Sony Announces VAIO CW Notebook

Sony Announces VAIO CW Notebook

Sony has introduced their latest notebook, the 14-inch VAIO CW. Starting at $799 and available with Windows 7, it has the following specifications:

• 14-inch screen (16:9, 1366x768)
• Windows 7 64-bit
• Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 2.80GHz (T9600)
• Nvidia GeForce GT 210M 256MB or GT 230M 512MB
• Up to 8GB RAM
• Up to 500GB hard drive space
• Available Blu-ray disc drive
• One-year limited warranty
• Battery life: 4 hours with standard battery, 6 hours with extended
• Dimensions: 13.44" (W) x 1.09-1.52" (H) x 9.18" (D)
• Weight: 5.3 lbs w/ standard battery

The VAIO CW is available in five colors, including red, pink, white, black, and indigo. It should be available around Windows 7's launch date.

VAIO CW Product Page

 

I kind of want to get this as a desktop replacement because the specs are good, and the price is fair(specially for a Sony).

I think Sony need to bring out a premium version of the CW, with some carbon fiber bits(to lower the weight), make it a bit thinner by .22in, and give it a screen like the Z or TT has if it already doesn't. And make it start at $950 and I maybe sold.

 

Nice that is has a readable blu-ray drive though. Those things are expensive upgrades on other notebooks.

 

The Blu Ray drive is AVAILABLE, not equipped. It will cost extra to upgrade of course.

Why would you want a 14 incher as a desktop replacement? Do you use external monitor? It seems like you want a better screen, so I don't know why you would look for it on a smaller notebook when they are easily found on larger ones.

 

Don't get me wrong I would never give up my TT, but this just seems like the perfect companion to it(Yes I do have a tv and wireless mouse and keyboard set). If the screen on this is glossy, I can easily tell you inho the TT will have a better screen, as I am not that big of a fan glossy, after using it on my MBP, and the HP Mini 1000.

I think I saw on the Sony site you can even get this with a blu-ray burner. The price for the better ati card, and blu-ray is a fair starting price of $900.

 

I use my 14 inch as my primary and only computer and I wish I had an external monitor but it is not a requirement.

I still like the idea of a desktop and a 13.3 inch CULV laptop

 

Well... its not bad budget performance in the 14 inch category, but the graphics option won't be so competitve I don't think. Asus has already been sticking ATI 4650's in their 14 inchers, and at the 15 inch category the 4650 is easy to get. So, this GT 230m will be more of consolation for the casual gamer who needs some portability I guess...

 

Going by this chart the 230m is really close in performance to the Ati 4650.

Or are they wrong?

 

I really like the looks of the new CW - but I returned my one and only Sony (FW-465) because of the awful battery drain problem. I hope they have fixed the battery problem - I need a nice 14-incher with decent graphics ...

 

"Available Blu-ray disc drive" means you can pay extra to have it come with it. Always double-read things carefully, I've made the same mistake before.

 

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I'd take it, but 16:9 at only 1366x768 makes me feel like I'm selling my soul.

 

Yeah it is really close, but I'm banking my assumption on the expectation that Asus will have something better in their new models soon (other manufacturers too). Basically this just didn't seem to make any major improvements. But, its a pretty cheap Sony so I guess thats something we can start to call a trend...

But the 14 inch category is kind of all over the place, very hard to predict. You could get ION one day, an ATI 5xxxx series the next.

 

maybe this might be my new laptop...

 

i had my eyes set on the asus ul80vt but this is laptop also seems to meet my needs and budget. how do u guys think the two will compare in the light-mid gaming category? there's no doubt in my mind that the ul80vt is definitely more portable and supposedly has a longer battery life.

 

So...does this model actually support virtualization? You know, for Windows XP Mode? Because Sony was very dishonest in not owning up to lack of VT support on their current lineup and I see nothing in the official specifications to indicate they are changing their ways.

 

1.52 inches thick BTW.
I noticed this news a LOONG time ago, but it was nowhere near impressive...

 

Also, I don't like seeing a 5.3 lb 14 incher. When the best Sager 15 inch model is approaching 7 pounds, I am not convinced that Sony has a very competitive product in terms of mobility.

 

This is aimed more to a small desktop replacement, it is thick, heavy and has a GT230M inside...gaming in a small package? Multimedia?
No idea, but thin and light, no.

 

I would like to think so as a recent bios update on some of the Vaio Z models FINALLY ENABLES VT.

I think if Sony went with carbon fiber on the area around the keyboard and increased the price by $35, we would have seen a device that weights a tad under 5lbs.

 

I just always thought of desktop replacements as larger 16-17 inch machines. I mean, if you're going to leave it on your desk, might as well make it compare to a desktop in performance, right?

 

Well, performance wise, with the GT230M inside, is not bad, but for a supposedly portable machine, this is huge!

