Zed's not dead
Sony is refusing to get drawn into the low-priced netbook sector and is resolutely persisting with top-end launches. The new VAIO Z series is no exception, managing to cram a pretty impressive spec into a small space.
First shown a couple of weeks ago at CES, there are two SKUs coming out: the VPCZ11Z9E and lower specced VPCZ11X9E. You can see a full list of their respective specs on the next page, but among the highlights are: up to four 64GB SSDs in RAID 0, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics and an aluminium/carbon fibre chassis.
The Z series is positioned squarely at the executive market, so it will be taking on the lies of Lenovo there. It weighs under 1.5 kilos, which isn't bad for a 13.1 inch notebook. The more expensive model offers full HD (1920x1080) resolution and they both have integrated 3G.
On the negative side, while they do have good, current generation Intel mobile processors, the 620M is the bottom-end of the Core i7 mobile range and the 520M is actually the cheaper of the two Core i5 mobile CPUs.
The Sony VAIO Z series will be available to buy in the UK from the end of March and we expect to see Sony launching a few more notebooks in the coming weeks. We're awaiting confirmation of the UK prices, but Sony gave us a figure of $1,899 at CES.
UPDATE - 13:00, 19 January 2010: We've just received approximate, inc VAT pricing from Sony.
Z11X9E: £1,799
Z11Z9E/B: £2,399
