Premium netbook SONY Vaio X: let's get to know each other better. Premium netbook SONY Vaio X: getting to know each other Processor and chipset

We have already become acquainted with this device in absentia in this article; all that remains is to tell you my personal impressions of using the gadget. Perhaps I haven’t paid so much attention to any laptop lately; the W turned out to be painfully contradictory. Some time ago, Sony employees persistently insisted that they did not know what a “netbook” was and were not involved in the production of such products. Journalists were forbidden to call the Sony VAIO P a netbook; the answer to any rumors about the release of such devices was categorical. However, someone at the top made the decision to attend this segment. Apparently, for informational purposes, because loyalty to the main values ​​has been preserved - even though this is a netbook with typical characteristics, it is more expensive than similar solutions. However, let's first take a closer look at W, and only then talk about its competitors.

Design

In our country, there are three color options for the laptop on sale: brown, white and pink. For simplicity, let's call the colors this way. In my opinion, the most beautiful of them is white. And all because here the area around the touchpad has the same color as the entire body. For example, in brown W “for beauty” they also made it brown, it doesn’t look great. In general, look at the photo and you will understand everything, I think. Although, of course, this is just my personal assessment - I’m used to the fact that Sony laptops have a laconic design. Moreover, white does appearance W is more expensive, attractive, pink and brown are kind of funny.

The case is made of plastic, there are creaks - but a prototype took part in testing, perhaps everything will be better in commercial copies. The area next to the webcam and the hinges creak, and the battery is quite loose. And one more strange thing - you need to hold the lid when closing it, it slams quite hard.

Just for fun, I went to one of the stores that sells W and touched the same version, made of white plastic. There is no creaking, but the battery play remains, the lid closes much more smoothly. As they say, trust, but verify.

I like the interior design of the netbook; the area around the keyboard is textured and rough. The design of the front end is the same as that of the VAIO P, the power slider, the Wi-Fi switch are made similarly, the card readers are there too, there is a light indicator for their operation. I note that the indicators are made in the corporate style, they are neat and small: three above the touchpad, one next to the webcam, there are also activity indicators hard drive, connected power supply. Full set.

The maximum opening angle is small; when working on your knees, you want to tilt the lid even further, but you can’t. If we talk about W, although the hinges here are hidden, which affects both the appearance and the size, they have nothing in common with other VAIOs. Completely different sensations.

The dimensions of the device are 268 x 180 x 32.4 mm, weight – 1.1 kg. In the photographs, the white W may seem like a little “chubby” to you; well, yes, it’s not the thinnest and most miniature netbook. The whole body is so slick, it’s obvious that it’s easier to take it out of a case or bag, nothing gets caught.

In general: the white Sony VAIO W is beautiful, good - if you close your eyes to the little things and don’t find fault too much. The brown and pink models arouse much less interest, it seems to me - the plastic is not very expensive and the design of the touchpad to match the color of the lid is depressing. I will note that there is some kind of pattern on the touchpad itself and it’s kind of cool. I don’t know - I don’t know, I don’t get it. Yes, this laptop in white, in my opinion, will suit both men and women. Although, here we should rather talk about teenagers, young people of both sexes.

The laptop comes with a case and a mouse, both of which can be purchased separately for very little money. Okay, it's still nice that there are extras. For a white netbook the case is also white, for a brown one it is brown.

It probably makes sense to talk about ports and expansion options in this same chapter. As I said above, there are card slots Memory Stick ProDUO and SD, on the right side there are two USB ports and an Ethernet connector, on the left there is an input for the power supply, VGA, 3.5 mm connectors and for connecting a microphone. Standard set.

This netbook does not get very hot even when standing on an uneven surface; warm air is exhausted from the left side and makes moderate noise. Sometimes he wakes up HDD, then the work of W becomes especially noticeable.

Display

The display diagonal is 10.1 inches, resolution – 1366 x 768 pixels. Everything is fine with the brightness, not everything is fine with the viewing angles; in order to “catch” the black color, you need to select a special position for the display. When watching movies, this moment is sometimes very annoying. Due to the fact that the resolution for a netbook is non-standard, more information fits on the display and you have to scroll less often. The dark side of this matter is simple - your eyes get tired after an hour spent in the browser. I didn’t notice such a problem when working with documents.

