My new Sony VAIO UX280P
Category UX280P
I
have needed to replace my Thinkpad X40 notebook for some time now and I
think that I have finally stumbled across a worthy successor: a Sony
VAIO UX280P. (larger
picture at the article's end)
I have to admit that the initial attractiveness of this device is its 'WOW' factor. I've had mine less than 72 hours and no less than five people have already asked about it when they saw it. It is extremely intriguing due to its excessively small size and extremely bright screen.
Once past the WOW, the device is a true desktop replacement computer for a mobile professional.
Specifications
Lets start with the underlying hardware: 1.2Ghz Intel Core Solo, 1GB RAM, 40GB HDD, 4.5" XBrite screen running at 1024x600 with Windows XP Professional SP2 (and it is Vista Premium compliant and I have my free upgrade coupon.) The HDD is a little small for me, but I have found at least one other person who has manually upgraded to a 80GB HDD...it might be an option for the future.
It has all of the connectivity options: 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, Cingular EDGE (wireless WAN) and 10/100 ethernet via a dongle or the docking station. It also has one onboard USB2.0 port, two more on the dock, and a 1394 Firewire port on the dock as well. It also has space for a MemoryStick as well. There are also standard headphone/mic outputs.
I am using my Sprint PCS phone as a BlueTooth modem to connect to the Sprint 4G network instead of the native Cingular EDGE.
The standard battery supplies about 4.5 hours of use with the screen set two off its brightest setting. The HDD and CPU are kept cool by strategically placed vents and a very quiet fan. There is an extremely expensive dual battery option that should double the run time between charges. Running full bright on the display will cut the usable time to about 2.5 hours.
The keyboard is, uh well, small. 93 'chicklet keys and most serve five purposes (upper/lower case, CRTL, ALT and FN shifted.) The shift key is poorly located and makes using it with the 'A' key unusable...I have begun using the Caps Lock for shifting. This is the least impressive part of the whole device. I plan on getting a BlueTooth folding keyboard for serious typing. The screen slides open and close above the keyboard.
The mouse is controlled by either the touchscreen and a stylus, or by a touchstick (square black block on the upper right hand side) and three mouse buttons (upper left side.) Positioning the mouse is decently precise. There is also a spot for the stylus on the back of the UX.
Did I mention that it is Vista Premium certified? That means that it has very strong graphics performance, among other things. It plays video well and has a strong audio system.
It also has two cameras: the one in the front (center top of the screen) is for video conferencing (0.3 megapixel), and one on the back of the screen is a 1.3 megapixel. Both can capture stills as well as video. The screen can be displayed in either landscape (default) or portrait orientations.
There is also a biometric security fingerprint scanner (upper left on the screen) that is well integrated into the XP security scheme.
Working with the UX
I have two modes of operations: docked and handheld.
In docked mode, it is just another notebook to me. I have my monitor plugged in (standard VGA plug only), my keyboard and mouse are connected via USB. I have the docking station on my desktop next to my monitor and both screens driven at the same time. I connect via either 802.11 at home or wired ethernet in the office. I do still use my Bluetooth headset when I am docked for music and Skype VOIP...I don't know if it is normal behavior or not, but the UX's internal speaker shuts off when the headset is connected...very nice feature.
In handheld mode, I slide the screen up and hold the UX in two hands with my right thumb on the touchstick and my left thumb on the upper (left) mouse button. Holding the UX at desktop (when seated) or waist level (when standing) seems okay for my eyesight. If you don't have correctable to near perfect vision, I would stay away from these devices....the screens are small...if you do have good vision the screen has great contrast and brightness.
Other then connecting your peripherals to the dock or holding it to work, the UX is literally just another notebook/laptop/desktop machine.
I
have needed to replace my Thinkpad X40 notebook for some time now and I
think that I have finally stumbled across a worthy successor: a Sony
VAIO UX280P. (larger
picture at the article's end)
I have to admit that the initial attractiveness of this device is its 'WOW' factor. I've had mine less than 72 hours and no less than five people have already asked about it when they saw it. It is extremely intriguing due to its excessively small size and extremely bright screen.
Once past the WOW, the device is a true desktop replacement computer for a mobile professional.
Specifications
Lets start with the underlying hardware: 1.2Ghz Intel Core Solo, 1GB RAM, 40GB HDD, 4.5" XBrite screen running at 1024x600 with Windows XP Professional SP2 (and it is Vista Premium compliant and I have my free upgrade coupon.) The HDD is a little small for me, but I have found at least one other person who has manually upgraded to a 80GB HDD...it might be an option for the future.
It has all of the connectivity options: 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, Cingular EDGE (wireless WAN) and 10/100 ethernet via a dongle or the docking station. It also has one onboard USB2.0 port, two more on the dock, and a 1394 Firewire port on the dock as well. It also has space for a MemoryStick as well. There are also standard headphone/mic outputs.
I am using my Sprint PCS phone as a BlueTooth modem to connect to the Sprint 4G network instead of the native Cingular EDGE.
The standard battery supplies about 4.5 hours of use with the screen set two off its brightest setting. The HDD and CPU are kept cool by strategically placed vents and a very quiet fan. There is an extremely expensive dual battery option that should double the run time between charges. Running full bright on the display will cut the usable time to about 2.5 hours.
The keyboard is, uh well, small. 93 'chicklet keys and most serve five purposes (upper/lower case, CRTL, ALT and FN shifted.) The shift key is poorly located and makes using it with the 'A' key unusable...I have begun using the Caps Lock for shifting. This is the least impressive part of the whole device. I plan on getting a BlueTooth folding keyboard for serious typing. The screen slides open and close above the keyboard.
