An evening with the Sony Vaio P (2009)

[@NTGTechnology]

There really is something so magical about old Sony products. Despite all their flaws and proprietary-ness, they always had the most captivating devices.

[@megatronskneecap]

Between Sony and Apple they pioneered portables in the 00’s

[@wolfpoker]

As a previous owner of FZ, Z and AR series laptops I can only agree. All of them served me for multiple years with winXP/ubuntu, given with a lot of driver troubleshooting along the way :P

[@lumi5880]

May 2025 be full of cool retro tech!

[@oscamosca_5804]

how do you know that, its barely January!

[@creambat21]

aamiin...

[@partlyawesome]

But it's only January ;p

[@lumi5880]

@@oscamosca_5804 😅

[@Theodore574]

​@@oscamosca_5804 hes wishing he isn't referring to the month

[@OxterMusic]

Wow thanks so much for using so many of my tunes! Glad I could provide a soundtrack to your tech journey ;)

[@Joshualacruz]

Excellent stuff bro. Keep up the good work.

[@MaximAmadi]

So wholesome 😊❤

[@PawsMacFlynn]

good stuff

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

I was hoping he used them to demo the XMB features (with direct audio). Maybe next time.

[@lachlanlau]

how do you so perfectly capture the essence of 2000s tv show ambient electronic music?

[@Exentio]

Hey, great video! I'm Exentio and I'm working on one of the Vaio P modernization projects shown in those articles, thanks for the shoutout! I'm glad to see that many people are still interested in the Vaio: despite telling myself that I'm doing this for myself (I want to use it as a writing tool for my stories!), it really keeps my motivation up to see that there are people who want to see this succeed! There will be some updates on my blog and socials as soon as I get the next batch of boards in my hands, I hope to have something more complete to show everyone in around a year, but for now, I made enough pieces of the puzzle that people can already start making easier and cleaner handwired builds than what the Reddit guy did!

[@zeno8402]

are you making replacement motherboards for these? if so then cool 👍 (i would make a new vaio UX motherboard if i could, would be impractical but hilariously fun)

[@Exentio]

@zeno8402 yeah, I'm making a motherboard with support for Raspberry Pi Compute Modules, so it'll be upgradeable over time! I'm working with Arya (the writer of those Hackaday articles) who has already made a prototype board that uses Raspberry Pi Zeros instead! We're working on different approaches: she's going to reuse the stock IO ports and is making a "simpler" design using the Raspberry Pi's pins for display output (DPI) thus "offloading" some complexity to the software, while I'm going to modernize the IO too and make it more plug and play (HDMI instead of DPI) The progress so far has been reverse-engineering the display and keyboard/mouse, and I already made boards to use them (waiting to finalize the backlight driver), what's left is not necessarily easier, but the reverse engineering is all done! Although maybe I should make this clear: it's not gonna be a commercial product sold by me, but a fully open source project (already on Github) that will be easy to get made by PCB manufacturers, and people are allowed to make batches of boards and sell them. This is to avoid artificial shortages and to allow people to contribute, improve, and upgrade the boards!

[@lachlanlau]

vintage Japanese ads go so incredibly hard

[@JanusCycle]

Beautiful presentation. I desire having this model even more now :) Thanks Tim.

[@Theodore574]

Hey you're the obsure mobile device guy i love your content

[@ivand5699]

I love your videos Janus ☺️

[@AC-ey1tn]

It is always a treat to see an upload from you, I have been a silent fan for 10+ years. Keep up the good work!

[@TheItalianMiata]

Sonys XMB was the best interface ever made for multi media and i wish they kept it for there new tvs

[@efftee]

We still use a BDP-S360 blu ray player using XMB in my house, it still works great 15 years on

[@TeamAestheticss]

Alot of the newer more premium tvs still carry it on

[@vittosphonecollection57289]

Never knew TVs also had it. I thought only PSX, PSP and PS3 had the XMB

[@luc-perrin]

my friend at the youth center growing up had one of these. Was her first laptop. This was probably 2011. We crowded around under the table during our free time and watched as she showed us flash animations and chat rooms.

[@lachlanlau]

Love the Janus Cycle style presentation! I was also that kid who loved going to tech stores when I was young, for me it was cameras. And the camera that caught my 12-year-old eye in a Broadway in HK was the Olympus OM-D. Not sure what model it was but it was silver. The sales guy there even complimented me, saying “he knows how to hold a camera”.

[@wernerlarrobis670]

I love that watching your videos feels like just relaxing, chilling and hanging out.

[@Ad-fu3wi]

This video is a love letter to Vaio's of this class and vintage. Great cinematography and editing as well my dude.

