Just an hour ago we confirmed (via Pocketables) that the P500 was actually going to show at CES and now, as the Sony press conferences gets under way, the embargoes have lifted and a number of sites have posted official news about the Vaio P500.
CNet and Laptopmag are the two we’ve checked out so far but I’m sure there are going to be many more.
First thoughts on looking at the specs are…OMG. Vista on the 1.33Ghz Silverthorne. I have just that specification in my SC3 gathering dust on my desk right now because I feel it’s too slow for me to use. 2GB of RAM will help though. Battery life is said to be 4hrs on the standard battery (capacity unknown) and there’s a built-in EVDO modem. It’s extremely light and extremely thin.
Give us a few minutes and we’ll get the specs into the database and start adding external links so you can track news.
Update: Available Jan 9th as SonyStyle.com
January 8th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Looks pretty, but if it is Vista only it could well be a fail.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:43 am
Steve, do you see this device have a real potential in the current market or do you think it will remain a niche product?
January 8th, 2009 at 2:15 am
The laptopmag review says Vista only – perhaps due to drivers and the odd 1600 x 768 resolution? I’ve found Vista on low-powered CPU’s ok if you go through all of the optimizations.
January 8th, 2009 at 2:23 am
can’t quite tell…does anyone know if this would fit snug in the average pants pocket?
January 8th, 2009 at 2:27 am
i thought sony was always cutting edge when it comes to small laptops
but 1.33ghz? can’t they at least use the 1.6ghz or even 1.83ghz versions?
how well does windows 7 run on a 1.33ghz CPU anyway?
January 8th, 2009 at 2:32 am
I was actually getting a little interested due to the screen resolution, 3G, GPS and prettiness of it. $900 seemed OK.
But then I realised it isn’t touch screen and thus my interest died as there is no track pad, just a nasty pointing stick that I could never get on with.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:49 am
I love the mouse. I miss them so much.
January 8th, 2009 at 6:21 am
Hi Steve,
I just have a few questions about this device then:
Is it confirmed Silverthorne? So the GMA500 + Z520, because Sony only put 1.33GHz Intel on their website. So it could also be a clocked down N270?
What are the dimensions now? you have 243x120x20 on your spec page and Sony has “10.99″(W) x 0.93″(H) x 7.87″(D)” on their site, which is 279x200x23. So that is quite a bit deeper. Or is this only the package dimensions?
Thanks,
Casper
January 8th, 2009 at 6:26 am
no hdmi out @1080p video?
January 8th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I must confess to being mildly interested. The review for the Asus R50a had all but put me out of the UMPC game and into the Netbook + Mid game, but in the infamous words of Mikey Corleone “Just when I thought I was out…” As usual Chippy, a couple of Q’s:
1. how do you think this will work with Windows 7 beta? (I’m assuming the drivers are all Vista, so a straight switch onto 7 beta would mean I get to avoid the excesses of Vista and perhaps a faster machine – of course this would be a clear breach of my ‘out-the-box-usability’ rule but then the exception to the rule proves the rule.)
2. The price. (surely a typo no? – £850 for $899 I must have been sleeping when £ and $ reached parity).
3. My rational mind says that a NC10/2133/1000h [£300] + Aigo (w. HSDPA) [£600] combo beats the P11 [£850] on flexibility (if not on natural beauty) what say you?
4. Obviously, all the netbooks above can be either linux’d or more importantly XP’d as required – will the Aigo make the transition to XP?
5. Have I missed anything? (i.e. should the R50a remain in the frame? Despite my penchant for ultra small I’ve listened to the masses who say 10″ is the way to go on a netbook is there any contenders I’ve missed? Should I sit this round out and get a bog-standard, full sized, fully specc’d lappie?)