Sony Releases Smallest VAIO Yet

ephidryn writes "Sony Corporation has released their new VAIO laptop in Japan. The PCG-U1 is even smaller than their previous sub-notebook the C1 PictureBook. Measuring in at 7.3" x 5.5" x 1.4" and weighing a mere 1.8lbs the 6.4 inch XGA screen does 1024x768. The laptop uses a Transmetta Crusoe TM5800 processor and can house up to 384 megs of RAM." As a Picturebook owner, I can't imagine how a keyboard any smaller can still be usable, but this little guy offsets that with thumb controls to make input easier.

It's too big/small

[TheSHAD0W]

I suppose some people would like it, but I don't usually carry around a briefcase. So for me, this PC is too big to carry in my pocket, but too small to fit the features I want in a main machine. Sorry Sony, I'll stick with the full-sized Vaio I bought last year. :-)

Well,

[MattCohn.com]

When you get that small, you might as well go for a PDA. I'm sure the battery would last longer (where do they PUT it in that thing?!) and those small devices have evolved to be the most convienent for their size. That thing looks like it's running a regular version of windows, and no matter how high that screen resolution goes (doesn't look big) everything is still going to be way to small to make big use of.

turning point

[Absoluttt]

we're definitely at a turning point as far as miniturization vs. usability.. our toys / technology can only get so small before it becomes impractical to use. It will be interesting to see what is innovated on besides speed once this hurdle is passed. Per John Carmack we're almost at a similar point in video cards functionality wise.

Re:Available?

[tgrigsby]

>> Also there isn't nearly the market for really
>> small stuff in the US.

Son, put down the crack pipe and step away...

I cite cell phones that store over a 100 phone numbers, play video games, act as a pager and a walkie talkie, allow you to browse the 'net and send/receive emails, and fit in your shirt pocket as proof that, in the U.S., smaller is better when you're talking about electronics.

Heck, my birthday is coming up and I wouldn't refuse one as a gift...

Re:I want small and cheap

[Bishop923]

Classic Case of Cheaper, Smaller, Faster: Pick Any two.

Unfortunately the big PC companies are Driven by the fact that the Masses think "more Ghz == Better!" so Faster is required. So you now get to pick between an expensive, but small and fast notebook, or cheap and fast, but large laptop.

Not so cool

[Anonymous Coward]

Notice it has no built-in wireless. You need to plug-in a PCMCIA wireless card with an external antena, which increases the footprint considerably. Personally, I hate external antennas, as they break very easily. IMHO, without wireless, the usability of one of these will be close to nil in about a year.

Re:Sony

[Sandcastle]

I used to think like this. Lately they've let their game go IMO. They are certainly often on the upper end of the scale compared to other mass market / generic brands. You know, the ones that do everything. However they really aren't the best at anything anymore either. At least they have started to realise that their strength is often in just relatively cheaply producing others good designs (the Sony/Ericsson partnership?). Don't even get me started on the memory-stick nonsense! Why push a proprietary standard so hard when it has no (read few) benefits compared to what's already available? The last thing I want is to be locked into a Sony Digital Camera, just so the memory stick slot in my laptop will finally be useful! That coupled with the whole refusal to play CD-R's in most of their home hi-fi/DVD or car CD players has tipped me from your point of few (I wish I had a Sony everything!) to my current view - If someone does it any better, or even as well but without this vendor lock-in non-sense, then I'll avoid Sony when I can.

Re:It's too big/small

[curiosity]

"If it isn't small enough to fit in my pocket, then it may as well be as big as my backpack."

Do you actually use a laptop frequently, though? I used to think like that too, until I started going on trips where I had to use a laptop throughout a conference, for example. I borrowed a friend's HP OmniBook 500 for the first trips - it's a few years old, but was the "ultra-slim" model at the time - 1 inch thick, probably 4 pounds without the docking station, 8 pounds with it. That's actually a lot of weight dragging on your shoulders, and it was pretty unwieldy to whip it out every time I had to plug in and check my messages at the office. And the battery life sucked - 1.5-2 hours, even though it claimed 3-5 hours. I can't imagine how people deal with those monsters they call laptops nowadays. They're bigger than the old Zenith brick I used to have, from around 1989 or so! After dragging the Omnibook through Atlanta recently, I went out and bought a Sony VAIO SRX, and it was definitely a good decision. I didn't realize how miserable it was lugging the HP around until I got the VAIO. It's about the size of an 8x10 sheet of paper, so I can take it to meetings now at work. It's small enough to open discretely without making a big scene just to take some notes or look up a document (the built-in Wi-Fi helps).

I think there's a lot to be said for "in-between" devices like the PictureBook or a slim laptop. If it's small enough to carry in your hand without being a burden, you're much more likely to use it for business purposes, though I agree for personal use, pocket-size is the way to go.

the limits of micro

[friedman101]

Am I the only one who thinks that computer size should be goverened by practicality and not always by technology? I'm tired of needing a thumb tac to type an email.