VAIO Archive

Remember the new Sony Vaio W that we spotted at the FCC site in late December? Well it’s finally up for pre-order on Amazon. It’s listed at $479 which seems a little high for a netbook, let’s take a look at the specs:

• Processor: Intel Atom N450 1.67GHz
• 10.1″ 1366 x 768 glossy display
• Intel GMA 3150 graphics
• 1GB RAM
• 250GB HD
• Windows 7 starter
• 8 hour battery

The Vaio W looks like your new standard Pine trail netbook, but the big deal with this one is that the case is made from 20% recycled cd’s. And the included netbook sleeve is made from recycled bottles. Besides being a little better for the environment and having an HD display, there’s really nothing to show for the extra $100 on the price tag.

If you’re in the market for a netbook with the same specs you can easily find one for under $400, but they won’t include a carrying sleeve so tack on an extra $20.

It’s available for pre-order now and should start shipping soon.

I’ve discovered something very interesting in my daily troll through the FCC website, it appears to be an unannounced new Sony Vaio netbook featuring a 10.1″ display and the new Intel Atom N450 processor. The model used is PCG-21313L which tells us that it is indeed a new Vaio, but all we have to go by is a label and schematic of the bottom:

The testing documents show us a little more info though:

As you can see this netbook will feature a 10.1″ display, have a webcam and 802.11 b/g/n wifi as well as bluetooth, and also the N450 processor.

It will also include options for either 250 or 320GB hard drives, run Windows 7, and include 1 or 2GB or RAM:

Looks like a pretty sweet new Vaio, but we’ll have to wait for an official announcement to be sure.

*update* Peter from netbooked has pointed out that this isn’t a Vaio, which has already been upgraded to the N450 with their Eco model. And the battery looks a little different as well, so this is in fact some type of new model.

via FCC

Well the people at Techon have been thinking the same thing we have, “why is the Sony VAIO so freaking expensive”. They set out to answer this question by tearing apart a VAIO X and finding out what makes it tick, and in case you hadn’t guessed, the VAIO X really is a masterpiece of manufacturing.

For instance, the display panel doesn’t route the antennas around the edge, as many bulkier notebooks do, but sandwiches LCD and antenna array together in two flat sheets.  Sony have seemingly reduced a standard 0.37mm thick glass plate down to sub-0.21mm thickness by grinding it.  Meanwhile all the mainboard components are mounted on one side, including some ports that appear to be hand-soldered into place; that’s meant that Sony needed to reduce the number of capacitors and other components in order to squeeze them in.

Of all the features of the VAIO X, I was most impressed by the fact all the components are mounted on one side.  It is necessary to reduce the number of components to realize such a design. Also, patterning is much easier when components are mounted on both sides” unnamed engineer, TechOn

The end result is a machine that the engineer reckons would have cost twice as much to manufacturer as a regular notebook, and demanded comprehensive cooperation between the designers, engineers and production plants from early on in the project.  The VAIO X may be hugely expensive and underpowered, but it’s certainly an engineering marvel.

via slashgear