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!

Comments

Not small

[Anonymous Coward]

enough to be a PDA, and not big enough to want to sit in front of for a long time.

A 12" Apple Powerbook would perhaps be more useful, and leave plenty of money for ice-cream.

Expensive

[IrresponsibleUseOfFr]

I will never understand the "wow, that computer is cool, but soo expensive" mentalality. I paid about $3000 for a laptop about 5 years-ago. I was happy with that machine. This one is more powerful, has a better battery life, and is cheaper in terms of actual dollars than the laptop. Should I pissed off that I bought my laptop now?

If you want the vaio, and have the expendable income, buy it. Who cares if you can get a better desktop for a tenth of the cost. The most powerful computer in the world isn't worth the money if you aren't happy with it and don't use it.

Anything that you buy is worth the money if you are satisfied with it. I really hate to see the put-down mentality of some people that take otherwise happy customers and make them feel stupid or cheated for their purchase. Absolutely, no good comes from that. You discourage people from buying products they would enjoy. You hurt companies that produce something cool, which causes them to raise prices on their not-so-cool items. In the end, for what? Your ego? Get a grip.

Re:Expensive

[Anonymous Coward]

The point of the reviewers is that the computer is not worth the money. That the benefits do not justify the cost. That the features are nice but the price is ridiculous. Whether you want to buy it anyway is up to you. Maybe for you the benefits outweigh the cost, or maybe you just like new technology, or, maybe you wipe your ass with hundred dollar bills.

It's like ordering a $1000 omelette. It might be the best tasting omelete in the world but most people are still not going to order one. The omelette is cool but the price is too expensive. Whether or not they have the expendable income to afford one is besides the point.

Why do you think that these people are attacking you? Because you bought something that wasn't worth the money and hate being reminded of it? If you really are happy with your purchase then these people should not bother you. You sound very insecure. Get a grip.

suweet (sorta)

[Suchetha]

its nice in a "ooh i'm shiny buy me" kind of way. if you DO have the cash to pay for it (usd2200 - USD2700) i may even be a nice toy. but i guess for most people all this would be is primarily an entertainment unit and a secondarily a pda.

as the article states

Don't expect this to be a desktop replacement, but do expect it to be more than adequate for MS Office, email and web browsing as well as video playback and light gaming. It's truly a portable movie player in addition to being a full Windows PC.

of course if you put a lower footprint version of windows (say 2k) on it, it may handle things better. i should also PROBABLY run linux

but for me i would personally prefer a larger laptop for half the price (and i tend to put things down and forget them) or better yet a PDA for PDA work/email and a good portable DVD/VCD/MP3/CD player for entertainment. a 5" screen is just too small for my shortsighted eyes

of course this may be a big hit in the gadget crazy japanese market. but at the risk of getting a LOT of flaming i will ask "but what use is it? especially at that price!"

i am sure i will get a lot of responses, but i still think that this is a solution looking for a problem

Suchetha

Re:"but it's too expensive."

[Trent05]

Is't the best technology expensive?

Yes, but here you are also paying heavy for the name. Which makes no sense since I doubt Sony makes there own boards and a lot of other hardware is most likely made by other manufacturers. With laptops and PDAs being relatively cheap nowdays, I'm curious if they'll sell enough to make a profit at a $2,000 price point.

Hopefully this niche will thrive

[copponex]

I'm not a big fan of the price, but this is heading in the right direction.

I hope in 3 to 5 years there are a lot of these palm or hip tops, because it's really where computers start becoming more of an assistant than pain in the ass. I'd like to grab breakfast while browsing the web, turn off the screen for mp3 playing, maybe turn it on again to check e-mail halfway to work or if I stop somewhere. Then when I get to work plug it into a dock for a full keyboard/mouse/display for the workday routine. I just want ALL of my data with me ALL the time.

In retail situations, bringing your pricelist in your pocket will be big business as soon as the price point goes down. With all of the new credit card verification stuff, I don't see why we won't be checked out as soon as we buy something. Just pick up the receipt on the way out the door.

this is ...

[curator_thew]

Exactly the type of portable webpad I need:

(a) around the house, to look up stuff, browse the web, check movies, etc;

(b) at work, to pull up files and email during meetings, etc;

I would buy one today if it were a better price.

Also, I think that they could trim the specs and still have a marketable product: grunt power and number of ports are not important for this style of product.

Why would anyone want Win XP in a PDA?

[labourstart]

PDAs are things you boot up quickly, and shut off with the click of a switch. They're incredibly useful when you need to look up a detail while standing somewhere. The 'instant-on' feature is, I think, one of the strongest points of PDAs as opposed to laptops. So what's the point of making what is essentially a PDA with all its disadvantages (small screen, for example) without its main advantage of instant bootups?