I want is to be locked into a Sony Digital Camera, just so the memory stick slot in my laptop will finally be useful! That coupled with the whole refusal to play CD-R's in most of their home hi-fi/DVD or car CD players has tipped me from your point of few (I wish I had a Sony everything!) to my current view - If someone does it any better, or even as well but without this vendor lock-in non-sense, then I'll avoid Sony when I can.
The fact that a fish swims in water does not make it an expert in fluid dynamics. GogglesPisano (199483)
s a Picturebook owner, I can't imagine how a keyboard any smaller can still be usable
Easy CowboyNeal. Loose a couple hundred pounds.
oddly enough, it's also smaller than my penis.
And it's probably been handled by fewer Asian men.
Sony used to make some of the best consumer electronics around. The Sony TV, video and audio gear I bought 10 years ago was superb.
Unfortunately, the Sony TVs, VCRs and audio gear I've bought in the last two or three years has been absolutely awful!
They seem to have exchanged quality and performance for features and gadgets.
My 1990-model Sony VCR gave a markedly better picture than the 2000 models I bought to replace it just three years ago. The difference was so marked that I actually took the first unit back thinking it was faulty.
Not only that but the VCR bought in 1991 gave almost 10 years of perfect service -- one of the units I bought in 2000 has already died and isn't worth fixing. And I'm not talking the cheapest machine in the range - I'm talking about the more expensive units.
Likewise the Sony TV I bought back in 1991 is still chugging away and delivering a great picture. The one I bought three years ago now has an inferior picture with poor geometry and what appears to be the sound subcarrier affecting the picture on some lowband channels (again I returned the first one I bought unit thinking it was faulty). What's more, it has just developed an intermittent fault.
When I asked the Sony service techs they admitted that the consumer electronics (TVs, VCRs, audio) that Sony sellings today simply isn't engineered to the same quality standards as it was a decade ago.
Up until recently all my consumer electronics were Sony but I've decided that it's simply not worth paying a premium price for quality that's no longer there. The DVD player I bought a couple of months ago is a no-name Chinese unit that works superbly and was just half the price of the cheapest Sony equivalent. Even if it breaks in 18 months it will still have a lower total cost of ownership than Sony's gear (based on recent experience).
It strikes me that Sony have started resting on their laurels. This, plus their atttiudes to things such as DRM have made me an ex-Sony advocate.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap!
I'm a big fan of small computers, and am glad to see some manufacturers resisting the touchpad, which is a huge space hog on small units. I do wish the new U1 went with a trackpoint, or a libretto-like mouse on the screen. Having it where they located it on the U1, almost makes it necessary to pick up the unit to use the mouse, which is unacceptable.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.