Sony's Transmeta: Longer Life, Less Performance

What business traveler wouldn't want a notebook with double the normal battery life? That's Transmeta's promise, and the first taker becomes available in late October: a new edition of Sony's VAIO PictureBook.

Naturally, more than a few mobile computer users took notice when Transmeta promised a battery-friendly notebook processor that would dramatically increase the run time between recharges while offering Intel-comparable performance. (See "Transmeta Unveils Crusoe Chip.") PCWorld.com's tests show that some of Transmeta's battery-life claims stand up. But be prepared to pay a hefty performance penalty.

Not Quite Picture Perfect

In our battery tests of the preproduction PictureBook PCG-C1VN, the unit lasted two hours and 32 minutes, which is 50 minutes longer than one of Sony's most recent PictureBooks, the PCG-C1XS, which we tested for comparison.

The new $2299 Sony PictureBook we tested came with a 600-MHz Crusoe TM5600 processor, 128MB of SDRAM, and Windows Me. It also had a 12GB hard drive, an 8.9-inch active-matrix display with 8MB of graphics memory, a built-in 56-kbps modem, a built-in camera, and both Memory Stick and PC Card slots.

The comparison unit had a similar configuration, save for its Pentium II-400 CPU, 64MB of memory, and 2.5MB of graphics memory. For a closer comparison, we upgraded the PCG-C1XS from Windows 98 SE to Windows Me before testing.

Though battery life didn't double, most serious mobile users wouldn't sneeze at the extra 50 minutes. And overall, 2.5 hours is a good battery life span for this class of product.

But at what cost? Mininotebooks traditionally score poorly on performance tests, so we didn't expect the new PictureBook to break any PC WorldBench 2000 records. Still, its score of 66 is shockingly low. Even with half the memory of the Transmeta unit, the older Pentium II-based PictureBook scored an 81, so you're losing a noticeable 19 percent in performance (maybe even more, since the older unit would probably perform better with equivalent memory).

Given that mininotebook users don't typically demand the highest levels of performance, some may not care about the loss. During simple hands-on testing, the Crusoe-based PictureBook easily handled basic chores such as word processing. It did slow noticeably during some video-editing tasks, however.

Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, and NEC have announced plans to ship notebooks with Transmeta's chip, but none has given a definitive date for a U.S. launch. (See "Transmeta, AMD Show Battery-Friendly Notes.")

Transmeta's Trade-Offs

Unlike Intel's and AMD's mobile chips, which are x86 processors that do all of their work in hardware, Transmeta's Crusoe uses code-morphing software to change x86 instructions into language it understands. Shifting the instruction work from hardware to software affects performance but lets Transmeta build a smaller chip that uses less power and generates less heat. That economy combines with Transmeta's LongRun technology, which shifts the chip into low or high speed and voltage depending on program needs. The result is a more power-efficient CPU. (See "Intel's Travails: Once and Future Notebook King?")

For some consumers, the improved battery life will be worth the loss in performance. And future products based on Transmeta chips may lessen the performance hit and make the new devices more appealing to those who need a bit more speed from their systems.

As for the sharp-looking PictureBook, it offers a lot to people who need a very mobile package. It weighs just over 2 pounds (including its groovy built-in camera) and comes with both video- and photo-editing applications. If top performance isn't an issue, it may just suit your needs.