Digital Trends

Sony PCG-X505/SP

January 6th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Setup and Use

Since iCube installs an English language version of Microsoft's Windows XP Professional with this system (yes we said Windows XP Pro), setup was no different than any other system here in the States. All of the documents with exception to the Windows manual are in Japanese however, so you will have to call iCube if you have any questions regarding the system or warranty.

Now the first thing we want to make clear is that the X505 is not smaller in width or length than the Sony TR1A or JVC Interlink 7310. It is however, significantly slimmer in height and weight. What this means is that you get a laptop with a decent sized screen capable of a 1024x768 resolution and a keyboard with larger keys than what you would get on the other two aforementioned systems.

The screen on the X505 is better than average, but not as nice as some of the screens produced by Apple or even the Sony models that use the Xbrite display. There is no apparent light bleeding from the surrounding edges.

The keyboard is also easier to type on than the JVC 7310 or Sony TR1A notebooks, but because this system is imported from Japan, you will have to get used to some key placements that are different from US models. Sony opted to go with a pointing device embedded in the keyboard versus a touch pad, and from our experience this was the way to go. Navigating the mouse with the pointer and the mouse keys was easy to do and we experienced no problems at all.

As we have mentioned in previous reviews, the systems RAM appears to play a bigger role than the processor when running Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. And because the X505 comes with 512MB of RAM, we noticed only slight difference in benchmark performance when compared to the Sony TR1A, Panasonic W2 and the JVC Interlink 7310. An interesting thing about these four laptops is that they all share the same chipset but have different memory limitations. Both the Panasonic and JVC models can be upgraded to 512MB of memory (we have had unofficial reports that both support 768MB though), the Sony TR1A can handle 1GB of RAM and the X505 is maxed out at 512MB according to iCube's specifications. While some may see the max 512MB of memory being a limitation, the X505 should still be able to handle your memory needs for quite a while.

In our benchmarks, the Sony X505 proved to be on par with the other systems we tested. Because the JVC 7310 uses a different screen resolution than the other systems tested, 3dMark unfortunately was not compatible with it. We would have expected the JVC's performance to be close to the other systems however based on the 7310's configuration. The only difference between these systems performance-wise would be the memory bandwidth. Because the JVC 7310 and Panasonic W2  come standard with 256MB of memory versus the 512MB present in the Sony X505 and TR1A, you will notice more delayed performance while multitasking. For complete benchmarking results please click on the performance tab above this review and the performance link below it.

The mouse that Sony includes with the X505 is intended for use with notebooks. This means it is smaller is size than the typical mouse usually associated with desktop systems. It performed just fine for us, however, those with larger hands will probably want to go with a desktop size mouse.

The included 802.11b/g WiFi card plugs in on the right hand side of the system and does not stick out to a point where it is noticeable. WiFi performance was fantastic and we experienced no problems getting a signal through several walls. At first we were surprised to see that Sony did not integrate WiFi capabilities into the system, but the fact that they give you an 802.11g WiFi card instead of the 802.11b present in the other models makes up for it.

The Sony X505 comes with a 2000mAh battery pack which was able to give us just under three hours of life off a single charge. Now in theory three hours sounds like a lot of time from a battery this small in size, but remember that the X505 does not have an internal CD/DVD drive, cooling fans (from what we can tell) or integrated WiFi; it is a very efficient system.

Conclusion

The Sony X505 pushes the envelope when it comes to sub-notebook design and innovation. Almost everything is unique in one way or another and Sony tops it off by adding the elegance and detail that we have only seen from companies such as Apple. The included optical mouse adds a nice touch by offering a memory stick reader, and the packaging that the X505 comes in is very stylish and retro.

Using the X505 in a public place such as a coffeehouse or on public transportation, you'll notice a lot of glances. Whether they are looking at the elegant little powerhouse in front of you or the big grin on your face while using it, you will be noticed — it's just that special. The Sony X505 is an extreme system that will appeal to those wanting the bleeding edge in design and innovation.

*Edit 1/7/04 - We mentioned there was an external dongle for the modem, this dongle is actually for ther ethernet and VGA out ports, not the modem.