Sony VAIO C1MV/C PictureBook Laptop (733 MHz Crusoe TM5800, 128 MB DDR RAM, 20 GB hard drive)

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [963kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 9.9 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000067NNS
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 15, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Weighing in at a barely there 2.2 pounds and sporting a super-slim yet durable 1.2-by-9.9-by-6-inch magnesium alloy case, the Vaio C1MV/C PictureBook is considerably smaller than an average notebook. Nonetheless, this sleek offering from Sony is a powerful and truly versatile digital workhorse.

Driven by a 733 MHz low-heat Crusoe processor (512 KB Level 2 cache) and 128 MB of RAM, the C1MV/C is ready to handle most any standard notebook application. Its 20 GB hard drive is roomy enough for all your mobile programs, including the pre-installed editions of Microsoft Windows XP, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Word 2002, and RealNetworks Real Entertainment suite. And its 8 MB ATI Mobility Radeon-M graphics chip will capably display all but the most graphically intense games and entertainment software on the system's big and bright 8.9-inch UWSXGA TFT viewing screen.

The C1MV/C features many perks of larger notebooks, including an 86-key keyboard, a stick-type pointing device with scroll function and jog dial, a single USB jack, an integrated microphone, V.90 modem, and stereo speakers. Due to its diminutive size the unit features several external accessories, including a port replicator box with VGA out and 10/100 Ethernet connections, an AV out for viewing and recording digital images from a DVD player or VCR, and an additional USB jack. Its CD-ROM drive is also external and therefore somewhat less convenient than a comparable internal unit, but that's one of the few concessions you'll have to make for this level of portability.

The PictureBook is not just a computer--it's a video recorder too. Using its concealed 180-degree-rotating Motion Eye CCD camera, you'll capture all your favorite or important moments as still images or MPEG2 mini-movies. Furthermore, the C1MV/C allows you to quickly and easily store and transfer your digital image and data files to a desktop computer or other device via its MagicGate Memory Stick slot. Sony has also enclosed a variety of multimedia applications to make your personal video environment even easier.

Ideal for those who require maximum mobility, the Sony Vaio C1MV/C PictureBook is proof that good things do indeed come in very small packages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What they don't tell you about this notebook, June 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony VAIO C1MV/C PictureBook Laptop (733 MHz Crusoe TM5800, 128 MB DDR RAM, 20 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

The C1MV/C PictureBook is a fantastic computer for those who don't find PDA's up to par with their requirements. A few things are omitted from the description though: 1. The package arrived with an external cd rom machine...2. There is a little flap on the right hand side to connect a telephone cable (not supplied) to the machine which does have a built in V90 modem. 3. when I checked the CPU

under the following: Control Panel/System Property/ General I found out that what I have is:
TM5800 327MHZ (Half the speed!!!) and 112MB of RAM. After calling Sony I found out that this is a stepped processor and does not utilise the full 733mhz unless needed because of the amount of heat it would generate, also 16 of the 128 MBs of RAM is reserved for the video card. 4. Finally, when checking the hard disk capacity please be aware that it is partitioned into C drive and D drive therefore you will not see the full 20MBs in C. This means that you should try as much as possible to download and store information in D so as not to utilise all the space in C.

14 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nice Try, Absolutely Dismal Execution, July 3, 2002

By 

Steve Monaghan "Steve Monaghan" (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO C1MV/C PictureBook Laptop (733 MHz Crusoe TM5800, 128 MB DDR RAM, 20 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

It looks great. But looks only get you so far. The C1 has simply been my worst PC investment ever.

Sony loads so many proprietary drivers (many that crash more than operate)that the system crawls at a pace equivalent to an obsolete PC rather than a new product. After stripping out all the Sony proprietary drivers, it still crawls. If you want to upgrade the memory, you will pay approximately 10 times market price for Sony proprietary memory.

Poor battery life makes the product virtually useless if you travel. At 'Ultimate' battery life setting, with the screen so dim you can barely see it, you can get just over an hour. Most of that is used by booting up.

From a quality perspective, the Sony falls well short of expectation. After seven trips to the Sony warranty center with multiple failures and failed fixes, I would advise that a three year old with a screw driver may be more effective at resolving your problems.

Simply put, don't waste your money. While it is a great looking machine in a great form factor, it is at best equivalent to a painfully slow desktop as it needs to be permanently plugged in.