Stats all folks: Sony VAIO P vs Asus Eee PC Touch T91

Fwd Tech  Wednesday 04 February 2009

Being the year of the netbook and all (okay, we just made that up, we thought we’d take a look at two of the biggest little laptops to be lurking on the horizon, breaking them down into categories and letting them battle it out. Who are the contenders? None other than the Sony VAIO P and Asus Eee PC Touch T91.

Sizing up First things first. Size. The T91 storms into the ring at a respectable 225×163x25.2mm and 990g, but it can’t quite match the VAIO P’s mini stature. P struts in weighing a feather-light 635g. Plus it’s so small it’ll fit in your pocket! Winner: Sony VAIO P

Capacity Take the phrase “You sir, drive a hard bargain. Mix it up like a sentence anagram and you get “You, sir! A hard drive bargain! And that’s what you might say to the 160GB hard drive in the T91. Unfortunately, everyone knows SSD is the way forward and that’s what the VAIO P’s touting. 128GB of SSD to be sure. Winner: Sony VAIO P Okay, the T91’s got that lovely 8.9-incher, which demonstrates the “Doorways” interface like a dream. But we’ve got a thing for Sony screens. We think we’re in love. This eight-incher has a resolution of 1600×768 and looks as slick as they come. We’ll have a P, please Bob! Winner: Sony VAIO P

Screen

Battery Life Ask any woman and she’ll say she likes a man with stamina… that way he can keep cleaning for hours. Same with netbooks. Sort of. And this is where the P stumbles. It only has a battery life of 3-4 hours. That can be upgraded, but if you do that the size bulks up, sort of defeating the point of the P. Which is why we have to award this accolade to the T91, which has your standard Eee battery life of around 7.5 hours. Winner: Asus Eee PC Touch T91

Power Both models have an Intel Atom chip that’s been designed specifically for netbooks. This one’s a big fat X on your score card. Draw

Extras The VAIO P doesn’t have that many extras, 3G is pretty standard now, but t it does have GPS, and it comes in a variety of colours. The T91, meanwhile, wows you and your friends with its twist-again screen, which turns it into a tablet. Love it! Winner: Asus Eee PC Touch T91

And the price? We know the VAIO P is starting at prices of £850, with higher-end models topping the £1,000 mark. That’s pretty pricey for a netbook. So, you’d think the t91 would win this. Unfortunately Asus is keeping schtum at the moment, meaning we’re obliged to give this one a draw in the name of fairness. Draw

OVERALL WINNER: SONY VAIO P