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Sony X505/SP Notebook Review
John Gaule writes "Earlier it was mentioned on Slashdot that Sony has introduced the worlds thinnest laptop, the Sony X505 which weighs just under 2lbs. Designtechnica has reviewed this system and compares it to the JVC Interlink 7310, Panasonic W2 and Sony TR1A laptops. Apparently Sony had to have a custom motherboard configured to get the CPU and hard drive in the right position for cooling. There is also no integrated WiFi but it uses an 802.11g WiFi PC Card."
Looks like Apple will be going back to the drawing board. The iBooks look pretty thick in comparison.
Damon,
http://actionPlant.com
"Almost" broke in half? Usually, smaller and lighter devices don't hit the ground as hard. It would be unusual to have a featherweight laptop to break due to its light weight. Do you have pictures of the damage?
I have a thin v505 that is less than 6 months old, has been treated extremely gently, and is already in need of touchpad replacement/repair (the cursor just skips all over and simply does not accurately track finger movement). This is an annoying and widespread enough problem to warrant those considering purchase of a 505 to perhaps think twice. And if you do, definitely get that extended warranty (but that may just go without saying in laptop purchasing).
I dont know but IMO a smaller/thinner notebook is a very specialized product for a small market. I personally have a Dell Inspiron 4150 and I think it weighs in around 5-7lbs, but I think it is a perfect weight/size. When you go smaller you start to lose drives (ie, cdrom, etc..), I/O connections, and also the laptop is so light that if you *accidentally* snag your power cord then its to the floor w/ the laptop. I hate the devices that are too small... PDA/phones that try to be laptops (or laptops that try to be palm/small sized) are less user friendly.
I don't know about the other denizens here, but I have to say I have *never* had any luck with any computer device made by Sony that had mechanical components (so I'm supporting the parent posting in a way). I previously owned a VAIO -- a large one, not the little tiny ones -- so I expect the device to be at least a little durable. Instead, the keyboard failed within a year. A year later, the hinge on the screen broke. The device is still operable, but it is *extremely* fragile.
I ended up getting a Dell Inspiron next since I take my machine to/from work daily. In some ways it has worked better but the CD-RW's slide mechanism is all screwed up. After closer examination -- you know it's coming -- the stupid thing's made by Sony.
I'm the first to admit that I'm not the easiest on portable electronics. But of the things I own that have had mechanical failures, it's the Sony label that's on most of them.
This is just my experience, YMMV.
Your right, my bad. Still dont think its much of an issue. Most if not all the Sony slim notebooks have been sans ethernet.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
A few years ago, I baught a Sony VAIO laptop. It cost about $3000. As was standard with Sony at that time, it came with a one year warranty.
Almost exactly one month out of warranty, I started having problems. The computer would start, stay on for a very short time (usually less than 5 minutes) and then it would shut off.
Thinking some part may be drawing too much power, I tried disconnection every possible part that could be disconnected. However, this did not solve my problem. I finally succumbed to calling the support department, which of course had no clue and recommended I send my laptop in to be serviced.
I sent my laptop in as they said, and got notification that it had been received at the service department. A week passed, and I had not gotten any indication as to the status. I called support, gave them my ticket number, and asked them what was going on. They had no idea, and nothing had been logged. A couple days later I called again, and got the same result.
At this point, I became rather upset, and demanded they call me back by the end of the next day to tell me what was going on. They were kind enough to call me back, but not smart enough to figure out the problem. They said it would cost me $2200 dollars to have the problem "fixed" which I'm sure at that cost meant sending me a refurb unit.
This was 1 month out of a year long warranty, and I was furious and demanded better service. At this point, I could have gotten a computer that was twice as powerful for the same price they were going to charge me for "repairs." Unfortunately I got nowhere in my requests for fair compensation. In fact, I had to pay $60 dollars to cover services rendered and have my unfunctioning laptop shipped back to me.
