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Meet the XP midgets: Sony VGN-U vs OQO Model 01
Left: OQO Model 01, right: Sony VGN-Uxxx
With two types of very similar ultra portable Windows XP PC's on the market, making a choice can be hard.
Each one has different strong points. Both have 20GB HD (or 30GB), 256 or 512MB RAM, X86 processor and Windows XP loaded.
While the OQO is slower, the Sony VGN-U71P is heavier.
But is one really better than the other?
Here they are, in a short point-by-point review. A far from clear-cut choice.
Their respective sections inside the website contain more examples and tests.
1: Sony VGN-Uxxx?
There are 4 types of Sony VGN-Uxxx. Seems confusing? They are nearly identical:
-VGN-U50:back in production. It has a 900 MHz Celeron-M 512 KB cache, 256 or 512 MB of RAM, 20 GB HD, 5" TFT 800x600 touchpanel, USB2, Firewire, Wifi 54 Mbits, CF & MS slots, 10x16cm for 550 grams, runs Windows XP Home or Pro Edition. -VGN-U70P:discontinued. Identical except for the 1.0 GHz Pentium-M 1MB cache and the default 512 MB RAM .
-VGN-U71P. a modified U70P with a 1.1GHz 2MB cache "Dothan" Pentium-M and 30 GB hard drive.
All four have identical size and weight, look exactly the same and their speed is equivalent to a Pentium4 in the range of 1500-1800 MHz.
More about the Sony U here
2: OQO?
-OQO Model 01: features a 1.0 GHz Transmeta Crusoe 5800 CPU, 256MB of RAM max, 20GB HD, WiFi 11, USB1, Firewire, built-in qwerty keyboard, Bluetooth, 5" TFT 800x480 screen, digital pen (Wacom system). Only sold in the US. Available in 24 languages via ultranote. More about it in our OQO section , including a complete review
3: side by side
First some comparative pictures
{imggallery 14}
4: style, size and handling Winner: OQO
External look:
OQO: sleek design, the only apparent button is the power switch.
The Sony U has a lot more buttons: pression-sensitive joystick, rotate screen button, zoom function, left-right clicks, brightness. That makes the unit look heavier.
advantage: OQO
Controls part a:
OQO closed : no other control than the scrolling wheel. The screen is not touch-sensitive, you must take the special Wacom-designed digital pen to use it as a TabletPC.
Sony U: more buttons means a lot of controls available immediately. Very easy to read text or media content off the unit.
The screen is touch-sensitive. If you have an overlay screen protection, using fingers to operate Windows XP is possible.
advantage: Sony
Controls part b:
OQO open: with its integrated keyboard deployed, the OQO is far more attractive than as a tablet. A full qwerty PC keyboard is there with functions keys, a trackstik, left/right mouse clicks buttons and even a separate numeric keypad. That's a big advantage
details of the OQO keyboard
It's only possible to type data in the Sony U from an attached foldable keyboard. One is provided by Sony but any other USB keyboard can of course work.
Sony U with the Sony foldable USB keyboard
The other solution is to use the Windows XP on-screen keyboard:
That's the less efficient "PocketPC" method.
Handwriting recognition is possible on both computers using 3rd party softwares like PenOffice from Paragraph or RitePen. Although OQO should have a higher resolution with its Wacom system, results are practically identical on both machines and still need frequent corrections. advantage: OQO
size/weight:
The OQO is simply smaller and a 100 grams lighter.
OQO, Sony U and a Casio E-115 PDA
While the OQO could be mistaken for an old 2nd generation PocketPC PDA, the U's more advanced specifications certainly need more space.
advantage: OQO
5: speed Winner: Sony U
more details on this benchmark in the archives of our Small Talks section
Sony U: The slowest version has a Celeron-M 900MHz with 256MB of RAM upgradable to 512MB. Even that one outperforms a Crusoe 5800 1GHz by 50% . The 1.1GHz Pentium-M 2MB version is +/- 30% faster.
The video chip in the U uses 64MB of RAM and delivers reasonably good real-time 3D, see point 7. The computer can perform demanding tasks such as rough video editing or even run music composition softwares
WiFi is the 54MBits version and USB is v.2, 40x faster than v1.1 .
OQO: The 1GHz Crusoe 5800 comes from a design choice which is already 2 years old. One cannot expect more than the performance of a Pentium3/667MHz out of this. There's only 256MB of un-upgradable RAM.
The Wifi is 11Mbits and only USB v1.1 is present.
Still the OQO is good enough for office work, DVD playback and -surprise- can even record DV video from a camcorder. A feat impossible for previous Crusoe 5800-based notebooks.
Both processors are designed to spare batteries by constantly adapting the clock speed to the needs. The Crusoe is a bit more flexible at this i.e. changing its speed in 1/2 a second from 1000MHz to 300MHz when dragging then releasing a window.
More on the OQO's Crusoe in our OQO review , including a video showing how the OQO settings for the Crusoe are adapted in real time
In practice, the autonomy can range from 2h to 3.5h, depending if a computer is used for video playback or only for word processing.
Another bad point for the OQO: The Crusoe easily reaches its limits and needs frequent heavy cooling. Even playing a rather light video MPEG file starts its noisy cooling system.
