Sony’s Vaio P (or VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC, to give it its full, official name) is not a netbook. At CES, where the tiny computer was revealed, Sony made very clear that it was introducing … what, exactly?
For the Vaio P to be a notbook, there must be some definition of the netbook itself. Here we try to track down just what makes up this fastest growing group of computers.
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Processor
With the exception of the Early Asus Eees, which used the clunky 900 MHz Intel Celeron M processor, all netbooks today feature Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom chip. This is more than enough to power a tiny machine (it’s even making its way into desktops).
Sony, curiously, opted for a 1.33GHz processor. The reason seems to be space. This processor can run fanless and therefore fit inside a smaller case. Open up a standard netbook and you’ll find a lot of extra air inside.
Keyboard
This is the real problem with netbooks — they’re just too small. The MSI Wind has an awful keyboard. It’s slushy and the design means you never quite know where your fingers are. HP’s Mini is better, and reports say that Dell’s Mini 9 also has a usable keyboard, but for actual work, like writing this post, you need something bigger.
Sony says that it designed the entire Vaio P around the keyboard. It certainly looks good (quite like the MacBook chiclet keyboard in fact) and, if it proves to work, this could become the spiritual successor of the Psion Series 5, which featured the best tiny keyboard ever. Sony even managed to put the right-shift key in the correct place.
Screen
Nearly every 10” netbook has a screen resolution of 1024x600. The Vaio P squeezes more pixels into a smaller 8” screen — 1600×768. That’s wide. Very wide, and quite obviously the size was decided by the keyboard.
Ports
There’s a reason we joke about netbook specs being the same. They are, right down to the ports on the sides. They all have a VGA-out, three USB ports, an SD card reader, ethernet and mic/headphone jacks.
The Sony of course ditches SD for Memory Stick, but it makes an interesting space saving tweak, too. The display hookup and the Ethernet port are replaced by a single socket into which you slide an adapter. This is complex tech, and clearly differentiates it from standard netbooks.
Price
A regular netbook can be had for a few hundred bucks. Sony’s P will start at $900. This is probably the biggest differentiator for most people, and gives us a hint as to the real definition of the netbook (below). Sony is known for high priced hardware, but compared to UMPCs like the OQO, this full featured and tiny computer actually starts to look like a good deal.
Conclusion
The term netbook may indeed be rather loose, but I think I might have cracked it. A netbook is essentially the cheapest possible portable, and it needs to be small.
Take a close look and you’ll see that they are all built from commodity parts, not a surprise as the first netbooks came from OEMs, the companies that make computers for the likes of Apple and other hardware re-badgers. Those cheap, standard parts (VGA, USB, webcam) are then thrown into a cheap plastic body with enough air inside that cooling isn’t an issue. The Atom processor is common, but not necessary (it’ll surely be upgraded soon anyway).
From this, it’s clear that the Vaio P isn’t a standard netbook. For once, we’re in agreement with Sony.
Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com
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