Sony shaves off the pounds

Darius Chang | May 16, 2006

With dimensions only slightly larger than the PlayStation Portable, the Sony VAIO UX180P is its new addition to the UMPC party.

Looking like a Star Trek prop, the Sony VAIO UX180P has a distinctly high-tech appearance with its sliding keypad and antenna. Joining the new category of ultramobile PCs (UMPC), the VAIO UX180P weighs a mere 0.54kg but has the processing power to run Windows XP Professional.

With its 4.5-inch widescreen display and Intel Core Solo U1400 processor, you also get 512MB of RAM and a 30GB harddrive. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and WWAN. Following 3G phone trends, this UMPC incorporates a 1.3MP camera at the back and a 0.3MP one facing the user. Even more impressive for its size is the fact that it also has a USB port, Memory Stick slot and biometric fingerprint scanner.

We feel that Sony may have a winner. With an integrated sliding keypad, touchscreen and pointing stick, data entry and manipulation are greatly simplified compared with purely touchscreen models. Handwriting recognition, though greatly improved, is still not as speedy as using a keyboard. At a starting price of US$1,799 (S$2,845.48) and up to 4.5 hours of battery life, this notebook is worth saving for.
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