I wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t pick up a Vaio UX180P [Portal page] a few years back. I’ve been a big fan of the UX series of UMPC from Sony for a long time. You’ve probably read on our site that the UX180 was my primary PC for nearly 4 years. I’ve built up a lot of respect for the unit since I’ve been using it for such a long time.
As great as the UX series might be, it definitely isn’t main stream. Since the initial release of the UX180, Sony has released incremental updates over the last few years (280, 380, 390) finally landing on the current top-of-the-line UX490. The UX490 [Portal page] is almost identical to the original UX180 in terms of aesthetics, but the insides have had some nice bumps in power and performance. The UX490 has a 32GB SSD, 1.2GHz Core 2 Solo, 1GB of RAM, and as far as I know, still claims the title of most powerful UMPC to date.
Though the UX490 might still be one of the highest performing UMPCs, it was released back in November… of 2007. It isn’t inconceivable for Sony to have some big gaps in model refreshes, but it has been quite a while now. That, and the fact that the Vaio UX series is pretty much gone from Sony’s site, make it seem like the Vaio UX line is done.
Enter the VAIO P [Portal page]. This ‘pocketable‘ computer has a pretty similar usability concept. Both the UX and the P are supposed to be relatively powerful, highly portable computers (that’s why we call them Ultra Mobile PCs), but their form-factors are inherently different. The UX is designed to be hand-held and thumb-typed. The P is supposed to be small and portable, but still retain its touch-typability, and probably won’t function very well as a hand-held device in the way that the UX does.
Regardless of the fact that the P is Atom based, both the P and the UX carry a premium price, so it is hard to say that Sony is really following the netbook trend instead of releasing a new UMPC. It almost seems as though the P is a successor of the UX, but simply with a different form-factor. The change in form factor would be a reason to switch the series denotation as well.
I think there are two ways to ask the question that is proposed in the title of this article. First of which, is asking if Sony intends for the P to succeed the UX. Second, is looking at whether the P replaces the UX in terms of usage. I’ve contacted someone at Sony and I’m hoping to get an answer to the first version of the question. As for the second… I should be able to answer that for you over the next few weeks.
March 5th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Is the VAIO P supposed to be the successor of the UX line? http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=6057
March 5th, 2009 at 5:38 am
I’ve the Sony UX280 for a while now & I love it, that’s why I was considering getting the Sony P, but with all the reviews I’ve seen I probably won’t…
March 5th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Yesterday I had the chance to view face to face a sony vaio P in a shopping center and I couldnt believe to my eyes.It was imposible clearly read so small caracters in that screen. What a big mistake of Sony.
And it was not just my opinion.All other people examining the divece had frustrations.
tehsean Reply:
March 5th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Yeah, I was very tempted to buy it before I had even seen it in the flesh. I’m so glad that I waited until I could play with it in a SonyStyle store. The thing is beautiful, but the performance is total trash. It was very slow in the store, somewhat hard to read, and the XCROSS system was a little confusing.
As such I still do most of my work on an Everun Note and more recently, I’ve dragged out my old Sharp Zaurus C3200.
March 5th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I think it’s more likely that the P series is a ‘spiritual successor’ of the old C1 series of ultra-portable notebooks which were around long before the birth of the modern netbook or umpc.
http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/PCOM/PCG-C1CAT/image/top_1.gif
I still have a C1VE, which I still consider to be one of the best ultraportables ever made. The ultra-wide aspect screen was a feature of the older models too, and is fantastic for watching films. Unfortunately the ageing C1VE isn’t powerful enough for modern video codecs at SD or HD resolutions.
I’m in two minds right now as to whether I’ll go for a P-Series. I cannot tolerate vista, and have been disappointed with VAIO build quality of late.
£800 for the same spec as a netbook and 2-3 hour battery life is a lot to swallow, regardless of it’s extreme compactness.
March 5th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
i think the title of most powerful UMPC belongs to the Core 2 Duo modded UX series as mentioned in this forum some time ago
March 6th, 2009 at 2:36 am
I think it is essential to get one’s hands on these UMPCs before using them. I was certain I was going to get a UX380 when they went on sale here last year. Then I actually went to a Sony store and tried one. It was unusable – everything too small, and I have fairly small hands.
I got lucky with the Gigabyte M704. I bought it without trying it first, and I have been very happy with the usability of that device. In this rapidly changing field, I have had that device for 7 months,and so far I still would not prefer any other device currently on the market. It seems like the best balance so far between cost, size,usability, and power.
March 12th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I really wished that Sony improves on the P and makes it a little narrower and a little shorter so it would be truly jacket pocket in size. I would recommend that they make it 4.25″ wide by no more than 8″ long then it would be more practical yet still long enough for a touch type keyboard.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
The P was the fist Umpc i put my eyes on but the UX was the first one i could play with so i wanted to go for the P becouse i havent played with it and the looks of it it was very controlable and since the P was in stores around here it was easyer to get my ands on the P then the UX later on i got a choice i founf a UX and i had enough for both i went with the UX couse ist sort of easyr to use and had more hardware stuff and a touchscreen and all that good stuff witch i would miss out on a P still tough i love the design of the P but the UX is more useable for me.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
P.S i was on vacation in new york i saw the P and a friend of mine had a UX
February 6th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
RSS ne rabotaet (( Mozhet eto iz-za kodirovki?