OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/17653/Review_Sony_s_Palm_Sized_Windows_Vista_Computer Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Sun, 19 May 2013 23:47:59 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228932 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228932 The reviewer says nothing about battery life. Major omission. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (gtada) Comments RE: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228934 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228934 I'm sure Vista simply does wonders with the battery.

Seriously, the biggest problem with these UMPCs, is the OS. I couldn't think of a more inappropriate system to run on a battery constrained, screen constrained, keyboard constrained, speed constrained, hard disk constrained, RAM constrained system.

That's not accounting for the fact that the average user wouldn't know how to strip the system down and remove the tray icons and all that jazz. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:23:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kroc) Comments RE[2]: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228935 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228935 Hardware, drivers, and the lack of a stable release aside, I think I could see one of these things running Haiku beautifully.Edited 2007-04-09 18:32 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (shykid) Comments RE[3]: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228938 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228938 Looking at the time on some of the pictures, it looks like about 1 hour and 30 minutes or so. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Accident) Comments Really could use http://www.osnews.com/thread?228941 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228941 Really could use.... a torrent link Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (SmellySnatch) Comments Check this review. http://www.osnews.com/thread?228942 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228942 "We managed 3 hours and 40 minutes of battery life under normal working conditions, which included wireless Web surfing, exploring the features of Vista, and snapping the occasional photo or two. We even managed to view a few streamed videos, which looked great on the little widescreen display"

http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Sony-VAIO-UX-Premium-VGN-UX390N.htm Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (midoriconcept) Comments RE[2]: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228943 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228943 Maybe it's just me, but I can't consider a 1.33 Ghz Core Solo + 1 Gb of RAM a constrained system. That should be enough to run Vista, but I agree that it could perform way better with any other OS out there.

Just like the PSP, it's an interesting device, and just like the PSP I bet the battery life doesn't stand long enough.

Edit: Almost 4 hours? Hey, it's not that bad!Edited 2007-04-09 18:47 UTC Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (merkoth) Comments Market? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228948 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228948 It's amazing how Sony relentlessly throws money and R&D at vague markets. First they tried the tablet PC and scrapped them, now they're trying this. Vaio coolness factor aside, one possibly could be better served by a decent smartphone or an iPhone.

And the price is just ridiculous.Edited 2007-04-09 19:05 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Buck) Comments The most important question http://www.osnews.com/thread?228949 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228949 Does it run Linux? Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:19:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (vegai) Comments If I were going to spend $2449 on a non-Mac http://www.osnews.com/thread?228951 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228951 I guess I'd consider this. But no, I wouldn't run Vista much at all. OS X if I can get it to run, otherwise Linux.

I like it because I'd love to have a full computer that size; for some situations even my MacBook is a pain to schlep around.Edited 2007-04-09 19:42 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (yakirz) Comments RE: Check this review. http://www.osnews.com/thread?228953 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228953 "We managed 3 hours and 40 minutes of battery life under normal working conditions, which included wireless Web surfing, exploring the features of Vista, and snapping the occasional photo or two. We even managed to view a few streamed videos, which looked great on the little widescreen display"


3:40 isn't bad. But it's a shame that it's so pricey. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:53:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tomcat) Comments RE[2]: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228959 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228959 Don't be so cynical. There are many ways to save power. Vista is more advanced in power management than previous Windowses. And XP could work longer on battery than Linux. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zdzichu) Comments RE: Really could use http://www.osnews.com/thread?228960 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228960 You sir, are a complete cabbage.
You are giving smelly snatches a bad name. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (raver31) Comments RE: The most important question http://www.osnews.com/thread?228963 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228963 Not nearly as important as the ultimate question...



Will it blend? Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (CPUGuy) Comments RE[2]: The most important question http://www.osnews.com/thread?228965 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228965 I believe it will. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:09:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (systyrant) Comments Dunno if its... http://www.osnews.com/thread?228967 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228967 just me but wouldnt such a small form factor with limited hardware, etc run a zippy low resource OS like Linux...be a better choice? Just slap on some homemade open source apps which I am sure Sony could do onto that bad boy...so you wont need to use Vista and watch that thing sell like hotcakes. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (suryad) Comments RE[3]: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228968 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228968 Apart from the fact that across the board people are reporting at least an hour is lost from their battery times when upgrading to Vista. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kroc) Comments RE[4]: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228969 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228969
Apart from the fact that across the board people are reporting at least an hour is lost from their battery times when upgrading to Vista.


