Go To Latest Video ReviewsCES 2009: Sony Reveals P Series Battery Details
| Author | Gordon Kelly |
| Published | 9th Jan 2009 |
8 comments
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TrustedReviews NewslettersAn interesting addendum here to the exciting announcement of the Sony P Series netbook yesterday since we can now answer the major question Riyad posed: just how good is the battery?
Well the answer is more convoluted than you'd expect as Sony will offer the option of an extended battery alongside the standard one. Officially the company is stating you'll get a rather disappointing and ambiguous two to four hours from the standard battery and equally ambiguous but less disappointing four to eight hours from the extended battery.
Not satisfied with this answer I did some digging (read: became pushy and annoying) on the Sony stand and managed to speak with a representative who had used the P Series as their personal machine for the last month. She claimed on average she got three hours on the standard battery in typical usage (we'll assume that's closer to 2 hr 30 / 2 hr 45 minus Sony bias) and 5 hr 30 with the extended (again I'd suspect that's closer to five hours).
Now this isn't overly encouraging, but the good news for road warriors is the extended battery really isn't that bulky (see the snap) and the laptop is so light it still feels a featherweight with it attached. In fact, I found the slight angle it raises the netbook actually made it more comfortable for typing on flat surfaces (incidentally, I found the keyboard rather nice).
In sum, it could've been better news but considering its ultra-portable size it also could've been a lot worse. Of course we'll get you the definite scores as soon as we can snag a P Series for review and I know Riyad is pulling all the strings as we speak.
Now just hold your collect breaths for the UK pricing...
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Chris said on 9th January 2009
HK said on 9th January 2009
Well it's simple, this is not a netbook. Sony are not trying to compete with the "race to the bottom". They've made a gorgeous and incredibly light machine (thi... more
Luan Bach said on 9th January 2009
@HK, 2 years ago there wasn't a thing call a recession. That pricing is pure madness, any business man or woman buying this will have to answer some hard questions from the fi... more
gagagaga said on 9th January 2009
@HK ... exactly. If your first response is 'a £200 netbook can do all that', then you are not Sony's target market.
I bought a Sony TZ out of my own ... more
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Well, the pricing has shot this one out the water. The HDD variant seems to be (in effect) a fairly low powered netbook with a very nice screen - but we're charged around £500... more