Sony VAIO VGN-UX280P 4.5-inch Laptop (Intel Core Solo Processor U1400, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive)

Ever since I first heard of a product called "Tiqit" ([...]) I wanted to buy one ... the product never came to frutition and was never released beyond Beta Versions.There old website is still up with "limited commercial availability in the second half of 2006" as a release date ... at a street price of $[...] I would have had to take out a loan to buy one... BUT you know what? ... I was prepared to do that .. at the time it was described as "the only computer you can use while walking"I came across the MicroPCtalk ([...]) web forums and saw everyone talking about the Sony UX / Vaio Micro PC'sI could NOT belive my eyes ... the Sony UX280-P is smaller, faster, has more features and stronger and sexier than the now unavailable Tiqit! ........ AND best of all? .....CHEAPER by far ....... I got my UX280P with the full version of Windows XP -- BRAND NEW -- (not refurbished) with a full year warrantee for $[...] right here on Amazon ...have a look around www.Amazon.com especially if you are reading this in the last half of of 2007 or later you may be able to get an even better price.I've read reviews that feel the buttons are small or hard to type but I have not found that to be a problem and I have big hands ... the trick is to just use your thumbs like typing a text message on your phone ... sure you don't want to be typing out 100 page reports .. plug in a cheap USB key board for that or an expensive Blue-Tooth key board if you have the cash .. The UX280-P will also plug into a full sized monitor or flat screen for full desk top use at desktop speed!I am in Canada and I ordered my UX on here Amazon from Electronic Direct ([...] they were Awsome to deal with, I often order from the US and Electronica Direct is one of the best to deal with.A note if you are a Canadian with no experience ordering from the US you still have to pay GST and PST when the package arrives.Also brokerage and exchange .. right now the exchange rate is almost even so it's not factor your credit card company figuers that out automaticly when you order ... it's like 5% right now and going down ... MAKE SURE to ask for your UX to be shipped by US POST then our own Canada Post delivers.For brokerage the US Post / Canada Post combination charges peanuts like $[...] ... with the GST PST included, the total when the packaged arrived, was $[...] extra as I expected, remember if you are in business you get back the GST anyway.As my post title reveals the UX-280P RULES!! .. It's like a Palm Top with nothing to learn ... you know XP you know the UX280P alredy!I have attracted small crowds a number of times using it in public :) It's compact enough with the built in camera I often use it just for a camera and with a 40 GIG harddrive it would technicaly hold about 5 MILLION pictures :) people come up to me and and ask what kind of camera it is with that huge high res screen.It's fun to use watch YouTube videos at Mcdonald's ... AND ... it's a serious business tool that has made my work SOOOO much easier in just the few weeks I've had it ... it's not just *LIKE* having your desk top computer on your hip is *IS* having your desktop computer on your hip!For internet use the UX taps into any available WiFi and it also has a standard network/ethernet port on the docking station AND on an adaptor, the ethernet runs a bit faster than WiFi, I used it to get Microsoft updates. I also use the eathernet to load all my softweare from the CD/DVD drive on my desktop through the network, works great!It also will piggy back on any Blue Tooth phone for internet access AND ... the US models come with a Cingular SIM CARD ... I purchased a Rogers Pay-as-you-go SIM Card and it works for internet access that way too ... A little expensive if 5 cent at a kilobyte (if you don't have a package) but it does work ... I've used it for emergency email (when I did not have my phone with me or was out of minutes) a few times and it realy saved my [...]!I can't say enough good things about the UX-280P with it and my desktop I have no use for a common laptop anymore ... I recomend it highly!!

Sony not only will require you to buy expensive external equipment to diagnose *any* problems (of which there are MANY-my motherboard died horribly, took out most of the guts with it) causing you to spend almost $500 more to do *their* jobs for them.Don't even think about spending money on an extended warranty, its just a way for them to get your money and then, again, they make you purchase more expensive hardware to do any diagnosing before they will even talk to you on the phone.Sony is not a company I will be dealing with ever again...buy ANYTHING but a Sony... you can't afford all the parts you need to do THEIR job for them.

