Sony Vaio P Available In Thailand, Without Cdma

[g00dgirl]

The SONY VAIO P is available in Thailand now. I had pre-ordered one in Phuket a week ago and I picked it up yesterday.

What makes this small laptop special is the high resolution display, you get 1600 horizontal pixels on the 8" display, this means that you can fit a lot of information on the screen, the pictures and fonts are sharp and crisp. This is why I got this laptop. The usual netbooks only offer 1024 or so horizontal pixels on their 9 or 10 inch screens and it's not enough screen real estate for my usage.

This laptop is nothing for people with bad eyes who don't like extremely tiny text.

The other reason I bought it is because it has a trackpoint and no touchpad, I like to use trackpoints like Thinkpad laptops have, and the advantage is no space is wasted for a touchpad under the keyboard, so the laptop is really very small.

Now in other countries SONY ships this little laptop with a Chip that supports CDMA internet, GPS and with a slow for a SIM card to use GSM systems with HSDPA Internet.

But in Thailand and some other countries, it ships without support for those technologies.

This is really a big shame because owners of this laptop in Thailand could have used it with the integrated CDMA modem on CAT Telecoms CDMA network, or they could have put in their GSM Sim card for GPRS or EDGE Internet connections and of course could have used GSP. SONY advertised this laptop as serving the purpose of having it always with you and being always connected.

But in Thailand you have to plug in a CDMA USB modem into the laptop to use the CAT Telecom network and with that stuck into the USB port, it's not easily put into a pocket anymore, how stupid is that for a device that could easily use a built in CDMA modem?

Why would SONY not have worked with CAT Telecom to offer this laptop with their CDMA plan, like they do in other countries, it's very strange.

Then you could import a VAIO P from Japan, it would have the chip that supports CDMA, GSM and GPS, but I doubt CAT would connect that to their network, if it is not hardware they officially advertise. The GSM modem in the Japanese model is locked to a Japanese provider, so one has to unlock it first, at least than it would be possible to put a SIM card in and there is also a Japanese model with a faster processor and bigger solid state drive.

VAIO P videos

Sony VAIO P forum

[namoo]

Yeh its a nice laptop. But I find the non Japanese models without SSD a little bit slow.

I am lucky in that I travel to Japan a lot. but for those looking for the Japanese spec machines or indeed other Japanese laptops I really recommend pricejapan.com for shipping to Thailand - excellent service and fast delivery by DHL.

[Ian_B]

Picked up my Sony Vaio P nearly 2 weeks ago - Had ordered it from Sony Thailand Website and they called me when it arrived and gave me a free VAIO bluetooth mouse

I have the SSD version and it runs great for me - SSD makes booting and file access really quick

MS Office, Acrobat, Firefox, and all my XVID movies and TV shows play fine as long as they are not 720p res. That's all I needed it for and it does a good job.

I use it as my 2nd laptop at work and home. My office now blocks a lot of websites (all video game related sites are blocked!). I went to a Hutch shop and got their USB Broadband modem plus 12 month unlimited internet for 12,500 and it works like a dream!

Battery life is pretty poor at 2hours though but the charger is really small too not no big deal to carry it with you

Edit: Forgot to mention the noise cancelling earphones you get with it work really well and you can even tweak the noise cancelling via software

Edited March 8, 2009 by Ian_B

[g00dgirl]

The Thai models come with 64 GB SSD, not much space left with Vista preinstalled about 28 GB free space available, but in Japan a larger 128 SSD is available, much better.

It's got a SD card slot so one could add some storage space there, too.

It seems popular to order the Japanese model via Conics.net, just to add another option where to get it from.

I think it might be worth it to get the Japanese model for the faster processor and larger SSD drive. They keyboard in Thailand does not have Thai language keys anyway, so nothing lost there when getting a US keyboard from Japan. Those Japanese VAIO Ps will probably show up soon at Fortune and other IT malls in Bangkok I would think.

Yeh its a nice laptop. But I find the non Japanese models without SSD a little bit slow.

I am lucky in that I travel to Japan a lot. but for those looking for the Japanese spec machines or indeed other Japanese laptops I really recommend pricejapan.com for shipping to Thailand - excellent service and fast delivery by DHL.

[spacefruit]

I spent a few hours of my life walking in and out of the Sony shop in New York in February trying to talk myself into buying one. For $1200 the top of the range SSD and all the GPS etc. But Something about it didn't feel right. maybe something felt cheap on the keyboard, or maybe too big for most pockets - I cant put my finger on why I didn't absolutely love it. (Which I wanted to!)

I didn't buy one and almost regret it now, HOWEVER when I went to HK last week and played again on the much more expensive and less well spec'd Asian model, it still didn't float my boat.

And me a devout Sony fan, with many, many unnecessary purchases to my name, I still didn't buy one.

Mind you, if Sony sticks to form, version 2 may well find its way into my pocket.

