Official Sony VAIO P-series Owners thread

[armadilo]

After running my Z520 1.3GHz VAIO P with Windows 7 for around 4 months, I ultimately installed Windows XP nlited edition and could not be happier. It has finally become a useful tool now.

If you do not agree with me, try both of them yourself and I am sure you will later settle down with XP

I would choose W7 because it's reliable and much better supported with downloads from Sony etc. But the 1.33 MHz models are slow with every OS, unless you spend time tuning the system, disabling services and so on. I have W7 on my P-688E and it seems fine to me. I have tweaked it a lot though - it used to be much slower. But you'll never get great performance from a 1.33 MHz Atom - be realistic.

For tuning info read this thread, go to the Pocketables forum and be prepared to spend several hours playing around. It's worth it. If you work at it you'll get double or triple the value from your P series. It requires commitment!

I installed W7 from a USB. It was easy. There must be something wrong with your W7 ISO or your installation procedure.

Don't go with XP - it's a dead end.

By the way, it's no use telling us the colour of your system. We need the model number.

I have the european P11Z with 1.33 ghZ and 60 GB HDD. I know that I can't expect a lot from Atom, but I want to make the machine decent enough to open a web page instantly. Now, with Vista is really slooow!
I don't know what I did wrong, but if you google Windows 7 in a Vaio P, you will find plenty of users that failed to install W7 from USB. I am between XP and W7, I think XP will make the P more fast, but in the other hand no new drivers for XP...Does 3G and GPS work with XP?

[kdskamal]

I have the european P11Z with 1.33 ghZ and 60 GB HDD. I know that I can't expect a lot from Atom, but I want to make the machine decent enough to open a web page instantly. Now, with Vista is really slooow!
I don't know what I did wrong, but if you google Windows 7 in a Vaio P, you will find plenty of users that failed to install W7 from USB. I am between XP and W7, I think XP will make the P more fast, but in the other hand no new drivers for XP...Does 3G and GPS work with XP?

My Vaio P (P13GH) is same as yours but lacks GPS and 3G. You can check out the step by step guide at THIS link. Everything else works

[itsfun]

i get a error message while installing of the globetrotter gps network card. in smart network i cant disable the gps and there will no device shown. how to get it work correctly? windows 7 7600 home premium. fresh install on vaio p31zk

[selekkkkka]

As a postgrad student who has used a 10.6 1200x800/12.1 1200x800/11.1 1366x768/11.6 ?/ 13.3 12800x800.

I would say that the Vaio P would not be comfortable at all to use for long durations to do study or office work.

Really a 12.1 1200x??? -13.3 1200x800 is better. These 11.6 ULV notebooks that you see are also easier on the eye to use for long periods compared to a 11.1 1366x768.
It is just a lot easier on the eye when you have to use your notebook for long durations to do study.

The Vaio X might be ok but having a notebook that size now i like using my 13.3 notebook best if i'm going to using it to read/write for long periods.

The Vaio Y is one to consider, also is the Vaio S series.
The ULV processors that the Y series has is also a lot better than the atoms and performance will be better all round.

About the Vaio P though.
I think that the price of these duty free will probably be no cheaper than what you can get them for when they go on sale so it might make sense for me to wait a while.

This is a review of the Vaio P. Trusted Reviews didn't seem to like it much. I thought the review was maybe a little harsh. It is the price that seemed to let it down for them the most though.

Sony VAIO P Series (VPC-P11S1E) Review - Laptop Reviews - TrustedReviews

Thanks Rachel, and also gnimble and paradisoDark.

Totally agree with you on they say about the P. Giving it a negative review because the price is in their opinion too high is crazy, especially when it's something as unique as the P (there isn't really anything comparable on the market), plus, maybe the person reading the review is a millionaire or has been given the option of having the laptop of his/her choice for free (as a present or for work for example). In these cases, whether it costs 20 quid, 200 or 2000 is irrelevant. I’ve seen people Saying similar things of the Z. What do you expect from a top of the range machine, which in my opinion cannot be beaten by anything in its price range?!?

Anyway, rant over. You are right, the screen of the P is too small for prolonged use, although it is lovely ironically for the same reason, its size (I was lucky enough to be able to try one out)! The X would also possibly be uncomfortable after a while and I was also not happy about performance in the 5 minutes I was able to test it. Those atom processors seem pretty damn sluggish! Still, pretty amazing what they’ve packed into that super slim chassis.

In the end I opted for the Y and yesterday was unboxing day, so far very impressed and it beats the crap out of the old Toshiba in everything so far... Seems like a good compromise between performance and battery life, hopefully she’ll be able to take it to uni and get a day’s work out of it without the need to bring the power adaptor... No biggie if not though – the adaptor is tiny!

