First Impressions, Live Pictures of Sony VAIO P Series

January 7th, 2009 by Mark Spoonauer, LAPTOP Editor in Chief  

vaio-p-004 During most of Sony’s press conference tonight it kept its hot 1.4-pound VAIO P Series under wraps. But we now have some of the first pictures of this premium ultraportable. Is it worth 900 bucks? We’ll hold final judgement until we’ve had a chance to runs some tests. But our initial impressions are that the VAIO P makes most other netbooks look positively bloated. We’re really impressed with the keyboard. Sony has done a nice job here with the island style layout. Even the feel of the trackpoint was nice, even if the mouse buttons are very tiny. It’s a little odd that the webcam is to the left of the screen, but we’ll get used to it. So far. So good. Did we mention it’s really thin? We’re also pleasantly surprised that the 8-inch display doesn’t look or feel as cramped as we were anticipating. A lot of this has to do with the sheer width of this 16:9 panel. As for ports, the right side houses one USB and a connector for VGA and Ethernet out. The left side has another USB and headphone jack. Up front is the SD and Memory Stick slots. To the right of the two narrow mouse buttons are the Window Arrangement Utility button, which puts two or more open windows side by side on your desktop, and the instant on button (with Vista on this button activates VAIO Media Plus, which is like Windows Media Player). It took about 18 seconds for the Xross Media Bar menu to show up, where you’ll find shortcuts to the Mozilla browser, Skype, and Pidgin for instant messaging. We couldn’t get a Wi-Fi signal, but from the instant-on menu it took 20 seconds to launch the browser. One buzzkill: instant on doesn’t work with the integrated EV-DO connection from Verizon. Maybe that could be added later. Overall, the VAIO P Series is pricey for a secondary/complementary PC, and we’re not so sure about performance under Vista. (We’d like to see XP as an option.) But in terms of design, connectivity, and sheer wow factor it looks like Sony has a winner on its hands.

Best of 2009 CES Winner
The VAIO P is the Best Netbook of
2009 CES!

Comments (6 Responses) 

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6 Responses to “First Impressions, Live Pictures of Sony VAIO P Series”

  1. Mike Cane Says:
    January 7th, 2009 at 9:04 pm

    Frankly, I was very skeptical of this, but I’m drooling over what I see. I really need to fondle that keyboard. I’d also like to see you guys review it and maybe some prelim CES video too.

  2. vance Says:
    January 8th, 2009 at 12:22 am

    Not going to even think about it until XP is an option.

  3. LTM Says:
    January 8th, 2009 at 1:05 am

    Yeah, it’s kind of an eye grabber isn’t it. Based on everything I’m reading about Windows 7, it might be a better companion than vista for this state of the art Vaio. Hope it’s not style over substance when it comes out officially.

  4. David Says:
    January 9th, 2009 at 11:18 am

    An Atom running Vista with no mousepad. For $900. Yes, it is small, but not so much so that it makes 10″ and under netbooks out of the question, especially something like Dell’s Mini 9.

    “But our initial impressions are that the VAIO P makes most other netbooks look positively bloated.” Hmm, to me, other netbooks make the VAIO P look cramped. There’s “Gee, that’s a neat idea,” then there’s “Would I actually prefer using that, and owning it at that price?” I think that’s where this item will run into massive difficulty with the average buyer. Seems targeted to “Must fit in my purse, and price doesn’t matter” users–and they already have qwerty smartphones.

  5. DMKVancouver Says:
    January 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    Typical Sony: overpriced with not enough details available to make a comprehensive conclusion, but then that’s the purpose of these kinds of shows, correct? to generate buzz and gauge demand.

    Combined with Dell’s pseudo-announcement of its promised Adamo premium line of PCs, is it any wonder that sales of less flashy but acceptably priced laptops are doing well? I think the list of companies who are going to be disappointed when there isn’t the stampede to buy this new stuff will get longer and longer until they recognize the limits in this niche: Intel Atom and XP/Vista.

  6. Mystical_One Says:
    January 15th, 2010 at 9:33 pm

    I have a sony vaio netbook but little knowledge of how to connect it to either my existing IPS or to choose another mobile broadband provider with a USB connector; I also have to say there was no pointer stick in when I was delivered the item, that the seller refuses to take as true! I was gifted the vaio to enable me to connect to the internet because I cannot use a mobile phone> Since I am a UK resident can you reply to me at your earliest convenience please. My frides spent a lot of their hard earned income on my gift and I would not want less than fullest ability to use the product!

    Unlike DMKVancouver I am not a prissy person, i.e. I do not seek to criticise an exciting innovation, but to praise it’s entry into the mobile internet marketplace, where there is a great need for Sony reliability.

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