Sony VAIO W netbook now official in US, coming August for $499
By Ross Miller 
posted Jul 7th 2009 4:35AM
posted Jul 7th 2009 4:35AM
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.
SONY DEBUTS HOT NEW MINI NOTEBOOK IN COOL NEW COLORS
VAIO W Series Ideal for Casual Computing and Staying Connected
SAN DIEGO, July 7, 2009 – Sony today took the wraps off its chic new line of mini notebooks- the VAIO® W Series.
Featuring an ultra-portable design, the W Series is perfect for using as a secondary PC, in any room of the house, for surfing the web, checking e-mail, and social networking.
The W model comes in three vibrant colors- berry pink, sugar white and cocoa brown. A more subtle shade of the exterior hue finishes the inside of the PC while the touchpad is lined with a splash of brightness.
"The W Series lets you quickly look something up online whether searching for a recipe in the kitchen or relaxing on your recliner- there's no need to trudge upstairs to your office," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of the VAIO business group at Sony. "And it's sturdy enough for the kids to use, making it perfect for every member of the family."
The W Series incorporates a high-resolution, 1366 x 768, LED backlit 10.1-inch (measured diagonally) ultra-wide display, making it easy to view two full web pages- no side-to-side scrolling necessary.
The model features an isolated keyboard with springy and responsive keys making it comfortable and easy to use. Its carefully designed touchpad and mouse keys make the PC functional and mouse movements easy to control.
The W Series unit is ENERGY STAR® 5.0 compliant, EPEAT Gold registered and incorporates eco-conscious features such as a mercury-free LED backlit LCD. Its corrugated cardboard packaging is comprised of 95 percent recycled content. Sony will also help recycle your old PC (www.sony.com/green; recycling fees may apply).
The model comes with VAIO Media plus Multimedia Streaming software, a media sharing application that lets you wirelessly stream content across DLNA®-enabled devices throughout your home network. Stream video, music and pictures from your W Series to your compatible primary PC or PLAYSTATION®3 and vice-versa and enjoy your content anywhere in the home including on your big-screen TV.
Easily transfer data, such as photos from your digital camera or music from an MP3 player, to and from the PC with the unit's two convenient USB ports. Incorporated Bluetooth® technology enables peripherals such as a wireless mouse to be utilized without tying up the unit's ports. A built-in webcam and microphone let you video chat with family, friends and colleagues. A third-party internet service provider is required.
A roomy 160GB hard drive has been included providing ample storage for all your photos, files and videos. It comes pre-installed with Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition operating system.
The VAIO W Series mini notebook will retail for about $500. It is available for pre-orders today online at www.sonystyle.com/pr/w. It will also be sold at Sony Style® stores and at other major retailers around the country starting next month.
Worst!
I think you're damn wrong, it's a great looking machine with reasonable specs for the price.
Perhaps he was trying to make a funny: "worst!" in place of "first!"
Not a horrible price. You are really paying for the n wireless and larger screen and "Sony Tax." The Atom is a nice little CPU. I've been using mine for ~5 months.
That said, if you don't need the larger screen or n, you can get a much cheaper system.
Here in Japan, all netbook are at least 499$. Sony would be stupid to lower the price under what you pay for the mini 10.
This is a sweet looking netbook.
Above all an (almost) full-size chiclet keyboard.
It says up to 2 hours standard power? (Which actually means 1.5 or 1 hour). LOL!
$499 for the VAIO logo o.O;
Heh, I feel like 100 bucks lower would of been perfect. But, for what the netbook offers I guess it's a good price. I'll have to wait for reviews.
And now for the moment the UK have been waiting for, I'd like to announce the pricing strategy for the UK, it goes something like this - (DRUM ROLL PLEASE) - swap the $ for a £ and Bob's your mothers brother! Seriously though, you heard it here first, no way will this be anywhere near the £300 mark!
+ Win7 plz.
I dont know what Engadget are smoking but this netbook isnt ugly. In fact i have to see its one of the best, hideous colours aside.
Perhaps Sony realized nobody wants to be an exorbitant amount of money for something that can (barely) surf the net. They tried the whole "premium netbook" thing and realised the market doesnt want it.
I think HP realized the same thing, Here in Australia their netbook was one of the best, but now with the current releases they've tried to cut costs significantly.
I'm just going to go sit in my corner now. Some serious grammatical and spelling errors in that ^^.