[@JayTheComputerGuy]

late 90's to early 2010s Sony products had this certain vibe that just has stuck with me, and has turned me into a Sony fan in the span of a year or two after getting a old Sony Stereo system from 2000 and finding more Sony stuff. so insanely unique. also, Love the use of Taxi (98) in this video

[@ohpinyanated1692]

I rarely comment on videos but on yours, I find myself obliged to. Your content is so consistently well made. Thanks for all the years of entertainment GHG!

[@wificatt]

PLEASE NEVER STOP uploading I am a fan from 2016 very good editing as well and music!

[@WedgeStratos]

I had an opportunity to grab one of these at a pawn shop once. $160 for the most bare minimum model. I didn't get it, honestly have enough old nonce at this point. I definitely think the device is a beautifully crafted device, and I almost wish Vaio would come along and make a device like it again, with a modern Snapdragon or one of AMD's newer APUs. Glad to see this getting some respect.

[@VeXGamingLSRP]

An appreciation for how we got where we are today. All thanks to little guys like these, all thanks to companies like Sony.. and the ever human drive to do better and go bigger. Happy new year.

[@abcd4736]

Dude I remember seeing these sold at Walmart in like 2009! I was a little kid so I didn’t know the make and model, so cool looking back then! Always a treat when you upload😊

[@Allome210]

I would do anything to have an evening with this beautiful piece of technological artwork.

[@swuspicious]

janus cycle mentioned

[@JimProfit357]

I've always been a strong advocate of the "no-compromise" pocketable laptop, hence why I finally pulled the trigger on a GPD Win Mini (the 2023 model with Oculink and 64gb). Too bad the Vaio P was so underpowered even for the OSs of the time. And It was a bit too long to be carried safely in pants' pocket. Because I entered college in the heyday of the netbook, I ended up getting an Asus N10Jh instead (Atom CPU, but discrete low-end Geforce), which gave me a ridiculous amount of use time.

[@digitamch]

Hey there, wanted to just show appreciation for you and our content. I first watched you starting from "The Dell Mini", and was instantly hooked to your channel. You inspired a then-high school student to have so much appreciation for old, unique technology. And now, years later, it's always nice to see a video pop up on my feed from you every now and then. It's good to see that what I found so many years ago is what you still do now. Thank you for your content, and looking forward to GHG 2025!

[@HaramiSalami420]

Those MemoryStick Headphones are crazy 😮😁

[@heckintech]

While my mind KNOWS it's an under-powered, impractical li'l duder.. My heart is MAD in love with these things. I desperately want to find one myself, and I'm gonna use it almost exclusively for playing Unreal Tournament 99. What a perfect li'l retro LAN machine. 🧡 Great video! Thanks for sharing! Instantly subscribed!

[@Phenom98]

I love your channel man. Been a watching since 2014. Glad to see you upping your game lately.

[@kewlbot]

there was a sony store in my mall way back in the day and i used to love going there. sony had some really cool experimental tech back then and not all of them were winners but they were super cool to look at

[@DrewberTravels]

I have always loved Sonys design aesthetics. This device is beautiful.

[@xXValentineXx]

I love the chilling sound of your vioce tell your memories form your childhood, with tech like this back in the days, it make you also remmeber how you saw the Sony Vaio P for the first time. (and other Techstuff) for me the Sony Vaio P was also like a Unicorn under the Laptops.

[@switZ7Q]

I've only recently(the athlon 3000g video) stumbled across your channel and I've been binging all your old videos ever since. Your videos are actually so awesome and kinda bring me back to that older era of youtube, it feels nostalgic in a sense despite the fact that most of your older videos were about topics I wasnt even aware of at the time of their respective uploads. This will be the first upload I've awaited as a new subscriber! Haven't watched it yet at the time of writing this but I'll bet it's gonna be another banger!

[@ethangilbertmedia]

Happy New Year! missed your videos so much, you were the first channel that got me into retro tech!

[@PLAYERHATER-jz7he]

your continued plugging of oxter's music is super endearing, hes great at what he does and i probably wouldnt have learned of him if not for your channel!

[@JoshNotJohn0]

I like this style of computer, but also love that it started with a processor that essentially emulated an x86 processor. Transmeta's Crusoe and later Efficeon are fascinating little pieces of tech history, and i wish i could get my hands on them both.

[@ceramicsautoilet]

Your videos are like a gift, thank you for this quality content.

[@Odust]

Love the way you cover the details and spirit of the devices. It gives a good sense of how it would be to have and use those at the time

[@eldino]

The design of these Vaios is still actual and amazing! I would buy a modern version of this!

