Pocketables

Sony announces Vaio UX490N/C Premium Micro PC

Trailing Sony Japan's announcement of the UX72 and UX92 series of Core 2 Solo Micro PCs by about six weeks, Sony Style in the U.S. has added the UX490N/C Premium model to its lineup.

Nothing about the new model has changed since it first appeared on Amazon and B&H in mid-September, so we're still looking at a 1.2GHz Core 2 Solo U2200 processor, 48GB SSD, and 1GB of RAM tucked into an all-black casing. In addition to being the first U.S. model with the Core 2 Solo and an SSD of this size, it's also the first to have 251MB of video RAM. Previous Vista models have 224MB and the older XP models have just 128MB.*

The UX490N/C is priced at $2500 and includes both the standard (VGP-BPS6) and extended (VGP-BPL6) capacity batteries, Bluetooth GPS receiver, and all the regular supplied accessories (including the detachable stand that has shipped with every model except the UX180P).

*I've added the UX490N/C to my chart of all the UX models known to man (okay, known to me).

[Micro PC Talk]

Sony Vaio UX380N Micro PC for $999

Featured in Buy.com's regular technology specials and hot deals email today are brand new (not refurbished) UX380N Micro PCs for the unbelievable price of $999.99.

Based on the $1849.99 price currently listed at Sony Style, that's a savings of $850! And judging from the way the unit shot up on Buy.com's What's Shakin' list, from a sales rank of 1692 yesterday to a rank of 4 today, it seems that lots of people are taking notice.

Whether the retailer has slashed prices to make room for the new Core 2 Solo UX model (possibly called the UX490N/C) or to just get rid of old stock because it won't carry the product anymore is unknown.

[Product page]

Sony adds Core 2 Solo CPU to Vaio UX series

Although there's no official sign of a U.S. counterpart yet, Sony Japan has just added three new models to its Vaio UX Micro PC lineup.

The UX72 and UX92 series, scheduled for release in mid-October, sports the same hardware as all previous units but swaps the old Core Solo processor for a 64-bit Core 2 Solo CPU running at 1.06GHz (U2100) and 1.20GHz (U2200). As with other UXs available in Japan, the new group will be customizable through the "VAIO Owner Made" service with casing color, HDD capacity, and SSD options depending on configuration (keep track of all the models with my UX series chart).

The non-configurable U.S. version, already listed at Amazon and B&H as the UX490N/C, will reportedly feature the U2200 processor and a 48GB flash drive.

[Micro PC Talk]

Pocketables artwork: Ambigrams on Sony Vaio UX390N

Inspired by the gadget monkey that launched my little "pocketables artwork" series, engineer and artist Ruel Masacayan sent me two ambigrams he created with his brand new Sony Vaio UX390N Micro PC and the fine lead tip of a mechanical pencil.

Ambigrams are graphics that spell a word that can be read in more than one orientation. For example, the image above is called a rotational ambigram and it reads "Jenn K. Lee" both right-side up and upside down.

Sony Vaio UX processor upgrade campaign

SonyStyle Japan has recently launched a processor upgrade campaign for its HDD- and SSD-based UX91 series of micro PCs. You might remember from this chart that the Vista UMPCs could be configured with one of three processors: 1.2GHz Celeron M 443, 1.2GHz Core Solo U1400, or 1.33Ghz Core Solo U1500. I don't know what the usual price differences between the CPUs are, but up until July 27th, Sony is offering the top-end U1500 for only $41 (5,000 yen) over the U1400, which is obviously an incredible deal.

To put this into some context, the U.S. variant of the "zero-spindle" UX91 is the UX390N, which is on sale now for $2350. Under the new CPU campaign, however, an identically spec'd UX91 (with English keyboard) is just $2017. Similarly, the $1850 UX380N is the same as the 40GB HDD-based UX91, which can now be purchased (with English keyboard) for just $1564.

Engadget readers name Sony Vaio UX280P best handheld of 2006

If a great price isn't enough to persuade you to pick up a Sony Vaio UX280P, how about top honors from Engadget's legions of readers?

