Sony has achieved something very exciting by squeezing a full version of Windows Vista on to a tiny computer that's much smaller than even the teeniest ultra-portable laptop. With a full Qwerty keyboard and the first instance of flash memory being used rather than a hard drive, the Vaio UX1XN sounds like it could be one of this year's biggest products.
But the thrill of seeing Vista running on such a small machine soon wears off. The compromises Sony has made to squeeze everything into such a small space makes this ultra-mobile PC incredibly difficult to use, and the £2,000 price tag is the final nail in the coffin. A laptop may be larger, but it remains the best option for most people.
Design
The UX1XN sports a clever and attractive design. It's perhaps best described as a handheld tablet PC with a screen that slides up to reveal a Qwerty keyboard. The unit feels good in the hand; it measures 95 by 150 by 32mm and weighs just 480g, which is a minor miracle considering its specification.
The front of the unit is littered with buttons and switches. The most important of these are the mouse controls -- a nubbin at the top right, and selector buttons at the top left.
The mouse is reminiscent of the TrackPoint 'nipples' found on IBM laptops, and while this may not sound like good news for trackpad fans, it's worth pointing out this allows for very precise input. Our only gripe would be that the mouse is clad in a cloth-like material that's prone to picking up fluff. It's not something to worry about too much though, as you'll end up using the touchscreen most of the time.
Below the mouse nubbin is a set of magnification buttons that allow magnification of the screen by 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x and 3x zoom. The remaining buttons include a power switch at the bottom right, a wireless switch at the bottom left, plus scroll lock and 'Vaio Touch Launcher' buttons below the mouse selector buttons.
The latter launches a task-based interface that gives access to commonly used applications such as Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player. Each of these shortcuts is represented by large, highly visible icons that give respite from squinting. The default applications can be swapped for programs of your choice, which is a nice touch.
Towards the top of the unit you'll find a fingerprint reader for secure logins, plus forward-facing and rear-facing cameras. The shutter button lurks just above the mouse nubbin, which is an unfortunate position as it's prone to being accidentally pressed -- we've lost count of the number of times we've activated the camera without meaning to. Also near the shutter is a macro photo switch for taking close-up photos, and a Memory Stick Duo card reader.
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User reviews2
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Gageteer 26 November 2007
Good: Portable, yet powerful. Lightup keyboard. Great screen.
Bad: Naff speaker. Slightly compromising keyboard.
Comment: At £2000 no one was going to buy this machine and every review was going to slate it. Happily the price has more than halved, making the UX1XN a viable UMPC option. Had the price been £1000 or less from the outset, the UX1 would've received many a more favourable opinions; such as mine.
The keyboard is the most negative aspect of the UX1. It is small, it discourages you from structural changes to large tracts of text and punctuation can be awkward; hence this poorly-written review :) However, thumb-typing emails and basic revision and so on is quite possible. I'm typing this out on the UX1 right now, naturally. Just don't expect to compose your memoires on the move or anything.
Battery life is OK. If you push the machine it'll last 1:30, max, but if you're just reading and reviewing text you get closer to 3 hours. It averages 2 hours with me. The extended battery doubles the time, but is fat and ugly and stops you thumb-typing properly altogether. I have 2 standard batteries instead.
Wireless connectivity is flawless and has excellent range. Surfing the web is a joy. Bluetooth lets you add a bigger keyboard and mouse on the move.
The speaker is quite powerful, but tinny and mono. The microphone on the other hand is very sensitive and having a webchat with or without the built-in camera is easy, fun and productive.
The fingerprint recognition works very well.
I think a few more usb ports are needed.
The zoom function is useless. But you can customise the keys for other things.
The most advanced game I've run on this is Dawn of War, just about; still that is quite impressive really.
The keyboard is wearing me out :) So in summary, great machine if you can accept some size-related limitations. Now that it's 'cheap' it is worth a hard look.
Land Shark 6 September 2007
Good: Portability and capability on the move
Bad: Sony's insistence on putting loads of trialware and useless software
Comment: OK so I am a gadget freak with over 25 years in the industry. I don't impress easily, but I have to disagree with the reviewers here. This is one HUGE step forward for true ultra-mobile personal computing that knocks the stuffing out of the competition.
The first thing you notice is the speed of the thing. Using the flash drive as opposed to a mechanical disc, the unit fires up quickly and is redy for use in a fraction of the time of its bigger Vaio brother (the VA01) which I use every day.
The screen is crisp, clear and usable - even in bright light and as for the add-ons (CF slot, MS slot, Bluetooth, WLAN etc. etc) it punches through many laptop and desktop systems.
The battery is not up there with the best, but neither is it the worst and you can get a higher density battery if you can find it.
The keyboard is not as bad as reviewed and I am not exactly "slimmer of the year" although I do have the advantage of using the Sony VGP-KBC1 folding keyboard if I need to do heavy input work. However having any keyboard at all is better than none.
This was an upgrade from the U8G which I had from 2004 and to be honest it is simply the best UMPC/Laptop I have used. No more backbreaking luggae to board an aircraft and only one case for all business stuff.
The only reason this did not get 10/10 was due to Sony's insistence on placing a lot of trial software and useless advertising junk on an already small drive. Advertised with a 35Gb drive, you get less than 9Gb free when it arrives and this is simply unacceptable. Removing the bloatWare takes a considerable time as does giving a decent version of Vista Business, but once complete it makes it a really powerful machine worth every penny of the £850 I paid for it!
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