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Slick Sony netbook that's as small as a purse
Mark Prigg, Technology Correspondent21 Jan 2009
Review: Sony Vaio P
In the last 12 months, laptops have got smaller and more powerful by the day, and advances in technology have led to the emergence of the netbook, a new class of tiny machine.
Sony's Vaio P is without doubt the slickest implementation of this idea (at least until Apple makes one).
No larger than a clutch purse, it measures 120 x 245 x 19.8mm, and weighs just 638 grams.
The eight-inch widescreen display is superb, although cramming an entire Windows desktop onto such a small screen does mean small objects on screen can be hard to spot — you might find yourself using a slightly larger font than normal, for example.
But overall the machine works exactly as a full-sized laptop would. It includes every feature you could want — from a webcam and GPS to a built-in 3G modem allowing you to get online simply by inserting a mobile phone sim card. The keyboard, a sticking point on many other small laptops, is excellent.
A base model is available at £849, but the version we used, costing £1,370, has a 128GB hard drive and a faster processor. Battery life is impressive at eight hours and 25 minutes.
Overall, the Vaio P is a triumph of engineering. The small screen might not be suitable for all-day use, but for web surfing and most day-to-day tasks this tiny machine really can do anything a desktop machine can.
Rating: Four out of five
Reader views (1)
With no touch screen or touch pad and £1000 more than other 'netbooks', this is very Sony - appealing to the people who like bling over practicality. There isn't even a built in external monitor port, something the £295 ASUS EEE PC 901 has. (The Sony P series has to be hooked up to an external 'dock' and/or connector.)
The Google G1 phone (T-mobile) has a nice QWERTY keyboard, a super semi-high res touch screen, GPS etc and used sparingly, can replace a mini laptop. Another alternative, that also fits in your pocket, and offers amazing battery life is the Nokia E71 that I use.
The P is sexy, but as per Sony's promotional material, it's for people with more money than sense.
- Wonderkid, Oxford, 22/01/2009 11:45
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