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Consumer electronics giant Sony introduced an expanded line of Vaio notebooks for fall including a new form factor PC, the Vaio Flip PC, which features the flexibility of a convertible with a notebook mode similar to a conventional clamshell PC, an ultra-thin (0.39-inch) Windows 8 tablet with Intel Core processors, touch-enabled Vaio Tap 11 Tablet PC, and a portable all-in-one PC, the Vaio Tap 21.
Drawing on Sony’s TV heritage, the company’s Triluminous Display technology for mobile devices re-creates rich, natural colors with a wider color range more accurately. In addition to the display, the Vaio PCs employ Sony’s picture engine, X-Reality for mobile, which analyzes each image and reproduces lacking pixels to optimize quality for sharper videos.
Configured in 13-inch, 14-inch and 15-inch models, the Vaio Flip PC has the ability to switch between notebook, tablet and viewer modes thanks to a second hinge. The convertible PC includes a USB 3.0 port capable of charging personal devices on the go even when the computer is powered down or in sleep mode, and is offered in both black and silver aluminum and features a full-pitch backlit keyboard, gesture enabled touch pad and palm rest.
Available in black and white color schemes, the Vaio Tap 11 features an aluminum magnetic full-pitch keyboard cover with a touch pad, and is equipped with fourth-generation Intel Core processors with up to Core i7 and a solid state drive (SSD), as well as an SD card reader, USB 3.0 and micro HDMI as well as Intel Wireless Display (WiDi), which streams the computer screen directly to a compatible HDTV.
The optional pressure-sensitive Active Pen, available for the Tap 11 and Vaio Flip PC models, lets users take notes in the memo taking application, Vaio Paper, or crop an image with Vaio Clip using intelligent edge detection technology.
The 8-megapixel rear-facing camera on the Fit 13A Flip PC and Tap 11 features an Exmor RS for PC image sensor and makes it possible to take images of documents that are clear enough for the computer to recognize and process text. The image sensor combined with the CamScanner application, enables users to take images of documents using the computer’s camera as if it were a scanner and edit and organize multiple documents.
In addition, CamScanner has the ability to straighten images of documents and photos taken at odd angles. CamScanner also uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert the words in an image to text. With near field communication (NFC) technology, users can stream music, download photos and enable Bluetooth connections by tapping a compatible Android or Windows Phone smartphone or a wireless speaker to the notebooks.
Sony’s announcement also included one desktop PC, the Vaio Tap 21, which features a freestyle stand, which allows users to change the angle of the screen. Thanks to the internal battery, the Tap 21 can be carried around the home or laid flat on a coffee table. The PC will be available with an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and can be configured with a SSD or hybrid hard drive, and also comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse.