Although the page is no longer active, a couple of people managed a find a placeholder on Sony’s website mentioning their new VAIO P Series. jkOnTheRun has a screenshot, as do other sites. We’ll have to wait another week or so to learn more details.
Where this falls into the grand scheme of things is hard to say. If you look at the specifications below, you’ll see what I mean:
Specifications:
– 1.33GHz Intel CPU (probably Atom)
– 8″ 1600×768 display
– Up to 60GB HDD or 128GB SSD
– Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
The first thing you notice is that display – it’s 8″, but it’s also 1600×768. No other device with a display smaller than 12.1″ has that kind of resolution (and I’m wondering if any 12.1″ devices do have it), at least not that I’m aware of.
At the beginning of this month, we saw the PCG-1P1L and 1P2L at the FCC, with an estimate of around 9.5″ x 4.5″ by however thick it is. That seemed incredibly odd at the time, but in light of a 1600×768 display, it starts to make a lot more sense.
That resolution, in addition to being very interesting, but possibly a strain on the eyes for some, leads one to believe that it will be losing a dedicated row of keys, similar to the 8.9″ Dell Inspiron Mini 9. The Inspiron Mini’s battery takes up the space, but in this instance, it’s simply a matter of how small do you want the keys if you want to squeeze in six rows versus five rows. At that size, it makes a huge difference.
The hard drive capacities listed (max 60GB HDD, up to 128GB SSD) probably are due to 1.8″ form factors, versus 2.5″. Something that is 4.5″ deep doesn’t have much room.
We’ll just have to wait and see (especially on pricing), but for now, this is leaning more towards a fancy Mobile Internet Device (MID) with a keyboard than anything else.