[@kuyache2]

I was also a UMPC admirer back in 2009! I was the same as you window shopping every week on several gadget stores/sites hoping someday I can afford a UMPC of my own! I had the fortune of working on VAIO P as a friend of mine has it and wanted it formatted and installed with fresh Windows 7, it is so elegant! As for me luck brought me a Gigabyte M912 netbook 3in1, although enjoyed it lacks the power to run many of my favorite programs. Today the only equivalent I know is the GPD Win Mini (2025) which packs a powerful Ryzen Ai 9 370 HX, I want one but sadly cannot afford it like the good old Vaio P days hahaha

[@TechAddictSimon]

Everyone stop what you're doing, Green Ham Gaming just uploaded another masterpiece!

[@ninjasnakes2000]

Another amazing chill video with gorgeous editing. Loved it!

[@sionjy]

I used one of these for college it was perfect for class and commuting around the city in a backpack. Definitely needed a desktop in the dorm room though for anything serious.

[@koopaklaw4605]

Something about how these videos are made just really click with me. I am not sure if it's the way you film things, how music is used, or just the extremely relaxed tone of everything, but I know I love it all.

[@mightbesherwood1313]

Can't believe how well you captured this. Not just the device, but the scene that could have been.

[@Rockapotamus91]

Absolutely beautiful look back

[@evamiezs6801]

Would love to see some graphical benchmarks on that thing

[@camerbot]

sony to this day still has one of the best product design teams ever their xperia phone line up their headphones their tvs are still one of the best looking products on the market right now

[@maxcoleman1522]

The wireless on/off switch reminds me of my PSP 1000. My parents also used to have a Vaio laptop. There was something special about Sony products at that time!

[@bluein_]

right as i finished my work for the day, i got the notification. this was a great watch while unwinding. thank you

[@Nordin-f1q]

love these cool and unique 2000s devices

[@GhostLinx]

I remember seeing these at the store, I couldn't buy it but i sure as hell wanted to !

[@petermc7098]

Hi Tim, thank you for producing an interesting and decent perspective Video on a truly unique Product. Cheers Peter 🙂

[@ruikazane5123]

There is just something about the Sony products of the era. I have a VGN-SZ18GP over here (that needs batteries, a new screen, keyboard, storage and cooling parts - but does run!). They just got their design language sorted out across their product lines in a way. The power indicator is always green, the switches and buttons are almost universal from the Handycam, VAIO and even to the PlayStation consoles...I'm definitely a big fan!

[@hidde1626]

I've always thought the Vaio P is very cool, good to see you covering it.

[@coonyman10]

I would love to see it try and game, we need the greenmarks!

[@souvenircollector]

would love to see more content done on this gem, banger content as always GHG :D

[@timr.2257]

Didn't know he lived in Sydney. Always thought he lived in Europe 😅 Such a shame that Sony stores disappeared outside of Asia 😭

[@lachlanlau]

The transition to the Frutiger Aero segment is 🔥

[@samg5582]

This video is a cinematic masterpiece

[@letimgerth]

Put SteamOS on it, use it as a budget GPD for steam streaming in the modern era

[@finnbianga4189]

I remember seeing these in stores as a kid and thinking this was the pinnacle of tech, making a whole Computer this small

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

While I sadly don't remember the Chatswood Sony Central (the things we did in Sydney were in the St George area), I fondly remember the Sony Style store at Fox Studios, and the catalogue used to entertain me while driving back home to Canberra. I was so disappointed when it suddenly closed and became a Lovesac showroom.

[@gsilva220]

If it weren't for the iPhone, I think phones today would be like that.

[@vittosphonecollection57289]

I think we would've probably still reached 1080p and OLED screens, but they would've still have a keyboard and still have the "shopping list" interface. I belive that if the iPhone wasn't there, the next influence would've been BlackBerry with its trackpad and wide screen.

[@aaron___6014]

I miss the joy and uniqueness of this era's electronics. My SE w810i is my favorite phone of all time.

[@gaelvizcarra9936]

I just bought a vaio p today, and I just found this video 10 hours later

[@celynjones4958]

Always wondered about Vaio P functionality. There were many in my local PC mall circa 2010. Cheers ❤

[@Sabundy]

Sonys design language was just sooo good.

[@roldy6670]

I’ve moved to South America from the UK leaving alot of my stuff behind, I have a Vaio P in this exact color at my Grandmothers and this video has made me miss using it so much :(

[@Jeroen4]

Thanks for uploading in “4k”. Really does your effort and the presentation justice!

[@Jabjabs]

I love how crappy the playback is on the VAIO media intro. Really fills you with confidence.

[@Aldo.flores]

Absolutely share your enthusiasm about this!, I was at high school when I’ve first seen it on 2009 and I really love it, then at 2010 I got the second version of it in an orange color, the materials felt a little different from this ones but it was a really interesting device to use at university, sadly it had many issues, starting with the windows vista, it was slow and got frozen suddenly, I thought things would change after installing windows 7, it wasn’t slow but it still warmed too much and had a clear stripe at the left side of the screen, I claimed the guarantee and got another one white one with windows 7 from the fabric, after one week it won’t turned on anymore. I got my full refund and bought a 2011 11 inch MacBook Air that still use everyday till today.

