back to article Sony claims 'lightest notebook' crown

The fight for the right to claim ownership of the world’s lightest notebook has been won by Sony, the company claimed today, thanks to its launch of the Vaio X. Vaio_X_01 Sony's Vaio X: good lookin', but Atom-based Weighing in at just 655g, the... ahem... “exquisitely crafted” notebook measures 278 x 185 x 13.9mm and is …

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  1. Groz Bat
    Thumb Up

    mmm

    Me want

    Me can't afford

  2. D@v3
    FAIL

    How much??

    Doesn't 1.5-2k kind of take it out of 'Netbook' range??

    <--- Price your self out of the market fail.

  3. Chimpofdoom!
    FAIL

    @ these prices..

    A macbook pro is cheaper!

  4. Mathew White
    Thumb Down

    Mmmm...

    Netbook specs, Notebook price...

  5. Alex 32
    Boffin

    Chew

    @D@v3: Netbook? I thought this was a Notebook? Still, agreed it is expensive..

    I don't know about most, but I actually prefer the feel of a sturdy weighted laptop. Doesn't blow away when you are in the park, or slide off the desk on a train.. Sure it'll be fit for someone

  6. Michael Jennings

    Looks cute, but I won't be buying one.

    This is simply for drooling over in display stores and for people with way too much money. I can't imagine they expect to sell more than a tiny number. Sony actually do (finally) make a reasonably priced nice spec netbook for people who want one.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-VAIO-W11S1E-Mini-Notebook/dp/B002GZNGRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255006034&sr=1-1

    By the way the price has been dropping even on that one - the RRP is £430 and it was £399 a few weeks back - I suspect even that was expensive enough that they weren't selling many. I think it is a good deal at the present price. It's the cheapest netbook I have seen with a WXGA screen, and its got a slightly faster CPU (N280) than most netbooks, too. Plus it looks pretty.

  7. Stacy
    WTF?

    NOOOO!!!!!!

    They killed my toy! The TZ series fell into this segment (price, screen size and resolution) but has a real chip and an optical drive. Why would you remove these - it really made the machine stand out from the crowd! Tiny, powerful enough for VS 2008 and SQL Server 2008, small enough to fit into a bag and with a build in DVD burner.

    Sob.

    (Unless of course this is to sit along side the TT range that replaced the TZ in which case I have to ask what the point is...)

  8. Patrick O'Reilly
    IT Angle

    <air-quote>Notebook"</air-quote>

    Can't they just admit it's a netbook? The worlds most expensive netbook!

  9. Rubberchicken
    Stop

    Ah. Netbook, not notebook.

    Re: D@v3: It takes it "kind of" out of the netbook range the same way the pacific ocean is "kind of" damp. That's macbook pro money, and _that's_ already a bit steep for what it is.

    But it looks good and it's a Sony, so it'll be perfect for some slick suit to flash around and he'll have plenty of time to shop for a new one before this one goes out of fashion.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    mines the Macbook ...

    WOW - what a ridiculous price!

    I thought my Macbook was expensive, looks better too.

  11. Si 1

    VAIO build quality

    My first VAIO back in 1999 was of stunning build quality, but Sony have been sliding downwards for ages now and doing things on the cheap. The casing might have an aluminium palm rest but the sides will be plastic with decals that rub off within 6 months of very light and gentle usage. That's what happened with my last 2 VAIOs anyway.

    I decided for a change to buy an Alienware laptop for some on the go gaming, but that is even worse. Cheap plastic all over and a hinge that has broken twice now. The warranty repair is useless too, they take it for a month, scratch it up and break something else while they're fixing it.

    I really hate to say it but the unibody MacBook I have has really impressed me in terms of build quality. Now if only I could run a decent OS on it and it had a graphics card up for playing some games... It seems there's no perfect laptop for me out there at the moment...

  12. HarryCambs

    Makes Apple look cheap!

    So why haters winge that Apple is expensive then?

    This is the exact market place where Apple is, not acer, asus etc. market.

  13. m@rkc
    WTF?

    There's small....and then there's....

    First off, "D@v3" - it's a notebook notta netbook :-) ....ergo, any stupidly inflated price is acceptable...

    Secondly, I guess it's fairly safe to assume that the machine is NOT "13.9mm wide and 2.25mm thick" as that would make it about the same size as my microSD card!!!! Methinks those dimensions are really in "cm" not "mm"!!!!!

    Personally, I think that this just gonna be too small to use for more than about ten minutes at a time due to RSI injuries.....I'll stick with my HTC Touch Pro for awkward typing and leave this sort of toy for people with more money than sense!!

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    '... provides an "error-free typing" experience.'

    I msut gte one fo thses, becuas my triping is bolody afwul.

    Caot plaese.

  15. Stoneshop
    Boffin

    @Alex32

    "Netbook? I thought this was a Notebook?"

    It's powered by an <strike>Acorn</> Atom, so a Netbook it is.

    That's a reading glasses icon for you.

  16. Jay Castle
    Thumb Down

    Prolly only this light....

    ...cos it's made of spit and twigs. Another truimph of form over function for Sony.

    Good work, lads.

    Not.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Makes Apple look cheap!

    Feature for feature, Apple isn't that much more expensive - the cost is increased if your outside America of course - us Brits pay a great deal more for Macs than they do over the pond.

    But if you place all the features of equivalent windows laptops alongside the latest Macbook range, *including* build quality, it's not an astronomical difference.

    What is different, of course, is personal requirements. Mac definately is for the more "arty" crowd, even though it's made some inroads into the wider consumer market.

    These super slim stupidly expensive windows based machines also have a market, I'm not sure exactly what that market it is though - more brains than sense?

  18. Stoneshop
    Headmaster

    @ "m@rkc"

    "First off, "D@v3" - it's a notebook notta netbook :-) ."

    Pray share the source of your wisdom, sir, that undisputably says an Atom-powered thingie can be a nOtebook. Until that time, I'll consider you a cretin.

  19. Alex 32
    Coat

    @Stoneshop

    Really? Even though it's classed as a Notebook?

    Funny..

  20. Daniel Barnes
    FAIL

    How much?!

    You can get a macbook air for that sort of cash. You'd get a better processor, better graphics card and a backlit keyboard, on top of that the air looks far, far better and is more than likely has a much better build quality!

  21. Alastair McFarlane
    FAIL

    @Stoneshop

    I agree, from a common sense point of view.

    However, Sony did the same with the 'P' series - those stupidly small things with a small keyboard and only a nipple-mouse. They outright refused to call them netbooks, presumably to allow them to be priced at £800, but as a result shot themselves in the foot as MS wouldn't give them XP unless it was a netbook. As a result, the 'P' series laptops were tiny, underpowered things running Vista.

    They did *not* perform well.

    I see the same thing coming with these. Windows 7 may carry less bloat than Vista did, but on an Atom processor I expect them to be pretty slow, and at that price, they'll struggle to sell them.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    "Lightest notebook"?

    Ooh, 655g. That's, um, only just over twice the weight of:

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/02/24/umid_mbook/

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