New VAIO laptops Notebooks / Sony Posted by zmcnulty on May 10, 2004 - 03:35 PM |
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Finally finished. There are six models: -VAIO type U Sony will release the keyboardless Windows XP machine, the "VAIO type U" VGN-U50, on May 29th. Although officially listed as Open Price, indicators suggest it should cost around 179,000 yen. This is the successor to the ultra-small "Vaio U" released in 2003. In response to reports from users, the keyboard that wasn't frequently used on the Vaio U has been removed altogether, and the PC is now operated with a pen...making for a small and light (167 x 26.4 x 108mm {W x D x H}, 550g) machine. Sony has said that "this is the world's smallest and lightest full Windows PC." Although this is a pen operated machine, it is not a "Tablet PC" as set forth by Microsoft. The OS is also not Tablet PC Edition - it is Windows XP Home Edition. In order to qualify as a "Tablet PC," Microsoft requires certain technical aspects, such as the touch panel being operated with an electromagnetic guidance system - and rather than using a particular pen that has to be used on the VAIO type U (as you have to with electromagnetic guidance), Sony opted to go with a simple pressure sensetive touch panel. The display has 3 click buttons on the left side, and on the right side, there is a pointing stick, cursor key, enter button, and brightness adjustment, so that the device can be operated with both hands even without the use of a pen. For a touch panel, the device uses a 5" SVGA (800 x 600) reflective TFT clear black LCD. A virtual desktop tool also comes preinstalled, and virtual desktops of to UXGA (1600 x 1200) can also be used. Apart from being able to display 800 x 600, when one presses the "rotate button" on the main unit, the image can be displayed horizontally for convenient web browsing, book reading, etc. An Internet Explorer plugin which allows webpages to be freely magnified/reduced, "Liquid Surf for VAIO," also comes preinstalled. The "VAIO Video Download Manager," for viewing movies recorded by GigaPocket and Do VAIO, is included. Also, a stick remote controller with inner-ear phones is included that supports display of certain information while using Do VAIO to playback audio. So that the PC can be used as a desktop machine while at home or at the office, a foldable keyboard/port reader is included, which connects via USB. The keyboard features a stick pointing device, and the port repeater provides USB 2.0 x 4, IEEE 1394, D-Sub 15 pin, and Ethernet ports. Other accessories include a small adapter for just Ethernet and D-Sub 15 pin, a small AC adapter, and a pouch which can hold the PC itself and the folded keyboard. The CPU is an ultra-low power consumption Celeron M 900MHz, the chipset is an Intel 855GM (with internal video function), there is 256MB of memory (max 512MB), and the HD is 20GB. It is furnished with USB 2.0 x 1, IEEE 802.11b/g supported wireless LAN, Type2 CF slot x 1, and Memory Stick slot (PRO/high speed transfer supported) x 1. The battery is a rechargable lithium ion polymer, which when under the JEITA 1.0 standard, can operate for 2.5 hours. Using a sold-seperately large capacity battery, the "VGP-BPL1," the battery life extends to 5.5 hours. With the VGP-BPL1, the depth of the unit extends by 5.9mm, and the weight is increased by 145g. Futhermore, there will be a "VGN-U70P," available only on SonyStyle, which features a 1GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of memory, and Windows XP Professional. The price is 210,000 yen, and it will be released on May 29th.  Inspired by: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony01.htm [1] Product Information: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/U/ [2] TheRegister article (English): http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/sony_micro_pc/ [3] Size comparison photograph: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony0826.jpg [4] -VAIO type S The VAIO type S is a dual spindle notebook PC which places emphasis on design. It will be released on June 19th. There is an upper level model "VGN-S70B" and a lower level "VGN-S50B" set to be available, and the respective costs should be around 252,000 yen and 221,000 yen. The body is magnesium, which tightly wraps around the hardware itself. It has a latchless hinge, a top which hides the connectors, and a case which emphasizes external appearance. The display is the world's first 1280 x 800 dot, 13.3" widescreen clear black LCD. It has a 16:10 aspect ratio. For a CPU, the VGN-S70B uses a 1.50GHz Pentium M, and the VGN-S50B uses a 1.30GHz Celeron M. The VGN-S70B includes support for Bluetooth. Other specifications are mostly common between the two models, such as 256MB of memory (max 1GB), a 40GB HD, an Intel 855PM chipset, a DVD-RW drive, an ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9200, and Windows XP Home Edition as the OS. Office Personal 2003 is also included. The interfaces are USB 2.0 x 2, IEEE 1394 x 1, IEEE 802.11b/g wireless LAN, Type2 PC card slot x 1, Ethernet, and D-Sub 15 pin. Battery life is around 5.5 hours. The main body size is 312.5 x 224.8 x 29.9 ~ 35.4mm (W x D x H), and has a weight of about 1.89kg including the battery. As a seperately sold accessory, a port repeater which provides USB ports, Ethernet, etc. will be sold, as well as a privacy filter especially for 13.3 inch screens. On the SonyStyle models, users can choose the Pentium M 745 (released on the 10th), HD capacity, and a ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9700 for graphics.  