CES: Sony Unveils Four Vaio Laptops

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Dell Sony Vaio Z Series Laptop

Sony has unveiled four Vaio laptops, including an eco-friendly mini-notebook and a high-end ultra-portable with Blu-ray optical disc player and solid-state drive.

The company's latest mobile PCs were unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The new systems, powered by the latest processors from Intel, include the Vaio W Series, a 10.1-inch, environmentally friendly netbook; the Vaio Z Series, a high-end 13.1-inch laptop with a solid-state drive; the Vaio F Series, an entertainment laptop with a 16.4-inch display; and the Vaio Y Series at the low end of the price range.

The Vaio Z series is a high-end ultra-portable that features a Blu-ray disc optical drive and an energy-efficient LED backlight display for picture brightness and color saturation. There's also an HDMI output for connect the system to a digital TV.

The PC is available with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technologies and integrated mobile broadband for connecting to Verizon's 3G network. All Z Series computers come with solid-state drives, up to 512 GB. The Z Series, with Windows 7 Professsional onboard, is scheduled to ship in late spring. Prices start at $1,900.

The F Series is geared toward entertainment and includes a 1080p, high-definition screen, a Blu-ray disc drive and a Nvidia GeForce dedicated graphics card. The laptop also includes Sony's Media Gallery software for creating home movies. It ships with Windows 7 Home Premium. Pricing starts at $1,000.

The Vaio Z Series and F Series are available with Intel's latest Core i5 or Core i7 processors.

The Vaio W Series Eco Edition features a plastic chassis comprised of about 20% of recycled CDs. The system comes in a carry case made of recycled PET bottles. PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, is one of the most commonly used packaging plastics.

The Vaio W Series is best suited for Web browsing, e-mail, and social networking. The netbook, which is white with a translucent green interior, comes with a 250 GB hard drive and Windows 7 Starter edition. Pricing starts at $480.

The Vaio Y Series is the least expensive of the new products. It has a 13.3-inch screen and a Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processor. The system is available with up to 8 GB of system memory and comes with HDMI output and integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Pricing starts at $800.