http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/ Engadget Comments for Sony VAIO W netbook now official in US, coming August for $499 http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
That said, if you don't need the larger screen or n, you can get a much cheaper system.]]>Jul 7th 2009 8:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
This is a sweet looking netbook.]]>Jul 7th 2009 9:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 10:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 11:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 8th 2009 9:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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.]]>Jul 7th 2009 4:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
Was that meant to be funny or did the author forget the order he had just written?]]>Jul 7th 2009 4:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/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?]]>Jul 7th 2009 5:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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.]]>Jul 7th 2009 7:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/I´m curious though about the build quality of this, most netbooks besides that they are cheap also feel cheap.]]>Jul 7th 2009 5:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 9:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 4:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 5:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 11:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 23rd 2009 8:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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.]]>Jul 7th 2009 5:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/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.]]>Jul 7th 2009 6:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/1.66 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.]]>Jul 7th 2009 7:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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)


]]>Jul 7th 2009 8:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 6:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 9:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 9:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 11:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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]]>Jul 7th 2009 6:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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.]]>Jul 7th 2009 7:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 7:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 8:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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.]]>Jul 7th 2009 9:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/10.4 " screen, P3 600Mhz, 128MB, 12GB HD, PCMCIA, and 2.9 lbs !

]]>Jul 7th 2009 9:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 9:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 9:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 10:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/
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.
]]>Jul 7th 2009 11:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/Jul 7th 2009 11:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/07/sony-vaio-w-netbook-now-official-in-us-coming-august-for-499/You can buy cheap stuff, once you realize its cheap because it is cheaply made, next time you buy higher quality hardware :P]]>Jul 7th 2009 10:58AM