Vying for the Handheld of the Year title against the UX280P was a motley group of gadgets whose individual  inclusions in the category were as curious as the legitimacy of the awards themselves. The other nominees, sharing more differences than similarities, were the Asus R2H and Samsung Q1P UMPCs, the Pepper Pad 3 Linux-based Web computer, the Sony PRS-500 e-book reader, and the Sony mylo personal communicator. Whatever the reason for the categorization, all five "handhelds" were in the running against the micro PC, and the UX280P emerged victorious.

If you remember that the UX series was named the best-selling handtop last year (only to be called the worst notebook of the year a week later), its success in the Engadget polls shouldn't be too surprising.

$1099 refurbished Sony Vaio UX280P with Linux

If the premium price tags attached to the Sony Vaio UX series have kept you from joining the fine folks at Micro PC Talk, it's time to start thinking of a username.

That's because the ClearanceClub is currently selling factory reconditioned UX280Ps for just $1099, an astonishing $900 off the initial purchase price (how they got that ridiculous $2800 list price is beyond me). This is an even better deal than those $999 UX230Ps from a few months ago because the extra $100 gets you a faster processor, bigger hard drive, and more RAM.

For an additional $59, you can even add a copy of SuSE or Linspire Linux to your order to set up a dual-boot configuration or replace the preinstalled Windows XP Pro completely. ClearanceClub erroneously lists the device as having a charcoal casing (it's actually silver), so I'm not sure if either Linux distro is actually 100% compatible with the UX. Ubuntu seems to be working pretty well, though, so that's a good sign.

Say hi to Master Moderator benz145 at the forums for me!

[Micro PC Talk]

Benchmark battle: Sony Vaio UX180P vs. Samsung Q1P

Are you one of those people who can look at the names of two different processors and know immediately which one is more powerful? I'm not. That's why when I got my Samsung Q1P in December, I expected it to run circles around my Sony Vaio UX180P. Call it naivete or just plain ignorance, but I really thought that a 1GHz Pentium M with 1GB of RAM was faster and "better" than a 1.2GHz Core Solo U1400 with 512MB of RAM. Evidently, it's not. And just to make sure I wasn't imagining the slower performance, I ran both handtops through four different benchmarking programs and conducted some informal stopwatch-based tests. Read on to view the results.

RAM mounts for Sony Vaio UX series

According to a recent study by the Consumer Electronics Association, U.S. consumers will spend more than $11 billion this year on gadget accessories. Faced with such a staggering figure, I can't help but think that RAM's line-up of car mounts, now fully compatible with the UX Micro PC, is an absolute steal! The UX cradle ($24) is made of "high strength plastic" and can be used with a range of mounts to affix the unit to windshields, dashboards, and even handlebars (!). The bases and arms are sold separately and from different vendors, so ordering a "kit" is not a simple one-click process. The website in general is actually a bit of mess, but I recommend wading through it because RAM has a pretty impeccable reputation of producing high-quality products (they make cradles for just about everything, including the Samsung Q1, Asus R2H, and Apple iPhone).

Besides, consider your alternatives.

Thanks for the tip, Rob!

Sony Vaio UX230P for $999

I thought it was a typo, too. But it's very real: TigerDirect is selling the UX230P for $999.

My husband first spotted it at DealsPlus and after investigating further, I found this thread at Micro PC Talk. TigerDirect's photo gallery shows that the model number on the box and the top of the device itself is indeed UX230P and some of the paperwork has "VGN-UX200 Series" printed on it, so it's obviously legitimate.

The specs suggest the UX230P to be an American version of last year's Japanese UX50 except with XP Pro and WWAN instead of XP Home and the Compact Flash slot. It even comes with that damn stand! It's the lowest spec'd U.S. model (1.06GHz Intel Core Solo U1300 processor, 512MB RAM, and 30GB hard drive), but the price is excellent and unlikely to reappear after the UX230Ps are sold out. TigerDirect sells the UX280P for $1760, so it's not like they're not known for having unbelievable deals on UXs.

Even though the UX230P doesn't seem to have ever been acknowledged by Sony, I added it to my UX comparison chart for good measure.