Vaio

Sony: Pricier notebooks sell best

Sony customers like different, but not too different.

Though Sony now offers midrange notebooks, the higher-end Vaios are selling much faster, according to Mike Abary, senior vice president of Sony's IT products division.

The options for colors and limited-edition designs from artists helped push a lot of Vaios out the door in the last quarter. Those artsy laptops also come with higher price tags, and for that reason, don't expect Sony to get into the low-end laptop race any time soon, Abary added.

The personalization trend in PCs that Sony has latched onto has overall been successful, but … Read more

Photos: Sony VAIO TP1 stripped

We rarely see circular designs in desktops. After all, when 99 percent of components are made for the conventional box shape, getting parts to fit a round chassis takes more investigative work than a season of CSI.

Sony's VAIO TP1 is unique in many ways. Besides being round, it is also based on a notebook platform like the iMac. Sony's product manager Katsuki Fuchu was responsible for the VAIO TP1's unique shape and met with CNET Asia to explain the inner workings of this desktop entertainment system. We took the opportunity to ask for one to be … Read more

Misty-eyed Sony issues Vaio anniversary laptop

Talk about feeling old. We can scarcely believe it's been 10 years since we bought a Sony T505 laptop, one of the smallest in its class at the time. (Actually two of them, to be exact, after dropping the first one and cracking the screen.)

So it is with both fond and very painful memories that we herald the "10th Anniversary Limited Edition" of the laptop, which was key to Sony's success in the computer industry when many doubted its ability to make the transition from consumer electronics.

The special edition, which will be limited to … Read more

The cheapest Vaio laptop yet

The Vaio NR popped its head up in Germany a few weeks ago, and Sony announced yesterday that its new budget laptop will make its U.S. debut next month. With a starting price of $750, it undercuts Sony's current budget model, the Vaio N, by a hefty $200. Despite its low price, Sony didn't skimp on design, outfitting the 15.4-inch, 6.2-pound with a textured chassis it describes as "fabric-like" and "pleasing to the eye and cool to the touch." You'll have your choice of three colors, which Sony calls wenge, … Read more

Sony's 'water pit' for laptop spills

Say what you will about Sony computers, but they've always been at least a finalist in laptop version of The Biggest Loser--the most recent lightweight contender being the first to break the 2-pound barrier with its Vaio G series. Yet the latest upgrade to that line apparently has a feature that has little to do with weight but is extremely close to home for some of the less coordinated road warriors among us.

According to Engadget, the G series now has a waterproofing function that discharges your spilled Red Bull or chai latte through a "water pit&… Read more

Sony adds artwork to laptops

Just in case the usual laptop custom design options--usually a bold primary color on the lid, or maybe a set of flaming skull stickers--aren't doing it for you anymore, the creative minds at Sony have a new way to support computer users' self-expression. The company has commissioned artist Maya Hayuk, a painter whose work has been seen on several album covers and an Absolut ad campaign, to create new designs for Vaio laptops.

The result was unveiled Tuesday night by Sony, in the form of two limited-edition 15.4-inch Sony Vaio FZ series laptops, with the new designs on … Read more

Desktop design: Apple vs. Sony

It's likely that more than a few would-be Mac buyers who decided that for whatever reason they couldn't part with Windows ended up with a VAIO. All PC manufacturers place an importance on design, of course, but no two more than Apple and Sony. Both companies recently put out updates to their all-in-one and small-form-factor systems. Let's take a look at how they compare.

Apple's latest iMac effort returns the shape and stand of the previous iteration but adds an anodized aluminum finish to the enclosure and a glossy glass panel to the display. The case … Read more

More laptops leaks: Sony's VAIO NR laptop

Leaks of new products are pretty commonplace these days (unless you're talking about Apple), and nowhere is that more true than the laptop scene, where pretty much every unannounced new product release is leaked, discussed, blogged, and photographed long before the first press release goes out.

The latest entry in the laptop leak-athon is the Sony VAIO NR, a 15-inch system that popped up briefly on Sony's German Web site before being pulled down. Notebookreview.com managed to grab the spec sheets in time, and even though they're in German, we still kinda like what we see. … Read more

Sony's new Vaio LT19U: some all-in-one firsts

Update: It took us a minute to figure out that the Blu-ray region hadn't been set in the software. That and the sheer length of this review mean you should look for it tomorrow. Almost done.

Apple's new iMac remains the all-purpose all-in-one to beat, but Sony's just-announced Vaio LT19U has three features we've never seen in a PC/monitor combo before. This $2,899 model (an update to last year's Vaio LS1) has a Blu-ray burner, a pull-out sled for adding a second hard drive, and a VESA-standard wall mount input. It also comes … Read more