They're calling it ugly because it's from Sony. Sony = oil, Engadget = water
In the pictures it looks realy nice, but in the video it looks like crap.
"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."
Was that meant to be funny or did the author forget the order he had just written?
LOL, nice catch!
"And it's sturdy enough for the kids to use, making it perfect for every member of the family." LOL. Yeah, let's see how long that thing will last without SSD.
The price seems similar to the competitors, albeit others usually have better battery at this price point/cheaper (3 hours battery life? Sony, really?). Also, since it bears XP, it won't be eligible for free upgrade to Windows 7.
Gosh, when will all those nVidia ion based netbooks come out?
This one looks fine in the pictures. I really don't see a problem. Sure it's not screaming 'I am stylish' but sometimes understated is good. Talking of which - that giant Vaio logo on the back? Yeah, no. But apart from that it's fine - sure the pink is a little bit on the violent side (pastel pinks are nicer imo) but you can always get another colour.
To be honest my main problem with the design is that it's a little bigger than I'd like - if they're going to have giant bezels, I'd prefer they stick to 9" screens. A 10" screen that went nearly to the left/right edges might do the job.
As for the three-hour battery life when using the smaller battery - perhaps it is the same as every other netbook, but they are just being honest about it instead of quoting the 'maximum battery life you could possibly achieve if you turned the screen so dark it's invisible and left it entirely idle' number? As far as I can see it's the same components as every other netbook so I don't see why the battery life should be any different.
I'm still hoping for an ARM A9-based netbook next year, personally (and with SSD please), but if I were in the market for a netbook right now I'd at least consider this one, I guess.
Is the pink version really necessary? That netbook is actually quite nice to look at, but the pink version is SHOCKING.
HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition. D:
I think its a smart choice, the pink netbook will be bought by the same who buy their pink Nokia low-end mobile. I´m pretty sure that if my niece walks through the store and she sees a pink laptop she wants it.
I´m curious though about the build quality of this, most netbooks besides that they are cheap also feel cheap.
My sweet transvestite friend will be glad with the pink.
Looks good. 1366x768 in a 10" screen is already higher than most netbooks out there. The price isn't too bad either. Specs seems reasonable as well (I prefer Core Solo, but I guess that will increase the Windows XP license fee). Chuck Windows 7 in there and I think it would be a cracking machine. May just get one for my girlfriend.
Actually laughed out loud on that one
make it colorful! three colors not good enough! lol.
A three cell battery that might last three hours. Come on Sony you can do better than that.
I know right. im sick of this 3 cell crap. 6 cell should be standard. They should build them in so they dont look like hideous growths. I just get by on my Mini9's 4 cell.
Its even worse that that, Sony website says up to 2 hours standard power. lol.
Typical specs netbooks need to look superb, this just doesn't hit the spot. Not for that price at least. IONS need to hurry it up, hopefully Sammy's version will be out soon.
Hmm... let's compare this to asus 1005ha...
1005ha advantages:
more than $100 cheaper
bigger keyboard
more than double the battery life
1 more USB port
little bit faster cpu
vaio w advantages:
higher resolution screen
some kind of streaming with PS3
Conclusion:
asus wins. sony loses.
CPU: They have the same N280
About the building quality: if it's like the new N series (and looks like it is), the finish and build quality should be way better then the Asus.
I'll give it a look tomorrow in Ginza if I'll have time.
The battery life is a shame though, I agree, hope the screen will be nice and not too glary.
1.6 ghz = n270
1.66 ghz = n280
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/23/asus-eee-pc-1005ha-hands-on-and-impressions-dont-post-or-you-wil/
take a look, 1005ha is well built... and certainly looks better than the vaio w. just because it's from sony doesn't mean it's well made, sony's had its share of shoddily built laptops along with everyone else.
Sony=N280
Engadget Japan news
http://japanese.engadget.com/2009/07/07/vaio-w-10-1366x768-6/
Specifications:
http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VPCW11S1E%2FW&site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=VN+W+Series&assetid=1218032875598
No fanboy of anything here.
I like the 1005ha as well. Good netbook and amazing battery life compared to the Sony.
On the other hand I like the latest sony notebook's finish and keyboards.
The W is not a fingerprint magnet, that's good.
The screen on the sony W looks anti-glare as well (it's written on Sony's UK website under the category "clearly better", here: http://content.vaio.eu/showcase/w/index_uk.html)
How do you say "overpriced generic netbook" in Japanese?