That doesn't prevent the OQO from becoming noticeably warm. As does the Sony U, but to a lesser extent.
6: sound Winner: Sony U
All audio playlist software for Windows XP will run on both units:Itunes, Windows Media Player, VLC, Winamp...
A computer running a full-sized OS like XP or MAC OSX cannot start instantly.
Using them as walkman's can only be done when the computer is an open place: a train, plane, a bench...
Because of overheating, ultraportable PC's cannot be kept powered-on in pockets. OQO: has no built-in speaker, only a stereo headphones plug is available but that output is pretty good and supports even the largest Hi-Fi headphones set if needed.
Sony U: there's a built-in speaker, stereo headphones plug and a remote control with integrated LCD is given with basic stereo headphones.
For pro-users like music composers running softwares such as Reason 2.5 ( a virtual studio rack), the Sony U provides smooth operations while the OQO is crawling way behind.
Reason 2.5 running on a Sony VGN-U50
7: screen, 3D and video Winner: Sony U
screen:
OQO: the screen is a 5" TFT with 800X480 resolution. Its maximum brightness is slighty dimmer than Sony U's. There's no zoom function but adjusting the font size is possible (like in any PC). Brightness can be adujsted via a keyboard function key
Sony U: the screen is a 5" TFT touchpanel with 800X600 resolution. Very bright output. A zoom button allows switching to higher or smaller resolutions. When the resolution goes over 800X600, a virtual desktop is used : the sreen will show only a part of that bigger desktop and follow the mouse arrow. advantage: Sony 3D:
Sony VGN-U50 running a virtual Nintendo
OQO: only optimized for DX8 and with 8MB of video RAM, 3D is not possible on the OQO, only very light "vintage" 3D softwares run well enough.
Sony U: 64MB of RAM available for video, performs smooth 3D rendering with a lot of softwares but don't expect Doom3 to run.
We ran Celestia, a freeware real-time 3D Solar System simulator, on both computers and the results are in favour of the Sony. .wmv video files of this test are available below:
 Celestia running on an OQO
Celestia running on a Sony VGN-U50
advantage: Sony
Both can play all kinds of video files even though it's a tougher task for the OQO on which video playback startup is slower.
How to play a video DVD when the computer has no DVD drive? Copy the content to the internal hard drive. DVD hardware emulation softwares like Alcohol 120% or utilities like DVDShrink will do just that.
Then enjoy nearly full resolution DVD's.
Click here for a video footage of the OQO playing back a video DVD (2MB .wmv file)
Both can record DV video from a camcorder
slight advantage for the Sony U in its U71P version: its 30GB drive.
video:
8:docking, connections, expansion Winner: Sony U
docking station:
OQO: a real docking station was designed (see below) but finally axed.
The OQO now only has a docking cable and a basic metal stand:
The OQO's docking cable provides extra USB, Firewire, Ethernet,
audio, power and monitor connections
In effect, plugging the thick connector into the OQO needs to be done very carefully has it is likely to tear the computer's connectors apart.
A real docking station generally provides a soft way of linking the computer to peripherals and that's what the Sony U achieves:
detail of the Sony U docking station with the plastic guiding frame
advantage: Sony
connections and networks:
OQO:
-USB 1.1 (1 on the OQO, 1 on the docking cable)
-Firewire (1 on the OQO, 1 on the docking cable)
-stereo audio out on the OQO
-built-in WiFi 11Mbits and Bluetooth
-audio out, ethernet, monitor out on the docking cable
Firewire connection on the side of the OQO
Sony U:
-USB 2.0 (1 on the U, 4 on the docking station)
-Firewire on docking station only
-stereo audio out with remote control on the U
-built-in WIFI 54, no Bluetooth
-monitor out, ethernet 10/100 on the docking station and on a special mini cable. Very useful for travelling or Powerpoint demo's:
less bulky than the OQO +docking cable
advantage: Sony
expansion:
OQO: not possible except through USB 1 or Firewire peripherals. No memory cards slots either.
Sony: the Sony U has Compact Flash II and Memory Stick slots.
Bluetooth modules, GPS receivers or CF hard drive (affordable 4-5GB drives are currently available) can be added.
advantage: Sony 9: conclusions
 Sony should be the winner , being the better one in a number of areas.
The OQO is very compact and its drawbacks might not be decisive, except speed. It's based on a design that started 2+ years ago while Sony's design is only months old and renewed by the launch of the U71P.
The choice is speed over size and really depends on the use of the machine.
They both have the same average amount of power/cubic cm. OQO users get a PC half the volume of the U, but must accept to work at half the speed too.
A brick of power like a Sony U71P might be used for a number of scientific, media, aeronautical or logistics operations.
i.e. some on-board stamina is necessary to power .NET softwares on notebooks, manage large stocks, use USB barcode readers and transfer the result to a database over a fast WiFi connection.
Still, the size of the OQO will be more than tempting for those who mainly want to have all their original documents with them at all time, with no synchronization hassle, search websites with a full sized browser and have the possibility to occasionnally watch videos while commuting.
OQO/Sony U: joint winners
You may send us remarks and comments here
More tests coming up
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our OQO section
our OQO complete review
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