Not to mention many hours from their life. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fretinator) Comments RE[3]: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?228990 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228990 That was my first thought. But not just Haiku, any OS. After being burnt by Amiga, I moved to BeOS on Intel because I knew that if BeOS did not work out I would have a number of other OSes to try.

I notice that it only had flash memory for it's drive. virtual memory can be a killer for flash memory. Aside from Windows and BeOS/Haiku which I know you can disable VM. Do any other OSes including Linux allow you to turn off VM? Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Earl Colby pottinger) Comments Compact & Cute http://www.osnews.com/thread?228993 http://www.osnews.com/thread?228993 It is a compact and cute looking device.

I would love to have it ... but the product is priced as high as any other sony product!. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (yuvaraj) Comments Clio? http://www.osnews.com/thread?229009 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229009 Is it just my imagination, or does that device look pretty similar to the old Clio "palmtops"? Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:53:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (StephenBeDoper) Comments four dimenioal http://www.osnews.com/thread?229029 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229029 a form factor of only 5.91"x3.74"x1.27"x1.50"

Ahh! You see, they fit all that extra hardware in the fourth dimension where we can't see it.

Sorry, the way that was presented just confused me a little until I RTFA. ;) Edited 2007-04-10 01:26 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:26:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Schmeggma) Comments The keyboard cripples it... http://www.osnews.com/thread?229033 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229033 I think for most people text entry is pretty important. Even if just using a computer for email and web browsing, a poor keyboard can make the experience pretty unpleasant. Slow text entry may not be such an issue with a glorified organiser, or if I'm just storing contacts and texting on a phone, but if that's all I wanted I wouldn't spend $2449.

Personally I wouldn't want to use a built in keyboard like that for more than a few sentences. Trying to type an essay or write a program would be an exercise in frustration. Most tiny portable PCs that I've seen have similarly poor keyboards, and to me it's a crippling limitation.

Psion managed to fit a decent little keyboard on their pocket sized Revo palmtop back in the late 90s. Yet on a computer that's much more advanced (and much more expensive), you get flat buttons that would be more at home on a cheap mobile phone or pocket calculator.

I suppose you could plug in an external keyboard, but you can't carry one around with you without making it a lot less portable. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Dave_K) Comments RE: The keyboard cripples it... http://www.osnews.com/thread?229087 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229087 well actually you can carry a portable keyboard with you. There are keyboards that are basically made of rubber, so you can easily just roll it together and pack it away... Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (markoweb) Comments RE[2]: Really could use http://www.osnews.com/thread?229116 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229116 I'm afraid you only manage to sound like an idiot when you use "sir" without giving it any thought, particularly in conjunction with what is supposed to be an insult. Perhaps you should do some reading and enlighten yourself. I'm growing a bit tired of reading "you, sir, [insult here]" replies from trolls without a clue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (wirespot) Comments RE[2]: The keyboard cripples it... http://www.osnews.com/thread?229124 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229124
well actually you can carry a portable keyboard with you. There are keyboards that are basically made of rubber, so you can easily just roll it together and pack it away...


Even with those rubber keyboards you're pretty much doubling the amount of space the device takes up. It also makes it a lot more hassle to set up somewhere, for example if you quickly want to use it on your lap when in a taxi. A decent built in keyboard, one that you can use while still holding the device, would be far better.

Plus those rubber keyboards remind me of my old ZX Spectrum's keyboard, and that doesn't bring back good memories of fast and comfortable typing... Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Dave_K) Comments No DVI? http://www.osnews.com/thread?229125 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229125 Port Replicator - 1 4-pin i.LINK interface, 3 USB 2.0, Ethernet, VGA-Out, A/V-out

To my logic, the smaller (and therefore often more expensive) a computer is, the more likely it will be connected to a high quality, space saving LCD display.

It is also a fact that a digital connection is absolutely the best way to connect a digital monitor.

So why is it that, even though you can find a DVI connector in almost all current LCD displays, many smaller computers only have a legacy VGA connector?

Does Sony really think that a customer, who first shells out $2,500 for this ultra small/modern/expensive 'gadget', then goes home and connects it to his/her old bulky CRT?!

