Sony has taken the wraps off two new entries in its Vaio notebook like, introducing the new Vaio F series multimedia-oriented systems and confirming the U.S. availability of the Vaio S-series ultraportables. The two systems cater to very different sets of users, with the S-series tailored to the needs ot travelers who need portability and exceptional battery life, while the F series packs computing and entertainment muscle.
First up, the Vaio S series—which Sony confirmed it was bringing to the United States back in March—offer a slim design and up to 15 hours of battery life when combined with an optional sheet battery that latches on to the bottom of the unit. Sony has also cranked up the style factor, offering the systems in black, brown, pink, blue, and platinum colors with an LED-backlit keyboard. The S-series offers a 13.3-inch 1,600 by 900-pixel display, a second-generation Intel Core i7 processor, and AMD Radeon HD 6630 discrete graphics with 1 GB of dedicated video memory. Selected models will also be available with a Blu-ray disc drive, and the notebooks will include Intel Wireless Display 2.0 technology that enable users to enjoy video content on compatible TVs without bothering to hook up cables. The integrated webcam features face tracking technology and autofocus so it can follow users as the move around during a video chat.
Sony says the Vaio S series are available for pre-order today with prices starting around $1,350; the optional sheet battery runs about $150. The pink and blue models should be available in June.
Folks looking for a little more heft might want to check out Sony’s Vaio F series, featuring a quad-core second-generation Intel Core i7 processor, USB 3.0, 750 GB of hard drive storage, and a 16.4-inch 1,920 by 1,080-pixel display powered by Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics with 512 MB to 1 GB of dedicated video memory. The Vaio F series sport a numeric keyboard in addition to a standard QWERTY keyboard, a built-in HD webcam, HDMI and VGA video output, support for up to 8 GB of RAM, gigabit Ethernet, and 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR wireless networking. Sony says the F series can run for up to 5 hours at standard settings, although with the screen cranked up that’ll drop to 4 hours. The systems also offer one-touch Web access without having to boot into Windows.
Sony says the Vaio F series are available for pre-order now for prices starting at $1,100; they’ll be available in white, black, or silver.
