Sony decided to show off the new VAIO UX at their famous Ginza Building, giving the many mobile geeks a chance to have a hands on test run, well before the device will ever reach anyones home. They even made sure their famous showroom attendants where on call to answer your every question. Considering that they only had one UX to show off and each person was limited to 2 minutes with the device, I am guessing that the attendants also helped to distract the frustrated crowd.

Original ITmedia article here (in Japanese)

I am wondering if the Japanese are going through the same sticker shock as we are here state side. I know that for me, $1,700 is a bit much for something I probably wont use everday. Yet, after looking at the pricing in Japan, if you go for the lowest configuration on the SonyStyle site in Japan, you can actually pick one up for 144,800 YEN. That is just $1,276 at the current exchange rate. Perhaps I might have to pick one up in Japan the next time I am there.

Yet, I still have my doubts about this device working the way I want it to. Usability is really going to be a key issue. The built in wireless is key, so is the keyboard for something like this. I could never see myself using the Origami software to try to type an email of significant length. Why do so many people love their Blackberries or Treos, its the keyboard. There still has to be some killer app, beyond just its cool, to compell me to dish out my cold hard cash. I would sure like to hear what that is.

Categories: Notebooks, Ultra Portable