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Sony’s VAIO X505 had some impressive specs when it first debuted in 2004. It was just 0.38 inches at its thinnest point, and used Intel’s ultra-low voltage Pent

Sony’s VAIO X505 had some impressive specs when it first debuted in 2004. It was just 0.38 inches at its thinnest point, and used Intel’s ultra-low voltage Pentium processor. It was the first laptop to feature a "chiclet" keyboard, named for its small rounded keys that resemble Chiclets gum. All of this was packaged into a $3,000 notebook years before Apple unveiled its MacBook Air. https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/6/5385716/sony-vaio-iconic-pcs-photo-essay#photo-5149539-10 https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/6/5385716/sony-vaio-iconic-p...

dijit 9y ago
That laptop certainly looks revolutionary. But while we're on the subject of Sony ultra-portables: I am a little sad that there's been no update to the Sony VAIO P-Series of laptops which are literally pocket sized. I had one, and aside from the screen refresh it was so crazy how absurdly portable it was. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vaio_P_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vaio_P_series
- awiesenhofer 9y ago
  Boy, i loved those! I remember browsing lots of japanese and hongkong sites to find one with EU-shipping. Does anyone know similar current devices?
  - schlarpc 9y ago
    There's a couple recent products that hit similar niches: GPD Pocket: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-pocket-7-0-umpc-laptop-ubuntu-or-win-10-os-laptop--2 https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-pocket-7-0-umpc-lapto... GPD Win 2: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-2-handheld-game-console-for-aaa-games-laptop https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-2-handheld-game-c... Ockel Sirius A: https://www.ockelcomputers.com/sirius-a/ https://www.ockelcomputers.com/sirius-a/ I have the original GPD Win, and it's a surprisingly competent PC for being roughly the size of a Nintendo 3DS XL. The keyboard is terrible for typing on, but that's kind of expected with its gaming focus.
    - stuaxo 9y ago
      I got a pocket... the keyboard lets it down a bit, I hanker after the Psion 5 keyboard. Unfortunately the team trying to bring back something like the Psion are the same people who are not bringing the Spectrum Vega to its backers, but instead seem to be spending the backers money on frivolous lawsuits.
      - mmjaa 9y ago
        I have a GPD Pocket too, and I concur with you - the keyboard is one iteration away from being acceptable. But, is it not still a kick-ass machine? I really love mine, and I look forward to any revision we may see from GPD in the future - and/or competition along similar lines. Finally a decent unibody not of Apple heritage!
    - thinkythought 9y ago
      What made the vaio killer was that it's super wide width allowed for an almost-normal keyboard(think 12in powerbook or old ibm X series, not some super micro thing like very small japanese laptops usually have). I wanted to love the pocket, but the keyboard just looks so awful comparatively
- digi_owl 9y ago
  The whole market for such flatlined as smartphones ascended, it seems. Also, these days Vaio is no longer a part of Sony and thus likely can't chase niche markets as much.
- thinkythought 9y ago
  I really loved mine. The screen was actually fine, the main issue was that it used a Z series atom, with a powerVR gpu cribbed from early smartphones and absolutely abysmal performance. The screen was high quality, the system just couldn't refresh it worth a damn and stuttered on even 480p youtube I would pay more than they want for that new Psion or the GPD pocket 2 for an updated vaio p with just a modern atom, or basically the specs of the GPD win. The rev2 with the trackpad on the screen glass was basically the perfect form factor. I can't believe these still sell for what i paid for mine in 2011~ when it was barely old, which was about $400
marpstar 9y ago
I was working at Best Buy in '08 when one of my regular customers came in to buy a MacBook Air when his X505 started to age. Those Sonys were impressively built but with a price tag to match. They keyboards on them were a bit more condensed than on the original MBA, if I recall correctly.
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
And let's not forget its earlier sibling, the Sony 505G, which I had back in...1999. I don't quite remember what keys it had, but it really changed the way I thought about laptops. The 505 series really changed the game.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  This was my brother's machine in the early 2000's, and I distinctly remember how aesthetically pleasing it was. I was personally an Thinkpad X series guy, but that magnesium body (?) of the Sony laptop was beautiful.
  - yeukhon 9y ago
    Yeah, I was going to suggest about the X-series. Even today there is a good X-series lover. I’d say Thinkpad X design was legendary and revolutionary of its time, and surprisingly still very popular today.
vpribish 9y ago
the VAIO PCG-505 came out in 1997! That thing was amazingly futuristic. 24mm at the thickest part, less than 3 lbs, ran linux just fine, and the battery could be swapped while in a soft sleep. http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/personal/0104.html http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/personal/0104.html
- clairity 9y ago
  the pcg-505 was my primary machine from 2000-2007 and i loved it! had sony not fumbled over itself, i might still be using a upgraded version of that machine, rather than the macbook pro's i've used since (i'm hoping apple doesn't have a similar implosion, but it's looking sketchy at the moment). apple didn't really surpass that machine with the air, it was the retina macbook pro's that were the next step up.
- tomc1985 9y ago
  I worked in a tech shop at the time and had to do more than a couple of RAM and HD swaps on those little punks. Talk about a living hell...
sdrothrock 9y ago
That takes me back -- I remember when Japanese laptops were so innovative that there was an entire site (dynamism, I think?) devoted to localizing and providing them to US customers. Now it seems like Apple has really driven the laptop industry and that Japanese laptops are chunky, underspecced, and overpriced...

