Comments on: Will pocket-size Sony PC take on iPod?

Consumers can take music, photos and movies on the road when Sony's Vaio U hits the United States next month.
Photos: Mini-PCs

[bbroxter]

Will pocket-size Sony PC take on iPod?

How misleading is that? How can a $1500 device be compared to an Ipod. They are two different devices be sold to two different markets. Every day there is a new headline claiming to be the next Ipod killer. At the very least have a correct headline

C|Net Hates Apple

That's all there is to it. Who can point me to an Apple related
article at this site that doesn't have something negative to say
about the good folks in Cupertino CA? Even when reporting on
their successes, the editors at C|Net consistently tinge their
message with some kind of FUD generating speculation pointing
to their impending doom. This device is in a whole other genre
of devices - not even a second cousin to the iPod...

[dolfox]

no doubt...

that's something that's been obvious for years. it seems to me
that it is just eating them up that apple has been successful...i
mean, they just can't stand it. that's why they write such b.s fluff
as this story...

the worst thing is no one from they're organization responds to
public forums such as this. once i got an email stating that their
articles are opinion based, but i replied that the articles are not
presented that way, they're presented as news, and furthermore,
where are the pro-apple opinions?

No way Sony

Why would I want another unit that can get infected by the latest
worm/virus/scriptkidde?? My iPod plays music, and backs up my
files, thats all I need.

[IsLNdbOi]

What kind of stupid question is that?

This Sony PC will probably cost 4 to 5 times the ipod.

[i,Jimbot]

Why compare it to iPod?

Why would you compare this new Sony device to an iPod? It
certainly is not designed to even be in the same category. It is
obviously not designed to compete with the iPod. We already
know that C|Net has a bias against Apple products and is always
looking for the "iPod killer", but this is a stretch.

Next headline: "Will new Ferrari beat the iPod?"

C'mon C|Net, get some journalistic integrity.

Not just biased, also incompetent

c|net is listing the related stock info for APPL instead of AAPL.
sheesh!

[dejo]

Why is everything compared to iPod?

I'm with everyone else on this. Why is the product being
compared to the iPod and not similar products like Portable
Media Centers or even Pocket PCs? This is just the latest in a
number of articles here on c|net and elsewhere that I've seen
that compared some other very-loosely-related product to the
iPod. The headline should really be: "Will pocket-size Sony PC
take on Creative Labs Zen?" or something similar.

[Greg Sparkman]

Headline

Since you mention the headline...
1. This product has nothing to do with the iPod. Different
products, different usage.
2. The first paragraph more accurately describes the unit as
"near-pocket size". Hey CNET: cargo pants are out. This unit is
NOT pocket size.

I would read these articles at CNEt based solely on the merit of
the specific products. I don't know why so many have to use
iPods or Apple as a foil to bounce off of.

What about durability?

If I owned one of these I would be constantly worried about it getting broken or stolen because it's so expensive. As a result, I'd probably have to have some kind of case for it, which would make it bulkier and less convenient to carry and use. That means that I might as well put up with a little more weight and size and buy a laptop. Especially since laptop prices seem to be coming down and you can now get a nice one for $800-$900.

I would have liked to have seen Sony include an integrated clam-shell case like my beloved Sony Clie NR70V has. I've had it for about two years now and it seems almost indestructible. The outside of it is a little scratched up, but it works great and I almost always have it with me because I can shove it in the back pocket of my pants or jeans.

Because iPod is a Buzz Word

Why compare it to iPod? Because iPod is a Buzz Word.

By using iPod's name in the title of the article, the author if bound to get more readers and more interest.

If you noticed, the article itself does not mention iPod at all. iPod is only mentioned in the title! The whole article is strickly about Sony.

iPod was only mentioned in the title to get more people to click through and read the article... plus, the article got many of its comments based on the title too.


Sony - Vaio U Plays MP3s and more...

http://allwaysmusic.modblog.com/

[Greg Sparkman]

Yeah, but...

...all the comments are complaining about bogus use of the iPod
name. Readers don't like to be played for chumps and CNET is
abusing readers by luring us to articles with bait and switch
tactics.

[HuggerMugger]

Funny, though...

Check out ALL the manufacturers and pundits (like c|net) who
are screaming at end users "you want anything but an iPod,
don't you know?" Funny thing is, the end users already know
what they want and that's why they're buying iPods. The anti
iPod marketing and FUD about AAC and FairPlay just isn't
working and that's driving everyone else with their combined 8%
market share nuts. A music world dominated by Windows Media
assests scares everybody, especially the artists. Apple has a
"closed system" compared to Microsoft? ohmygod, you must be
joking. Mark my words; Microsoft would sit up five years after
attaining ubiquity and demand everyone repurchase their music
"licenses" all over again. If you're a distributor and want to
continue encoding with WMA, dig DEEEEEEEP into those pockets.
That's their history and that's their future. Run away from WMA.

Way off base.

This device is $2,000. I can tell you that while I bought 3 iPods for $299.00 for my family, I would never spend $6,000. for three of these Sony units. Your comparision of this device as a competitor to iPod is way off base.

Actually, c/net is pro-iPod

I disagree with all the statements that c/net hates Apple and its iPod. I think it's the exact opposite. They seem to be so captivated by iPod that they see everything else in relation to it. See their iPod reviews, which are very favorable.

I do agree that iPod is often mentioned in order to get more readers for an article. Like any other media business, ratings do matter, especially in regard to advertising dollars. People love Apple and iPod, so articles about them generate interest. I surely read every article in regard to Apple, but I can't say the same about other companies and their lackluster products.

[rshimizu12]

Vaio U

The Vaio U is quite cool, but too bad it's Windows based. I wonder it can run Linux