The mouse is controlled by either the touchscreen and a stylus, or by a touchstick (square black block on the upper right hand side) and three mouse buttons (upper left side.) Positioning the mouse is decently precise. There is also a spot for the stylus on the back of the UX.
Did I mention that it is Vista Premium certified? That means that it has very strong graphics performance, among other things. It plays video well and has a strong audio system.
It also has two cameras: the one in the front (center top of the screen) is for video conferencing (0.3 megapixel), and one on the back of the screen is a 1.3 megapixel. Both can capture stills as well as video. The screen can be displayed in either landscape (default) or portrait orientations.
There is also a biometric security fingerprint scanner (upper left on the screen) that is well integrated into the XP security scheme.
Working with the UX
I have two modes of operations: docked and handheld.
In docked mode, it is just another notebook to me. I have my monitor plugged in (standard VGA plug only), my keyboard and mouse are connected via USB. I have the docking station on my desktop next to my monitor and both screens driven at the same time. I connect via either 802.11 at home or wired ethernet in the office. I do still use my Bluetooth headset when I am docked for music and Skype VOIP...I don't know if it is normal behavior or not, but the UX's internal speaker shuts off when the headset is connected...very nice feature.
In handheld mode, I slide the screen up and hold the UX in two hands with my right thumb on the touchstick and my left thumb on the upper (left) mouse button. Holding the UX at desktop (when seated) or waist level (when standing) seems okay for my eyesight. If you don't have correctable to near perfect vision, I would stay away from these devices....the screens are small...if you do have good vision the screen has great contrast and brightness.
Other then connecting your peripherals to the dock or holding it to work, the UX is literally just another notebook/laptop/desktop machine.
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Comments
Would you mind if I ask you for a picture showing the device in your hands? I know the UX is small, I just would like to see <b>how</b> small. :)
Posted by Charles Robinson at 02:44:05 PM on 11/14/2006 | - Website - |
I'll post a picture when I get home and have another camera.
And yeah, the more time I spend with it, the more I am absolutely certain that this is the way of the future. I also looked at a Samsung Q1, but the reviews did specific comparisons against the UX and there were no negatives against the UX but the price.
Did I mention that I am running Skype on it over my SprintPCS EVDO connection and a Bluetooth headset? How geeky is that?
Posted by andy broyles at 04:02:14 PM on 11/14/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by Jaq at 07:57:20 PM on 11/14/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by jaq at 01:26:40 PM on 11/16/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by andy broyles at 02:32:53 PM on 11/16/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by jaq at 07:58:33 PM on 11/16/2006 | - Website - |
Thanks!
Posted by Brian Rowe at 03:06:34 PM on 11/23/2006 | - Website - |
I haven't used OneNote yet, but it is on my list of things to do.
Posted by Andy Broyles at 01:48:57 AM on 12/01/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by John at 10:56:45 AM on 12/09/2006 | - Website - |
Instead, I use one of 3 methods: an inexpensive USB optical; copying CDs to a 2GB USB thumb drive; attaching to network drives.
There are even tools available to rip DVDs to your hard drive so that you can watch videos without having a local DVD drive.
Posted by Andy Broyles at 11:36:40 AM on 12/09/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by John at 02:26:43 PM on 12/09/2006 | - Website - |
Also how did you get the free Vista upgrade, does that come with it?
Posted by rob summers at 11:12:38 PM on 12/17/2006 | - Website - |
Plus the plan scares me, maybe rockbox or dymamism will perform an upgrade for me later when the 100 Gb drives are around..
Posted by rob summers at 11:50:03 PM on 12/17/2006 | - Website - |
The 40/30GB drive is just way to small for my primary work/lifestyle machine. I have am currently at 42GB free of the 74.5GB installed and have some significant installations left to complete.
I was looking around this weekend and notice that another company was providing 80GB upgrades as a service, I will try to figure out where it was that I saw that and forward it on.
As for Vista, it is Premium Vista compatible and included an upgrade certificate.
Posted by Andy Broyles at 08:54:03 AM on 12/18/2006 | - Website - |
Can you look for me if there is "Boot from Usb" option in bios setup,please ?
This allow the pc to boot from an external hard disk connected to usb port. Thank you very much..Bye
Posted by David at 03:26:07 PM on 12/25/2006 | - Website - |
Further, you can also boot from iLink (optical or HDD) and via a networh bootp server (like Symantec Ghost)
Posted by Andy Broyles at 09:39:29 PM on 12/25/2006 | - Website - |
Sorry for all these questions..it's a fantastic pc,i wantit but here in Italy is not available,i don't know why Sony doesn't sell it in Europe.
Posted by David at 03:43:41 AM on 12/26/2006 | - Website - |
There is not a modem, nor DVI video (it is a standard VGA out connector on the dock.)
There is also a mini port replicator included that has a VGA out and an RJ45 for ethernet for travel purposes (when you wouldn't want to carry the dock with you...ie for a sales presentation at a client's office or something similar.)
I use a BlueTooth monaural ear bud, but if you can get a regular WinXP PC to provide stereo over your BT stereo headset, I am sure it would work on the UX...the BT does not seem to be 'hampered' at all (unlike some cell phones BT I have run into.)
I don't understand the reasoning behind limited geographical releases in the consumer electronics marketplace either...I mean I uderstand having different feature sets for different areas and the need to meet certain regulatory requirements in different locales, but it would seem to me that the UX, with its GSM radio, would be the most 'worldly' version Sony could produce, but what do I know?
Posted by andy broyles at 09:23:06 AM on 12/26/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by Thomas Ho at 02:54:13 PM on 03/17/2007 | - Website - |