$3000 dollars got me use of a laptop for one year and one month. This thing had minor wear as it served mainly as a desktop replacement. After dealing with Sony, and being a loyal customer of their other products, I kindly told them to fuck off. I have never spent another dime on Sony products.
-- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
I share your experience with recent Sony products. My VAIO R505 has had numerous issues (LCD latch has broken 2 times for no apparant reason, docking station has had issues, and the battery has problems and is costly to replace).
I also have a dead PS2 (my newer PS2 works perfectly though, seems they fixed the DRE problems) and it seems any discman I've bought int the past few years has died in 6 months.
Interestingly, I had a discman from early-mid 90's that lasted a good 6 years as well as a bookshelf stereo system from '94 that still runs great. I also have a Sony Trinitron-FD monitor that is 3 years old and runs perfectly.
Interestingly, Sony gives 3 year warranties on their monitors (compared to much shorter warranties on the products mentioned above) - so if you are looking at any Sony products check the warranty. If they only expect it to last 90 days you probably shouldn't expect it to last much longer...
Small Laptops ...
I've been wanting a really small laptop for sometime now and finding one that looks sexy and has some punch at a reasonable price is not that easy. But when you realise that you can purchase a G4 12in ibook for just over a grand and an 11in G4 powerbook for just over 1.5 grand. This sony laptop starts to look decidedly expensive all for a couple of millimeters here and there.
Aside from the math, Id rather give Apple some of my hard earned dosh , than redmond. I'd bet Yellow Dog Linux would run a beauty on those *book's too. I just need a job... After a while one needs a gadget buying fix, and I've been yearning for the tiny powerbook for too long now!
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
I would guess that if Sony releases this in the US it will probably sell for around $2000.
.technomancer
No, as long as it's useful, a laptop can never be too thin or too small. Or too battery-conservinge.
Obviously you don't have to fly regularly with a computer. There are **THOUSANDS** of us who do. 5 to 7 pounds is a nasty backache waiting to happen, especially when compared to something like the Sony Z1A I have. It's got everything (2 USB ports, firewire, sound in and out, PCMCIA, built-in RJ45 Ethernet and 802.11b), sacrifices no drives (built-in CDRW/DVD, USB floppy), great keyboard, great screen, touchpad, it's speedy as hell, and it only cost like $2200.
Oh yeah, and it ways 4 1/2 pounds and is less than 1 inch thick. And has *awesome* battery life (6 1/2 hour regular battery, 8 hour "long-life" accessory battery).
wow, I think that's just too thin. I love my g3 12" ibook, and I think it's just the right size for everyday use. I know some execs will buy these sony's, but I suspect it'll end up on IT's desk more often than not. we had an issue at an old job of ours, the 'hot-headed' CEO would "drop" his tiny laptop (across the room) and it would break. again, it was sent in for repair more than it was used.
CB
free ipod and free gmail!
The problem with these pretty notebooks is that executives love them. So while the rest of the company is using ibm notebooks the CEO has to have one of these sexy non-standard puppies and what worked on every other machine in your enterprise might not work on the Sony, despite the same OS, etc.
This is back in 99 my first week on the job, I had been installing the Norton client on 20 or 30, machines with out a hitch and its around 4:30. I ask the CEO if he has time for me to do the install, he says sure if will take less than 10 minutes he needs to leave for a flight. So I install the client, reboot and I get "MSDOS.SYS missing" (win98).
Dear god I was sweating bullets, the first time I meet the CEO and I have killed his laptop! A quick trip to symantec.com revealed the solution and it was a problem specific to Sony. All in all he wasn't delayed more than 5 minutes or so and he was very patient. None the less I have a strong distate for Sony laptops to this day.
My first laptop was a GRiDCase III Plus which I bought back in 1985.
$8,150
For my part, it looks like a _really_ nice machine, but it makes me sad that Sony recently got burned on the pen computing thing, so won't be doing a pen slate or convertible --- oh well, there's always the NEC or the Fujitsu or even the Electrovaya Scribbler...
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.