 

It will be interesting to see if Asus will continue with this line, a 14.1 semi gaming laptop.

I think that the CW appears to be a great model. It is a little thick but the laptop still looks decent and for the price it is good value. If this means that cooling is effective then i think that is probably more important. It is tapered as well going from 1" inch at its thinnest point to 1.5" at its thickest. This is 5.29lbs so it still does have some degree of portability. It is lighter than the Asus N81 that weighs 5.5lbs.

Also, the Asus N81V is 1.4 inches thick so it barely any thinner than the Sony CW. The Asus also appears to be that thick throughout.

 

But Asus will probably have a new 14 inch out before long to replace the N81. I would expect it to get lighter and maybe even more powerful.

 

I'm on the look out for a new laptop and had my eyes on bigger screen - 15 inch such as a Dell Studio or 16 inch such as a HP HDX16. However, when I looked in store I was unimpressed with the Studio and the HP gloss factor put me off (more flashy gloss than substance, and the "touch" media controls just didn't work).

The Vaio's on the other hand had pretty good ergonomics I thought. 14 inch would be big enough and the Vaio CW specification looks reasonably good to me. I need a laptop that will be mainly used at home for web browsing, handling digital photos and video, typical MS Office type applications and DVD watching, little or no gaming, so it looks about right. I only need reasonable portability rather than ultra-thin, so the size is fine too. To my (admittedly fairly naive) eyes the Vaio CW looks to have a decent balance of performance, price and looks (Mrs interbear may actually even like it!).

Right in the mid-market for laptops which is pretty much all I need.

Although I do wonder about sound quality from the on-board speakers.

 

.......................Its a 14" notebook, what kind of res would you want?

 

Good point - I personally don't understand the clamour for "full HD" on a screen this size. In fact I recall when buying a plasma TV recently that most advice I got suggested that full 1080p HD on anything less than 40 inches was pretty worthless

The CW screen at 1366 x 768 should be just fine for a 14 inch laptop in my view.

 

In the 4:3 days we had 1400x1050 available on a 14"; that kind of vertical space is extremely useful and sorely missed in this day and age.

It is difficult to multitask and tons of scrolling are involved with 1366x768 . . . it is a terribly low resolution. It's difficult to complain about it on a 14" though since it is basically the only resolution offered in that size anymore, save for a couple of odd notebooks.

 

1280x800 or 1440x900

My point was not about the resolution but the ratio. Programming needs those precious vertical pixels noooooooooooo.

 

I don't mind the scrolling when I have a laptop that does the circular scrolling gesture . Latitude E notebooks anyone? Don't forget that I'm an ultraportable fan though.

 

I dont really like my current notebook because the res is so low, I like side by side windows and at least that was possible on a 1440x900 that I had on a Dell 1420.

 

The 14z broke ground with the 1600x900 screens this year, and I was hoping for that to really set a trend. Instead I see nothing but 720p models everywhere.

 

I guess as most models from Sony when 1st release come with basic specs but after a refresh or two they bump the specs a bit, maybe in the near future we would be seeing a 1600x900 screen. 1280x800 and 1440x900 is a 16:10 ratio and the CW has a 16:9 ratio so the 1366x768 is the 16:9 version of the 1280x800. But i know for sure, that after a refresh or two there are better things headed towards the CW, like fingerprint reader and better screen and maybe more. and as far as the VT goes, its written inthe user manuals on how to enable VT on CW but that applies to Win7 Pro version im assuming.

 

1400 x 1050 was a very rare scenario though.

I only remember the Lenovo i believe have a res like that for a 14".

Gaming on a 14" sounds fun though(If the 230 performs to expectations.)

 

I saw/played already with this laptop.
I can say it is BIG. I mean it is bigger than normal....although it is meant to be a DTR, I found it even thicker than my current one, which is a brick.
It was quite silent, and rather cool to my (subjective opinion) touch.

 

Same here, it is indeed large compared to laptops of its class having looked at it in the local shop. It came of a surprise to me that there is a model of the CW with integrated graphics, at least in my country.

 

768 lines on a 14" unit is useless. I also had 1400 x 1050 on my old Panasonic Y5, which was very good. Current trends seems to be to cheat buyers on the resolution and save cost that way. Acer even has 15" laptops that are offered ONLY in 1366 x 768, which is also pointless.

 

This is a nice machine. Another drawback, though, is that it doesn't have an LED backlit screen, which is kind of a letdown.

 

It is LED-backlit. Just check out the Sony page for the CW.

 

You're right based on the US site. However at sonystyle.ca it says it's an XBRITE-ECO display, with no mention of backlight type.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...mId=8198552921666005150&IRTrack=HomepageSpot1

I wonder if the Canadian version is different in this respect?

 

Yeah, maybe it would have those region-exclusive type of things. The CW's in Europe have a glossy screen from what I've heard, as opposed to the US specs that it has anti-glare coating in the screen.