Sony has launched the new CW Series VAIO laptop with Windows 7 due on October 22nd, which is very similar to its existing CS series in terms of price and specifications. There are a few key differences though and I think that this offering will be a strong play for what is Sony’s largest PC lineup in years. The VAIO CW series boasts a lustrous, high-gloss exterior and opens up to a subtle gradient of matching color on the palm rests.
The pricing schemes vary on what model you are looking at, but for the USA here is the plan according to SonyStyle:
As you can see standard specifications start at an Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 (2.2GHz) on a Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset (there will be options for a 2.80GHz T9600), 4GB RAM (8GB maximum; PC3-8500), 320GB SATA HDD (500GB available, both at 5400rpm), and HDMI out (1920×1080). There’s also a built in Motion-eye camera and microphone. Pony up a little more and you can get a Blu-ray player/burner and more graphics power.
Three USB ports are included, along with a VGA output (2048×1536), and firewire. Estimated Battery Life with Standard Battery (included) – Productivity: Up to 4 hours, DVD Playback: Up to 2.5 hours. Estimated Battery Life with Extended Battery (sold separately) – Productivity: Up to 6 hours, Max. Brightness: Up to 12 hours.
The 14.1 inch display is a LED backlit LCD (16×9, 1366×768) powered by a NVIDIA GeForce GT230M GPU with 512MB VRAM or if you prefer to spend a little less a GT210M with 256MB VRAM. The GT230M is a pretty solid graphics card, with is a 40nm chip, DirectX 10.1 and has PhysX, CUDA support amongst other things.
Connectivity is a breeze with 802.11a/b/g/n Wifi, Bluetooth (2.1, stereo A2DP), up to Gigabit Ethernet, and a HDMI output. There’s also support for Memory Stick DUO, ExpressCard/34, and a SD memory card. Here are some specifications courtesy of SonyStyle:
Sony has also included one-touch access to the web without the need for the operating system to be on, a feature first found in the VAIO NW series. I’m glad to see Sony extending this feature to more of their laptops, and I think it will be a strong selling point for them. Touch another button and the LCD display is turned off, reducing power drain while you’re listening to music or watching movies on your connected HD TV.
A third button, the “VAIO” button, launches Media Gallery, letting you browse and enjoy your digital photos, videos and music tracks. Media Gallery effortless organizes your personal media collection by date or events, making it easy to track down that picture or clip from a wedding, party or special occasion. It even learns what you like, suggesting other files and links to related content on the web based on your browsing history and preferences.