SONY
American companies charge more for the stuff they send here in Japan. A Macbook is 300$ more here. Only Dell give decent prices.
A Macb... ok see this is where you lost all credibility.
Netbook means to use to browse the internet right?
Why would this be aimed for at home ie wifi to browse when you have your desktop with a bigger screen
No 3g FAIL, like all netbooks without 3g FAIL
Get a phone that tethers then.
Every one wants the world for as little as possible.
People do you netbooks at home you know. Not every one carries them around where ever they go.
$500 for a three cell netbook without TV, GPS or something else extra? Typical Sony. They think it is worth so much more just because they put their name on it.
hmmm... Almost $200 more than a Lenovo S10 with the same exact specs? Only Sony would try to do it.
Love the keyboard, but what an ugly bezel.
I also don't get the "in-home" market. You can install different software (free) to stream to your PS3 or PC, so nothing special on this. And how much can you really stream from a 160GB HDD, unless you have it tethered to an external drive, then the whole point of portability is thrown out the window. If streaming is all you care about, then buy a NAS drive or some external drive for streaming for less than this. If all you want to do is surf the net, then buy something for $200 less.
Reminds me of my Vaio SR7K back in 2000. I loved that machine ! A netbook before there were netbooks.
10.4 " screen, P3 600Mhz, 128MB, 12GB HD, PCMCIA, and 2.9 lbs !
It's priced at 449 euros on Sonystyle.fr, not that bad considering it's a Sony product.
Sweet! Just what I wanted! A netbook that costs twice as much as anything with comparable specs but in bright pink! Thanks Sony!
Why wouldn't I just get the 1005ha with better specs, nice design (though probably not as nice as this sony netbook) and $110 cheaper? Cmon sony, stop thinking your this godly pc maker that everyone looks up to and start making reasonably priced computers!
Yes, why wouldn't you?
Sony prices its products the way they want. If you think it's too expensive or not worth it, why do you even care?
They price it like that because they think it's worth that price, and they think people will buy it. Now, noone puts a gun on your head to buy it.
Even if it was 100$ less, you'd better consider the 1005HA too, which is a great netbook.
You make a good point Bokal, it's just frustrating to see Sony shoot themselves in the foot over and over again. They could bring some game-changing competition to the netbook scene, but instead they copy the same specs and add a 100 dollar sony tax. Sony has made some seriously good products in the past, and nothing is stopping them now but their own stubbornness.
um, this looks higher quality than my top spec Asus notebook that has cost 2k :-).
You can buy cheap stuff, once you realize its cheap because it is cheaply made, next time you buy higher quality hardware :P
Wow, I was just at the sony site
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644650994&parentCategoryId=16154
And saw this "up to 2 hours of standard power"
I think Toshiba NB205 beats this Vaio in every aspect!
Screen resolution.
Unfortunately, the absolutely pathetic battery life kills this one for me.
Its just boring,, I would have expected a little more bling from Sony. There's nothing that makes this netbook stand out from other ones.
I still think the machine looks fine from the pictures and have no idea why the author would say the pictures aren't flattering and then link to the Asus machines, which arent horrible, but definitelynot so much better than Sony's...
Spec page on Sony.com says Max memory is 1GB.
That combined with 2 hour battery life would make this a really bad netbook, wouldn't it?
Too bad the battery doesn't last long, or I will seriously consider to get this.
1005HA is easily 8 hours+ on standard battery. I expect Sony to get a little closer to 4 hours+ with standard battery if not matching 1005HA.
again, sony starts out trying to start a revolution (Vaio P, minidisk, UMD) and ends up folding into a mainstream option.
Too little. Too much.
Too little. Too much.
If this thing came with a 9 hour battery and a GPS built in I'd be all over it. But an inhouse netbook? I'm sorry we have those, they are called anything with internet that plugs into a wall. A fullsize laptopl, a nettop plugged into a tv with wireless keyboard or just a desktop. Anything would be berry than a Netbook with only 1-2 hours of battery life.
I hate to be a debbie downer but all netbooks are the same. Everyone has the same processor, HD, screen, etc. What's the point? Let's make this netbook industry interesting!
Actually, this has a 1366x768 screen. Not the first to do this of course, but still rare for a netbook.
