Sony VAIO J joins the touchscreen all-in-one ranks
By Joanna Stern 
posted June 8th 2010 8:01AM
posted June 8th 2010 8:01AM
SONY UNVEILS NEW ENTRY-LEVEL PRICED TOUCH-SCREEN PC VAIO J
All-In-One Puts Music, Photos and Blu-ray Disc Movies One-Touch Away
SAN DIEGO, June 8, 2010 – Sony today unveiled its new, affordable touch-enabled, multi-media machine- the VAIO® J Touch All-In-One PC.
With the VAIO J Series' multi-touch screen, easy access to your PC, HD movies- your entire entertainment hub- is readily at your fingertips.
Equipped with a 21.5-inch (diagonal) 1920x1080 widescreen panel, the unit displays high-definition content in Full HD. Select models feature a Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive so you can enjoy movies in stunning 1080p high definition.
"The J Series changes the way consumers interact with their PC enabling them to tap, drag, zoom, rotate and engage with their content and entertainment like never before," said Mike Lucas, senior vice president of the VAIO business at Sony. "And with its attractive price point, this cutting-edge technology will reach a whole new audience."
The J Series comes with three unique hardware buttons-VAIO, ASSIST and DISPLAY OFF to get you to where you want to go with a touch of a button.
Launch directly into Sony's own Media Gallery software by pushing the designated VAIO button and simplify your music library. With Media Gallery you can automatically create 21 unique channels of music based on beat, tone, rhythm and other elements. It also enables you to rediscover forgotten favorites by recommending content you already own based on your unique listening and viewing habits.
Facilitate simple do-it-yourself PC maintenance procedures by pressing the ASSIST button and launching the included VAIO Care™ software program. Finally a DISPLAY OFF button is included so you can turn off your screen for privacy or to perform nighttime applications without sending your PC into hibernation.
By utilizing built-in wireless 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi technology and your wireless router (required, sold separately), you can position the model virtually anywhere in your home and access the Internet, email or home network.
A built-in webcam with face-tracking technology and microphone let you video chat with colleagues. Included Webcam Message Board software makes it easy to create video messages or leave handwritten notes on the screen. A third-party internet service provider is required.
The unit packs a powerful 2010 Intel® Core™ processor (select models), loads of RAM, and an optional dedicated NVIDIA® GeForce ® series graphics for graphic-intense gaming and movies. It comes with Windows® 7 Home Premium or Professional 64-bit operating system.
Featuring a stylish, compact design the PC comes with an adjustable stand to help you adjust it to meet your desired viewing or touch angle or simply to decrease the slant for space-saving. A wireless keyboard and mouse that can easily be stored under the unit's display are included.
The VAIO® J Touch All-in-one PC will start at about $900. It is available for pre-orders today online at www.sonystyle.com/pr/jseries. It will also be sold at Sony Style® stores and select retailers around the country starting next month.
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Editor's Note: For complete specifications and digital images, members of the news media are invited to visit Sony Electronics' news and information web site at www.sony.com/news. For all things VAIO visit www.sony.com/jseries. For information on BackstageSM, Sony's in-store VAIO PC services and repairs division, log onto www.sonystyle.com/backstage.
All-In-One Puts Music, Photos and Blu-ray Disc Movies One-Touch Away
SAN DIEGO, June 8, 2010 – Sony today unveiled its new, affordable touch-enabled, multi-media machine- the VAIO® J Touch All-In-One PC.
With the VAIO J Series' multi-touch screen, easy access to your PC, HD movies- your entire entertainment hub- is readily at your fingertips.
Equipped with a 21.5-inch (diagonal) 1920x1080 widescreen panel, the unit displays high-definition content in Full HD. Select models feature a Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive so you can enjoy movies in stunning 1080p high definition.
"The J Series changes the way consumers interact with their PC enabling them to tap, drag, zoom, rotate and engage with their content and entertainment like never before," said Mike Lucas, senior vice president of the VAIO business at Sony. "And with its attractive price point, this cutting-edge technology will reach a whole new audience."
The J Series comes with three unique hardware buttons-VAIO, ASSIST and DISPLAY OFF to get you to where you want to go with a touch of a button.
Launch directly into Sony's own Media Gallery software by pushing the designated VAIO button and simplify your music library. With Media Gallery you can automatically create 21 unique channels of music based on beat, tone, rhythm and other elements. It also enables you to rediscover forgotten favorites by recommending content you already own based on your unique listening and viewing habits.
Facilitate simple do-it-yourself PC maintenance procedures by pressing the ASSIST button and launching the included VAIO Care™ software program. Finally a DISPLAY OFF button is included so you can turn off your screen for privacy or to perform nighttime applications without sending your PC into hibernation.
By utilizing built-in wireless 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi technology and your wireless router (required, sold separately), you can position the model virtually anywhere in your home and access the Internet, email or home network.
