Folks, you may remember the Sony VAIO P, a slim and tiny Intel Atom machine that didn't quite live up to consumer expectations. It was gorgeous, it was tiny, and it was pretty, but the price made consumers really wary about paying so much for a netbook.
Sony shocked everyone back at IFA 2009 with the introduction of the X series VAIO notebook,
which is the direct successor to the TT series in the USA. It appeared super slim at the time and in its delicious teaser video courtesy of Sony Europe some people got extremely curious about its arrival. Sony revealed the full details on the new VAIO X series and has called it the world’s lightest notebook – at 1.6 pounds with standard battery, measurements at its narrowest point: 10.95 (W) x 0.55 (H – about half an inch thin aka 13.9mm) x 7.29 (D). The VAIO X, due October 22nd, in black and champagne features a durable carbon fiber casing, seamless aluminum keyboard panel and a touch pad with multi-touch functionality. This allows you to easily zoom in and out, flip through pictures, rotate items and scroll vertically and horizontally without ever touching your mouse. There’s also a Motioneye web camera built-in.
Heading downwards, we find a familiar looking keyboard that's done in chiclet style. Despite the extra space from its almost 12-inch (11.6-inch) frame, the keyboard and key layout still feels tiny for comfortable usage. There's also quite a bit of flex that does sometimes detract from the typing experience.
Also notable is the Vaio's touchpad, which supports multi-touch input. This allows gestures such as pinching together two fingers to zoom in, for example. A pair of flip-out feet underneath the chassis lifts it to angle the keyboard when on a desk, and we found the Vaio X Series comfortable to use when sitting on your lap as well, as the screen can be pushed quite far back to a suitable angle.
Moving on to inspect other build aspects of the notebook, we found that the screen quality was great with decent viewing angles and brightness. You'll find that despite the higher resolution (1366x768), the fonts were still pretty crisp and clear.
If you are a fan of the small Sony laptops, you will have to look at the new range of Sony VAIO X series of notebooks. It weighs just 655 gram. Running on an Intel Atom TM chip that is normally seen in a netbook, the latest Intel AtomTM Processor Z550 has the latest Windows 7 OS and a solid state drive. Out to target business users on the go, the higher range Sony VAIO is 3G enabled for fast online surfing.
The specs are pretty close to what was predicted, but there are a few surprises including a lower-than-expected price. Sony also detailed its upcoming Vaio CW series laptops, which are less expensive than the X series.
Despite its low weight, the X Series still provides a decent range of connectivity options, consisting of 802.11b/g/Draft n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a built-in Everywair HSDPA modem for wireless broadband, enabling buyers to stay connected virtually anywhere. It also has two USB ports, VGA output, Ethernet connector, headphone jack socket and two slots along its front edge for SD Card and Sony's own Memory Stick Pro Duo Flash storage cards. As a measure of just how thin the Vaio X series is, a hinged cover forms one half of the Ethernet connector, because the laptop's chassis is too thin to accommodate a standard size Ethernet jack.
Although we were pleasantly surprised by how usable the X-Series was during a working day, it seems ridiculous to spend this much and have to switch off the graphical effects. Our overall experience would have been a lot more pleasant if the graphics chipset was more powerful, but Intel's GMA 500 chip is designed for power frugality rather than speed. And this frugality does reap dividends. The X-Series kept going over seven hours when idle, and even when pushed to its limit it kept going for three hours. Considering this whole laptop weighs a miserly 766g (1.05kg with the power supply), that's a stunning achievement. And if you're after true stamina, take note of the extended battery Sony will be selling. This straps onto the bottom of the X-Series, and Sony estimates it will last 20 hours. It's worth stepping back for a moment here: 20 hours!