[@Honeystraw]

I remember wanting one so badly, but even as a kid I could tell the tech wasnt there yet. I think it could make a comeback today with newer arm processors

[@gsilva220]

The whole point of it was windows and an x86 processor on a pocket machine.

[@efftee]

​@@gsilva220 The GPD Win is basically a modern version of that

[@Oyashiro_Chama]

@@efftee GPD Pocket 4 is more like it, though their entire line is basically this.

[@mightbesherwood1313]

The first gen of the P was the Picturebook. Truly ahead of its time.

[@ffgiza]

I love your videos! Please keep revving it up in 2025!🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@carltonleboss]

Excellent video as always.

[@Eric-tx5cf]

haha old tim was also me back then, every time when I hit the mall I will go to Sony Center just to look at their products. Eventually I bought my first phone Z1 Compact.

[@TrixterCharizard]

Always have my notifications on for a banger GHG video

[@Motwera]

Wow, the amount of details in this video (especially the detailed bits of where and how the photos were taken), GHG knocks it out again!

[@sdgx0]

it was truely ahead of its time

[@mattrichardson4351]

I loved the Sony central in Melbourne ❤️

[@michaelb4600]

been watching for over 8 years now

[@stevemc6010]

that graphics card looking tray(?) thing used in your display showcase is neat

[@scotdotwtf]

super sick video dude, love it!

[@SMTahmid]

The intro slide was absolutely genius

[@jcpoc7032]

What a beautiful device. Old tech had a soul, new tech is expensive but doesnt innovate anymore

[@unorganized_account]

Omg hi green ham gaming! love to see you in my feed

[@anidfan2]

I remember wanting this so bad back in the day

[@Hyder72]

Yes! New video and on a vaio too. Btw I’m Sony boy as well. Hope you make more videos on Sony this year

[@na_strazhe]

I am very enjoy this vid. ty !

[@AndreasJordanidis]

as someone who had a sony walkman, sony discman, sony ericson k750i, etc etc, i still buy sony today

[@Picker199]

I like your style of content thanks

[@xzylo451]

1:10 Hell yeah! A Sony Ericsson! I actually used one from 2005-ish as my primary phone around 2015 or so. I have it in a drawer somewhere and it probably still works today.

[@xzylo451]

4:51 And now Rhapsody in Blue? This video is making my day.

[@KyudoKun]

Feels like I wanna go back to 2009

[@DaBigCheeso]

That was such a cool concept, but also very pricey if I recall. Imagine a world where the iPad didn't happen in 2010, we may have seen a rush of these pocket PCs

[@ClayTheFoxx]

thats really cool, and i wish i had a tiny linux terminal in the same form factor rn but dude, a memory stick duo is NOT a household item anymore

[@GungKrisna12]

Imagine if one company decided to recreate that laptop with latest hardwares

[@LouisSubearth]

There's enthusiasts working on that. With modern hardware similar to the Steam Deck, a portable and decently powerful motherboard can be made.

[@vetrixfx9264]

im afraid there is just not a huge market for such computers. most people use smartphones for basically everything, and just maybe a regular desktop or laptop for the occasional Word document or Powerpoint presentation. Though I kinda would like the idea of a full mini computer, as a handy "typewriter" or even writing little programs on it

[@antonov621]

Nice video! I have one in olive green and it’s mesmerizing to look at! By the way, I noticed your that keyboard wasn’t properly installed to the bottom part (see the gap between the silver and red part). Maybe you’ve missed that during reassembly :)

[@xerxesYt123]

My dad had this for playing music and as a hotspot for him and his co workers to use lol

[@kwak_tissue]

WOW VIDEO QUALITY IS 🔥🔥🔥

[@sushi_donut]

A modern version of this would be so awesome for work!

[@retrospacenet]

GPD pocket is what youre after then.

[@dorfschmidt4833]

The screen is too small for work. I had the P11z and X11, glad, I could sell both.

[@juliawolf156]

I love Vaios too. I have a VAIO Flip 15 at home which ran Windows 10 for a long time and recently switched to Fedora. My VAIO Flip didn‘t get much of that quirkyness from Sony. Though your video got me to wonder whether i can run VAIO Media Plus under Wine.

[@ZaneAlgogh]

Within 4 min of watching I knew this was going to he an excellent video

[@goclunker]

Very cool. Its crazy to think that now a days you could fit a ryzen 7 architecture, ram, batt, ssd into that form factor without a sweat. New laptop motherboards are absolutely tiny. The battery and keyboard fills 70% of the case