U70 Impressions and Thoughts.

I’ve had the U70 for 2 weeks now and I figured I’d revisit my thoughts and opinions on this little critter.

This one may be a little long, so grab a beverage and get comfortable.

Thoughts

1. Its still just about the coolest little critter you could hope to have. Every time I pull it out to use it all work stops and folks gather around to see what it might be.

2. Its more than fast enough for what I’m using it for. (Order entry, catalog searches via a MSSQL DB, note taking, some light word processing, and some Internet surfing when I’m camped out on the couch in front of the TV.)

3. It will last an entire workday on the standard battery provided you arent using it constantly all day long. For entering products to orders, searching the catalog and then moving on, it works great. The Extended battery give me a little more of a safety zone if I am using it more frequently.

4. Even with the Heavier extended battery, its still light enough to carry. In fact I’ve found myself checking my belt to make sure its still there. I’m not sure about anyone else, but its light enough I can get distracted and not even feel it there most times.

5. The “Overlay Brilliant” screen protector is a nice piece and pretty inexpensive. Its clear enough I don’t even really notice it on there, and the feel of the stylus on the protector is about the same as the unprotected screen.

6. The screen protector is about the most difficult thing to install that I’ve ever run into. (I have done screen protectors on several PDA’s and never had the trouble that I did with this one.) The protector is cut to the EXACT size of the screen opening, meaning you have to hit it PERFECT or one or more of the edges will hang on the bezel. Also, this protector is about the biggest DUST magnet that I’ve ever run across. It seems to be able to suck the dust from other rooms. I cleaned the screen with a screen wipe and tried to install the protector. Ended up spending several hours with a little roll of tape lifting bits of the protector and sticking dust bits with the tape to remove them. HIGHLY Frustrating. Apparently all the Japanese folks have clean rooms for the installation of these sorts of things.

7. I’m still not totally thrilled with the supplied case. Nor am I really impressed with the accessory case from Sony. The supplied Bag is nice, but I’ve had to cobble together a belt to make it a waist pack of sorts. There is no easy way to get a belt clip on this thing. And I want to be able to carry it with me all the time. Backpacks and messenger bags arent really practical to use around all of the stuff at the shop. I need to be self contained.
The Optional Sony case is a really nice case. Its a ballistic nylon sort of a case with a suede like lining and a Velcro closure. It also includes a plastic tray inside the case to actually hold the U70. Its a great solution if you are planning on carrying the U70 like a notebook, or if you are planning on stashing it in a larger case. I’m doing neither, so it doesn’t really do me much good. I have removed the accessory try to use at work as a stand for the U70. I’d still like a case with a belt clip for the unit though.

8. It works great with the stylus and the on screen keyboard. I find myself using the stylus for almost everything. (I do have a flexible USB Keyboard that I use for long stretches of date entry/word processing.) The only annoying thing that I’ve found so far with the keyboard is the mapping. Its mapped with a Japanese keyboard displaying English. Which moves some of the punctuation symbols around. (And all of the /’s show up as a Yen symbol.) Its just kind of annoying to have to search for a mark. Kinda hoses your typing speed when you have to stop and go back.

9. The Stylus still sucks. I was hoping that as I got used to it I’d like it better. So much for that plan. Its a Form over function sort of device in my opinion. It looks cool, but it just bugs me to use. Doesn’t have any weight to it so its like writing with a whole lot of nothing. And the darn thing is really small, which isn’t the greatest for someone with larger hands. That lack of weight and teeny size make for an odd feeling when you use it for any length of time. The Lanyard that its attached to is still really annoying as well. It likes to coil in between my hand the screen and get in the way. Very annoying. I’m now looking for a pen based stylus that I Can keep in a shirt pocket. (I’m open for any stylus recommendations that anyone may have.)

10. I use Standby ALOT. In fact, I’ve actually turned the machine off probably 3 times since I got it. The rest of the time its in standby. Its quicker and easier to run it in standby. I’m not running any games or DVD’s or anything like that so I run the VAIO Ultimate Battery setting for Power management and I have the back light set for “2″ when its on battery. Bright enough to read easily, but easy on the battery. The only thing that slows the resume is my Password. (Without the password, resuming form standby would probably be almost as fast as my iPAQ.) As it is, its only a couple of seconds. Once I get the stylus into my hand to enter the password, the prompt is waiting for me.

11. I’ve added a couple of nifty utilities that were recommended by a friend of mine and work really well on teh small form factor of the U70. (Thanks James!) A skinnable Clock application that can be configured to stay on top of any open windows. Click here for GHRONE. Ghrone makes it alot easier to check the clock than finding the teeny little Windows clock on the taskbar. Thanks to James, I’m also running “Power Center” which is a nifty little power manager that actually learns your batteries and provides a more accurate estimate of time remaining. (Which is kinda important with a machine like the U70.) If I find a link to Power Center, I’ll post it here.

