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Sony UX Micro PC Reviewed - Tuesday, March 13, 2007

At first glance, Sony’s UX Micro PC is noticeably bulky. The first thing most people notice other than the touch screen include the fingerprint reader and the Motion Eye Camera on top. The buttons on the side of the screen function as the left-click, right-click, and mouse thumb pad. Due to the nature of the small touch screen, the other buttons allow access to the zoom function and the on-screen keyboard. Also included are hard-keys for disabling WiFi to save battery life as well as a power button. The bottom of the UX has a standard line in and line out (headphone and microphone), a power supply jack, and an expansion slot. The only other port on the machine is a USB 2.0 slot on left, however access to more USB and a Ethernet ports can be made available using the mini port replicator, which plugs into the bottom. In addition a button for snapping photos and a Memory Stick Duo slot are found above the unit.

Functionality
The HDD-based model we tested was quite fast for its size. It took roughly 50 seconds to reach the login screen after booting up, which is quite slower than a standard laptop. (runs Win XP) However the all new flash-based models will probably be much faster, in addition to being power efficient. The unit can have a max of 1 GB of RAM and a CPU of up to 1.33GHz (Intel Core Solo). Switching back and forth between the stylus and the keyboard can get quite annoying after a while. The battery life on this HDD-based unit is quite horrible, I could only get around 2hrs out of it with the WiFi enabled. (at least +4hrs needed) The device also has Cingular Wireless Internet (paid service) to compliment the Bluetooth and WiFi. The included features are quite powerful, but lacks true functionality. Read More