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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
This seems like almost the perfect form-factor for a Tablet PC, since it's small enough to actually hold in only one hand, and big and powerful enough to write legible text, and do decent recognnition of it.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
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.
In short, I ended up going for the Palm for a few reasons. First off was price - Sony does not price their gear competitively. Their market appears to be the executives with fat expense accounts who see shiny new toys and go for them. I have a number of geek friends and none of them are big purchasers at Sony, with the sole exception being Sony's monitors.
Secondly, when it came to software - because Sony regularly releases high-end models with customised software, they don't seem to support them for too long.
So if I was somebody looking at the palmtop/tablet options out there, I would probably give this a miss. The spec's are nice, but it looks like something for someone who needs such functionality *today*, rather than waiting for equivalent devices to come to market in the next 6-12 months with a lower pricetag.
But like most Sony products, damn... it looks sweet! ;-)
Man watching 6 MSCE's around a sun box, looks alot like the opening scene's of 2001:space odyssey...
...is it you want it to do something beyond what Sony envisioned for it at this moment in 2004.
Examples:
I can guarantee you that if you want to run Longhorn when it comes out, it won't do it. The drivers won't work and Sony will not update drivers for older products.
If it breaks after the warranty period, forget it. The replacement parts will cost more than the thing is worth.
It will have minor incompatibilities with standard software suites, sony tech support will deny it and then mysteriously 6 months later a patch will appear that will be unannounced, you'll have to hunt for it on the Sony site.
In short, when you buy a piece of Sony computer gear, buy it for what it does out of the box, forget about putting BSD or Linux on it (or even another version of windows), and if it breaks, throw it away.
Its just a mindset at sony, and it explains why people generally buy Sony computer gear exactly once.
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.
Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! -Homer Simpson
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.
--
The Marines: The few, the proud, the not very bright. - Slashdot tagline 04/21/05
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 play Nethack on my Sharp Zaurus SL5500.
Screenshots and other info here.
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
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.