Thanks again for the sound advice.

[alvinjue]

hey i`m new to the forum but i just got myself one of the sony vaio p series and i got to say, i am pretty impressed. the model i`m using is the p signature with the 2ghz atom processor and 256 ssd and i just wanted to say this has got to be the best umpc i have owned and i have used quite a few. i just sold my fujitsu u810, fujitsu u820, htc shift, oqo 02 and also my sony ux180p which i have been using for the last 2 years but i always thought that it was pretty sluggish when it comes to starting up windows as well as loading times for applications and programs. the p series has one of the best keyboards i have used for typing for such a small laptop; it sort of reminds me of using the bluetooth mini mac keyboards and the quality of the craftmanship on this device is superb. i actually didnt expect this to have 2 usb ports since all my other ones only had 1 due to the size and the only way to get more then 1 usb port was to buy the optional docking station. anyways, just wanted to point out the pros and cons for the sony vaio p 2ghz.

for the pros:
- this computer handles windows 7 os very smooth and fast just as if i was on my desktop.
- it takes about 30 seconds to boot up from start
- battery life is amazing. if i set it to medium brightness, i get about 2 hr and 45 minutes with a full charge and i get about 6 hours with the double extended battery.
- screen resolution is amazingly bright, crisp and sharp
- keyboard layout is very natural and ergonomic.
- watching videos on youtube, windows media player, flv, zune, itunes is smooth and lag-free
- i can finally browse the web with firefox and use multiple tabs without having the computer slow down as well as scroll smoothly without any hangup.
- great data transfer speed via usb 2.0 and also data speed via wifi. i get about 1700kb/s when i download files just as if i was on my desktop.
- webcam on this thing is very clear and not blurry whatsoever.
- the unit is VERY quiet with the ssd. i would actually not even notice if the computer was on or not
- and lastly, i love how all the drivers from sony are very easy to install and find unlike the other umpcs i used where i had to go to forums just to get drivers for xp, vista and 7

and now for the cons:
- the sony vaio p tends to get a little bit hot underneath after using 2 hours of use
- i wish the screen was touch-screen like my other umpcs i have used
- speakers could be a bit louder but i am pretty content with the sony noise-cancelling earbuds that came with it
- i hate how you have to but the vga display port adaptor instead of having it included
- i wish they would make a model for the p series that has illuminated backlit keyboard like the new macbooks and dell adamo laptops.

anyways, i just wanted to give my two cents for this unit. i have been using it for 2 days now and absolutely love it! i bought it on ebay for $850 shipped. cheers!

[Jola]

I have ordered a P788K/Q, which was on sale, but am already thinking about upgrading it with a Runcore ZIF 1.8 SSD (It comes with a 64GB SSD).

Questions :
1) Views about the Runcore 128GB ?
2) I know that the Sony P SSD models come with a ZIFF to SATA adapter. If I remove this adapter, will the Runcore be able to connect directly to the P788K, or will I require some other connector (that maybe comes with the 1.8 inch hard drive models) ?

[Rachel]

I see that no shops in the UK other than the Sony store seem to sell the latest P series. It seems that Sony is keeping a very tight reign of the prices.
I was thinking may be i could get one cheap in the UK when these models are refreshed but i guess not.

[Jola]

I ordered the P788K for USD650 from the USA.

It's 1.6GHz, with a 64GB SSD, 3G, GPS, 2GB RAM, Win7 Home Premium.

I will install a sim slot, I believe that it is possible to get the 3G working with HSDPA.

Just think that the SSD will be too small.

[ProfessorShred]

I ordered the P788K for USD650 from the USA.

It's 1.6GHz, with a 64GB SSD, 3G, GPS, 2GB RAM, Win7 Home Premium.

I will install a sim slot, I believe that it is possible to get the 3G working with HSDPA.

Just think that the SSD will be too small.

Yeah ,I went ahead and ordered a P788K/Q Vaio too,was sooo looking forward to trying it out,mine unfortunatly has a super grainy LCD Panel,it is quite aweful actually,So much for the theory that Sony manufactured LCD panels are better than the competition,because of this I don't even like to use the P now
Overall though it is much more responsive than I was expecting

[bernd75]

Yeah ,I went ahead and ordered a P788K/Q Vaio too,was sooo looking forward to trying it out,mine unfortunatly has a super grainy LCD Panel,it is quite aweful actually,So much for the theory that Sony manufactured LCD panels are better than the competition,because of this I don't even like to use the P now
Overall though it is much more responsive than I was expecting

Sony is changing their philosophy. Even they plan to introduce ODM models- they will neither engineer it nor produce it.
Sony Drops Japanese Made Netbook Display For Chinese Product - Smarthouse