Sony VGN-UX17GP Handheld PC

The Sony VGN-UX17GP is a light weight, ultra-compact, fully functional computer. This device is similar in hardware and dimensions (a screen lesser than 7 inches) specific to a UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC), but it is not one. Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) is a project initiated by Microsoft and is code-named Origami. Origami does not specifically refer to a device or a particular piece hardware but to an ultra-mobile PC that runs Windows Tablet Edition OS and now Vista Home Premium, and more importantly has Microsoft’s ‘Touch Pack’—a suite with applications and utilities that are optimized for a touch screen operation. The devices that use Microsoft’s UMPC-origami platform come from Asus, Founder, Medion, OQO and Samsung.

The VGN-UX17GP differs by running a full version of Windows XP Professional along with a touch sensitive screen powered by Sony’s own proprietary software. The device is powered by Intel’s 1.2 GHz Core Solo processor, 512MB of 400 MHz DDR2 memory, 30GB hard drive, Intel’s GMA 950 on-board graphics and weighs just 520 grams.
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Design and Ergonomics
Its that one gadget that looks out of a bond movie and thankfully hasn’t been used in one. So you still have that exclusivity to yourself. The device snugly fits into your hands and upon sliding the screen you are exposed to a full sized QWERTY keypad.

Even though you have a full sized keypad at your disposal, you would only be using your thumbs as the rest of the fingers would be gripping the device. The keys on the keypad are a bit too flat and require a firm push to register a key stroke. The flat key design is probably used to accommodate the screen that slides up. There could be another option of using sensitive touch keys but then the close proximity of keys might have also eliminated that possibility. Whatever the case, Sony has to work a way around to make it more comfortable to press keys, more importantly so, because it has to compensate for just being able to use the two thumbs for inputting text.

The other methods of input besides the keypad and the touch screen is the joystick to the right of the device, that controls the movement of the mouse. On the left are three keys from top to bottom, that act as the left, right and center buttons of a mouse. We really liked the joystick and it just needs a little playing around to get comfortable with.
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Screen
The VGN-UX17GP comes with a 4.5-inch touch-screen with a resolution of 1024x600 and is easily the sharpest LCD on a hand-held device. Though this level of sharpness makes a world of difference for watching movies and viewing pictures, it is a big downside when reading text. But you have respite in the form of its magnifying function. You can magnify the screen up to three times in increments of 0.5.

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This is particularly helpful when reading or writing text in the form of emails or web content as its almost impossible when viewed at its actual size. To be able to view text at its original size you will have to hold the device at least 3 to 4 inches close to your eyes, that may strain your eyes. The ‘+’ and ‘-’ magnifying buttons are located on the left hand side of the device. You can reduce the resolution to 800x600 but then as with any LCD, they only look crisp at their native resolution and at 800x600 the screen looks stretched.

As mentioned earlier the screen is a touch screen i.e. it can receive inputs from any object including your fingers and a stylus provided by Sony, tucked at the back of the device. We suggest using the stylus other than your fingers as it is tipped with polyethylene to protect the screen. The screen type is glossy giving you more vibrant colors and sharper contrasts. On testing the LCD using our benchmarks, we observed that it has brilliant color reproduction and is among the best we have ever tested. The LCD panel is LED backlit, providing ample brightness, even for outdoor use.

One touch easy to use Interface

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Features
Sony packs in two cameras in this tiny device. In the front just above the LCD is a 0.3 Megapixel (VGA) camera that’s good for providing real time streaming of your image while video conferencing. Using the VAIO camera capture utility you can also capture still images and videos. At the back is a 1.3 megapixel camera. There is a capture button on the top to click pictures or trigger the VAIO camera capture utility. The utility also allows you to view your shots, or attach those image files via email. This is particularly helpful if you are video or image blogging. No flash is available for the rear camera. You also have a stand for a convenient video conferencing position.