Speakers

They are there, the sound quality is very average, I recommend using headphones. I recorded a podcast using W; the device is not very suitable for these purposes. When recording in Audacity there was a lot of noise, apparently interference from some component. It was not possible to get rid of them. Compared to Sony VAIO P - heaven and earth. Although, the latter generally has passive cooling, so we won’t compare. In addition, you will also need to try to record sound not from a microphone, but using a headset.

Keyboard

The so-called isolated keyboard with isolated keys. That is, the key block itself is located, as it were, separately from the body, and there is also a certain distance between each key. To put it simply, it’s a typical VAIO keyboard, comfortable, high-quality, and doesn’t raise any questions. The touchpad is small, the buttons are well made - but it’s better to immediately set yourself up to use a mouse, especially since the manipulator is included in the kit. Nothing special, wired mouse, quite comfortable. It’s better, of course, to do without wires and buy something better, for example from Logitech.

Modifications

On this moment There is only one laptop configuration on sale, only the color changes. Called Sony device VAIO VPC-W11S1R, specifications such (let's turn to official sources):

Processor and chipset

• Intel Atom N280 processor, clock frequency 1.66 GHz, with support for Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology, adapter wireless network Wi-Fi and Intel 945GSE Express Chipset
• External bus (FSB): 667 MHz
• Level 2 cache: 512 KB

RAM

• Volume random access memory, 1024 MB
• Maximum expansion capacity: 1.0 GB
• technology: DDR2 SDRAM 533 MHz (1x1024 MB)

Connectivity

• Built-in wireless LAN
• Maximum wireless data transfer rate local network- 54.0 Mbit/s
• Wireless LAN range -100 m
• Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Wireless LAN Protocol - 802.11 b/g
• Wired: Ethernet network 10Base-T/100Base-TX

HDD

• HDD capacity, 160 GB
• Hard drive rotation speed - 5400 rpm
• Interface - Serial ATA

Video adapter

• GPU Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Battery

• Maximum time battery life: 2 hours 40 minutes
• Battery Type: VGP-BPS18 Lithium Ion Battery

Camera

• Built-in digital camera"Motion Eye"
• Number of frames per second - 30.0
• Image sensor - 0.3 megapixel
• Movie function
• Max. Moving image resolution - 640 x 480 (VGA)

Software

• home network- VAIO Media Plus
• Office Application - Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9
• Security and more - McAfee Internet Security Suite, VAIO Recovery Utility - hard restoration disk ( hidden section)
• Operating system - MS Win XP Home Edition

In short, an ordinary netbook - the range of tasks we solve is also typical. We surfed the Internet, typed a document in Word, listened to music, chatted on ICQ or Skype, watched a light movie, and went for a walk. I recommend that enthusiasts install Windows 7 here, just in case. It will probably be very interesting.

Working hours

The power supply is small, which is very good. But the cable is too long, which is not very good. The laptop runs for about two hours on the included battery - connected to Wi-Fi, brightness at full, mode maximum performance. As for the battery with increased capacity, it is not yet clear whether it will be available at all or not.

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Everything is in order here, the sensitivity of the antenna is good, there was reliable reception in all rooms of the apartment, work in the cafe was also simple and cloudless. While nothing is known about adding any additional features like WiMax to the netbook, I think it's worth waiting for in the spring. Well, or buy yourself a modem, that’s also an option.

Competitors

The Sony VAIO W laptop is very good. It will be advertised through some social network(ripped off Facebook by a little more than half) as a fashion accessory for the college girl and college girl. Everything with him is normal and correct... Exactly until the moment the potential buyer looks at what else can be bought for 23,990 (you can find it for 22,000, by the way, but still).

You can buy a lot. There are plenty of netbooks for less money; there are models with much longer operating hours, WiMax support, with iron cases, and so on. The only thing that really makes the Sony VAIO W stand out is its unusual display resolution and branding. In my articles and diary, I often say that the same Toshiba NB200 for more than eighteen thousand rubles comes with an extended battery, a comfortable keyboard with isolated keys, and it looks good. And it costs, I note, almost six thousand cheaper. For this money you can buy a modem from Yota or for connecting via EDGE/3G, and plus have a good student party to celebrate the purchase.

