CES: Sony introduces a purse-sized PC

LAS VEGAS -- Somewhere between a cellphone and a laptop is Sony's new PC offering: the Vaio P Series Lifestyle PC. We got a gander at it at the Sony news conference Wednesday. 

Vaio P just could stand for "purse" -- OK, or "pocket." It's a computing device but definitely not a full-service computer. Think smartphone on steroids. The tiny PC is light, weighing in at 1.4 pounds and offers users different ways to connect with integrated wireless WAN, LAN and Bluetooth. There's built-in GPS for navigation, whether you have an Internet connection or not. The 8-inch LED backlit screen is a 1600 x 768 display.

It was described as more of a companion device than competing in terms of a laptop or desktop. (It's got only 2 GB of RAM.) The $900 version has a 60 GB hard drive, and the $1499 version has a 128 GB solid state drive. The computer runs on Windows Vista. It has a standard lithium-ion battery; Sony claims it will offer about four hours of use with the standard-capacity battery and eight hours with the large-capacity battery.

In terms of expansion, the Vaio P has slots for a memory stick, a multimedia card and an SD memory card. There's also a built-in webcam and microphone for chatting. (More details in the video below.)

And, like any good accessory, it comes in "fashion-forward" (their words, not mine) colors: garnet red, emerald green, onyx, crystal white and classic black.

Pre-orders are being taken from the Sony Style website, with shipments expected to go out late January/early February.

Even though Sony's advertising for the Vaio P says "go lightly," with all these pocket-size devices and hand-helds coming out, one really needs to ponder getting a bigger pocket to put them all in.

-- Michelle Maltais

Tell us what you think. Would you buy it?

Photo credit: Sony Electronics

Comments

[Peter in BC]

Seems to be a nice compromise between an iPhone (screen's too small for browsing) and a laptop (too big and heavy for comfortable traveling). If Apple made one like it, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[Gene Venable]

I already have a Nokia N800 computer, which does fit in my pocket and which costs between $200-$400, so no, I wouldn't buy it, especially with Windows Vista on it. I also have an EEE PC 1000h, which cost me less than $400 -- there is only so much room for different form factors. And I would have to buy a purse...

[caroline]

If it can be used like a cellphone as well, then, yup. This is what I have been looking for. The article does not explain why the machine is likened to a phone. Off to Sony to see what's what.

[David Galvan]

Nah. Now that I have a smartphone with 3G and wi-fi (iphone 3G), I already have web access and e-mail wherever there is a cell signal or wi-fi. No need for a "secondary laptop". I've got my workhorse laptop and a smartphone. Wouldn't buy this type of device.

[Jeff]

I am not sure why I would need an iphone, a laptop and now an intermediate companion device. I think these smaller notebooks have been placed on the market before and have not sold very well because of their small size and lack of features. If I were traveling, then I might see this device as an option however. There is nothing worse than lugging a full sized notebook around when you are overseas.

[Nate]

The writer is obviously a moron. It's nowhere near a smartphone. It has a fully featured Windows OS, plenty of storage, a full querty keyboard, and a reasonable processor. "Only" 2 gigs of RAM? What the hell are you planning on running on it? It's not a gaming laptop, that's for sure, but even if it were, 2 gigs wouldn't be too underpowered. The fattest desktop in the world can only use about 3 gigs of RAM in a 32 bit windows OS.

[Deekay]

This is a very impressive device and hats off to Sony for using the Atom chip in an innovative way like this. I need a laptop for travel and would really appreciate something smaller and lighter than I use now. I need to be able to use all the MS Office apps on the go and hook up to a projector. The main disappointment with this device is the huge, huge bezel. I really like the 1600 pixels width, and nobody else comes close to this. But why not use more of the full real estate of the nominal 10.7 inches diagonal of the chassis? The 8-inch display leaves 2.7 inches of useless bezel, measured along the diagonal. Many older cheap laptops suffer from the opposite extreme, sometimes having only 1024 pixels width for a 15-inch display. Everything about this netbook is "just right" except for this glaring flaw.