It is very tiny, by far the smallest fully functional computer I've ever had. It much larger than a PDA though so users used to putting a PDA in their pocket will not be happy with this. It would fit in really baggy pants pockets I suppose, but not in any pockets for anything I wear. It does fit nicely in my winter coat pocket. It really doesn't matter to me though as I have a small backpack-like case that I carry it in, along with keyboard, mouse, AC adapter, extra batteries for all, dongle for wired Ethernet/monitor output/NTSC video out, headphones and even an AV cable for connecting to a TV. All of that and it still weighs less, takes up less space and functions as well as any ultra portable I've had.Usability:The mouse is ok once you get used to it, and the keyboard is really only for small entries and just one step better than an on screen keyboard. Some key combos can be hard to enter but there are ways around that if it bothers you. The screen is very tiny, but also very crisp and bright. It can output to a monitor and display larger resolutions too. The speaker is nothing special, but if I am playing a game or listening to music or watching a movie I would use headphones anyway. I have not played with the cameras much but the webcam is very low quality as would be expected and the main camera was not that impressive either. It can take videos with sound so in a pinch it could take place of a digital camera or video camera but realize it may be much lower resolution that you are used to (it was for me).I took it on the road last week for the first time and it worked great. It felt weird packing a bag and fitting all my clothes and the computer with all accessories into the same bag. I have been taking two bags for years so this was a noticeable change for me. I unpacked when I got to my room and before you knew it I was checking email, surfing and even played games for a hour or so.Battery:The small pack that comes with it looks much better than the extended battery, but also bites as far as life. From my very simple, non scientific testing it seem to last as little as 2 hrs to as long as 4 hrs. The extended one is about double, at about 4 hrs minimum to as long as 8 hrs. Now those figures are from one extreme using it constantly, defragging the hard drive, playing games, wireless on, to the other extreme, wireless off, quite a bit of idle time between tasks, etc.Hibernate mode works awesome as it should, with saving and resuming each taking less than 20 seconds.If you don't mind using standby mode however you can get much more battery life and not really impact the availability of the machine. It takes 5 seconds to go into standby and resumes instantly, and I do mean instantly. Until now I have not had an occasion to use standby since they made the hibernate mode standard years ago, but I have to admit it is handy to put it in standby for a few minutes or even an hour or two if I want to keep it ready to use at a moments notice. This greatly extends the battery life to 12 hrs or more depending on how much you actually are using it. I put it in standby overnight one time and when I woke up it was still had 20% left, not sure how full it was the night before though.While I admit that it is more of a toy for me, it has some merit in being a very portable unit in between the PDA and ultra portable laptop market. I really hope these don't go away, as I think it is a very cool idea and as they get even more powerful it could really become a decent gaming platform. Price being the biggest turn off, the second one being size or at least thickness (at least for this unit). Some say it's too small and others think it's too big. If it was any smaller I would have a hard time holding it, and any bigger and you lose some of the portability of it.Software:I'm running Windows Professional, Open Office, use IE7, Trillian for IM, xfire for gaming IM. I have a 4 gb memory stick that I put a bunch of MP3s on and also a few movies that range from 300mb to 700mb. They actually look quite well on the small screen and with the headphones makes a nice personal media player for moves and music.Now here's the real reason I call it my toy: it plays games, a lot of games, only limited by the 40 gb hard drive space. I have a Dell m1710 with a 512mb 7900GTX and I love it, but this thing is small enough to take to work each day and play on breaks and the battery life is good enough to last all day. It plays game much better than I ever would have imagined, party because of the lower resolution and partially because you can turn down the details that you can't see anyways on such a small screen.Work great - no issues:MorrowindDiablo 2Warcraft 3Quake 3HaloHalf LifeCall of DutyCounterstrikeMAME works great! Thousands of gamesNesticle NES emulatorGBA emulatorBunch of smaller simple 3d games, Zuma, Mohjongg, etcWork great after I worked around minimum 1024x768 screen res issueSacred UnderworldMinions of MirthWork at very min settings barely playableOblivion - had to use Oldblivion patch thoughDo not work or did not tryGoldeneye mod for Half Life 2 - suppose HL2 would not work either but did not tryDid not try Call of duty 2 because would take up too much space and COD1 looks great anyway

i bought mine a year and a half ago..cons:my battery lasts only 10minutes sometimes less..! and even the newest versions come with the same type of battery. it also comes with bunch of junk programs i had to go trough and delete almost every program that came with it. recovery system takes about 10gb of memory +windows and else. expensive replacements and parts. keyboard and buttons are bad almost no use.. vs.pros:i gues this doesnt need much explainingsmall slick design, easy to carry, touch screen(a litle hard to use),sim card slot: you can have internet anywhere a cellphone would work(i called sony and made them unlock it and used it with t-mobile which is around $30 cheaper than cingular a month,2built in cameras,microphone(i couldnt use much on msn but i dont know maybe its me)