Price isn't really an issue here. People will pay whatever Sony charges. There are plenty of people with money to burn that will buy Sony because it's quality.
I have a Sony Vaio P... And while I do like it, I must say this is the Sony netbook I was waiting for. I might consider selling off the P and replacing it with this, the W.
After all, the specs are the same or better, and I get a larger display, although the resolution leaves a bit to be desired.
Finally, 10.1" screen with HD resolution. Hope to see this screen in more upcoming netbooks.
Okay, first remember that it has that 1366x768 screen STANDARD. There are a few models out there now with 720p screens--the DELL Mini 10 and HP Mini 110 are the only ones that I know of--that offers this as an EXTRA COST OPTION. Now its generally only $25 or $30 more for this screen, not $100 more, but hey, its something.
It has a very nice physical switch for turning the Wifi on and off. It has 802.11n. Both good things. It has the slightly faster N280 Atom.
It is NOT thin at 1.3", though from the pictures you wonder if they're talking about the unit with the 6 cell battery--can the little 3 cell really stick out that far from the unit?
Two USB ports rather than the standard 3. Stupid but maybe not a big deal.
The keyboard looks well built, but it ISN'T edge to edge so its smaller than other keyboards in similar sized netbooks AND it has that stupid right shift key placement again. A shocking error. I'd call this a FAIL all on its own.
The design really does look nice though, although I agree the pink one is a bit of a shocker. The brown looks nice though.
It appears to have a good trackpad and buttons, though no indication of multi-touch, which is becoming a required feature as far as I'm concerned.
From the video at Laptop Magazine it does look like there is an access panel on the bottom, so perhaps upgrading the RAM and hard drive will be easy enough.
Glossy screen? Good speakers? 6 cell battery going to be available at something other than a ridiculous price? Have to wait for reviews or something I guess...
I looked at the specs page on Sony website, and it says 1GB is the maximum amount of RAM, so unfortunately, access panel or not, it won't be possible to upgrade the RAM I think
For those who are interested (yes I know everybody has moved on to other articles by now), there's a bunch of pictures of the bottom access panel AND the truly massive tumor that is the 6 cell battery for this thing over at:
http://www.netbookchoice.com/2009/07/08/sony-vaio-w-netbook-protruding-6-cell-battery-access-panel-in-pictures/
Now Im usin HP mini2140. It's been on the market at least 3~4 months ago, with better figure and almost same price. At that time, Sony presented Vaio P with horrible price but good looking one. For this Sony Vaio W, what's the difference between ordinary Netbooks, Design or Just the logo "VAIO"? No kidding... I can see the going down of Sony empire, finally, they threw away their last pride, the price and high end marketing. As time goes by~
The Toshiba NB205-N31x series murders this thing for $100 less, and the sony looks like a ripoff of that device. The Tosiba's chicklet keyboard is better/wider, it has a feature where you can charge devices with USB if the machine is turned OFF, it has an aluminum frame inside, it has a 6 cell battery and 9 hours of charge. An LED Screen is of no real use on a panel this size, the Toshiba screen is among the most legible out there.
No, it's the Toshiba all the way, hands down.
The new Gateway Neo processor machine isn't bad either, but for true atom based netbooks, its the Toshiba , period.
Maybe if Asus built a more Asus like netbook they could do better, but i'm not sure how.
I'd love to see a atom 330 (dual core) netbook.
the next generation of this - with 2gb ram, whatever the next gen of atom processors is with dual cores, an improved video chip and better battery life - that will make it for me.
this ALMOST does. good price, glad to see an N280, beautiful design, perfect screen.
need to change password so posting. maybe better system will help.
It's already available in Asia.
Happen to be in HK a few weeks ago and it was selling for ~$575 USD converted currency!
Looks great externally but relatively underpowered and overpriced for something that's only equipped with 1Gb memory (max. according to sales flyer I took when in HK stores!) and NO CD or DVD drive! Ouch!
It's a Sony product so expect to pay a PREMIUM price!
ill wait for the 6 cell, the toshiba netbook is more attractive atm
wow
This model is already available in Asia!
Saw it in Hong Kong a few weeks back when visiting there.
The price is relatively similar, even after converting the currency amounts.
Higher screen resolution but not so good battery life and no disc drive!
It looks great but still slightly overpriced, even by HK standards!!
It is a Sony product which "demands" a premium price, after all!
There are better netbooks available, some aren't even sold in the USA!!!