dijit 9y ago

That laptop certainly looks revolutionary. But while we're on the subject of Sony ultra-portables: I am a little sad that there's been no update to the Sony VAIO P-Series of laptops which are literally pocket sized. I had one, and aside from the screen refresh it was so crazy how absurdly portable it was. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vaio_P_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vaio_P_series

awiesenhofer 9y ago
Boy, i loved those! I remember browsing lots of japanese and hongkong sites to find one with EU-shipping. Does anyone know similar current devices?
- schlarpc 9y ago
  There's a couple recent products that hit similar niches: GPD Pocket: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-pocket-7-0-umpc-laptop-ubuntu-or-win-10-os-laptop--2 https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-pocket-7-0-umpc-lapto... GPD Win 2: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-2-handheld-game-console-for-aaa-games-laptop https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-2-handheld-game-c... Ockel Sirius A: https://www.ockelcomputers.com/sirius-a/ https://www.ockelcomputers.com/sirius-a/ I have the original GPD Win, and it's a surprisingly competent PC for being roughly the size of a Nintendo 3DS XL. The keyboard is terrible for typing on, but that's kind of expected with its gaming focus.
  - stuaxo 9y ago
    I got a pocket... the keyboard lets it down a bit, I hanker after the Psion 5 keyboard. Unfortunately the team trying to bring back something like the Psion are the same people who are not bringing the Spectrum Vega to its backers, but instead seem to be spending the backers money on frivolous lawsuits.
    - mmjaa 9y ago
      I have a GPD Pocket too, and I concur with you - the keyboard is one iteration away from being acceptable. But, is it not still a kick-ass machine? I really love mine, and I look forward to any revision we may see from GPD in the future - and/or competition along similar lines. Finally a decent unibody not of Apple heritage!
  - thinkythought 9y ago
    What made the vaio killer was that it's super wide width allowed for an almost-normal keyboard(think 12in powerbook or old ibm X series, not some super micro thing like very small japanese laptops usually have). I wanted to love the pocket, but the keyboard just looks so awful comparatively
digi_owl 9y ago
The whole market for such flatlined as smartphones ascended, it seems. Also, these days Vaio is no longer a part of Sony and thus likely can't chase niche markets as much.
thinkythought 9y ago
I really loved mine. The screen was actually fine, the main issue was that it used a Z series atom, with a powerVR gpu cribbed from early smartphones and absolutely abysmal performance. The screen was high quality, the system just couldn't refresh it worth a damn and stuttered on even 480p youtube I would pay more than they want for that new Psion or the GPD pocket 2 for an updated vaio p with just a modern atom, or basically the specs of the GPD win. The rev2 with the trackpad on the screen glass was basically the perfect form factor. I can't believe these still sell for what i paid for mine in 2011~ when it was barely old, which was about $400

marpstar 9y ago

I was working at Best Buy in '08 when one of my regular customers came in to buy a MacBook Air when his X505 started to age. Those Sonys were impressively built but with a price tag to match. They keyboards on them were a bit more condensed than on the original MBA, if I recall correctly.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

And let's not forget its earlier sibling, the Sony 505G, which I had back in...1999. I don't quite remember what keys it had, but it really changed the way I thought about laptops. The 505 series really changed the game.

hkmurakami 9y ago
This was my brother's machine in the early 2000's, and I distinctly remember how aesthetically pleasing it was. I was personally an Thinkpad X series guy, but that magnesium body (?) of the Sony laptop was beautiful.
- yeukhon 9y ago
  Yeah, I was going to suggest about the X-series. Even today there is a good X-series lover. I’d say Thinkpad X design was legendary and revolutionary of its time, and surprisingly still very popular today.

vpribish 9y ago

the VAIO PCG-505 came out in 1997! That thing was amazingly futuristic. 24mm at the thickest part, less than 3 lbs, ran linux just fine, and the battery could be swapped while in a soft sleep. http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/personal/0104.html http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/personal/0104.html

clairity 9y ago
the pcg-505 was my primary machine from 2000-2007 and i loved it! had sony not fumbled over itself, i might still be using a upgraded version of that machine, rather than the macbook pro's i've used since (i'm hoping apple doesn't have a similar implosion, but it's looking sketchy at the moment). apple didn't really surpass that machine with the air, it was the retina macbook pro's that were the next step up.
tomc1985 9y ago
I worked in a tech shop at the time and had to do more than a couple of RAM and HD swaps on those little punks. Talk about a living hell...

sdrothrock 9y ago

That takes me back -- I remember when Japanese laptops were so innovative that there was an entire site (dynamism, I think?) devoted to localizing and providing them to US customers. Now it seems like Apple has really driven the laptop industry and that Japanese laptops are chunky, underspecced, and overpriced...