In short, you can decide for yourself what is more necessary and better, Yandex.Market can help.

conclusions

Sony's first “netbook” turned out to be lumpy, because if we talk about the advantages, this is what we get:

• This is Sony
• This is VAIO
• It's not just a netbook, it's a Sony VAIO netbook
• Display resolution is higher than other netbooks
• Isolated keyboard and keys

At the last presentation, all the answers to questions about why such a strange price came down to this. It’s as if the company, even by making a netbook, wants to show the world that this is a very broad gesture - as if from a master’s shoulder. But, if we talk about netbooks, then in our country there is a more or less established market. And if we were to make a competitive device, then it was worth either improving the characteristics or playing with the price. But it turned out neither here nor there - no outstanding features, no soul-satisfying “price tag”. The Sony VAIO W especially does not please inveterate “Sonyboys”, although the white netbook is beautiful, but after use it leaves a strange feeling, as if sitting at a laptop of another brand, where the company logo was accidentally stuck.

Since we’ve talked about the advantages, let’s also pay attention to the disadvantages:

• Short operating time
• Typical netbook platform
• The display seemed strange to me, it is bright, but faded

I can’t recommend this device for purchase even if I wanted to, but if you need a high-quality small laptop, look at the Sony VAIO TZ, you can still find it for more than forty thousand. If you are interested in a killing machine, that is, so that you don’t mind, then you need a netbook for fifteen thousand or less.

Well, if you’ve never had a VAIO but really want it, you really want it, then go ahead, prepare twenty-three thousand and buy it. After all, why not? There is nothing to blame the company for here; you can always say that in this way we just wanted to test this segment, to find out how young people feel about the brand. In general, whatever is done is for the better - and VAIO W has its own role in the gadget system. Let's see how significant it turns out to be.

P.S. There are a couple more things I can't mention. In the case of the W, the consumer may turn off reason because, despite everything, the design of this netbook is very good. The sight of a pink VAIO causes girls to experience sudden attacks of addiction.

Amd's cost-effective platform for netbooks turned out to be extremely successful. Many manufacturers are happy to use it not only in compact models with a screen from 10 to 12″, but also in budget office laptops with a 15.6″ screen. True, we do not recommend purchasing the latter - the performance is still too low (it is much more profitable to take the option with an Intel Celeron processor).

As for netbooks, there can be no complaints about the Amd platform: it is more productive than Intel Atom, is just as cheap, has normal power consumption and more advanced functionality. Particularly pleasing is the full-fledged built-in graphics, although not very productive in 3D, but relatively modern, with normal drivers and support for HD video.

Even Sony, which does not really like Amd products, successfully produces portable model Y series based on the Amd Brazos platform. Moreover, this model is something of a long-liver in the market. The Japanese manufacturer continues to produce it unchanged for more than a year, periodically updating the hardware components. It is obvious that this device is in demand, even despite the highest price among analogues.

Specifications

The Sony VAIO YB netbook is a portable device with a screen of about 12″ (11.6″ to be precise), aimed primarily at a youth audience. The model is based on the AMD Brazos platform with integrated graphics. Starting with the VPC-YB3 series, the device is equipped with the most powerful processor in the series - a 2-core E-450 with a Radeon HD 6320 graphics core.

A few words about this processor. As you know, the Amd Brazos platform at the time of its introduction included two lines of processors - the C and E series, each with both 1- and 2-core processors. The C series is characterized by reduced heat dissipation and performance, it is aimed at netbooks and embedded solutions with a low-power cooling system. The E series is designed for more productive devices: by increasing the permissible heat dissipation limit, the clock frequency of both the main processor and the graphics processor has been increased by 1.5-1.6 times.

