At the CES recently, Sony unveiled their extremely sexy VAIO P which is the world’s lightest netbook at 1.4 pounds with a screen size of a respectable 8 inches, which is to say they’re about three thirds the size of a regular 10-inch EeePC.
The devices are branded “Lifestyle PC” and in true VAIO fashion they are offered in hues of garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic black. The colors are shiny and attractive with a certain hint of quality which all VAIO’s have, in order to justify the sometimes atrocious prices they sell their products for.
The design is such that it feels like a much larger netbook, and mainly this is due to the generously spaced keyboard which makes it comfortable to type in. Apparently the press release also claims they designed the keyboard with consideration for long fingernails, which is just as well because they’ve probably identified women to be one of their larger customer base.
The insides are also pretty amazing as well. 802.11n WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth completes the trio of powerful wireless capabilities, a 4-hour battery life with optional batteries that pack twice the number of power for 8 hours of battery life, GPS functionality which is awesome for a device this size, brilliant 1600×800 pixel screen, and much more. However on the downside, the device packs a whimpering 1.33GHz Intel Atom and runs… wait for it… Vista. I’m not sure of the performance, but blistering wouldn’t be on my mind. More like, crawling.
And finally, because this is a Sony, the VAIO P is priced at $900. Yes folks, you can get a device twice as powerful for half the price, and while no doubt the VAIO P is a great device for turning heads, I don’t think it will be a good enough justification in these times.