Inspired by: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony05.htm [5] Product Information: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/S/ [6] -VAIO type TR The VAIO type TR is the successor to the TR series of Vaio notebooks, and will be released on May 15th. The upper level "PCG-TR5B" will cost around 263,000 yen, and the lower level "PCG-TR5EB" will cost around 210,000 yen. An ultra-low power consumption Pentium M 1.10GHz is used as the CPU on the PCG-TR5B, and the same unit also features a DVD-RW drive - the PCG-TR5EB features an ultra-low power consumption Celeron M 900Mhz. Other specifications are an Intel 855GM chipset (integrated video function), a 40GB HD, and a clear black 10.6" LCD capable of displaying a 1280 x 768 resolution. The OS is Windows XP Home Edition, and Office Personal 2003 comes preinstalled. The PCG-TR5B comes with support for IEEE 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth. The PCG-TR5EB is compatible with 802.11b/g wireless LAN, though not Bluetooth. Using a lithium ion rechargable battery, the battery life is about 4.5 hours. The main body size is 270.4 x 188.4 x 34.7 ~ 36.5mm (W x D x H), and the weight is 1.4kg.  Inspired by: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony05.htm [7] Product Information: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/TR/ [8] -VAIO type E The VAIO type E is a successor to the A4 all-in-one "Vaio Note FR" series. First time users will find the "first time user dial" new user oriented support number helpful, and the notebook also includes accessories aimed at new users such as "You can do Windows XP for VAIO." The upper level "VGN-E70B," which as 512MB of memory (max 2GB) and an internal TV tuner, will be released May 29th - the lower level "VGN-E50B" with 256MB of memory (max 2GB) will be released May 15th. Each model will be available in both silver ("VGN-E70B/S" and "VGN-E50B/S") and black ("VGN-E70B/B" and "VGN-E50B/B"). Indicators suggest the price of the VGN-E70B will be around 210,000 yen, and the VGN-E50B around 200,000 yen. Furthermore, there will be a special orange colored edition of the VGN-E50B, the "VGN-E50B/D," made available only on SonyStyle. Other specifications are mostly the same between the two machines. Both have a Celeron M 1.30GHz as the CPU, an Intel 855GM (onboard video function) chipset, a 60GB HD, a 4x DVD±RW drive, a 15" clear black LCD capable of displaying 1024x768, Windows XP Home Edition, and Office Personal 2003. The available interfaces are USB 2.0 x 4, IEEE 1394 x 1, Type2 PC card slot x 2, IEEE 802.11b/g wirless LAN, Ethernet, and a Memory Stick PRO/Duo supporting slot. A lithium ion rechargable battery powers the unit for around 3 hours. The main body size is 329 x 296.5 x 41.6 ~ 61.1mm (W x D x H), and the weight is around 3.7kg including the battery.  Inspired by: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony06.htm [9] Product Information: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/E/ [10] -VAIO type K The VAIO type K is a simple, low-price A4 notebook PC. Like the VAIO type E, it is a successor to the Vaio Note FR series. An upper level "VGN-K70B" includes a Pentium 4 2.80GHz processor, the medium level "VGN-K50B" has a 60GB HD, and in addition to the lower level "VGN-K30B," there is a "VGN-K30" model without Office Personal 2003. The respective estimated retail prices of the units are 210,000 yen, 189,000 yen, 179,000 yen, and 158,000 yen. Most of the other specifications are the same between the four units - 256MB of memory, a chipset with an ATI RADEON IGP 345M + ALi M1535+, a DVD±RW drive, a 15" LCD supporting XGA, Windows XP Home Edition, and all models except the VGN-K30 feature Office Personal 2003 preinstalled. The interfaces furnished are USB 2.0 x 3, IEEE 1394 x 1, Type2 PC card slot x 1, and a Memory Stick PRO supporting slot. Expected battery life using the rechargable lithium ion is 1.5 hours on the VGN-K70B, with the other three models around 2 hours. The main body size is 329 x 277.5 x 42~59mm (W x D x H), and the weight is 3.45kg including the battery.  