A built-in webcam with face-tracking technology and microphone let you video chat with colleagues. Included Webcam Message Board software makes it easy to create video messages or leave handwritten notes on the screen. A third-party internet service provider is required.
The unit packs a powerful 2010 Intel® Core™ processor (select models), loads of RAM, and an optional dedicated NVIDIA® GeForce ® series graphics for graphic-intense gaming and movies. It comes with Windows® 7 Home Premium or Professional 64-bit operating system.
Featuring a stylish, compact design the PC comes with an adjustable stand to help you adjust it to meet your desired viewing or touch angle or simply to decrease the slant for space-saving. A wireless keyboard and mouse that can easily be stored under the unit's display are included.
The VAIO® J Touch All-in-one PC will start at about $900. It is available for pre-orders today online at www.sonystyle.com/pr/jseries. It will also be sold at Sony Style® stores and select retailers around the country starting next month.
###
Editor's Note: For complete specifications and digital images, members of the news media are invited to visit Sony Electronics' news and information web site at www.sony.com/news. For all things VAIO visit www.sony.com/jseries. For information on BackstageSM, Sony's in-store VAIO PC services and repairs division, log onto www.sonystyle.com/backstage.
Nice...
But it looks rather thick I am afraid, how about a review?
@bob e
They're not really that thick. That photo is just rather unflattering.
Sony's AIOs are actually quite good. Have a JS here myself, found it to be great value.
@bob e Sadly, most pretty things are that way. In particular the human variety. ;)
Here's to the 21" Multitouch Mac rumoured for Christmas '10.
@bob e
I've got a mid-of-the-line Sony LV series AIO from Fall 2008. Its been a very solid machine to this day (knock on wood). I think this L series refresh is probably good since it'll give some good deals on the L series that it'll be replacing.
Anyways, its not a hardcore gaming rig, but the 24" screen on my LV is really good as a substitute bedroom TV and I don't notice any Photoshopping slowdowns on CS4 Extended.
@bob e
For a VAIO that's some pretty good pricing I'd say. Nice. :-)
@bob e thats about the thinkness of an imac
“but when doesn't Sony demand a few extra bucks for its good looks?”
Yeah, Sony can do it. But when Apple does it, all hell breaks loose, especially in the comments section on Engt.
@magadget - oh please, as if there are not enough people complaining that Sony overprices everything.
And anyway, they're fairly reasonably priced - and look a lot cooler than Lenovo's or Dell's cheaper alternatives.
@magadget
Indeed:
Sony L Serie :starting at $1300 (quad core)
Sony J Serie :starting at $900 (dunno).
Apple IMAC:
21.5" starting at $1199. (dual core)
27" starting at $1699. (quad core)
Features more, feature less, the Sony alternative is cheaper and more powerful, Apple feature a big harddisk, while Sony include a blu-ray (that is better than a so called super-drive = dvdrw) and a better video card. Plus, Apple feature from a c2d to up to a i5, while sony reach to the i7.
@magallanes
But the iMac has an LED-backlit IPS display, can take up to 16 GBs of RAM and actually the iMac has a better graphics card (the 310M has only a 64-bit bus, the 4670 is 128-bit). Not saying the Sony is crap, far from it, but they both have advantages and disadvantages.
Only Ice Cube and Chris Tucker can properly display my reaction towards this product:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8A4CoKiAsc
Nice! Shame about the fugly mouse, though.
@f314 no one would blame you if you replaced it...
I'm not really convinced though, about the touchscreen AIO market... I mean, most of the time they look relatively underpowered and overpriced compared to a normal desktop, with the only argument being aesthetics and touchscreen, and that just doesn't cut it for me.
Prices went up a bit:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=16155&N=4294966455&Name=VAIO+Desktops+%2f+All-in-one+PCs
$1100 for J series
$1300 for L series
Sony, once a leader, innovator, now they're just sad.
I was playing with one of this at a Sony store over Memorial weekend and it was really fast and responsive, it even had Multitouch, mind you the model I played with had only a dual core, imagine now with a I7 core.
I want that keyboard.
Without the weird computer thing.
@eDan
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666005675&tab=featuresTab
@mm
AH!
@mm
Thanks =]
It's a Sony...One wonders how much crapware, advertisements, trialware and other junk this thing will be filled with.
@mukatuna
I don't know. My mom's new Sony Vaio laptop doesn't seem to have a lot of pre-installed crapware from Sony. It has some software to work with the webcam, and maybe another program or two, but compared to her old Vaio laptop (which came loaded with Sony crapware), there isn't any. So, maybe it was just a fluke, but I don't think there'll be much crap on this system. Hopefully Sony has gotten past that.
Ok, so seriously I wanted one of these sorts of systems for the Kitchen. Toss the mouse and keyboard and just use the touchscreen. But given that so few programs are touch enabled on Windows I just don't see it. Why would I buy this again?
Am I reading this article wrong, or does it really switch to talking about the L model half-way through instead?