Sony on Tuesday announced the launch of its Vaio W-Series of mini-notebooks, or netbooks, which the company is billing as a "perfect family accessory."
While some could argue that the Lifestyle PC was really Sony's first foray into the netbook category, the W-Series represents Sony's official notice that it's throwing its hat into the netbook ring.
The W-Series PC measures 10.5 inches high by 1.28 inches wide by 7.1 inches deep, and weighs in at 2.6 pounds. It comes in three colors – berry pink, sugar white and cocoa brown – and sports a 10-inch widescreen display, which is a pretty common size for netbooks. The screen comes in 1,366 x 768 resolution, which should give it an edge over the vast majority of netbooks out there. It offers 2 USB ports, VGA Out, and Ethernet ports, as well as a webcam and multimedia slots for Memory Stick Duo and SD memory.
Like most netbooks, the Sony Vaio W-Series comes with an Intel Atom processor, in this case a 1.66-GHz N280. The system has 1 Gbyte of system memory, and a 160-GB, 5,400-RPM hard drive. In terms of networking capability, the W-Series has Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g, and Bluetooth technology. It comes with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition pre-installed.
Other apps include Sony's VAIO Multimedia Suite (VAIO Media plus Multimedia Streaming Software), as well as a 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2009 and a 60-day trial of Microsoft Home and Student 2007.
With the W-Series, Sony seems to be emphasizing what you might call its "ecoconsiousness"; the W-Series is Energy Star 5.0 compliant and EPEAT GOLD registered. Its LCD is mercury free, and the packaging the system comes in is comprised of 95 percent recycled cardboard packaging. Sony also says it will help recycle your old PC. (Some fees may apply; for more details, visit Sony's "green" site.)
The Sony VAIO W-Series is available for pre-order at www.sonystyle.com and will be available in major retail stores in the U.S. beginning in August, with a price tag of about $500.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sony Joins the Netbook Market
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