Sony VAIO VGN-UX17GP (Core Solo U1400 Processor ULV 1.2GHz, 512MB RAM)

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By Michelle Thatcher
Jun 27, 2006

Taking some of the most innovative elements of the T-Mobile Sidekick and the OQO Model 01, the Sony VAIO UX is a tiny ultraportable with a 4.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen display that slides up to reveal a QWERTY keypad. Despite its small size, the UX runs on a full-fledged laptop CPU--an Intel Core Solo--a full version of Windows XP and it features a touch-screen interface. These characteristics make the VAIO UX a key competitor for true ultramobile PCs, such as the Samsung Q1. And with its intuitive user interface and actual built-in keyboard (most UMPCs are slate tablets that require you to type on an onscreen keyboard or plug in a USB keyboard), the VAIO UX is the most practical of these new small tablets that we've seen to date. Unfortunately, it's also cursed with the poor battery life and ridiculously high price tag of most UMPCs, making it really suitable only for gadget-heads who can afford a S$3,499 (US$2,341.56) toy. The rest of us are better off buying either a smart phone for mobile Web surfing or a small-form-factor tablet, such as the S$3,488 (US$2,334.20) Fujitsu LifeBook P1510.

	The VAIO UX looks like an oversized PDA.

Design
While supplies of the VAIO UX currently remain tight in North America, we received a Japanese version from an importer. What first impressed us was the product's weight; the featherlike VAIO UX weighs slightly more than half a kilogram, making it slightly lighter than the Samsung Q1 UMPC (which lacks a keyboard) but nearly three times the weight of other portable devices, such as the Treo 650 and the Sony PSP. Measuring 150.2mm wide, 100.5mm deep (129.5mm with the screen extended), and 38.2mm thick, the VAIO UX is a compact, if stout, package. Its tiny two-prong AC adapter brings the device's travel weight to 0.73kg.

Because of its small size, the VAIO UX's 4.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen display is just a touch larger than the Sony PSP's. Considering the screen's fine 1,024 x 600 native resolution, most users will be in for a lot of squinting; icons and text are tiny. We found the display size to be adequate only for pounding out quick e-mails and minimal Web surfing, with one exception: The sharp resolution does make videos pop. However, the screen's glossy finish is so reflective that our own face was reflected over every video we watched in anything other than a theater dark room. Sony tried to offset the tiny screen by adding a zoom button that can magnify an area of the screen up to three times its size, but it's an inelegant solution; zooming causes the image to become pixelated, and there was often a lag between our input and a change onscreen. On the plus side, the display is touch sensitive, letting you navigate windows and menus with a stylus or your finger--although the UX's highly reflective screen easily picks up fingerprints and smudges. Using the Palm-like stylus is easy enough, though, and when not in use it tucks conveniently into a slot on the back of the device.

The QWERTY keyboard may be faster than handwriting recognition, but long essays are a big no no.

As with the Q1, the UX has buttons around the screen to help you navigate without a mouse; unlike the Q1's, the UX's are very intuitively laid out. You can move the cursor using a square pointing stick on the upper-right side of the display, while two buttons on the left side function as right and left mouse buttons. Back on the right side (beneath the pointing stick) are dedicated buttons to zoom in and out; on the left (beneath the mouse buttons) is a button that calls up a touch-screen menu of frequently used controls, including screen brightness, volume, and quick-launch keys for applications and folders. A switch allows you to turn the system's Wi-Fi radio on and off. Other cool features include a handy fingerprint reader that lets you log on to Windows and your favorite Web sites with the swipe of a finger, plus two cameras: The one that faces out from the front acts as a Webcam, while the one that faces out from the back lets you take photos. Two gripes: The speakers on the top and the bottom of the unit emit weak sound, and we wish there was a hardware switch to easily control system volume.

Taking a cue from the T-Mobile Sidekick, the UX's screen slides up to reveal a backlit QWERTY keypad. Though we were excited to see an integrated keyboard on such a small tablet, a few minutes of typing tempered our enthusiasm. For those of us accustomed to pounding out messages on a Treo keyboard, the keys on the VAIO UX feel like they're spaced a bit too far apart for comfortable thumb typing, though the extra space certainly cut down on typos. More importantly, because the keys are embedded flush with the case (a necessity of the sliding cover), we had to press really hard to get a response. As a result, our thumbs ached after typing just a few sentences.

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