Sony Vaio P with 1.86 GHz Atom now shipping from Dynamism
The Sony Vaio P has captured the imagination of quite a few geeks (like me) since it’s unveiling at the CES earlier this year. The small sexy notebook with the awesome keyboard and super high-res screen is easily the smallest notebook that has virtually no compromises for all-day use.
The tech world was a little miffed when they heard that the Vaio P was available with a faster Atom processor running at 1.86 GHz but only in Japan. It seems only the 1.33 GHz models (and slower) are offered in the US and while that is a capable processor those spending the premium dollars for the Vaio P are the type of consumer who want the fastest processor available.
The folks at Dynamism have been busy and are now offering the fastest Vaio P for sale in the US and they’ve informed us this model is now shipping. The model currently shipping is the black Vaio P and has a 128 GB SSD onboard with the 1.86 GHz Atom. This top-of-the-line model does not come cheap as it will set you back $2099, a healthy chunk of change to be sure.
It’s important to note that this is the Japanese model imported by Dynamism and while you get the typical superb Dynamism warranty with your purchase you are also giving up a couple of features the US model contains. There is no integrated 3G option on the Japanese model and no integrated GPS either. This may not be important to many, but it’s a shame to pay a premium price and lose two pretty key features. This model also ships with the “enhanced battery” which we take to mean an extended capacity battery so it will probably get pretty good battery life.
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The 1.33 runs much better with XP on it. It’s a cheaper option than the 1.86. Just go with the SSD over HDD.
Hi JK, I’m from India and have been following your website for a while now (2 yrs I guess)!! This is my first post and the reason that prompted me to write is the fact that recently I read somewhere that Sony is intentionally down playing the US market by bringing scaled down versions to the US market, in this case the Vaio P Series (1.33 Ghz Model). I seem to agree with this because of the fact U.S.A is probably the second best technology haven after Japan and to launch underpowered versions of their products seems to show differentiation on their part.
India, which as far as tech products go is far behind than these countries, has the 1.66 Ghz version Sony Vaio P launched, which is not even an option in US. I think its nice of Sony to launch the 1.66 Ghz version Vaio P in India within 15 days of launch in the US (generally it takes at least 6 to 8 months for the products to officially show up here) but its sad to see the attitude of Sony towards one of the largest market of the world (USA). Hope they have good reasons to justify their actions and marketing strategies!!!
“…virtually no compromises for all-day use”
I was in the local Sony Style store on Sunday and typed for a while on the P. The recessed keyboard is a major compromise, particularly the space key, which is very hard to hit without hitting the structure that is raised in front of it.
Other than that, it’s a lovely, if pricey, machine.
Yes, the 1.6Ghz model is available in the Europe too.
1.6 is available in Australia as well.
Is “small sexy notebook” a new device category, like, uh, netbook? Would my future high-res 2140 qualify for that name, or is it a mere netbook?
Sorry, I know I am giving you a hard time today. But I just couldn’t resist here ;)
This seems to be aimed squarely at girls. I can understand that as they need wide spaced keys so they don’t damage their fingernails.
And as for ‘virtually no compromises for all-day use’ – Really? Poor battery life, no thumb typing, squint-worthy screen, ridiculous price, Vista on a mobile device, etc etc.