Sony has finally unveiled the Vaio P-series , but whatever you do though, don't call it a netbook, as Sony says it's not a netbook. We're not quite sure what the difference is, but we guess it has something to do with the US$899.99 starting price.
When you consider that you get a 1.33GHz Atom 520 processor and 2GB of non upgradeable DDR2 memory for this price, then we wouldn't want to call it a netbook either, as it would make us look stupid.
However, Sony of course gone a crazy 1600x768 resolution 8in display (that's a 2.08:1 aspect ratio), although from early reports, it's not half as bad as it sounds. Other features include built in 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, a built in HSPDA modem, a GPS receiver, a webcam and separate memory card readers for SD and Memory Stick Duo cards.
The default storage device is a 60GB 1.8in hard drive, although 64 and 128GB SSD drives are available as a cost option. The Vaio P only has two USB 2.0 ports, one on each side. The only other two physical ports consists of a headphone jack and a combined display/network port to which a supplied dongle has to be attached. Although you only get a D-sub connector, Sony has at least added Gigabit Ethernet to the P-series.
Add to this the fact that the Vaio P weighs in at a ridiculously light 635g and you've got a fairly impressive netbook, sorry notebook.
More impressively, Sony claims four hours battery life out of the standard batter, with an optional battery available which is said to double this for an extra US$129.99. Sony has also incorporated its Xbar UI in an instant on OS for the P-series. All models ship with Windows Vista Home.
The base model at US$899.99 comes with the 60GB hard drive, Vista Home Basic and an option of four colours which consists of white, black, red and green. The next model up will set you back US$1,1199.99 and that extra money only buys you a 64GB SSD drive and a lesser choice of colours as this model only comes in black or red, at least at the moment. The top of the range model comes in at a whopping $1,499.99, but at least you get Vista Home Premium on top of the 128GB SSD drive upgrade. This model is only available in black.
