Another Sony VAIO UX UMPC Gets Packed to the Brim With Great Mods

Posted on 12 October 2010, Last updated on 25 April 2019 by

The guys at Micro PC Talk will not give up. We’ve seen some amazing mods for the coveted (but cancelled) Sony VAIO UX ultra mobile PC [portal page] in the past. This time, modder Anh packs a UX390 to the brim with four additional devices, all without modifying the original body of the UMPC. The challenge here is that the VAIO UX only has two internal USB ports. Anh had to install an extremely tiny 4-port USB hub inside of the UX in order to be able to connect all the devices to the computer:

usb-hub_thumb2

Here’s what’s been carefully packed inside (in addition to the hub above):

  • Huawei E172 modem for 3G data (and possibly voice and SMS) [along with this mod, a modified portion of the original EDGE modem was inserted to function as a SIM card slot for the E172 modem, accessible from original SIM card slot]
  • Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Stick for OTA TV
  • GPS receiver

On top of all of this, Anh upgraded the UX’s relatively low-powered 1.2GHz Core Solo CPU to the 1.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7700. No easy feat as the CPU has to be completely reballed (not simply dropped in with pins).

Anh was also kind enough to provide some great high-res photos of the modified motherboard to show the added components (click for full size):

ux front
ux back

And the result looks a little something like this (the external body is totally unmodified):

ux_thumb[5]

The VAIO UX is one of the reasons why I’ve urged Sony to reignite their innovation in the handheld arena.

10 Comments For This Post

  1. George Endrulat says:

    #technology Another Sony VAIO UX UMPC Gets Packed to the Brim With Great Mods: The guys at Micro PC Talk will not … http://bit.ly/9QxrAG

  2. Gretchen Glasscock says:

    Another Sony VAIO UX UMPC Gets Packed to the Brim With Great Mods: The guys at Micro PC Talk will not give up. We’… http://bit.ly/9LY0LT

  3. Alltop Mobile says:

    Another Sony VAIO UX UMPC Gets Packed to the Brim With Great Mods http://bit.ly/9I7Yd5

  4. AhmedJamal Ibraihimi says:

    RT @Alltop_Mobile: Another Sony VAIO UX UMPC Gets Packed to the Brim With Great Mods http://bit.ly/9I7Yd5

  5. Jason Sirota says:

    I wonder if I can do this with my #Fujitsu Lifebook? http://bit.ly/bgQu2c

  6. Hamilton Vera says:

    "Mini Sony Vaio" http://is.gd/fZDAE

  7. jjcmontano says:

    Sony VAIO UX UMPC Packed to the Brim – http://ow.ly/2SCbh (via Slashdot) CPU reballing?! i really should have taken that double major in EE.

  8. danuradi says:

    upgrade yang sadis O_O http://www.umpcportal.com/2010/10/another-sony-vaio-ux-umpc-gets-packed-to-the-brim-with-great-mods/ via #slashdot

  9. Bishisht Bhatta says:

    @guptachandan1 check out this http://bit.ly/bgQu2c

  10. Steve 'Chippy' Paine says:

    Got slashdotted yesterday – http://yfrog.com/bfrqopj for this UMPC story. http://bit.ly/cBUq0M Congrats @benz145

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