Sony has debuted the Vaio W, the machine Sony is calling the company's first netbook while ignoring the fact that it said it would never produce a netbook.
In January, Sir Howard Stringer showed off the company's Vaio P-Series Lifestyle PC. It wasn't a netbook, except it kind of was. In response to all the, "why would Sony launch a $900 netbook and refuse to call it a netbook?" press, the company said it would not be releasing a netbook because the whole netbook market was “a race to the bottom.”
So completely ignoring all of that, Sony has introduced the Vaio W-Series, a $500, 10 inch netbook based on Intel's Atom. A 1.6 GHz CPU, 1,366 x 768 display, 160 GB HDD, 1 GB of RAM, 2 x USB 2.0, Ethernet, Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g, an SD reader, as well as support for Sony's own Memory Stick Duo, Windows XP Home, VGA out, and a webcam.
Expected availability is set for about August and customers will have a choice of white, brown or pink. For those of you interested in how the Vaio W measures up to the Vaio P, check the table below. Bear in mind we don't have an official specs sheet for the W-Series (the press release was pretty skimpy on details) so we're just filling in parts we do know.
[UPDATE] Updated to include official specs from Sony spec sheet.
| Sony Vaio P-Series | Sony Vaio W-Series | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 8 inch, 1600 x 768, LED backlit | 10.1 inch, 1,366 x 768, LED backlit |
| CPU | Intel Atom 1.86 GHz | Intel Atom 1.66 GHz |
| RAM | 2 GB of DDR2 | 1 GB DDR2 |
| Storage | Up to 256 GB SSD | 160 GB HDD |
| Expansion slots | Memory Stick PRO (Standard/Duo) media slot with MagicGate functionality, SD memory card slot | Memory Stick PRO (Standard/Duo) media slot with MagicGate functionality, SD memory card slot |
| Connectivity | 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth,Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband Built-In | 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth |
| Ports | Audio out, 2 x USB 2.0, Display/LAN adapter port | Audio out, 2 x USB 2.0, VGA, Ethernet |
| OS | Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit) | Windows XP Home Edition (32 bit) |
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5warezme , July 8, 2009 12:57 AMwill apple be far behind?
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4Master Exon , July 8, 2009 12:32 AMKind pointless. It is a $175~ premium for nothing more than the word Sony and a 720p screen.
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1nitto555rchallenger , July 9, 2009 2:31 PMWell I like to believe that the forward expansion of technology is always good thing with innovation, but the netbook's popular leading feature is its price in this world's economic state. The whole discussion on portability is something of human preference. Honestly I can't type on anything smaller than a full sized desktop keyboard to write reports, let alone a 8" netbook and I've own the very first Asus EEE, the week it came out and the novelty ran short in about over a month, even try to hen-peck posts was too uncomfortable. While (not to attack anyone on a personal level on this) to make a $500+ purchase just to surf the web, should get a life that's beyond myspace, facebook, and tweeter. If it fits into your work with lower base CPU and power consumption programs then go ahead, but I'm glad with its improvement. I travel due to work and using it as a portable media player works for me, hopefully one day will have Blueray drive or better yet contain more HDD or cheaper SSD. Trust me I don't mix business with pleasure, cuz I'm force to bring the company's workhorse along (19" Thinkpad). Regardless its a over-hyped war, just as HD vs. BD, it goes down to specs and specs alone!
