Ah, Spring. The season of vacations, beach attire and VAIO updates. We already heard that Sony was giving its VAIO P netbook a dose of Windows XP and an optional 256GB SSD, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, the Type T, Type Z, Type F and Type A are all getting makeovers, so we'll do our best to break 'em down right. The beastly A series will continue to be menacing, boasting an 18.4-inch 1080p panel, WiFi, a HDD / SSD hybrid system, 4GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive and a GeForce 9600M GT. The F series rolls in with a 16.4-inch display, 4GB of memory, ATI's 256MB Mobility Radeon HD 3470, WiFi, a battery good for three hours and a Core 2 Duo P8700. The other guys are seeing far lighter touchups, but you can feel free to have a look at all of these Japan-bound units in the links below.


Read - VAIO updates I
Read - VAIO updates II

Hey, you! VAIO P modder! Hold up on that HSDPA hack just a minute -- er, on second thought, you should probably proceed, 'cause Sony isn't about to take back your current machine when this Gobi-equipped model ships. Quite curiously, Sony has announced here in Barcelona that its VAIO Z, VAIO TT and VAIO P laptops will soon be embedded with Qualcomm's Gobi, which provides both EV-DO Rev. A and HSDPA support on a single module. As it stands, Sony's US model VAIO P only supports Verizon Wireless' mobile broadband network, which should leave a pretty bitter taste in the mouths of early adopters. There's no mention at all of when Sony plans to start shipping these oh-so-connected machines (nor if they'll be coming to US shores), but we're hoping it's sooner rather than later.

Update: In order to address some understandable confusion with this release, Sony has provided the following response: "All of the P Series shipped to date come equipped with Gobi mobile broadband technology and the instant-mode option, but certain feature deployment varies region by region. As such, the mobile broadband feature is exclusively supported by the Verizon Wireless network for all US customers." In other words, all existing VAIO P units (even US models) have the Gobi chip -- it's up to you to hack away that Verizon lock and get down to business, though.

Here's the thing: Sony's VAIO Z series of ultraportables doesn't get to be a part of the X300 / Envy 133 / MacBook Air / X360 club. We like it, it's a great laptop, but it's just too chubby to count as a cake cutter. So that said, there's really little point in comparing this thing to that sort of computer -- we'll just have to judge it on its own merits.

The VAIO Z is the latest in Sony's long heritage of ultraportable computers, but lands itself decidedly on the beefy end of that spectrum. With discrete NVIDIA 9300M graphics and a Blu-ray drive, this is a full-fledged laptop (we've been testing out the $3,600-ish VGN-Z591U SKU). There's WWAN, SD and Memory Stick card readers, ExpressCard and an HDMI plug, and even the 16:9 13.1-inch screen is on the upper limit of Sony's ultraportable heritage. There's plenty of SSD inside, with dual SSD RAID option that makes no bones about this being a performer.

Like we mentioned in our hands-on impressions, the new Z-series laptops from Sony are in many ways impressive, but in ultimate thinness they leave a bit to be desired. This is perhaps best demonstrated best by Journal du Geek's comparison shots here with the MacBook Air. Sure, the Z wins all over the place on specs, with Centrino 2, discreet graphics, a full-size laptop hard drive bay, and what was that? Oh yeah, a Blu-ray drive. The Z also manages a smaller footprint, thanks in part to a smaller 13.1-inch screen in that shorter 16:9 aspect ratio, but also due to its slim bezels surrounding the screen and keyboard -- something the Air could do well to take note of -- but the actual 1-inch thickness seems dramatically fat compared to its ultrathin competition. Overall, it's all about what kind of laptop you're really gunning for, but if thin is the ultimate goal, you're going to be much better off with the X300, X200 or Envy 133 on the PC side.

Leaks, rumors and teasers have told us just about everything we'd ever need to know about Sony's new VAIO lineup before we ever laid eyes on it, but Sony has finally confirmed its new VAIO Z, FW, SR and BZ laptops. They share a common design language, Centrino 2 processors, configuration options and setup software to remove that icky trial ware, and a whole lot of Blu-ray between them. Of particular note is the VAIO Z, which packs a Blu-ray drive and HDMI into a 1-inch thick, 3.4 pound, 13.1-inch 16:9 form factor, and even discreet NVIDIA 9300M graphics and a full size hard drive bay, with an option for dual SSD in a RAID configuration (which is just rubbing it in, if you ask us). The Z, FW and SR keyboards are all of the isolated, raised key variety, which might remind people of the MacBook keyboard, but is actually a design Sony has been toying with for a while now. The 13.3-inch VAIO SR is Sony's bid at bringing its ultraportable line "mainstream" with supposedly aggressive price points, multiple color options, and a four pound form factor which leaves room for discreet graphics, but sadly no Blu-ray. The 16.4-inch VAIO FW, on the other hand, has room for it all, with a 16:9 aspect ratio screen well suited to playing back Blu-ray movies. Finally, the VAIO BZ skips over the home theater fanciness and shows a growing commitment from Sony in the business laptop space. There's a 15.4-inch screen, magnesium alloy case, spill-resistant keyboard, vPRO and all that other fancy security-related business stuff, though no HDMI or Blu-ray to speak of. The BZ and FW start at $1,000, the SR at $1,400, the FW premium at $1,750, and the Z will hit at $1,800, with an SSD option for $2,300. All should be available in the late July / August time frame.

Sony Style is running a rather large teaser on its main page, featuring a quite distinctive power button and the blurb "Performance / Style / Mobility. Redefined." Hrm. We wonder what it could be?

[Thanks, Mathias S.]