Sony Vaio UX series upgrade - review
Introduction
Having owned a Sony Vaio U laptop for a number of years, I have found it to be a reliable and handy PC. With the ever-growing demands of modern software applications, the Vaio U started to struggle to keep up with the demands, so I decided to upgrade to a UX at the end of 2008. These have already been around since 2006, so I wasn't an 'early adopter'. Like any new system, it has its quirks, which take time getting used to especially when you're used to the design and layout of an older model.
Some insubstantial changes:
- Memory stick port changed to the 'Duo' version. Only accepts the half-sized Duo memory sticks.
- Pointing stick now has replaceable grip cap
- Addition of a front (VGA) and rear (SXGA) cameras
- Addition of bluetooth
- Hardware keyboard
- Removal of wired 'Walkman' style remote with LCD display
- Addition of fingerprint reader
- An all-plastic case (the U had a brushed aluminium front bezel)
Cons of the UX:
- Lack of 'Instant-access' buttons.
The Vaio U had the Up/Down/Left/Right arrow keys and Enter key. It also had dedicated buttons for controlling brightness and on-screen keyboard input panels. It had a 'Suspend' button, which was handy for putting it to sleep without using the start menu. The UX has none of these, and requires the screen to be slid up to access the keyboard. - LCD hard to read in direct sunlight
The UX's LCD screen is much more difficult to read in direct sunlight. It does not appear to share the same 'transreflective' properties of the U series. It must be set to full brightness in order to be viewable. This probably explains why the backlight cannot be turned completely off (as it can be in the U). - Coarse touchscreen
The detection matrix in the UX's touchscreen is fairly coarse - so much so, that if you viewed the screen in direct sunlight (with the unit off), you can just make out the fine grid of points. It is very noticible when slowly dragging the stylus across the screen. Instead of a smooth motion, the cursor makes small jumps at regular intervals as it follows the stylus.
Advantages of the UX over the U:
- Bootable using generic USB CDROM drives!
The U was very picky over external optical drives. Only specific 'Sony' firewire CD-ROM drives would work as a bootable drive. I never owned such a drive, and to install an OS, I had to use network booting. Thankfully the U had an Intel NIC, which wasn't too bad. Come the UX, where you can plug virtually any USB mass storage CDROM/DVDROM drive into its USB port and hey presto, it will boot off the CD with your choice of OS to install. - Much better performance.
The 'Dothan' Intel Core Solo processor (at 1.33GHz) runs rings around the U's Celeron M 900 processor. Sony made the right decision to fit 1GB of memory to the unit. However, unlike the U, which had a (proprietary and very expensive) replaceable memory module, the memory chips on the UX are permanently fixed. But with about four times as much memory as the U models, the UX should never really need a memory upgrade anyway. - Microphone and Mic input
The built-in microphone is a welcome addition, which makes the UX ideal for applications such as VoIP and Skype. The Mic socket is also very handy for connecting to another audio source for recording. A pleasant surprise was the Stereo capability of the port, which in fact doubles as a dual personality mic/stereo line input. - Better connectivity
The UX has bluetooth, which is ideal for pairing with your mobile (cell) phone for things such as Internet access or file/photo transfer. You can also use a bluetooth mouse, eliminating the need to use a wired or one which requires a dongle - thereby saving the USB port for other purposes. It also features Intel's high-end Pro Wireless NIC supporting A,B and G. - Higher resolution LCD
The UX's LCD has a native resolution of 1024x600 on a 4.5 inch diagonal screen. Whilst some users may have difficulty reading the small text, the 1024 horizontal resolution is ideal for web browsing. Gone are the days of side-scrolling with the Vaio U. - Inbuilt stylus holder
Prior to the UX, the U alwasys had its stylus hanging off a small lanyard that was supposed to be tied to the unit. There was no place to store the stylus so it wouldn't flap around. The UX has addressed this issue, with a slot in the back that is home to an extenable stylus.