Sony attacks netbooks with ultra-stylish rival

 

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By Tim Danton

Posted on 8 Jan 2009 at 01:34

CES 2009: Sony has launched an all-out attack on the netbook sector by releasing a fiercely priced rival ultraportable laptop - in the US at least.

Hands on with the Sony Vaio P Series - click here

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"There are other ultraportable computing solutions but what I'm about to produce trumps them all," declared president and chief operating officer of Sony America, Stan Glasgow.

In a piece of showmanship, a mini-selection of new VAIO P Series laptops rose onto the stage, with Glasgow taking hold of a bright red model before praising its tiny dimensions and striking design.

The P-Series, he claimed, could fit not only into an envelope but even into a handbag.

But he was keen to point out the P Series wasn't just about looks and compactness. "Unlike many so-called notebooks ours has an integrated 3G radio as well as 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth and GPS.

"I also like the fact it has Sony's Xross Media Bar for putting all your technology one click away."

What will impress most people familiar with netbooks is the 8in screen: a 1,600 x 768 display is far superior to the 1,024 x 600 we've become used to.

With the standard battery in place Sony claims a battery life of four hours, and an extended battery will be made available that doubles this.

The processor is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom, as we'd expect to see in a netbook, but Sony doubles the RAM to 2GB.

More surprising, though, is that Sony doubles the price. In the UK, the P Series will cost ?849 inc VAT on its release in early February.

This puts it into an entirely different category to the netbooks Glasgow claims to trump. What's particularly galling for UK buyers, though, is that the P Series will cost just $900 in the US.

The potentially redeeming feature for Sony is the laptop's 638g weight - which is around 500g lighter than most netbooks.