Sony has yet to hit the market with a VAIO mini-laptop; in fact, Sony has been openly reluctant to produce and sell a netbook. Sony executives have said that the concept of a cheap laptop does not align with Sony’s “premium” corporate image. That said, I’ve seen Sony make some pretty crap electrical gadgets before, my TV for example, so this could be taken one of two ways: snobbery or a joke.
But in recent years, Sony has come out with some very genuine, high-end products that back up this claim. Sony’s market-leading range of Bravia TVs have carried on the ‘Walkman’ legacy against the power of Apple’s iPod and iTunes and in gaming, it has expanded its PlayStation brand, replacing the best-selling PS2 with the PS3 with a staggering £425 RRP against Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. Their line of VAIO laptops is also very good.
But have they abandoned the netbook market entirely? Technically yes. I tried searching for “netbook” on Sony’s VAIO minisite, with no results. Sony is not and will not be associated with the cheap and cheerful image presented by Asus when it introduced the Eee PC. But they have a VAIO laptop that’s small, light and portable: the VAIO TT.
The TT is an impressive product, offering an 11.1-inch screen, up to 9 hours of battery life, and weighing 1.3kg, putting it on a par with the HP 2133 8-inch mini-note. .9 inches and the lighter versions of the Asus Eee PC 1000. All TT models feature a strong carbon fiber chassis in a choice of two colours, ‘Deep Black’ and ‘Gold Rush’. Sony claims that carbon fiber is “used in the manufacture of race cars or aircraft and is 200% stronger and 30% lighter than conventional materials used in computer chassis design.”
A byproduct of the bigger screen is a bigger keyboard that’s almost (but not quite) comparable to that of a full-size laptop. The keys are large and slightly spaced, with the center of each key indented marginally for better precision.
Against the background of Sony TV, the 11.1 screen comes with a lot of experience. Viewing in its widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and 1366×768 resolution is a delight. Plus, the ability to read blu-ray discs (or any disc) gives you much more flexibility. You don’t have to waste time burning DVDs or downloading movies online, and the quality is such that viewing quality is not compromised either.
The massive battery life of up to 9 hours lends itself to use on a business trip, more than enough for a full day’s work. Sony has incorporated a variety of energy-saving and efficiency features, such as a battery care function that prevents draining the batteries, automatically adjusting the brightness of the LCD screen according to the environment in which you are working and usage. ultra-efficient from Intel Centrino. 2 technologies.
Connectivity is certainly at the heart of the TT, with 3G ‘Everyway’ built into various models with speeds of up to 7.2mbps. A T-Mobile SIM card is included in a free trial. Fortunately, you can remove it and use your own SIM card so you’re not stuck with a new contract.
Perhaps then, Sony has definitely entered the mini-laptop market, but specifically by marketing it like they haven’t. Oh yes, the website highlights the “slim, sophisticated design” and how portable it is, but Sony is very reluctant to use the ‘n’ word. Maybe it needs to be said for them, maybe not.
The difference between the VAIO TT and a typical netbook like the Asus Eee PC or Acer Aspire One is profound. Are they in the same league? As for the price, certainly not; The VAIO TT is expected to retail at around £1,200 for entry-level models, compared to a more modest £200-300 for your everyday mini laptop. It’s certainly just as portable and usable; however, it’s clear that Sony has taken a different approach to porting.
Asus pioneered the netbook by starting over, building a small computer that could handle simple processing tasks, fast internet, and make it affordable. Sony’s response was to reduce the size and weight to make it ultra-portable while maintaining excellent performance. The result is a very high-performance laptop, which has the size and weight properties of a netbook; it is, if you prefer, the fancy mini laptop.