vaio

Can an 'Ultrabook' match Apple appeal, pricing?

Intel believes ultraslim Windows laptops dubbed Ultrabooks can reach aggressive price points and compete with the MacBook Air, arguably the first Ultrabook.

With the entry-level Air today bottoming out at $999 for an 11-inch model, major PC vendors like Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Asus must roughly match Apple's build quality at lower prices to draw consumers to the category in large numbers. This issue was raised in a report from Taipei-based Digitimes on Friday.

Intel--which, ironically, is competing with itself in a sense because the Air already uses its chips--believes the industry can get there. "We won't publicly … Read more

Acer's new 13-inch TimelineX 3830TG-6431 reviewed: Portable power and a great price

A few years ago, the Acer TimelineX was one of the first of what we then called "thin and light" laptops, 13-inchers with sleeker, lighter frames, long battery life, and a more easily portable design than a standard notebook.

The TimelineX series still exists, and Acer's latest version features newer Intel second-gen Core i-series processors and impressive Nvidia graphics. Still, the landscape has expanded to include many thin laptops: the Sony Vaio S and Toshiba Portege R835, and the extremely thin Apple MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9. The $779 TimelineX 3830TG-6431 is thin, but not as … Read more

Sony Vaio Z renders MacBook Air less cool

The Sony Vaio Z not only bests the Air on portability but--perish the thought--may be showing Apple a thing or two about ultrathin laptop design.

Sony's latest Z series, based on published specifications, easily beats the current MacBook Air on raw specs (not surprising since the current Air was released last year). But that's not all. Depending on how far Apple goes with the impending Air update, Sony may have just slipped past Apple in avant-garde design.

First, a quick comparison between the Z and Air (including some projected Air updates).

13.3-inch Vaio Z:

Chassis: 0.66 … Read more

Sony Vaio Z 13-inch shows up in Europe

Following a few leaks, Sony's new high-end Vaio Z laptop has been announced by the European arm of the Sony Vaio group, a few weeks ahead of its expected American debut.

The 13.3-inch laptop is slim and light, under 17mm thick, but still manages to pack in a full-voltage Intel Core i7 processor (paired with an SSD hard drive). The screen has a 1,600x900-pixel resolution, which is higher than most 13-inch laptops.

But the real interesting part of the new Vaio Z is its docking station. The vertically mounted Power Media Dock not only includes an optical drive and a rarely seen Intel Light Peak port, but also a fully functioning AMD Radeon graphics card, which can be used by the laptop when connected to the dock. Sony, in its European press release, says: … Read more

Sony intros new Vaio E series and C series laptops

Sony is updating its Vaio line with a pair of new laptops, the Vaio E and the Vaio C.

The C series comes in 14- and 15.5-inch models, in a variety of colors, including red and blue. There are Intel Core i3 and i5 CPUs, optional Blu-ray drives, and AMD Radeon graphics. The C series also features Intel's Wireless Display technology, which can beam the screen image to a nearby TV (a sold-separately adapter is required).

While the C series is a midsize-only laptop, the E series goes from midsize--14- and 15.5-inch screens--all the way to a massive 17.3-inch model. The smaller E series laptops comes in midnight blue, glacier white, charcoal black, and blush pink; the 17-inch desktop replacement comes in charcoal black and glacier white.

The E-series also includes Intel's Wireless Display technology, as well as a new feature called Remote Keyboard, which allows the laptop to directly interface with select Sony Bravia TVs or Blu-ray players, or even PlayStation 3 consoles. While most E-series laptops will include an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor, an AMD E-350 will also be available in select models. … Read more

Sony announces Vaio L-Series all-in-one with 3D display

Sony already announced a 3D-capable standalone display at this year's show. Today it unveiled a Vaio all-in-one desktop with the same feature.

We've already seen a Vaio L-Series all-in-one with a standard 2D display this year. This new 3D option effectively comes to the L-Series as another configuration option.

Unlike Sony's new 3D standalone LCD, the Vaio L-Series 3D comes by way of an Nvidia graphics chip, which means it's an active 3D technology that requires a pair of powered 3D glasses. You get a single pair of 3D glasses with the 3D screen option, and … Read more

This Day in Tech: Twitter acquires TweetDeck, Google to offer mobile payments?

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Wednesday, May 25.

Twitter acquires popular client TweetDeck Twitter says it will use the desktop service to help commercial users track conversations across the social network, in a deal reportedly valued at about $40 million. More

Piper Jaffray: Now's a good time to own Apple stock A new analyst report says that despite Apple's "lagged" stock gains this year, now is a good time to pick up shares based on the company's estimated growth over … Read more

New Sony Vaio F, S series laptops go upscale

Sony laptops generally tend to be particularly good at being two things: big, high-end media experiences, and small, slim executive powerhouses. The new Vaio F and S series laptops, announced today, offer a bit of both for laptop shoppers willing to spend over $1,000.

The 13.3-inch Vaio S series is only .95 inch thick, and also relatively light: just 3.6 pounds, despite having an optical drive. The closest equivalent we can think of is the Toshiba Portege R835. Unlike the Portege, the Vaio S has a higher-resolution display--1,600x900 pixels--and optional discrete graphics. The Vaio S comes … Read more

Vaio vanity

Back in the olden days we looked at the Internet using Netscape Navigator on our huge beige CRT monitors. We've come a long way from there; now it's possible to match the look of your browser to that of your laptop. Sony Vaio Theme is an extension for Google Chrome that takes your Vaio's aesthetics and brings them to your browser.

Like most Chrome extensions, Sony Vaio Theme is easy to install. It immediately transformed the color scheme of Chrome on our computer. The silver-gray default color changed to a paler, almost white color, with a grid … Read more