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Sony's VAIO W Billabong hits US shores June 11th, $500 buys you a ride
Remember the boardshort-inspired VAIO W Billabong netbook that surfaced in Australia last week? The limited edition lappy's headed stateside, too, and its Imperial Lime lid and faster 1.83GHz Atom N470 CPU will only cost you $50 more than the stock model. Mind you, this is otherwise the same pricy VAIO W that wasn't worth five Benjamins last fall, but if you're the type that dreams of barreling down a tunnel of deep blue ocean nightly, we suppose the occasional concession can't hurt. Now available for preorder via the source link, the mini-notebook ships June 11th; PR after the break.
Sean Hollister06.02.2010Sony hangs ten with Billabong, pops out gnarly special edition VAIO W netbook
Sony's never been one to craft a "low-cost laptop," and even the company's minuscule VAIO W netbook remains one of the most expensive in the sector. But this, friends, might just be one worth the premium. Announced over in Australia, the limited edition VAIO W you're peering at above has been designed in partnership with Billabong, and the Imperial Lime lid is certainly the primary selling point. Expected to ship Down Under next month, the 10.1-inch machine will be outfitted with a 1.83GHz Intel Atom N470 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 1,366 x 768 resolution panel, Windows 7 Starter and a GPU that's incapable of handling 1080p material. You'll also find an Ethernet jack, a pair of USB 2.0 sockets, built-in webcam and a 250GB hard drive, but none of those ho hum specs help to justify the AU$749 ($619) price tag. The lid, on the other hand...
Darren Murph05.24.2010
Sony VAIO W, Z, F, and Y series hands-on: lean and green vs. gaming elite
Sony's unleashed quartet of Scrabble-friendly VAIOs this week -- Z, F, Y, and W -- and while they all have their merits, the two that really caught our eye were the the bulkier, gamer-friendly VAIO F, and the environmentally-conscious VAIO W Eco Edition. The green hue's gonna be a deal-breaker for some, but the packaging is a welcome touch and from cursory glance it is a sturdy and competent netbook. There's never enough time to test the internals, but for now, at least take solace in a bevy of pictures below (VAIO Y and Z after the break). %Gallery-82070% %Gallery-82044%
Ross Miller01.07.2010
Sony bumps out Vaio Z, F, W and Y series laptops
Sony's just announced a ton of new laptops. And by a ton, we mean a ton. First up, the 13.1-inch Vaio Z high res backlit screen and weighs in at just around three pounds. Boasting switchable graphics, this one should get more battery life for your money, and it also packs an HDMI output, optional built-in Verizon Wireless 3G, WiFi, and Bluetooth. All Vaio Z models are sold with SSDs -- up to 512GB. Moving on to the Vaio W (the most interesting of the lot for sure, in out opinions), this laptop's cashing in on the eco-friendly game by being... eco-friendly. The Vaio W Eco Edition 212AX is a 10.1-incher with a backlit widescreeen display and a 250GB hard drive. It's made from a reprocessed plastic chassis, and environmentally friendly, reusable packaging, so you can feel great when you drop $480 on this sucker. Finally, the Y series netbook is ultra-thin with a 13.3-inch LED backlit widescreen display, an optional Intel Core 2 Duo, ultra low voltage processor, and up to 8GB of RAM. This bad boy can be yours for a starting price of about $800. All of these are available for pre-order now at Sony Style.
Laura June Dziuban01.06.2010
Sony applies next-gen snowflake tech to boost VAIO W's appeal
When Sony's VAIO W netbook was released, we said the company would "have to do better than put a pretty face on a vanilla set of innards to get our next five Benjamins." So what has the company done to raise the appeal of its little netbook? Boosted the processor? Added a big SSD? Lowered the price? Nah, it went ahead and painted some snowflakes on the lid. Pretty though they may be they still hide the same 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 LCD, 1.6GHz Atom, and 1GB of RAM. There are some improvements: storage is upped a bit, a 250GB HDD instead of 160, and it now includes Windows 7 Starter instead of XP. And there are snowflakes. Still $499. Get yours before they melt!
Tim Stevens11.17.2009
Sony's VAIO W netbook reviewed: personable and pricey, and that's pretty much it
After Sony's unorthodox VAIO P, did you really expect the outfit's first "real netbook" to burn the house down? With Microsoft's inane hardware restrictions still firmly in place on Windows XP-based netbooks, there's only so much differentiating Sony can do, and evidently those subtle tweaks didn't exactly justify the higher-than-average $499 price tag. Computer Shopper managed to give the unit a spin a few weeks prior to its US release, and while it definitely appreciated the 1,366 x 768 resolution display, the cramped keyboard, painfully lackluster 3-cell battery and commonplace performance didn't exactly elicit huge grins across the review room. Naturally, the design here is pretty notable, but with ASUS' Eee Seashell line already lookin' pretty decent for a lot less cheddar, we'd agree that Sony's going to have to do better than put a pretty face on a vanilla set of innards to get our next five Benjamins.