Personally, even if I could afford it, I would never buy this device for the lack of a DVI connection alone. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (terog) Comments RE: The keyboard cripples it... http://www.osnews.com/thread?229136 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229136 There is a Sony style I went to that had that model...possibly the older one and text entry wasnt bad. Prob not the same for everyone else but I was quite comfortable with it. The more I look at it the more I am starting to like it... Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (suryad) Comments RE: No DVI? http://www.osnews.com/thread?229140 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229140 There's no real need for a DVI connection. What do you intend to use the handheld for, that would absolutely need DVI? Graphical work? High-performance gaming? Come, now.

For day to day use, the vast majority of LCD's come with both a DVI-VGA cable as well as a DVI-DVI cable. Whether a VGA to DVI conversion wields any detectable decrease in image quality and/or performance is debatable. Realistically, it doesn't make that much of a difference, for ordinary usage.

And if you consider that handhelds have very limited physical space, you'll see why providing only a VGA connector makes more sense than providing only DVI or both DVI and VGA. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (cprpop) Comments RE[3]: Really could use http://www.osnews.com/thread?229149 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229149 If you'd looked at the post this reply was linked to, I think you'd be eating some [H]umble pie about now. Unless you believe the OP asking for a torrent link was relevant to the story... Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (memson) Comments RE[3]: Really could use http://www.osnews.com/thread?229152 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229152 It is called SARCASM, but clearly it has gone over your head.

In fact, you sir, should stay off wikipedia and go out an buy yourself a woman or a man. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (raver31) Comments RE[2]: No DVI? http://www.osnews.com/thread?229154 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229154 There's no real need for a DVI connection. What do you intend to use the handheld for, that would absolutely need DVI? Graphical work? High-performance gaming? Come, now.

Well, first off this "handheld" happens to have the specs of a real computer (it even comes with Vista).

Second, with the port replicator it can become a full desktop computer and thus is not *just* a handheld *anymore*. No, after that it becomes a full-blown Desktop machine complete with your favorite Desktop apps.

With Vista, its performance and having only 32GB of internal storage can be a problem though. But if you install a Linux distro on it you'd have enough performance and space left for normal Desktop computing. Also an USB hard disk could help with space problems.

I really like the idea of this device. A computer so small that you can easily take it *anywhere* and still use all you normal desktop apps.

For day to day use, the vast majority of LCD's come with both a DVI-VGA cable as well as a DVI-DVI cable. Whether a VGA to DVI conversion wields any detectable decrease in image quality and/or performance is debatable. Realistically, it doesn't make that much of a difference, for ordinary usage.

You don't need to be a graphics designer to appreciate good image quality. I've found that DVI can make a big and noticeable difference in the clarity of text, for example. It will not help games much I believe.

And if you consider that handhelds have very limited physical space, you'll see why providing only a VGA connector makes more sense than providing only DVI or both DVI and VGA.

But providing only a DVI connector doesn't take much space. Internally it could take even less space since there would be no need for Digital to Analog converters.

Sony could offer a DVI to VGA converter as an optional accessory for those who need it. OR if the device still has the DA converters an adapter would be enough.Edited 2007-04-10 14:47 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (terog) Comments 5.91"x3.74"x1.27"x1.50" http://www.osnews.com/thread?229184 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229184 Impressive, Sony have created a machine that exists within the fourth spatial dimension! Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (REMF) Comments RE: 5.91"x3.74"x1.27"x1.50" http://www.osnews.com/thread?229187 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229187
Impressive, Sony have created a machine that exists within the fourth spatial dimension!


I think the units of the last parameter, 1.5 should actually be "q", as in Sony will replace this device with something else in approximately 1.5 quarters of a year. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:19:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fretinator) Comments RE: If I were going to spend $2449 on a non-Mac http://www.osnews.com/thread?229191 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229191 I have a friend of mine that just bought a UX280N, the predecessor. He was able to get OSX up and running no problem. It was a bit tedious yes, but now it runs like a champ. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (CodeMonkey) Comments RE[3]: The most important question http://www.osnews.com/thread?229238 http://www.osnews.com/thread?229238 Nice. I'm modded down for answering a question. I guess whoever modded me down doesn't believe it will blend. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (systyrant) Comments RE: Battery life? http://www.osnews.com/thread?231117 http://www.osnews.com/thread?231117 How can there be a dozen comments that fail to see the battery life? It's the last item in the specs listing. Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Googol) Comments