Sony - VAIO Lifestyle Netbook with Intel® Atom™ Processor - Onyx Black

Not sure why people complain about the lack of touchpad and the size of the screen. If you want a netbook the size of checkbook wallet then there is pretty much no place they are going to put it. If you want a bigger screen, buy a bigger screen netbook! As far as everything else goes, the previous reviewers were absolutely correct about the speed of this thing. It is unbearably slow and no one understands why Sony put this out with Vista installed. It takes forever to boot right out of the box. I am going to upgrade to Windows 7 instead (I have another netbook that runs lightning fast on it and I'ver heard great things about it). The Japanese version of this is of course available in 1.6ghz and 1.8ghz. It's not available in the U.S. and I'm not sure if it ever will be. You can probably find the Japanese version online but is is insanely priced at something like $1500-$1800. The screen size is small, but it is compensated by the fact that you can view full screens such as with the internet without having to scroll left and right like other netbooks. You can also adjust the text size which is very helpful. Battery life is about 2.5 hrs on power saver. Not bad for such a teeny battery. I love the design and it is definitely an eye catcher. The motion eye is off to the right which really sucks since you cannot type and video chat at the same time without being in an awkward position. And I also wish that Sony didn't load so much b.s. on the 60gb HD because it comes to you with only about 30gb free space. I have an Acer Aspire One and I have to honestly say that performance-wise that thing blows the Vaio P out of the park. It does everything this one can do only better and faster. For $300 you are getting so much for your money. If you plan on spending the $1000 for this netbook, you really are just spending it for the design, portability, and coolness factor :)

Sony lost the ipoint of making a netbook (or a "lifestyle PC" as they call it). In 2007 Asus pioneered this segment with theit "Eee PC", which where meant to be small, cheap (under the $500 price barrier), and fast. The only thing that this sony netbook (AKA "lifestyle PC") has to be in the netbook segment is the size; the price is just way too much for a 1.33 single core Atom processor to run Vista. The HP mini 2133 had Vista and it was a complete fiasco (at the end HP started shipping this netbook model with windows XP, which is a better operating system for a netbook). This netbook has 2 GB of RAM (but even that doesnt allow you to run vista smoothly, by the way, I dont hate Vista, its just that this is a really heavy OS for a modest configuration like this one). Another thing that I don´t like about this betbook (AKA "lifestyle PC") is the LACK OF TOUCHPAD.... Remember back in the mid 90s when the laptops used some sort of little rubber thing in themiddle of keyboard to move the little arrow over the screen?? well, thats what you are going to go through one more time if you buy this (for $900 I think that a touchpad would be a really nice touch). Besides that, why do you need a GPS on a netbook?? I would rather buy a $300-400 netbook and spend an extra $150 on a really nice GPS PS: you can buy more that 3 Aspireones, 3 Dell inspiron mini 9, and almost 3 Asus or Hp mini 1000s for this price.... And the other netbooks that I just mentioned have a faster processor (this has 1.33 GHz vs. 1.6 GHz). I think this is way too overpriced for a netbook (without a tochpad)

Another reviewer said that this is like the "Mercedes-Benz" of the netbooks, and that you were paying for the performance of this thing. I strongly disagree with him; I purchased this netbook thinking that it was going to be faster than most other netbooks when in fact its not. Buying this, is like paying for an MB and getting the performance of a really mediocre car with a tiny engine, no heating, etc. The only nice features of this netbook are the size, weight (its really really light), and the keyboard. This unit lacks a touchpad, and that's really annoying... so if you buy it consider also getting a wireless/bluetooth mouse. The performance is mediocre/bad. It has a smaller processor than every other netbook sold on bestbuy and, as another reviewer said, it costs 3 times more than any other netbook sold on bb. Buy this only if you really need to take this netbook all the time in your pocket and if you do not want to be carrying a small bag or case with you. If you don't care whether your netbook fits in your pocket or not, buy any other netbook and spend some extra $20-30 buying a small case to transport it. By the way any other netbook sold here offers superior performance.

Bought this a week ago and I'm really disappointed, for $900 this should be MUCH BETTER than other netbboks, but this time more money doesn't mean a better performance. Bought this as a secondary laptop to take with me while I travel. This is really slow, has no touchpad, and gets hot really fast, not to mention battery life < 2.5 hours. Hard drive is full of preinstalled useless things. Webcam is placed at the upper right side of the display and its really uncomfortable Will return it and change it for an HP mini or a inpiron mini 9 or 10 The only pro of this is the keyboard size, quality and portability..... but I can get a 7' netbook for much much less money and a far better performance

Received this about 10 days ago as a gift... its just an average netbook with a very high price tag, I thought that the extra money was going to mean some difference with the other netbooks, but its even slower than other netbooks which I have used. The GPS is a nice plus, but you get bored of it in 15 mins. The lack of touchpad is a nightmare.... and the price is way too much for what you get.... no bang for your buck, get some other netbook. As the 1st review posted said, this has a slower processor (1.3 vs 1.6 of HP, dell, asus or acer), just spend an extra $30-50 in 2 GB of RAM, install it and you will just have a much better netbook than this one

Have you driven a Mercedes Benz? Yes, MBs are pricey but are they really for performance, what do you think? MBs and other luxury vehicles are more of a show off. I bought this Lifestyle as luxury...a trophy...a prestigious piece. If you forced yourself into buying luxury which you can hardly afford, sorry! For me, it is worth it. I can work on a lot of stuff with its 1600x768 resolution. I can simply put my Lifestyle in my big pocket. well, when you do a lot of travelling and you stay working... this is for you. But if you do a lot of work and you cannot afford to travel, by all means do not buy this or you will condemn it.

First of all, out of the box this laptop is slow, especially for videos don't even think about putting the video to full screen, it will be jumpy and almost unwatchable. I was unpleased with it...However I found a forum that tells how to downgrade from vista to XP, and where to get the drivers and everything. Once I did this, WOW!!! What a difference. Night and day to put it simply.Now it Boots up in about 1 min, Videos run smooth, and now I love this thing. I do a lot of traveling and this will surely come in handy. If you buy this or have already bought it, Downgrade TRUST ME you will not be sorry. Also you may also want to buy a small mouse for it. The built in nob/stick is garbage. Rating before the Downgrade to XP "D-" After the downgrade a solid"A"

Previous review was nothing but a biased opinionated rant against this device. I will give my opinion FOR it. It's amazing! The screen quality with the resolution is AMAZING. Built in 3G, BT, WIFI, and GPS is PERFECT. Why would I want to go buy an external bluetooth GPS unit to lug around and lose when i can have it built in, an all in one. The processor is not the best around, BUT with 2 GB or RAM and with the video chipset it uses it's speedy. I have no qualms with Vista, and know that its not the fastest OS around. Here's the deal though, this is not meant to be a primary PC, it's meant to be a netbook. Carry it with you. Use it for surfing, or directions, or to glance over meeting notes etc. In my opinion its a NEAR perfect device.