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Sony VAIO U50 Reviewed In Depth
LabRat007 writes "PDA Buyer's Guide reviews the Sony VAIO U50/U70, the hybrid PC/PDA that has beaten both the FlipStart and OQO to market. The short version?
They like it, but it's too expensive. Editor in Chief Lisa Gade provides the typically in-depth review, with pictures and words and
everything." The design looks great, but the price -- yow!
More pictures at http://www.dynamism.com/u70/gallery.shtml
Erm, Clios are Palm devices...
The price for these two items in Japan are currently 210,000 yen (1,900 USD) for the U70 and 178,500 yen (1,600 USD) for the U50.
I don't think price is a big concern for anyone willing to shell out an extra 700 bucks over the original retail price to get the latest toy from Japan, when there are so many comprarable products in the US that would be just as useful to 99.9% of the population. Stuff like this doesn't have to fill a particular niche, it just has to be new and unique enough to attract the attention of rich technophiles who crave the bleeding edge.
I want a handheld computer that is also quick with 3d.
I'd really like to see competent graphic chipsets worth a damn become a standard feature in these devices.
Do I have to get a PSP? But I'd like to play around creating 3d apps of my own - do I need to get a Sony SDK license (at what cost)? This one, at $2800, still sports the (for 3d) underpowered 855GM chipset. Shared memory, no 3d hardware (or does it have?)...
Ok, with a 3d gfx card, the battery life might fall through the roof - but still... I'd feel like Superman without the cape with a hi-res screen like that, a fast CPU, but with abysmal overall 3d performance.
668.5
Among other things, because it doesn't meet Microsoft's Tablet PC specs.
Also, Windows applications tend to be pretty resolution and display-size dependent; Tablet PC apps wouldn't work well on this thing.
At this point, Linux probably has the most applications available for devices of this form factor, due to projects like handhelds.org.
Yep, and when you will want a part or add-on for it you will discover that if it is available it is basically the same as the equivalent bits for other PC gear. However, the fifty generic options from the computer store won't work. In order to connect it you have exactly one option, which uses a special Sony connector, is only available from a Sony dealer, and mysteriously costs five times as much as anyone else's equivalent. Been there! Sony...BAH
You could be wrong?!!
Of course you can't be wrong.
How could it run Windows XP in 20 MB?
I thought I recognized the submitters text from somewhere.
Just in case somebody will write a Linux installation report about this device, I would like to include a link into the Linux on Sony laptops and notebooks survey as well as into the Linux on TabletPCs and Pen PCs overview.
In Yen the U50 is Y178500 and the U70 is Y210000
Fortunately for me my base currency is UK pounds and I live in Japan so I am laughing all the way from the Bank to Akiharibara.
Neat!
Dauphin Info
Specifications and information
Introduced:
Original Price:
CPU: Cyrix 486DRX2-50
Memory: 4MB RAM
Operating System: MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows 3.1 with Pen Extensions
Input/Output: Monochrome VGA LCD display; pen input with handwriting recognition; optional separate keyboard
Resolution: 640x480 grayscale
Bus: N/A
Other Items in Collection: Keyboard; carrying case; external 3.5" floppy disk drive; documentation; original box
Items Needed:
Weighing in at only 2 pounds, the DTR-1 was the original Windows-based palmtop pen computer, years before the advent of Windows CE.
Looks like LabRat007 is a plagiarist.
If you check through the driver updates for any sony vaio model you will see that there are driver updates for any version of Windows that supports the minimum specifications on the machine. Now you need to foolw thier upgrade guidelines exactly. Mostly it means that Windows needs to be installed to c:/windows so no dual boots or installs to winnt.
Also, it is not the OEM's responsibility to get your third party software to work. I've worked in tech support and you get people calling you to support thier 5 year old printers or help them install MS Office, install drivers for thier new video card.
BTW, as for repairs, it depends. I had a Sony notebook break a year out of warranty. There was a key fell off the keyboard, the dvdrom was no longer reading dvds, and the hard was getting a smartdrive failure. The whole repair was $249 plus tax. Now, before this, I had checked and just the keyboard was $249 if I sent in the notebook. So the flate rate repair can be great or not dpending on therepairs needed. And as for parts for desktops, why wouldn't you use just standard desktop parts? Anything besides the mainboard (which is always expensive), is just off the shelf parts. And Vaio has those door flaps so you don't need to worry about aesthetics of beige clashing with purple.
I have also found that Sony uses standard chipsets. Sure the modems are winmodems, but then who doesn't use winmodems anymore? Everything else seems to work out of the box for Linux.
Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
The best part was all the free resources I found on the Internet to help me. Someone somewhere posted a step-by-step tutorial for replacing the disk. It was simple to upgrade the memory. And the Linux installation was actually quite simple also. (I'm ashamed to say I'm a Linux newbie.) There's a site somewhere listing all the configuration steps required to tune Linux for the 505, most of which I didn't really need.