Sony Vaio VGN-P31ZK
Specifications
Notebook: Sony Vaio VGN-P31ZK (Vaio VGN-P Series)Processor: Intel Atom Z540
Graphics Adapter: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
Display: 8.0 inch, 16:9, 1600x900 pixels, glossy: yes
Weight: 0.7kg
Price: 1000 euro
Average of 2 scores (from 2 reviews)
Reviews for the Sony Vaio VGN-P31ZK
Source: Maximum PC
So what do you make of a tiny, yet full-fledged computer with a screen that causes eyestrain, a keyboard that’s hard to type on, and a nearly $2,000 price tag? The Verizon-enabled 3G wireless data connection and turn-by-turn GPS (utilizing Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009), offer some clues. The Vaio P is for the ultimate road warrior: someone who values portability above all else. We can’t think of anyone else with the small fingers, sharp eyes, and pot o’ gold required to get the most out of this device.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 03/10/2010
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Digital Versus
Before getting involved with netbooks, Sony tried them out with an earlier member of the Vaio P running Windows XP. Even smaller than the smallest netbook, the Sony Vaio P is also very light and extremely quiet. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't have enough battery life and is far too slow. A struggling hard drive is to blame, and it should have been replaced by a much faster SSD.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 01/22/2010
Rating: Total score: 40%
Comment
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500: Integrated (onboard) graphics chip on the UL11L, US15L, and US15W chipsets with a licensed PowerVR SGX core. DirectX 10.1 support but because of low clock rates (100-200 MHz UL11L - US15) and only 4 shaders not suited for 3D games. The integrated video decoder accelerates the playback of HD videos (MPEG2, VC-1, AVC).
These graphics cards are not suited for Windows 3D games. Office and Internet surfing however is possible.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Atom: The Intel Atom series is a 64-Bit (not every model supports 64bit) microprocessor for cheap and small notebooks (so called netbooks), MIDs, or UMPCs. The speciality of the new architecture is the "in order" execution (instead of the usual and faster "out of order" execution). Therefore, the transistor count of the Atom series is much lower and, thus, cheaper to produce. Furthermore, the power consumption is very low. The performance per Megahertz is therfore worse than the old Pentium 3M (1,2 GHz on par with a 1.6 GHz Atom).
Z540: Power saving Atom processor (even more power efficient than the N-series) with 1.83 GHz and therefore a bit faster than usually 1.6 GHz clocked Atoms.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
8.0": This is a very small format, which is used for UMPC, Netbooks or Subotebooks. There hardly exist any models with this display format. Working for a long time is uncomfortable. This tiny display is intended for outdoor usage.
The advantage is, that the mini-notebook can be small dimensioned and can be carried easily. Further the tiny display has the advantage, that it needs few energy, which improves the battery runtime and in consequence the mobility. The disadvantage is that the reading of texts is very exhausting for the eyes. High resolutions can hardly be used.» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
0.7 kg: This subnotebook is one of the most lightweight of all notebooks and can be carried very easily. There exist hardly any models in this extreme class of weight. 7-9 inch displays are normal for this class of weight.
Sony: Sony Corporation is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Japan. Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game consoles, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its name is derived from sonus, the Latin word for sound. The company was founded 1946 with another name and renamed in 1958. Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through its five operating segments—electronics, games, entertainment (motion pictures and music), financial services and other. Sony is a notebook manufacturer of medium size according international market shares.
50%: This average evaluation is exceptionally bad. There exist hardly any laptops, which are rated so negative.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
