Sony has been resistant to admit that the netbook is something that consumers want for quite a long time. The closest thing they’ve released to a netbook to date is the Sony VAIO P [Portal page] and that is really stretching it. Sony itself doesn’t consider the VAIO P a netbook and certainly doesn’t market or price it like one. You could say that Sony makes premium computers, which are often of good build quality, but come with a price to match. It is plain to see why a netbook wouldn’t be part of their plans. It isn’t exactly easy to build a computer that would hold up to Sony’s idea of quality while keeping the price down. Additionally, a netbook has the potential to devalue high priced laptops whether its warranted or not.
Well it looks like Sony finally had to do it. Recently announcing the Sony VAIO W netbook, Sony enters the netbook game again stiff competition from companies that already have lots of experience in the field of creating inexpensive, but relatively high quality computers.
The Sony VAIO W has fairly typical netbook specs: 1GB of RAM, 1.6GHz Atom CPU, and running Windows XP (thank goodness!). One area where the VAIO W kicks back at cookie-cutter netbook specs is the screen. Offering more than the obligatory 1024×600 resolution, the VAIO W will have a 10.1” screen sporting a resolution of 1366×768 which is a nice properly formatted 16:9 aspect ratio. Sounds pretty ugood right? Unfortunately Reuters is reporting that the Japanese price of the VAIO W is ¥60,000 or about $629. I can’t say that price bodes very well for the VAIO W, especially considering that it may be the price for the 3-cell battery version of the device.
The VAIO W will be released in three colors: pink, white, and brown, and it looks like Sony has whipped up three color matching accessory kits which include a mouse and slip case, both matching the color of the VAIO W of your choice. The keyboard seems to be very similar to the VAIO P’s chiclet style keyboard which we loved when we reviewed it [VAIO P review, keyboard section].
[Engadget]
July 9th, 2009 at 9:14 am
They are charging AUD999 = $781U.S. here in Australia, which is about $250U.S. more than I paid for my much higher spec. Core2Duo laptop 18 months back. Apple do the same kind of markup. We call it the “sony tax” / “apple tax”. Guess there is a sucker born every minuite.
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July 9th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Official US pricing is $499, which is reasonable and within the normal netbook pricing scheme.
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July 9th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
good to see it, but the problem is the battery life, too short, and the 6 cell looks awful, ruining the design.. i better wait for something else and update , or go with the 1000he.
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