Remember how we told you the Sony Vaio W was no longer available from PC World? Well it may be because Sony are releasing an updated model. Like we previously told you, the VAIO W11S1E is still available on Amazon for £330-£332 but now, a new model, the W12S1E is also showing up at Amazon.
The W12S1E features pretty much the same specs as the previous model with a couple of changes. The new model will run Windows 7 Starter instead of Windows XP but, the main change and probably the reason for the new model number, is the hard drive size. The W12S1E will feature a 250GB HDD instead of 160GB. The extra hard drive space and newer operating system will cost you an extra £70 though. The netbook is available to pre-order for £399 in white, tan and pink. Release date is November 10th.
Sony’s first official netbook, the Vaio W had previously been spotted for pre-order Stateside on both Amazon and Best Buy. However at the time, neither site had a definite release date for the netbook. As of now, the netbook is available from both retailers. Best Buy have the netbook in white, pink and brown for $499.99. All models are available online but not for store pick up. Amazon on the other hand only have the pink model available to order but as of writing they only have two available.
In the UK it’s pretty much the same. PC World has the Vaio W netbook in all three colors but, likewise, the netbook is only available to order online and not collection from store. The price ranges from £374.97 for the white, to £381.26 for the brown and pink. Amazon UK appear to have all colors in stock for around the same price.
Quick confession: I’m a fan of Sony’s instant-on mode for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. With a push of a button, I can go ahead and access all my favorite games and media in mere seconds. So I was a bit surprised and glad to hear that Sony has implemented the same technology on the Sony Vaio P. The Vaio P’s instant-mode gives users the ability to browse the Web on a Firefox-based web browser, access photos, videos and music, make VoIP calls with a built-in version of Skype, and chat with their buddies using the inbuilt Pidgin instant messenger. Above is a video demonstrating how it works, courtesy of UMPC portal.
While there are three different configuration of the Sony Vaio P available all over the world, recently published benchmarks show that these don’t differ much in reality. They’re only remarkable differences, in fact, lie in their disk drives instead of their differently configured Atom processors. You can use the above pictured stats for reference. This was first posted by Pocketables, gathered from users of their forums.
You might be looking forward to surfing the ‘net with 3G speeds once your very own Sony Vaio P arrives at your doorstep, but know this: for US models, the Sony Vaio P’s 3G SIM Card slot is non-functional. It’s not broken, it’s just that Sony’s decided to disable it for some reason. When you try to take a look at it, you’ll see that it is blocked by a piece of plastic across it. Taking this out requires a bit of patience and a sharp object like an x-acto knife. And even then, you won’t be able to use it. Way to give its users another kick in the arse, right? Yep, apparently, charging nearly $1000 for a small device that can’t be called a “netbook” wasn’t enough.
Still waiting for your very own Sony Vaio P to arrive, or haven’t decided yet whether it’s really worth buying? Then this quick unboxing and first impressions will surely whet your appetite. The Sony Vaio P appears to be “just another pocket-style PC” judging from its boring gray box, but we both know what wonders really lie inside. Jenn from over at Pocketables will soon deliver a proper Sony Vaio P review, but for now, her unboxing set looking excellent. See it at the link below.
We recently reported that the SonyStyle store had received an update, which added the pocket sized P laptop. With it’s 8″ screen, for many it hit the netbook screen size range. The 8″ screen also made it smaller than the current TT VAIO series which put it ahead of the TT in the lineup. SonyBrands have discovered that the P laptop is no longer in the line up at all. Whether it was added, or even removed by mistake, we’ll have to wait and see.
The previously rumoured Sony Vaio netbook has received more speculation about it’s “launch”. From the Sony New Zealand website, there is a teaser page which suggests that from the 9th of January, the newest Vaio will “change the way you look at laptops”. The “revolutionary new VAIO” is rumoured to be a netbook on many tech sites such as Engadget and Gizmodo.
Until the 9th of January, no further details are to be released, but let’s hope it’s the news we’ve all been waiting for. There’s also a chance to win one of these VAIOs in their competition.
With a hot product such as netbook, it is understable that once a rumor surfaced, expect the whole tech kingdom to feast on it, spin it and of course make a good tech story out of it. Such as the case of a recent sightings of a Sony brand-bearing “netbook” which was spotted at the FCC site.
No less than everybody’s favorite gadget blog, Engadget gave a crack on the leaked photos. According to Engadget the size of the netbook could be in the range of 9.5 x 4.5. This could certainly pass up for a good 10-inch netbook. And the most exciting part is that it bears the Sony branding.
The photo also indicated a blank spot which could be a Windows logo. So, if this netbook is true, we should expect that it will be powered by the Windows XP.
No other details were published yet for the “Sony Netbook” product.
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