Inspired by: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony06.htm [11] Product Information: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/K/ [12] -VAIO type A Sony will begin releasing the high end notebook PCs focusing on AV functions, the "VAIO type A" series, on May 15th. The price is Open Price. These are high end, A4 size notebook PCs which feature 17" WUXGA displays, DVD±RW drives, and MOBILITY RADEON 9700s. The upper level model not only has a TV tuner with integrated MPEG encoder, it comes with an "AV Power Up Station" docking station that features a full digital amplifier, as well as 10W + 10W newly developed 2Way speakers. The same TV tuner as the Sony's "Wega" TVs is used. It has a 3D Y/C filter, and a 3D digital noise reduction circuitry. The MPEG encoder uses a newly developed board. on the digital amplifier, the "S-Master Full Digital Amp" developed by Sony for use on audio equipment has been implemented, and a S-Master substrate has been developed for the AV Power Up Station. Also, a recording engineer at Sony Pro Audio Labs. Oxford has tuned a filter for use on the "SonicStage Mastering Studio Ver.1.2" to go with the type A speakers. With this, one can apply the filter to audio outputted from a virtual audio driver. However, for shipment, the filter has only been set to be effective when using "Do VAIO" and SonicStage. Furthermore, Do VAIO is an AV integration software with TV/video functions, music playback functions, and image viewing functions. It features an original GUI with a translucent design like the PSX, and is set so that it can be easily operated with the remote controller. It can also playback contents stored on a VAIO Media server as though they were local contents. The upper level VAIO type A, the "VGN-A70P," will be released on May 29th for an estimated retail price of about 399,000 yen. It features a Pentium M 735 (1.70A GHz) CPU, an Intel 855PM chipset, 512MB of memory (max 2GB), a MOBILITY RADEON 9700 video chip, an 80GB HD, and a DVD±RW drive. For a display, the notebook uses a 17" clear black TFT LCD capable of display WUXGA (1920 x 1200) resolution. Available interfaces are IEEE 802.11a/b/g, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 x 3, IEEE 1394 x 1, D-Sub 15 pin, 56kbps modem, Type2 PC card slot x 1, Memory Stick (PRO and High Speed Transfer, as well as Duo without an adapter) slot x 1. On the included AV Power Up Station, the interfaces are USB 2.0 x 4, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio in/out, S-Video in/out, Composite in/out, and optical digital audio output. The main unit has a receiver for a wireless mouse, and a wireless optical mouse is included. Using the rechargable lithium ion battery, the notebook operates for about 2.5 hours using the JEITA 1.0 measurement system. The OS is Windows XP Professional. The main body size is 405.5 x 280.1 x 42 ~ 45.2mm (W x D x H), and the weight is 3.9kg. The AV Power Up Station is 370 x 198 x 63mm (W x D x H), and weighs around 1.7kg. The VAIO type A VGN-A60B will be released on May 15th. Indicators suggest its retail price should be around 315,000 yen. Changes from the A70 are a Pentium M 1.50GHz CPU, a MOBILITY RADEON 9200 chipset, a 15" SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) dot clear black TFT display, and IEEE 802.11b/g wireless LAN. The battery life is around 3.5 hours. The main body size is 342.5 x 276.5 x 37.2mm (W x D x H), and it weighs around 3.2kg. The OS is Windows XP Home Edition. Although it includes the AV Power Up Station and the special 2Way speakers, a mouse is not included. The VAIO type A VGN-A50B will also be released on May 15th, for about 273,000 yen. The specifications are more or less the same as the A60B, but it does not include the AV Power Up Station or special 2Way speakers.  Inspired by: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony02.htm [13] Product Information: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/A/ [14] |
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This article is from TechJapan http://www.techjapan.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.techjapan.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=279 Links in this article [1] http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony01.htm [2] http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/U/ [3] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/sony_micro_pc/ [4] http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony0826.jpg [5] http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony05.htm [6] http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/S/ [7] http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony05.htm [8] http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/TR/ [9] http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony06.htm [10] http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/E/ [11] http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony06.htm [12] http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/K/ [13] http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/sony02.htm [14] http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/A/ |