All you purchasers: I look forward to hear how you get on with them after a few months! (Well I hope)

[whatawonderfulday]

The SONY VAIO P is available in Thailand now. I had pre-ordered one in Phuket a week ago and I picked it up yesterday.

What makes this small laptop special is the high resolution display, you get 1600 horizontal pixels on the 8" display, this means that you can fit a lot of information on the screen, the pictures and fonts are sharp and crisp. This is why I got this laptop. The usual netbooks only offer 1024 or so horizontal pixels on their 9 or 10 inch screens and it's not enough screen real estate for my usage.

This laptop is nothing for people with bad eyes who don't like extremely tiny text.

The other reason I bought it is because it has a trackpoint and no touchpad, I like to use trackpoints like Thinkpad laptops have, and the advantage is no space is wasted for a touchpad under the keyboard, so the laptop is really very small.

Now in other countries SONY ships this little laptop with a Chip that supports CDMA internet, GPS and with a slow for a SIM card to use GSM systems with HSDPA Internet.

But in Thailand and some other countries, it ships without support for those technologies.

This is really a big shame because owners of this laptop in Thailand could have used it with the integrated CDMA modem on CAT Telecoms CDMA network, or they could have put in their GSM Sim card for GPRS or EDGE Internet connections and of course could have used GSP. SONY advertised this laptop as serving the purpose of having it always with you and being always connected.

But in Thailand you have to plug in a CDMA USB modem into the laptop to use the CAT Telecom network and with that stuck into the USB port, it's not easily put into a pocket anymore, how stupid is that for a device that could easily use a built in CDMA modem?

Why would SONY not have worked with CAT Telecom to offer this laptop with their CDMA plan, like they do in other countries, it's very strange.

Then you could import a VAIO P from Japan, it would have the chip that supports CDMA, GSM and GPS, but I doubt CAT would connect that to their network, if it is not hardware they officially advertise. The GSM modem in the Japanese model is locked to a Japanese provider, so one has to unlock it first, at least than it would be possible to put a SIM card in and there is also a Japanese model with a faster processor and bigger solid state drive.

VAIO P videos

Sony VAIO P forum

So why don't you connect via bluetooth and your mobile phone ?

[g00dgirl]

So why don't you connect via bluetooth and your mobile phone ?

Because the speed of any of the GSM network providers like AIS, DTAC or True via GPRS or EDGE is not comparable to the CAT CDMA speeds and it's not fast enough for me.

Or do you mean connect via bluetooth to a CDMA phone from CAT?

I don't have a CAT CDMA phone, do CAT have unlimited data on their voice plans, anyone know?

In any case it would drain the phones battery pretty quickly as opposed to a built in CDMA modem or PCMCIA / USB solution, but it would be interesting to avoid the fat USB stick on the small laptop.

[mezzoninny]

Mind you, if Sony sticks to form, version 2 may well find its way into my pocket.

I'm in pretty much the same position: not going for the P right now, but it's actually a blockbuster release, just in need of a few tweaks in every aspect. Kind of like a female relative saying, "I love Spider-man, but why on earth would anyone want to cast Kirsten Drunkst?"

I have to say I'm a bit vain, because my major complaint is the cheap-looking silver for the keyboard surface. They have shown people the mockups they made during the design process, and I think even a charcoal grey plastic would've been a lot better. I've got the HP 1000 right now, and IMHO it's actually got a much better look and feel over the Vaio P at half the price, but some of the technology behind its looks in fact come from the Japanese.

But the P is awesome for me, for at least one reason: I know 3 or 4 pounds isn't a lot to carry for most of you, but for me the P's light weight is such a big deal. 500g+ with the SSD, and only 700g+ with large battery, and have a relatively normal-sized keyboard, that's something I've wanted for a very long time. Even the screen resolution can potentially be dealt with in Vista (and Sony fans would know Sony just loves to bump up resolution with no purpose or meaning). So I'll be waiting for an update (or an Apple netbook which will probably be twice as heavy!).

[uhuh]

Mind you, if Sony sticks to form, version 2 may well find its way into my pocket.

I'm in pretty much the same position: not going for the P right now, but it's actually a blockbuster release, just in need of a few tweaks in every aspect. Kind of like a female relative saying, "I love Spider-man, but why on earth would anyone want to cast Kirsten Drunkst?"

I have to say I'm a bit vain, because my major complaint is the cheap-looking silver for the keyboard surface. They have shown people the mockups they made during the design process, and I think even a charcoal grey plastic would've been a lot better. I've got the HP 1000 right now, and IMHO it's actually got a much better look and feel over the Vaio P at half the price, but some of the technology behind its looks in fact come from the Japanese.