The E-450 processor replaced the previous senior processor in the series, the E-350. It has minor improvements in terms of functionality and performance, with a focus on more efficient power consumption. The clock frequency of the cores has been slightly increased, and the ability to dynamically increase the frequency of the graphics core by 18% has been introduced if there is a heat dissipation reserve (the thermal package of the processor is the same - 18 W). Support for a memory bus frequency of 667 MHz is declared, although previous processors had memory operation at this frequency. In other words, the E-450 is a slight improvement on the previous processor.

Comparing the Sony netbook with popular analogues produced by Asus and MSI, we are forced to note that the Japanese model has more modest functionality. The VPC-YB lacks any cool extras like a backlit keyboard, doesn't include USB 3.0, and has a below-average battery life. In terms of weight, the device is typical for its class, but is thinner than its analogues (mainly due to the smaller battery size). Thus, this netbook may interest the buyer due to its famous brand, design and, possibly, quality of workmanship.
The location of the ports on the model is quite standard for compact devices. The video outputs are located on the left, and there is also one of the USB 2.0 ports. Both card reader slots (Sony traditionally provides support for Memory Stick Duo) are placed on the front edge, one above the other. On the left side there are two more USB, built-in audio connectors and a power socket. If you connect a network cable to the latter, you can block the area where the mouse can be used, but in most cases, owners of laptops such as Sony YB use wireless communication.

The netbook body is made easy to maintain: a lid on the bottom allows access to the hard drive, two memory modules and a wireless module. Unfortunately, cleaning the radiator of the cooling system and lubricating the fan is much more difficult, but, in general, this has to be done infrequently.

Thus, the Sony netbook is designed quite intelligently, but its functionality and power reserves are clearly weak compared to its competitors. It seems that this device is more of a fashion device than a practical one.

Design

The Sony netbook inherited its appearance from the first VAIO Y model, developed back in 2009. Obviously, the design turned out to be successful, and the manufacturer decided not to change anything fundamentally. The netbook consists of a flat, thin cover with characteristic beveled corners and the same thin body, which has a wide flat thickening at the end (where the battery is located). The main color option is light, with a silver upper half of the body, but a strict business version is also available, made entirely in black. Interesting feature This model has a colored lid on both sides: versions with a pink and grass-green lid are available (as we had on the test).

Only matte materials are used in the design of the netbook. The lid is made of plastic, quite simple but practical, with a slightly rough texture. The panel around the keyboard is smooth silver, the area for the wrists is a voluminous “cushion” made of corrugated plastic. The netbook has some nice touches, like the glowing side power button. But in general, the interior is decorated in a discreet and slightly old-fashioned way, including because, in our opinion, simple silver plastic is outdated and has not been used in laptop design for a long time (the only exception is some Samsung models). However, this solution will seem classic to some, and the colored lid looks quite fresh and attractive, especially for a youth audience.

The body of the netbook is of average strength; it resists deformation well, does not creak and almost does not bend. The keyboard is equipped with a stencil, which is fixed very securely, with virtually no gaps, the base is rigid and does not wobble. The laptop itself gives the impression of a light and solid device, well thought out and well assembled. However, not everything in the design pleased us. For example, the lid hinge has no play, but in general is neither durable nor securely fixed and allows opening to only 130°. The battery fastening is poor - it has a decent amount of play and makes a knocking sound when carrying the device. However, despite these shortcomings, the design of the netbook seemed to us more thoughtful and well-implemented than some Sony models later development.

Screen

Unfortunately, the VAIO YB netbook's screen was disappointing. An inexpensive Samsung matrix with a typical 11.6″ resolution of 1366×768 has, in general, unremarkable performance. Yes, the image on the screen is very clear (thanks to the pixel size), well balanced and adequate in color (the gamma curves of the three color components are almost identical). However, such disadvantages as low contrast, lack of brightness reserve, limited viewing angles, and small color gamut are noticeable to the naked eye.

Hardware testing showed that the greatest deficiency is in the red color, blue and green are also insufficiently saturated. As for the color temperature, it is very high in dark shades, which is why the picture on the screen has a noticeable purple tint. In principle, a similar situation is observed in many budget laptops, but Sony is by no means a cheap device, and the manufacturer could have equipped it with a better matrix.

