EEVblog #914 - Sony VAIO UX Micro PC Teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 03:31:09 am
content: Teardown of the vintage Sony VAIO UX Series Handheld Micro PCusing the Intel Core Solo processorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vaio_UX_Micro_PCDatasheets:http://www.intel.com.au/content/dam/doc/datasheet/i-o-controller-hub-7-datasheet.pdfhttp://ark.intel.com/products/27857/Intel-82945GM-Graphics-and-Memory-Controllerhttp://ark.intel.com/products/27247/Intel-Core-Solo-Processor-U1400-2M-Cache-1_20-GHz-533-MHz-FSBhttp://www.ti.com/product/PCI8412/description

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 11:09:11 am
content: Re: All the weirdness inside it - snipped cables, missing bits.The letter that came with it clearly said "This unit was used as a parts donor...."

author: Artlav
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 02:33:58 pm
content: Ah, that was a nice little thing.Here is mine:Had to fix it a few times - the screen went crazy once, and the other time it started switching off from a slight jolt.Not very reliable, surprisingly enough, and had the weirdest compatibility issues, like the WiFi not working in Mexico, and a slot only for some obscure kind of memory card.The battery life was solvable with a bigger battery pack - 4 to 6 hours, as far as i remember.The fan was rather noisy, but it didn't go into a high gear unless i was playing games.But man, was this thing awesome back in the day, with 3G module, real software in it (smartphones weren't invented yet, and Windows CE pocket PCs were rather useless for anything) and so on.The keyboard was the perfect size for my rathe large hands, i could quickly print with my thumbs.It was so odd to be able to browse the internet from a mobile device in a cafe, or be able to do coding in the subway.Even trippier was to be able to video chat with this thing - felt like i'm in a sci-fi movie.Good memories, and the thing still works, but in retrospect it's a rather so-so product that should have been designed a bit later and a bit better.

author: Artlav
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 02:55:16 pm
content: Here it is, still alive.Full package with the antenna and the big battery pack.The fan is actually pretty quiet in idle mode, and only becomes audible under load.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 07:22:06 am
content: Damn, I've always wanted one of these things, but the tech back then was just too average and power hungry. Impressive how they've managed to cram the full x86 platform in this tiny thing thoughWould really love to see one made with modern tech e.g. Core M + SSD, similar hardware to a Retina Macbook and 5" screen or so. Could have a nice and thin thing with many hours of battery life... in the meantime myPocketCHIPwith upgraded LCD will do.

author: ceehoppy1st
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 02:40:56 am
content: I was wondering if Dave was going to pick up on the "UX-280" having a U1500 cpu instead of the U1400. By the way, Hi, I'm the guy who sent the UX to Mailbag (and it got onto Teardown Tuesday- Awesome!!)Anyway, my current UX is as follows- it has a cpu upgrade to a U7700 Core2 Duo 1.33GHz, 1 GB ram, a 64GB ssd, & black keyboard housing. Runs Win7 pretty nicely but the very thing that makes it cool (its small size & such) also makes it annoying to use.The whole concept of the micro-pc might have worked out if it had a better touch-based/mobile device OS. As it was it merely became another "bump in the road" along with the PDA & pocket PC, until the eventual success of the smart phone.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 05:31:53 am
content: I wouldn't be too critical.Sometimes you never know what is going to take off in the market - and what isn't. Also, technology at the time will influence development direction.I look at this as something that was worth the effort - even if we look at it now and see how it wasn't destined to succeed. If nothing more, it's a data point on the chart of technological development.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 11:21:00 am
content: Quote from: ceehoppy1st on August 27, 2016, 02:40:56 amI would try loading W10 on it, might be just the thing it needs.I've had several of those "weird" machines back in the day, notably had two of the Toshiba P series (1610/1620), and before that what was I believe the first member of the UMPC label (Asus R2H). Sony machines were making me salivate but unfortunately at the time they had them they were all way out of my budget.

author: mathsquid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 12:48:46 pm
content: The shape of the case on this micro pc reminds me of the TI-92.Cingular was a wireless provider in the US. AT&T bought them sometime in the last 15 years. They had really good coverage, at least in the parts of Georgia and Alabama that frequent.

author: TimberwolfGryphon
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 19, 2016, 07:10:34 pm
content: Apt for a first post.With all its faults, this device was pretty much a forerunner of mobile computing. As mentioned previously, smartphones and tablets were still a thing of Star Trek or some other Sci Fi title; widows mobile was borderline useless and nothing else provided an acceptable mobile computing experience.I recall drooling over this thing at launch, and it was only after it was pretty much obsolete that I was able to score an ebay auction of one with all its accessoriesI actually want to do the u7700 upgrade, yet I have no clue where and how much it would cost to have the pBGA package swapped.. Needless to say I do not have the know how or equipment for the job.... perhaps @ceehoppy1st can shed some light on the subject?I reminisce on the olden days of yore, when conpanies really tried to do innovative stuff and thusly came up with interesting gadget such as the HTC Shift x9500, or the more recent Vaio p series...now, they are all but demagogues..

author: gadgetaccess
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 21, 2021, 08:38:56 am
content: Does anyone know whether it's possible to replace (reflow) the BGA Ram on the UX380 to get 2 or 4GB? Also.. any hints on the Max supported CPU? Thanks in advance...