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Sony introduced three new Vaio PCs on Oct. 8, each of which will run the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.
The Sony Vaio L Touch HD PC/TV is a 24-inch multitouch widescreen, with a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080. As the name implies, it’s as much PC as television, with an optional Blu-ray disc drive, an optional built-in tuner and a terabyte of storage.
“The L Series is the ultimate multimedia hub-it’s your PC, HDTV and DVR in one compact, stylish device,” said Sony Senior Vice President Mike Abary in a statement. “And with cutting-edge features such as multitouch, it’s ideal for media lovers who appreciate HD performance and cutting-edge technology.”
The L Touch comes with Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional 64-bit operating systems, and offers an Intel Core 2 Quad processor and dedicated Nvidia GeForce series graphics card. There’s built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and it’s compatible with a wireless router. Users can hang it on a wall or position it on an adjustable stand, and while some models come with a wireless keyboard, mouse and remote control, essentially anything that can be done with a mouse can be done with a finger.
The L Touch-which comes a day after Gateway introduced its ZX Series of touch-screen PC-cum-TV devices-is now available for preorder online, and will arrive in stores next month at a starting price of approximately $1,300.
Also introduced Oct. 8 is the Vaio X Series, a 1.6-pound ultramobile notebook that Sony is calling the world’s lightest. It measures approximately 11 inches by 7.3 inches and just over half an inch thin, and it features a (diagonal) 11.1-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a durable, scratch-resistant LCD display. LED backlight technology is said to make for 100 percent color saturation.
There’s built-in Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. It also comes with a standard battery, offering 3.5 hours of juice, and a presumably heavier super-extended capacity battery, offering 14 hours of power.
There’s a solid-state hard drive and built-in GPS. Sony is stingy on the processor details, except to offer that there’s an Intel processor with speeds of 2GHz, L2 cache of 512KB and a front-side bus speed of 533MHz. Graphics come courtesy of a Mobile Intel Hub US15W chip set and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 processor.
“It’s one thing to make a notebook thin, but when you consider the fact that the X Series also boasts industry-leading battery life and wireless WAN-you now have a game changer, altering the way people use and think about their PC,” said Abary.
The X Series will come in black or gold, with a starting price of $1,300. It can be preordered now and will arrive in stores in November.
Last but not least is the colorful CW Series of laptops, with an emphasis on multimedia. They feature a 14-inch widescreen display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, an optional Blu-ray disc drive, HDMI output and Vaio Movie Story software for quickly editing movies and slideshows. Graphics are handled by a Nvidia GeForce dedicated graphics card.
The CW Series notebooks, which start at $780 and will arrive at the end of the month, are available in fiery red, poppy pink, icy white, jet black and indigo purple.