Sound

Two small speakers are hidden on the bottom of the Sony netbook. The regular Realtek audio codec does not have any settings (the proprietary panel is hidden), and the speakers are also not marked with the famous logo. The sound of the built-in audio is distinguished by a very narrow frequency range, unpleasant boominess and slight rattling at maximum volume.

Keyboard, display, touchpad

Those who like short-throw keyboards will definitely like the VAIO YB netbook. Elastic membranes with a clearly felt response threshold, a rigid “metal” base and a stroke depth of less than 1.5 mm are quite convenient for typing, as they provide excellent feedback and lack of fatigue. The contrasting square-shaped keys have a slightly rough texture and wide gaps. The key pitch has been reduced by 4%, which takes a little getting used to.

The layout as a whole is convenient (there are nuances only with the cursor keys and their immediate surroundings - the right Shift and the “/?” key), the area for the wrists is sufficient. And in general, working with text on this device occurs with high comfort, the developers have done a good job on all the ergonomics - the location of the keys and the entire canvas, the angle of installation of the case on the table, the placement of the touchpad, the shape and size of the frequently used keys Enter, Shift, Ctrl, spacebar and etc. Perhaps, VAIO YB can be called one of the most convenient devices with a screen less than 13″.

The Sony netbook display is traditionally organized in the old-fashioned way. The first block of LEDs, consisting of keyboard indicators, is located in the upper right corner above the keyboard and is equipped with contrasting markings.
The second block is located on the front edge and includes indicators for the hard drive, battery and wireless network; The card reader also has its own indicator. In general, the display is very convenient, although it does not add elegance and completeness to the netbook's appearance.

The device's touchpad has modest dimensions (65x35 mm), a dot pattern (visual only, the surface is smooth), and two large “clicking” buttons. The touchpad controller is classic (Synaptics), the cursor moves smoothly, clearly and with the usual acceleration. The implementation of multi-touch turned out to be incomplete; in particular, scrolling with two fingers is not supported (two scroll zones on the sides of the touchpad are enabled by default), which is not very convenient. On the other hand, due to its small size and good location, the touchpad does not fall under the palm of your hand when typing.

Performance

The choice of Amd processors for completing netbooks is small - either the slow, but more economical C-60, or the more productive E-450. Therefore, during testing we want to clarify how much more productive the E-450 processor has become compared to its predecessor. To do this, we present previous testing data for several models with the E-350 processor, which is no longer available. These will be MSI U270, Asus Eee PC 1215B (both with a 12.1″ screen), as well as the typical office model Asus X53U.

According to the PCMark 7 test, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the user's computer performance (video and audio compression, 3D, web browsing, text search, hard drive tests along access paths, etc.), new processor provided a slight but stable increase in productivity, beyond the usual measurement error - from 4 to 7%. The largest increase was recorded in the Lightweight test, which measures the speed of the system when executing "lungs" tasks - almost 9%. Since the netbook is designed specifically for "lung" use, it cannot but rejoice. However, the performance of the cost-effective AMD platform remains low in absolute terms.

In the Windows 7 test amd processor The E-450 received a low index of 3.9, which is only 3% higher than the index of the E-350 processor. As before, it is the processor that remains, from Microsoft’s point of view, "weak link" in the Amd Brazos platform. The performance of integrated graphics, on the contrary, is not bad - at the level of integrated graphics of processors Intel Pentium and Celeron, and almost twice as good as netbooks on the Atom platform.

Significantly improved performance "turbocharged" built-in graphics. In almost all tests, the Sony netbook turned out to be 20-30% faster than the MSI and Asus netbooks (the exception was the benchmark based on the game Stalker: Call of Pripyat, which does not favor Amd video cards). However, the FPS values ​​were completely unplayable; you can still run games on the device only with minimal settings.

Battery life

The presence of a high-capacity battery does not guarantee long-term operation without recharging. As well as vice versa: thanks to low power consumption (7 W in the MobileMark 2007 Productivity test), the Sony netbook lasted 5 hours of Internet via Wi-Fi even with its rather modest battery.

The result is not impressive, but it cannot be called an outright failure either - it is about 20% lower than that of most competitors equipped with more capacious batteries.