Sony provides a software utility called ‘Pen Plus’ for hand written inputs on the touch screen. There is a feature where in you can just scribble stuff on the screen and then save it as a memo, which can then put up as a sticky note on your desktop. There is no hand writing recognition here. We would have really liked to have it since the only method of inputting text i.e. through the keyboard is not all that fast. Another thing to note is that the utility doesn’t provide a touch screen keypad. The devices that use Microsoft’s UMPC-origami platform have the above functionalities.
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Sticky Notes created by Sony’s Touch Screen Utility

Among the connectivity options are inbuilt Wi-Fi (a/b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR. Other features include a biometric scanner, to facilitate a secured entry into your computer by just swiping your finger. There is a card reader on the top, next to the capture button that can take Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick Pro Duo card formats. The VAIO also accepts CF cards.

Top View

With regards to I/O interfaces is a USB port on the device. At the bottom is a headphone and a microphone jack. On the charging stand which is also a connectivity hub, there are three additional USB 2.0, ports, a 10/100 network port, Monitor (VGA) port, i.LINK (IEEE 1394) S400 port and a AV out jack.

Charging Stand with ports or Port Replicator as Sony calls it

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Performance and Battery Life
It would not be advisable to do processor intensive tasks such as audio/video encoding and 3D related jobs on this device, neither would we recommend it as a gaming device. The device should rather be intended for purposes of productivity—reading/writing emails, editing word documents and connectivity options—wired and wireless, both. The 1.2 GHz, Ultra Low Voltage Core Solo processor from Intel and 512MB of RAM is good enough for a decent level of multitasking. As you can see from the ‘sticky pad desktop image’ in the previous page, we have quite a number of programs running in the system tray including Norton, which in itself is a resource hungry software. Intel’s GMA 950 is the same onboard graphics solution that powers Intel’s 945 chipset for Intel’s Core 2 Duo motherboards. We installed F.E.A.R on it and at 640 x 480 it was just about giving playable frame rates. But there is no way you can play FPS games since the function of the mouse itself engages both your hands. You can play car games like Track Mania Nations where you don’t need a mouse.

The rated battery life is three and half hours. Our battery life tests gave us around three hours of battery life with it reducing to almost 2 hour 15 minutes after a 15 minute gaming session and an hour of using Wi-Fi. Its less for a device that needs to be out for at least 10 hours a day to take care of your professional and personal needs.

For typing emails or working on documents you will have to use the magnifying function. But then once the screen is magnified it gets a little tedious navigating the page, especially when viewing new websites where you are not well versed with the page design.

Specifications Table
Its quite comprehensively given at Sony’s website, so we didn’t feel the need to create one. It also enlists all the bundled softwares that includes Norton, SonicStage, Win DVD5 and PenPlus to name a few. You can check it out at Sony’s website here.

Conclusion
We have to admit that the Sony VGN-UX17GP is a nifty looking innovative device. It’s feature packed with a brilliant quality touch screen, two motion sensing camera’s, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and to top it all it runs Windows XP Professional on an Intel 1.2 Ghz core solo processor and 512MB of RAM. All that in a device that fits your palm and weighs just 520 grams is simply remarkable. On the downside your productivity in terms of typing text is greatly hampered since you typically can only use your thumbs to work on the keypad. And its low 3 hour battery life and an expensive price tag—it costs Rs. 1,00,000, further downs its credibility.

However, my recommendation would be the Dell XPS1210. Its 12-inch screen when customized with a 1.66 Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a DVD Writer (the Sony doesn’t have an external optical drive bundled, internal is out of the question because of the size), a nine cell battery that lasts four and half hours and a Nvidia Go 7400 add-on PCIe graphics card, just costs Rs. 69,000. Though, the Dell weighs close to 2 Kilograms. But then it’s an ultra portable laptop v/s. a handheld device. In the end, however, its one’s personal decision—You have the choice of opting either for Innovation, Ultra-compactness and Aesthetics (Sony VGN-UX17GP Handheld PC) or Practicality (Dell XPS1210).