I don’t have any plans at the moment to review the UX180P. I think this review pretty much covers the major hardware topics. Although I enjoyed the UX50, I didn’t enjoy it enough to buy one of my own

My comments are from the perspective of a U750P user, which I was very happy with and carried with me where ever I went.

The screen is smaller, but much sharper due to the smaller pixels. Going back to my ’750P, the ’750P almost looks blurry by comparison. This is a very bright gorgeous screen, with excellent digitizer like on the ’750P.

The thumbboard is a very useful addition, and I have no problem with tactile feedback. It’s nice to be able to slide up the display and type in a password or URL or whatever instead of having to write it onscreen (using RitePen, which works very well, BTW) or get out the ThinkOutside BT keyboard. For anything other than a quick E-mail message, only a fullsize keyboard will do but this is an acceptable solution to the problem of making the entire unit large to accomodate the keyboard.

The unit is much easier to hold due to the shape of the back. The ’750P had a flat back and I much prefer the “grips” on the ’180P. The unit is much lighter than the ’750P (with standard battery).

The pointer stick is much more sensitive than that on the ’750P. I’ll have to play around with the settings as I got used to tapping on the stick to do a left mouse button click and this doesn’t always work on the ’180P.

I signed up for the 30 day free trial of Cingular WWAN service (I’m a Sprint phone customer who uses his phone as a wireless modem via USB cable connected to the U750P). This works reasonably well, but isn’t the fastest. My Sprint data connection through my phone is much faster but is much less convenient as I have to get out the cable and have a surface available to set the phone on.

WLAN performance is great, but I have to admit that at home and work I am close to an AP so I’m not stressing it at all as far as signal strength.

The Bluetooth is very nice to finally have integrated in the unit. On the ’750P, I used a Socket Communications CF BT card. The builtin BT on the ’180P paired with my ThinkOutside keyboard and mouse, and also my Delorme BT GPS receiver. Contrary to my initial attempts, I was very happy to find that it <u>would </u>pair with my Logitech BT headphones. I just have to use the Toshiba BT control applet to connect to the headphones, and Winamp output goes out over BT to the headphones. No more BT dongle!

The zoom feature is very nice, and despite the pixelation that can result at certain magnification settings, it does what it’s supposed to do – allow you to easily read the sometimes very small fonts in apps.

I don’t have much use for the cameras, but they’re there if I need them, I guess.

The fingerprint reader is another great feature for a uPC as it eliminates the need to type in a password (via onscreen keyboard for the ’750P) to login. Since this was a problem on the ’750P, I just didn’t even use a password.

The unit seems more sluggish than the ’750P but this may be due to the fact that I haven’t finished eliminating all the unneeded software running on it.

I was used to 1.5 to 2.5 hours of battery life from the ’750P, so the similar performance that I’m seeing with the ’180P is not too disappointing to me.

All in all, this is a worthy replacement for the ’750P, which I really liked. I can’t see using a PDA ever again especially if manufacturers develop technologies to implement instant on/off on these uPCs and improve battery life, of course. Being able to read and compose E-mail, surf the web, and paly a game or two almost anywhere is a great convergence of technology.

Brian

Here’s an unboxing / first impressions video from when I got the machine:

http://geekswithblogs.net/lorint/archive/2006/06/10/81423.aspx

He really seemed to push it to the limits on a business trip, which is why one would buy a UMPC. The base price is reasonable and even with add-ons (BT keyboard, 1GB flash, etc.) you’re still in the range of a mid-range (but heavier) laptop.

Best regards, Dave R.

I simply don’t trust Sony above the level of a 20-dollar set of headphones anymore.
I’ll bet I’m not the only one that feels that way either.

I’d very much like to review one of the new UMPCs. I might ask Dynamism. I believe that they have the Samsung in stock. I wonder how it compares to the Sony.

Regarding my choice of running Mac and Palm, it was not intentional… I have been back and forth with Macs for a couple years now. It’s just now ‘stuck’. As for Palm, I have always found that platform to be easier to use and overall faster. Windows Mobile still seems sluggish and cumbersome to me.

I like your review of the UX50 and wish you’d had it a while longer so that you could tell us how you balance it with the Mac and Palm in everyday use.

Will you guys be reviewing the Samsung Q1?

For now I’ll wait for;
1. The UMPC prices to reach $500 or thereby – can’t pay much more for a Windows machine and I don’t want a cheap large Windows box in my office.
2. Aple to release an UMPC. There’re all indications they’ll do so.
Fingers crossed.

By the way, I’m glad you and Judie took 2 different paths – Mac/Palm & Win/Pocket PC. Makes for excellent product coverage. Was that intentional?

Cheerio,
Hellene

In some ways, handtops are still a bit ahead of their time. The OS is still designed around larger desktop/laptop displays (although that can largely be overcome by resizing the fonts) and, as you stated, battery life is not all it could be (although Sony power management would get you closer to the 4.5 hours possible from the standard battery). In their current state, they certainly aren’t for everyone.

If you don’t need the power and transparent desktop compatibility, then a PDA will suffice much better. If you need more power and size isn’t as much of a consideration, a laptop is a better choice. For those of us who need or want full OS capabilities in a mobile device that we can take just about anywhere with us, the UX is the current item of choice.

I am a long time fan of your site (fabulous) and was reading your 6/8 post and why you decided against the Sony UX 180 because of the Cingular service. I am an IT manager and support many Sony laptops with the built-in EDGE modem. (I am typing on one now.) The first thing I do when I get one of these is unlock the modem and put in a T Mobile SIM card with data service. You could use any GSM data service provider at that point and you would not need to get the Enfora or any other add-on devices.

One thing to keep in mind though is that if you intend to use this in California with T Mobile service, coverage can be a little spotty in some parts of the state. I get gripes from my consultant that has clients in the San Francisco Bay area regarding the T Mobile coverage there.

The following link is to the Sony KB and details the process: http://www.iq.sony.com/srvs/autoresponse.asp?id=394991

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/sony_vaio_vgn_ux50_personal_computer

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