Sony UX490 UMPC Hugely Modded: CPU Switched, 3G Injected, Quad-OS

We've covered a few modded Sony VAIO UX-series UMPCs over the years, but it's rare to see all the headline tweaks combined into one machine.  Happily one member of the Micro PC Talk forums has done just that, taking a humble 2007 UX490 and not only switching out its SSD, WiFi and other basic components, but completely replacing the standard CPU (which is soldered into place) for a faster version.

Instead of a 1.2GHz Core 2 Solo U2200 and 48GB SSD, the uber-UX490 has a 1.33GHz Core 2 Duo U7700 – overclocked to 1.438GHz – and a speedy RunCore Pro IV 128GB SSD.  A voice-capable HSPA modem has been squeezed inside, together with a/b/g/n WiFi.

Of course, all that hackery deserves at least four operating systems to play with, and so the UX490 now quad-boots into Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business, Windows 7 Ultimate and Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.7.  Best of all, battery life is pretty much unaffected, even with a more powerful CPU.  Not a mod process for the faint of heart, but an example of how far enthusiasts will go when the company themselves give up on a platform.

[via UMPC Portal]