Sony Vaio P

Sony Vaio P Review

At the recent Computer Electronics Show, Sony introduced the world to the new Sony Vaio P netbook, and it really made a massive splash. It did this for two reasons, one it is gorgeous (with some bloggers describing it as the Ferrari of Netbooks), and the second is the price, which is..urm….pretty high at around £600 ($900).

Spec-wise it is fairly standard with an Intel Atom processor, Windows Vista (might offer Windows XP soon) and 2GB of RAM. The only issue with Sony offering Windows XP in the future is that the RAM will have to be decreased to 1GB due to Microsoft restrictions.
It has a 60GB Hard Drive, a 4 hour battery life and WLAN wifi with bluetooth. The Sony Vaio P is really tiny with a 8 inch screen and measuring just 245mm x 19mm x 119mm and weighs just over half a kg (0.6kg). So it truelly is highly highly portable.

Sony have been able to fit the tiny keyboard into the dimensions by doing away with the trackpad (mousepad). You now have a pointer stick, which does a little getting used to. The other issue is that the mouse buttons are right next to the spacebar, so there are a few times when you push the incorrect key.

It does however look absolutely fantastic and is available in black, green, white and red. This could very well be the best looking netbook on the market. Sony have not classified it as a netbook, but rather as a ‘Lifestyle PC’…right. We prefer Notebookreview.com’s opinion of calling it a ‘luxury netbook’.

The main issues is of course the huge price or +-£600. That is rediculously pricey for a netbook, even one that looks this good. However it does show that Sony have realised that not all people who buy netbooks are swayed by price. Often times it is the portability, and Sony have taken this to the extreme, while not fogetting that we are not all backpackers working on netbooks on remote hills, but might also be taking it into client meetings.

Beautiful…yes
Overpriced…yes.