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CNET named Vaio P as the “Best of CES” winner this week for the Computer & Hardware category. The Vaio P is a gorgeous computer. When you see it, touch it and hold it, you will want one. But that’s where it ends. Its beauty is not backed by substance. We think that the Vaio P won’t be a winner on the market.

The Vaio P comes in a very attractive package.

We had some hands-on time yesterday with the Vaio P, and here is why:

1. Usability. From playing with the P on the CES show floor, the units are DOG slow running Vista. It just isn’t usable. I don’t know if it’s all the Sony crap software that’s slowing the unit down or if it’s Vista itself. But either way, it’s a very terrible experience. With no programs running, clicking on the Start button takes a few seconds to respond. Vaio P needs Windows 7 badly to improve on performance.

2. High price tag. In a world where netbooks go for around $350 – $500, Sony is selling the P for a price tag of $899 to $1499 depending on configuration. Ya, we know Sony isn’t calling the P a netbook, but I can call my Honda a Ferrari too.

3. Short battery life. In a world where *cheap* netbooks are getting 7 hours of battery life, the P has 2-4 hours of battery life. Excuse me? Am I hearing that right? Ouch.

4. Instant-On is just a gimmick. The Vaio P comes with a feature called Instant On, where you can boot into its Linux OS in 20 seconds to do some basic tasks like web surfing, playing music or videos, etc. From our brief look, it looks to be more gimmicky than anything. First of all, instant-on is hardly instant since it takes 20 seconds. Then, when we tried to load the web browser, it took another 10 seconds for the first time. That’s not really that fast now, is it? Sony, you should just put Windows 7 on when it becomes available and take this instant-on feature off.
   Vaio P’s Instant-On boots into Linux, but it’s not very functional.

5. Awkward Size. Hey, the size is good for looks, but its dimensions are neither really usable nor pocketable. When we were testing out the unit, one guy actually tried to put it in his jacket pocket and he almost ripped it (LOL!). 

A gentleman who very unsuccessfully tried to pocket the Vaio P at Sony’s booth.

Don’t get us wrong; I am sure there are a few of us out there who won’t mind dropping $1000 for a good-looking toy. But we just don’t think there will be that many of those people, especially given how the economy is these days.

What’s the Cure?

So is the Vaio P doomed forever? Hardly. We think that if Sony puts Windows 7 on the P, drops the price significantly (we are talking about at least half), and improve the battery life, then the P can be a real winner. Until then, Sony won’t be selling a lot Vaio P’s to us.

- J.