Noise and heat

Obviously, when developing the netbook, engineers were afraid that the Amd processor would experience strong heating, which would lead to both objective (reduced durability) and subjective (discomfort during operation) problems. To be on the safe side, they increased the fan speed, since the dimensions of the case did not allow increasing the radiator area. As a result, the netbook does not make any noticeable noise only when performing tasks that are completely simple for the processor, such as text editing. Any other work is carried out against the background of the characteristic rustling of the fan (37.6 dBA), and launching a game or data processing program results in moderate noise, about 42 dB.

But there are no problems with processor overheating: yes, in a state of relative rest its temperature (according to the built-in sensor) is about 50°, but in the stress test it does not heat up above 65°, and if you add a load on the 3D accelerator, the temperature rises only to 70°. The temperature of the outer panels, even in the stress test, is surprisingly low - up to 25° under the wrists, up to 33° for the keyboard, up to 35° on the bottom, so there is no thermal discomfort during work under any conditions.

Conclusion

The Sony VAIO YB netbook on the economical Amd platform turned out to be quite successful in many respects, although it also has significant drawbacks. Among the advantages, first of all, I would like to note the excellent ergonomics of the keyboard, low temperature of the case, good shape and size (the device does not seem plump, unlike most of its analogues). The device is completely matte and does not get dirty, although it may become covered with scratches and abrasions over time (all panels are painted).

The most important disadvantage of a netbook is its inadequate cost: it is significantly more expensive than most analogues, although at least it is not superior in terms of functionality, battery life, screen and sound quality. Most likely, this model will be of interest to users with a sufficient budget who put ergonomics and appearance first.

Advantages:
comfortable keyboard;
small thickness, convenient proportions;
no heating of panels;
matte materials.

Flaws:
inadequate cost;
increased noise level when there is no load;
low battery life (less than 6 hours);
battery play.
A source of information:

This year, at the Consumer Electronics Show, which was held in Las Vegas, Sony amazed the whole world with its unusual ultraportable laptop called VAIO P. This 8" gadget fits perfectly in a jacket pocket or even in a purse, and combines many unique technologies And good performance in such a small "body". But potential buyers and the press were stunned by the price Sony quoted, about $900, while netbooks with larger displays and similar features cost half that. With us, it will cost, as always, more. So how does the new Sony VAIO P differ from regular netbooks? Is such a high price justified or is it just a beautiful toy? In order to get answers to all these questions, let's take a closer look and determine all the pros and cons.

Technical characteristics of the tested Sony VAIO P:

CPU:	1.33GHz Z520 Intel Atom
RAM:	2GB DDR2 800MHz (1 DIMM)
Operating system:	Windows Vista Basic SP1 (32-bit)
Display:	8" glossy with a resolution of 1600 x 768 pixels and LED backlit
Data storage:	64GB Solid State Drive
Video card:	built-in Intel GMA 500
Wireless connection:	802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G WWAN Verizon
Card reader:	Sony "Motion Eye"
Battery:	4-segment Li-ion (additionally, you can purchase an extended 6-segment)
Dimensions:	24.125 cm x 11.8 cm x 1.95 cm
Weight:	588 g (with 4-cell battery), 790 g (with 4-cell battery and power supply), 700 g (with 6-cell battery)
Minimum price:	$899.99
Price of the tested configuration:	$1199.99

Assembly and design

Despite using a standard Intel Atom processor, the design of the Sony VAIO P is completely different from any other netbook on the market. The netbook body, made of black glossy plastic, has smooth lines and rounded edges. Attractive modern design perfectly reflects current trends and the desire to combine beautiful and useful qualities in one product.

The design is so original that it is quite difficult to understand whether it is a personal assistant or just a stylish business accessory. The frame around the display and the bottom side of the netbook are also made of glossy plastic. Matte silver plastic is used only for the area around the keyboard, and the internal frame is made of magnesium alloy to increase rigidity and durability of the entire structure. Overall, the VAIO P looks very attractive, but the glossy cover will attract fingerprints like a magnet, making even a brand new netbook no longer so attractive even after a few minutes of use.