12. So far it runs anything and everything that I’ve thrown at it. No complaints at all in terms of applications not working right. I’ve installed a few little utilities, a couple of really simple games, and the applications that I need and use regularly. Office 2003 installed really well off of a shared network CD Rom. Pretty much no issues to report with any installs. Things install and run just fine on the U70. Just like any other XP machine. I was concerned that the Japanese origins and some of the proprietary Sony software might cause problems, but I haven’t run into any compatibility issues yet. (Of course I’m not trying to install Linux on here, or run the latest and greatest FPS Game, or trying to save all 3 LOTR Movies for watching on a flight somewhere.)

Opinions.

I’ve read alot of comments from folks that are speculating about the “market” for the U50/U70. Usually the argument boils down to their opinion that its an overpriced toy, that its something only the tech snobs will end up with as a conversation piece. They seem to think that its too small to be a real laptop and too big to be a real PDA. They complain about the short battery life and the startup time of Windows and the lack of a physical keyboard. I think those folks are missing the point of this machine. Its not SUPPOSED to be a laptop or a PDA. It takes the strengths of both and puts them into a single machine. (Like the Upcoming OQO and Flipstart machines.) It has the power of a laptop and the portability of a PDA. I was attracted to it for the very reasons that folks seem to be griping about. Its not supposed to neatly fit into these prepackaged categories of Laptop or PDA. Its New and its Different, and its not supposed to do everything for everyone. Its supposed to be a powerful, highly portable PC. And that it DOES do really well.

I loved my iPAQ but it didn’t have the power to run the applications that I need for work. (Database powered searching and product ordering.) I really liked my JVC 7310 Ultraportable laptop. But it was really hard to secure. It was large enough that it was too big to carry with me all the time, yet small enough that it could very easily be tucked into a large jacket. Also, the laptop form factor meant you were tied to a desk to use it with any stability. I looked at Tablet PC’s, and while they were closer to what I was looking for in terms of being able to use them on the go as a slate. They are all too large and heavy to carry with me all the time. (And if I have to lock the tablet up in the office when I’m not using it, that kinda kills the portable aspect of the machine.) I can see where Tablets would be PERFECT for someone that works in an office environment where there are lots of meetings with desks and tables where the tablet could be set when not in use. OR even in sales, where it could be tucked into a portfolio with sales catalogs. I just don’t see it working in retail where I wanted to use it for inventory and ordering. Too big, and too hard to secure.

I think the U70 dopes exactly what it was designed to do. Its a portable PC that you can take with you everywhere. (Which is why I really wonder about the lack of a case with a good belt clip. This was designed to be small and light and portable, yet there is NO easy way to keep it with you without carrying it in your hand or a bag.) With good power management, you can get decent battery life out of the machine, which can minimize one of the concerns. (And its not really hard to plug the thing into its dock at the end of the day and let it recharge.) I was able to use the machine on and off for an entire workday so battery life isn’t horrible. And if you are expecting to use this as a desktop replacement, just plug the thing in. I don’t think its really designed to be a desktop replacement, its meant to compliment your main machine. Its meant to let you take what you need with you to function away from the office, without having to convert formats to a PDA or sacrifice features. Its not supposed to be a notebook, and its not supposed to be a PDA. I think its supposed to be more PDA than a Notebook, and more Notebook then a PDA. But not really either one. I can get almost instant on with Standby, so my applications and my information is all there right away when I need it. With WiFi I can connect to the net and not worry about having to browse a page that’s PDA Compliant. I can export my info with any other machine I want to and have identical copies as they are all native XP applications. I can keep my contacts intact when on the road. (The mobile contacts on my Pocket PC wouldn’t transfer all of the fields from the desktop Contacts for example. So I was always missing some of the info.) I can be more productive because the technology is getting more transparent. I don’t have to worry about formats not working or files not being converted properly. And I can cut my gear down to a single piece now. I don’t have to carry a PDA for contact info and an instant on To-Do list and appointments and a laptop for order entry and work processing and “heavy duty work”. I can carry ONE Device that will let me do everything. Do I use it to play a DVD On a cross country flight. Nope. (But that sort of thing can kill a laptop battery just as easy as it can kill the U70 battery. And movies on PDA’s are still more of a novelty then anything else. Movies are power hungry, regardless of the format.)

I think that everyone wants everything to do everything these days. We need to take a step back and evaluate the tools we have available. Just as you wouldn’t use a hammer to for a delicate brain operation, we shouldn’t expect an ultraportable to be a fantastic gaming machine or function the same as a PDA (which is designed to do something totally different to begin with.) Comparing the U50/50 to a PDA Or a Laptop is really an apples to oranges comparison. They are totally different tools, designed to do totally different things. We need to pick the right tools for the job at hand. If I need raw horsepower, I’m going to use my Desktop. If I need to take information and applications with me to be productive AWAY from my desktop, then the U70 does a darn fine job. (Better in my opinion than Either a PDA or a laptop.) If we look at the U50/U70′s in the context in which they were designed, they look like very attractive, very portable, very innovative machines. They arent supposed to be perfect, but they are alot more useful than I think folks really understand. They do what they were designed to do VERY Well. I don’t think its an overpriced toy. I don’t think its a trendy gizmo for geeks that’s more flash than substance. And from the discussions about how tough it was to get them right after release, there is apparently more demand than expected.

It can be the right tool for the job if you can recognize that there is a need for multiple tools in the first place.