But the P is awesome for me, for at least one reason: I know 3 or 4 pounds isn't a lot to carry for most of you, but for me the P's light weight is such a big deal. 500g+ with the SSD, and only 700g+ with large battery, and have a relatively normal-sized keyboard, that's something I've wanted for a very long time. Even the screen resolution can potentially be dealt with in Vista (and Sony fans would know Sony just loves to bump up resolution with no purpose or meaning). So I'll be waiting for an update (or an Apple netbook which will probably be twice as heavy!).

i read in a review that a cold boot takes several minutes and the system will "hang" when you try to start even the most simple application.

(they say its because of preinstalled Vista)

anybody can confirm this?

[adammike]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechn...clid=1387917998

here is a short review

[mezzoninny]

i read in a review that a cold boot takes several minutes and the system will "hang" when you try to start even the most simple application.

I've seen four Vaio P's on display in a row, and one of them is just really sluggish for no apparent reason.

Another possibility is that Sony throws a lot of preinstalled software onto the Vaios, in order to live up to the "audio" and "visual" parts of the Vaio name. For instance some of them will try to analyze and index your music files, that's quite a sluggish process. People in the know try to uninstall or at least disable these "Vaio apps", otherwise the first time you power up it might take a few hours preparing itself to get useful. I'd want to check and see if the reviewers are aware of that.

[nikster]

Mind you, if Sony sticks to form, version 2 may well find its way into my pocket.

I'm in pretty much the same position: not going for the P right now, but it's actually a blockbuster release, just in need of a few tweaks in every aspect. Kind of like a female relative saying, "I love Spider-man, but why on earth would anyone want to cast Kirsten Drunkst?"

1 - super cute without being a classic beauty

2 - perfect for the role of MJ

jeez. saying that as a life-long spider-man fan

I'd think that a built-in CDMA modem would drain the battery pretty quickly too. I notice that when I am running on battery with the CAT CDMA stick, battery life goes down by 1 - 2 hours. The USB stick gets pretty hot too. So I think the radio just uses a lot of power.

I am even more vain than any of you Sony fanboys and only Apple design will do. Put any other computer next to my MacBook Pro unibody (17) and it will look outdated and tired. That includes the previous gen MacBook Pros That said of the PC manufacturers Sony is the best, design-wise. I know exactly what you mean about the silve painted keys - that was my main gripe with my previous MacBook Pro too. You get used to it after a while but silver paint simply doesn't look good on a keyboard.

[mezzoninny]

Like I said, that was a female relative. I quote Tom Sizemore: I didn't do it. I deny all culpability.

I actually feel Sony's design and engineering are increasingly falling short of what fanbois and the general public expect of them. And they're also by nature less elegant than the path Apple chooses, which I normally chalk down to cultural reasons. So there are times when I feel some other manufacturers can have an edge over Sony if they tried, and that's why I got the Mini 1000. I saw the leaked bottom casing for the Vaio P, and I thought, Jesus Christ, the same design cue, the same texture all over again. It's only the sheer lack of weight that won me over.

[uhuh]

Mind you, if Sony sticks to form, version 2 may well find its way into my pocket.

I'm in pretty much the same position: not going for the P right now, but it's actually a blockbuster release, just in need of a few tweaks in every aspect. Kind of like a female relative saying, "I love Spider-man, but why on earth would anyone want to cast Kirsten Drunkst?"

I have to say I'm a bit vain, because my major complaint is the cheap-looking silver for the keyboard surface. They have shown people the mockups they made during the design process, and I think even a charcoal grey plastic would've been a lot better. I've got the HP 1000 right now, and IMHO it's actually got a much better look and feel over the Vaio P at half the price, but some of the technology behind its looks in fact come from the Japanese.

But the P is awesome for me, for at least one reason: I know 3 or 4 pounds isn't a lot to carry for most of you, but for me the P's light weight is such a big deal. 500g+ with the SSD, and only 700g+ with large battery, and have a relatively normal-sized keyboard, that's something I've wanted for a very long time. Even the screen resolution can potentially be dealt with in Vista (and Sony fans would know Sony just loves to bump up resolution with no purpose or meaning). So I'll be waiting for an update (or an Apple netbook which will probably be twice as heavy!).

i read in a review that a cold boot takes several minutes and the system will "hang" when you try to start even the most simple application.

(they say its because of preinstalled Vista)

anybody can confirm this?

i confirmed it myself:

i tried to start 3 Vaio P today in 2 different shops.

1. shop: it took me and the venodr 7 minutes too get it started. Because i couldnt find the starter button, its very well hidden.

2. same shop, same machine, new boot - now i knew where the starter button is: 2 min 30 sec

3. different shop: after 3 min 30 sec the com told me and the vendor it was busy upgrading. At this point the vendor gave up and switched to another machine.

4. same shop, different machine: after several minutes the vendor began trying to configure all kinds of settings (looked like the screen was too big or too small, and mainly black anyway...), i left after a while. So this was the second machine that even the vendor couldnt get running.

Conclusion: 2 min 30 sec for a new machine in a shop... i am not impressed

i will wait for Windows 7 as it seems difficult to put XP on a Vaio P