Does anyone remember Sony’s revolutionary Vaio P series? It seems to be a forgotten word until lately for some reason. Only now, it finally gets the update it needed but it doesn’t hold a candle to the tablet’s eclectic experience, does it? Thankfully, the 8-inch netbook (or mini laptop for that matter) we’ve come to know and love, is back with an optical touchpad built to both sides of the screen bezel – pad to the right and mouse buttons to the left – and an integrated accelerometer, to ease your internet surfing mission, as tilt means back and forward in pages while vertical mode makes it a lot more convenient to read your docs. Besides that it’s also expected to include a faster Intel Atom Z560 processor to boost things up, and make it out sometime this June with five new colorful flavors. Prices, regretfully, are yet to be determined while specs and Full PR announcement are just after the break. Stay tuned.
Update1: Turns out that VAIO P entry-level units will run for $799 in the US with Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor inside. Still no clue about other optional packages, but the price is definitely more attractive than expected.
Update2: The guys at ITMedia have already managed to take Sony’s Vaio P next-gen laptops to a comprehensive teardown session that unveiled the existence of Intel’s Silverthorne CPU inside, offered either in Z530 (1.6 GHz), Z550 (2Ghz) or Z560 (2.133 GHz) version, paired with one of three optional SSD capacities (64, 128 and 256GB), and most common connectivity modules, including Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G WWAN and even Wimax. Netbook news has published a lot of inside images, taken from close range, so click through and take a look.
Update3: Engadget’s Joanna Stern has tackled with Sony’s Vaio P second-gen laptop as well and you can watch her quick walkthrough video after the break.
Update4: According to Sony Japan Sony’s Vaio P second-gen can also be used as a wireless “Remote Keyboard” to your PS3 gaming console – neat, isn’t it? Of course it would drain your battery life quickly, but that’s one compromise against so many benefits.
Update5: And looks like Sony’s second-gen VAIO P is finally available for pre-order on the SonyStyle website, starting at $899.99 for the Atom Z530 processor, paired with 2GB of RAM, and a larger 128GB SSD. Shipping is slated to June 25th.
Continue reading Sony Vaio P Lineup Resurfaces With an Optical Touchpad and Accelerometer