Editors' Rating
| Service & support |  |
7.0 |
| Design |  |
9.0 |
| Features | |
9.0 |
| Battery life |  |
6.0 |
| Performance | |
6.0 |
Published: 19 Jan 2009
Sony likes to keep its VAIO products aimed at mid-to-high-end buyers — much like Apple does — and generally eschews the budget end of the market (although there are a handful of less expensive VAIOs we've reviewed favourably).
When it comes to Intel-Atom-powered systems, it's no different: Sony's entry into the very hot mini-notebook category shares a lot with Netbooks such as the Dell Mini 9 or Asus Eee PC, but clearly goes out of its way to avoid being lumped in with them (Sony doesn't even call the P-series a Netbook).
Sony's VAIO P is a 638g 8in. Atom-powered clamshell notebook. Everything about it except the price (from £849 inc. VAT), and Sony, says 'Netbook'.
Even with a wide-screen, 8in., 1,600-by-768-resolution display and reasonably usable full keyboard, the £849-£1,369 (inc. VAT) VAIO P fits into roughly the same footprint as a standard business envelope, and is 1.98cm thick. That makes it both an impressive engineering feat, as well as a system that will work best for a highly specific group of users. Although it can be a useful travel PC for those most concerned with size and weight, casual users may be put off by the tiny trackpoint navigation and bloated Windows Vista operating system. That said, next to the new 17in. MacBook, we've rarely had a notebook with more gawkers dropping by the Labs to take a look.
The VAIO P is one of the smallest notebooks we've seen — it almost reminds us of a UMPC (such as Sony's own UX series), but with a traditional clamshell notebook design. Sony offers a variety of colours, including garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic (matte) black, with matching accessories including a fitted leather case.
To fit a reasonably full-featured PC into a chassis this small, some sacrifices had to be made, and the lack of a standard touchpad (instead there's a ThinkPad-like pointing stick), keeps the VAIO P from being as useful as it could be. The pointing stick's sensitivity has to be jacked up to get across the wide screen easily, which makes fine control difficult.
The VAIO P has a pointing stick and three mouse buttons, plus an extra button to the right that arranges open windows side-by-side on the desktop.
The mouse buttons are relegated to tiny slivers at the front edge of the system. You can also optionally tap on the pointing stick for a left-click, although you'll invariably end up with a lot of false left-clicks that way. A middle mouse button for scrolling helps, as does an additional button to the right, which arranges your open windows side-by-side on the desktop. With the extra-wide 1,600-pixel resolution, you can easily fit a couple of open browser or document windows next to each other.
The Linux-powered, instant-on environment — XMB (Xross Media Bar) — resembles that used on Sony's PSP and PlayStation 3 game consoles, and provides for a decent web-surfing experience while helping to save battery life. This is important, as the standard battery is small, and using the included mobile broadband (or the built-in GPS receiver) will run it down even quicker (Note: according to Sony's UK web site, you get two Li-ion batteries: a standard unit rated at 2.75h and an extended battery rated at 5.4h).
The VAIO P features Sony's Linux-based XMB pre-boot OS (as seen on the PSP and PlayStation 3 consoles).
We spent most of our time in Windows Vista, currently the only operating system option available. With Vista, the VAIO P's 2GB of RAM is practically a minimum requirement, and the OS felt sluggish and hung frequently, even with the graphics options set to Vista Basic. Windows XP is currently the best match for Atom processors, and we've also had some success experimenting with Windows 7. Sony, as is its custom, includes plenty of its proprietary media and networking software, which you can choose to use, ignore, or even uninstall.
The 8in. wide-screen LED-backlit display offers a native resolution of 1,600 by 768 pixels, which is the highest we've seen in an Atom-powered notebook. Because of this, text and icons are small, and some may find them hard to read. A zoom button helps a bit, but if you have trouble with small on-screen text, this system will drive you mad.
What makes the VAIO P stand out from run-of-the-mill Netbooks is its impressive array of extra features. Mobile broadband is standard (in the UK, this is an Everywair Wireless WAN 7.2Mbps HSPA module), as is a GPS receiver and Bluetooth; and even the Wi-Fi is the faster (draft) 802.11n variety.
It would be wise not to expect too much in terms of raw performance from this system. Taken as a Netbook, it falls behind systems with Windows XP, such as HP's new Mini 2140 (which has a slightly faster version of Intel's Atom CPU, and costs around £350), in our benchmark tests. When looked at as an ultraportable notebook, it performs even worse, although it's an unfair fight against more expensive 11in. systems with Intel's ULV dual-core processors.
With those caveats in mind, we were able to successfully surf the web and work on documents, much the same as any Atom-powered notebook. Online video streaming and DVD file playback were likewise smooth, and our biggest productivity problems stemmed from waiting for Vista menus to open and struggling with the pointing stick. As much as Sony wants to stay away from the Netbook tag, the guiding principle remains the same: if you manage your expectations appropriately, the VAIO P works great. Expect it to perform the same tasks as your full-size computer, and you'll be disappointed.
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