Sony has taken the wraps off its new line of mini notebooks called the Vaio W series. These small 1.66GHz netbook like machines are designed to be very portable and are aimed at those looking for a second PC which they can carry about. Sony foresees a group of users who will use these new chic notebooks as they wonder around the house from room to room surfing the web, checking email and social networking.
“The W Series lets you quickly look something up online whether searching for a recipe in the kitchen or relaxing on your recliner– there’s no need to trudge upstairs to your office,” said Mike Abary, senior vice president of the VAIO business group at Sony. “And it’s sturdy enough for the kids to use, making it perfect for every member of the family.”
The W series is slightly bigger than the smallest netbooks on the market (which have a 7 inch display) and comes with a high-resolution, 1366 x 768, LED backlit 10.1-inch ultra-wide display.
The Enegry Star 5.0 compliant Vaio W is cool and chic from the outset and comes in three bold colours berry pink, sugar white and cocoa brown.
However one thing to watch is that Sony are saying these notebooks will only have 2 hours of battery life which is low when compared to some of the other netbooks which are available on the market.
One interesting idea is that the Vaio W also comes with software that allows you to stream video, music and pictures to your Playstation 3 and vice-versa so you can enjoy your content anywhere in the home including on your big-screen TV.
The W has all the normal connectivity options including USB, Bluetooth and WiFi. There is also a built-in webcam and microphone.
A 160GB hard drive is included as well as Windows XP Home. The VAIO W Series mini notebook will retail for about $500 in the USA and UK prices are yet to be announced.
It is available for pre-orders today online at http://www.sonystyle.com/pr/w.