The build quality of the VAIO P, like other Sony laptops, is as always excellent; this subnotebook is very durable for its weight and dimensions. The body is made entirely of plastic, but all the plastic seems quite durable and does not bend when pressed. Even glossy surfaces turned out to be very resistant to minor scratches. In principle, there is no need to buy a case for the VAIO P, since it fits into your pocket without much difficulty. Something a regular $500 netbook cannot boast of.

From an upgrade point of view, the VAIO P offers very limited options. The housing is not designed to be opened or modified. And the equipment itself of this netbook is very good, and in general there is no need to change anything about it. The 2GB RAM module is sealed in motherboard, so it will not be possible to replace or upgrade this component at all.

Display

The glossy LED backlit display on the VAIO P delivers vibrant colors with excellent contrast. Although the screen size is small, only 8", but the resolution is 1600 x 768 pixels. But this also has its negative point; it is very difficult to read small text on the screen, but Sony developers took care of this too - VAIO P has special function Magnification, which allows you to increase the size of readable text without changing the screen resolution. Calling this mode is easy, just press the FN and F10 keys, and small text instantly becomes readable. The display is a glossy XBRITE-ECO panel which, as expected, exhibits little reflection in bright indoor lighting or directed sunlight.

The horizontal viewing angle is good, so both you and your friend watching movies on the 8" screen will feel comfortable and see a high-quality picture. The vertical viewing angle is acceptable, but the colors are washed out with increasing angle and inverted at a small tilt angle.

Keyboard and touchpad

Cheaper, full-size laptops tend to have low-quality keyboards that have significant flex and float while typing. But most netbooks are completely free of this problem, since the netbook frame itself is small and there is little free space under the keyboard, and, therefore, there is nowhere for the keyboard to bend.

The keyboard on the VAIO P is not as cramped as on 7" and 8.9" netbooks, but it is still very compact. Most keyboards installed on netbooks are very uncomfortable because they have small buttons and a small area for the hands, and require a non-standard way of entering information, rather than the usual typing by simply touching your fingers. This means that passwords may be typed incorrectly, email addresses may look like gibberish, and games that require keyboard controls may seem impossible to play.

If you are going to use the VAIO P as your main laptop, you should get an additional external keyboard that will allow you to easily and quickly type text.

The touchpad is completely absent on the VAIO P. Instead, the VAIO P has a touchpoint or trackpoint, which can be seen in some business laptop models. The TrackPoint is very sensitive, easy to use, and was very pleasant to use. The left and right touchpoint buttons are located below the space bar and have shallow feedback, with a distinctive click when pressed fully.

Interfaces

The new Sony is pleased with the set of interfaces; not every netbook, even larger in size, has such a set of ports as the VAIO P. You get two USB ports, two card readers, a headphone input, a serial port used to connect Ethernet/LAN and VGA. The dimensions of the case allow you to place an additional USB or Firewire port, but, unfortunately, they are not there.

Front: slot for SD/SDHC memory cards, Memory Stick cards

Rear: battery

Left: power adapter port, USB port, headphone input

Right: Security lock slot, USB, expansion port

Performance

No matter how stylish the Sony VAIO P looks, most potential buyers care primarily about performance. This is one of the winning sides of the VAIO P, thanks to which it can compete fiercely with other netbook models. In order to keep the surface temperature of the laptop and power consumption within reasonable limits, Sony decided to use Intel processor Atom clocked at 1.33GHz, rather than the 1.6GHz Atom processor found in most well-known netbooks. This protects the VAIO P from overheating and increases battery life, but in this case the basic configuration has a frankly weak processor.

Like most Atom-based netbooks, the VAIO P has enough power to handle basic day-to-day tasks like web browsing and office applications, but don't expect to use it as a spectacular multimedia laptop. Since Sony comes with operating system We decided to test the new beta of Windows Vista on VAIO P Windows version 7. Windows 7 seems to improve the performance of the VAIO P and make this netbook more useful. Windows Vista isn't bad, but Windows 7 makes the VAIO P much better.

