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Sony VAIO U50 Reviewed In Depth

Posted by timothy on from the not-a-budget-pda dept.

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!

7 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. More Pictures by krut · · Score: 5, Informative

    More pictures at http://www.dynamism.com/u70/gallery.shtml

  2. Re:Nethack PDA Version - Slightly OT by dammitallgoodnamesgo · · Score: 3, Informative

    Erm, Clios are Palm devices...

  3. Anyone willing to shell out an extra 700$... by Granos · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  4. ad 2004, 3d chipsets still rare? ..:( by janbjurstrom · · Score: 5, Informative

    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
  5. Re:Why isn't it a tablet? by dekeji · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

  6. Deja Vu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I thought I recognized the submitters text from somewhere.

  7. Re:The problem with anything from Sony by gdad2 · · Score: 3, Informative
    That's not my experience. The Sony Z505HE I bought in 1999, that had Windows 98 when it arrived, today runs a dual boot of RedHat 7.3 and Windows XP. I upgraded the hard disk from 8 GB to 40 GB. And I upped the RAM by 50% to 192 MB. With an 802.11b card and the extended battery, (only now becoming affordable!) I can get four hours of battery life. It's been a reliable and fun little computer. I've used it for work, school and games. It doesn't quite have enough horsepower to play some of the more graphical games I enjoy, but otherwise I've been very pleased with it.

    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.