Darren Murph08.03.2009
Engadget Podcast 154 - 07.11.2009
The podcast is a little late this week, but for good reason -- special guest Michael Gartenberg joins Josh, Paul, and Nilay this week as they sort through the Google-dominated week in news. We've got Chrome OS, the myTouch 3G, some more HTC Hero hands-on time (as well as a Magic flashed with the Hero ROM), and the leaked Sony Ericsson Rachael on tap -- oh, and to top it all off, Sony backtracked huge and released its first true netbook, the VAIO W. It's a bit of a wild one, we won't lie -- buckle up. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Guest: Michael Gartenberg Producer: Trent Wolbe Song: No Rain Hear the podcast 00:01:22 - Google announces Chrome OS, coming to netbooks second half of 2010 00:26:37 - myTouch 3G hands-on (with video!) 00:39:35 - New HTC Hero ROM leaked, Flash 10 already chugging along on a few lucky G1s 00:56:25 - Sony Ericsson Rachael UI video leaks out, Kiki comes for the ride 01:04:55 - Android 1.5 gets official SDK for native development 01:12:58 - Sony announces VAIO W... netbook! Subscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com. Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Trent Wolbe07.11.2009
Sony VAIO W hands-on roundup
Looks like our friends across the pond were among the lucky few to get a their hands on Sony's VAIO W netbook -- that still feels weird to write -- and the big takeaway here is that despite its size, the 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution screen is gorgeous. As for video, though, it's still an Atom-powered portable with integrated Intel GMA graphics, meaning smooth HD is more or less out of the question. The good news if it pans out, however, is that Sony will likely offer a 2GB RAM update, which should help out a bit. There was also near-universal love for the keyboard, with PC Pro being the lone exception, decreeing it just average when compared to what the Samsung N110 offered. Battery life couldn't be tested, and as for price? Well, no one seemed too bothered by the £400 tag, but we still maintain our own reservations until we get some time with it ourselves. You want more? A platter of impressions await you just below.Read - PC ProRead - TechRadarRead - Stuff.tvRead - What Laptop
Ross Miller07.09.2009
Sony VAIO W netbook now official in US, coming August for $499
Not so much of a surprise now, but Sony's bringing its 10.1-inch VAIO W stateside as well, and yes, according to the Sony reps we talked to, this time they really do mean to call it a netbook, unlike its VAIO P brethren. Likewise, with that nomenclature comes none too surprising specs, including a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, Windows XP, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n, VGA out, two USB ports, Ethernet, webcam, and MemoryStick / SD card readers. The three cell battery should last an estimated three hours, and like usual there's also an option for six cell. That isolated (read: chiclet) keyboard is said to be 86% the size of a normal typing surface, and the aforementioned bundled VAIO Media plus software enables content streaming across DLNA-enabled devices like the PC or PlayStation 3. Now for what's missing: the reps stressed this an "in-home" product for them, and as such there's no talk of 3G or GPS, nor should hold your breath for an optical drive or SSD option. The company stressed the hardware's build quality here, and while we'll have to wait until we get our hands on to validate, like we said before, the pics aren't exactly flattering when you look at what the competition is producing. All that's left to discuss for now is the release date, pricing, and color options, so in order: just around the $500 mark, mid-August, and berry pink, sugar white and cocoa brown. Welcome to the bottom, guys. Full press release after the break.
Ross Miller07.07.2009
Sony announces VAIO W... netbook!
Sure, the Japanese press release translates to "internet book," but there's no mistaking that 10.1-inch screen and 1.6GHz Atom running Windows XP on 1GB of RAM: Sony's new VAIO W is a netbook, folks. We're not sure how or why the company decided to enter this market after six months of hawking the overpriced VAIO P and insisting that netbooks were a "race to the bottom," but we're itching to see what the US price tag on this guy is -- with a nicer-than-usual 1366 x 768 screen, what we're hoping is a typically-solid VAIO keyboard, and some sort of home media-streaming software called VAIO Media Plus, the W could be a big winner if it's not crazy-expensive. Fingers crossed! Video after the break.Update: We just watched the video -- kind of an ugly little bastard, innit? ASUS and Acer are way beyond this chunky design language now, and honestly, we expect way more from Sony.Update 2: Reuters is reporting a Japanese price of ¥60,000 or about $629.[Via Engadget Japan]
Nilay Patel07.07.2009