System performance results when tested in 3DMark06:

Laptops	Ball 3DMark06
Sony VAIO P (1.33GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 500, Windows Vista)	88 3DMarks
Sony VAIO P (1.33GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 500, Windows 7 beta)	71 3DMarks
HP Mini 2140	118 3DMarks
LG X110 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	81 3DMarks
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, NVIDIA 9300M 256MB)	81 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1000HA (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	95 3DMarks
Acer Aspire One (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	122 3DMarks
Sony VAIO TZ (1.20GHz Core 2 Duo U7600, Intel GMA 950)	122 3DMarks
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	532 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks

Sound

The speakers on the VAIO P are very weak. The built-in speakers installed on the VAIO P produce a similar sound to what can be heard from the speaker cell phone. These speakers are enough to play short video clips or system sounds, but in order to listen to music, it is better to connect external speakers.

The headphone jack has a standard output and works correctly with any type of headphones. Headphones are also required if you intend to use the VAIO P as a music player.

Heat and noise

During our tests, we noticed that netbooks based on Intel Atom generate a reasonable amount of heat during operation. Sony VAIO P is no exception to these rules. Under normal operating conditions, such as web browsing, typing, or downloading Email, the surface temperature remains within the acceptable range. The picture below shows different temperatures on the surface of the netbook (indicated in degrees Fahrenheit) recorded when browsing the web and viewing AVI files after about 25 minutes.

In terms of noise output, the VAIO P we tested was absolutely silent thanks to its passive cooling system. If you purchase a netbook in a basic configuration with a standard hard drive, then it may make a little noise due to the moving parts in it, but if the package includes an SSD drive, then the laptop will be quite quiet.

Battery

Under normal operating conditions, with the display backlight set to 80 percent and using Wi-Fi and working in Microsoft Word The VAIO P lasted 2 hours and 39 minutes with the standard 4-cell battery. The extended 6-segment battery provides 4 hours and 8 minutes at the same operating mode. Reducing screen brightness and turning off wireless communication, you can achieve even better autonomy.

The 6-cell battery is slightly larger than the 4-cell battery, but the VAIO P still looks very compact and stylish.

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Conclusion

Sony is positioning its VAIO P as a "Lifestyle PC" rather than a netbook. Overall, the Sony VAIO P is not your average affordable netbook, but a stylish business model.

Instead of the VAIO P, which costs $900, you can choose another laptop with similar equipment, but a significantly lower price. But the VAIO P isn't your average netbook; it's an innovative product with modern design and cutting-edge technology that you won't find in a $500 netbook. But it has a rather weak processor, and is not intended to be a main computer. If you intend to use the VAIO P as a multimedia center, you will probably be disappointed, but if you use the VAIO P as an additional portable gadget, it will be an excellent solution.

pros

- minimum dimensions and weight in its class
- excellent build quality
- good quality keyboards despite their small size
- responsive touchpad
- comes with built-in 3G WWAN
- no noise from the fan

Minuses

- high price for an Atom-based laptop
- gets hot during operation
- the glossy plastic cover shows fingerprints and scratches
- weak speakers
- no upgrade option

In our case, we got very good results, considering the low battery capacity. Four hours in reading mode and almost two hours in load mode is a good indicator.

Conclusion

When releasing a netbook, Sony hardly set itself the goal of “defeating all competitors.” In this case, it would be necessary to make a non-standard configuration, or a non-standard one in terms of reducing the price, or both. VAIO W does differ in price, but on the larger side. And its configuration is no different from most modern netbooks. But a single glance is enough to understand where the company's efforts were invested - in design.

Sony VAIO W is a fashion netbook. And fashion “things” are always more expensive, and this can justify a slightly higher cost. The mobile computer stands out from its competitors, and in the hands of the owner it will look stylish and catchy.

There are no complaints about the quality of the VAIO W. The build is excellent, the keyboard layout is generally comfortable, and the isolation of its keys is a definite plus. The screen has a fairly high resolution, although small characters on it look a little small. In general, the Sony VAIO W is a stylish, high-quality and convenient netbook, but with the usual hardware and a higher price relative to its analogues. So decide for yourself whether it’s worth paying extra for the appearance, and, of course, the brand.