When first announced back in September, the Sony VAIO LV-series was described as a High-Definition PC/TV. That blurring of distinctions between computer and entertainment gives a good idea of how the company envisages their all-in-one slotting into your lifestyle; a relatively rare HMDI input, allowing external sources to use the LV as a 1080p-capable display, helps single the system out even further. Are TV tuners, Blu-ray and Dolby Digital surround sound enough to let the VAIO LV replace your current HDTV?
The specs set the LV off to a good start, with up to a 3.16GHz Intel Core Duo E8500 processor, 4GB of RAM and 1TB of 7,200rpm SATA storage available. Graphics are courtesy of up to an NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS video card with 256MB of memory, and all but the base model has a Blu-ray drive, with the top-end LV supporting both Blu-ray playback and burning. Crowing glory, however, is the 24-inch widescreen XBRITE-HiColor display, running at 1920 x 1200 full 1080p High-Definition.
Connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth with A2DP, five USB 2.0 ports, S-Video, iLink Firewire, HMDI input, S/PDIF and headphone outputs, A/V and line/microphone
inputs. There are also dual NTSC/ATSC TV tuners, with two RF aerial inputs. Sony includes not only a low-profile wireless keyboard and mouse, but also a remote control. On the LV itself there are a small number of controls: separate PC and Display on/off buttons, HDMI source selection, volume, wireless on/off, keyboard/mouse connect and webcam angle adjust control. The webcam is mounted above the display and 1.3-megapixel resolution; it supports software face tracking and has an integrated microphone.
OS is one flavor or another of Windows Vista - Home Premium on the lower-end models, Ultimate on the higher-end - all with Media Center support. That means pausing and recording live TV, including over-the-air HD channels, and scheduled recordings, all through a lounge-friendly GUI that also gives access to music and online content. As well as that, Sony add their usual array of VAIO apps - here including the “Click to Disc Editor”, “Movie Story”, “MusicBox”, “Media plus streaming” and more - together with trials of Microsoft Office 2007 and OneCare. Happily the bloatware for which the company had become known for has been dramatically reduced.
While the LV would make a perfectly pleasing desktop PC - with 24-inches of high-resolution screen ample for just about any application you could think of - it’s true home is in front of your sofa. The integrated dual 5.5W stereo speakers do a passable job, but for best results we’d recommend hooking up a full surround system. Do that, and the LV comes into its own: the XBRITE display is a typical Sony triumph, with deep blacks, minimal motion smear and crisp, bright colors. Vista comes in for plenty of (often justified) criticism, but its Media Center functionality is straightforward and intuitive to use. The Sony remote manages to be both comprehensive but not overwhelming, and the keyboard (which feels a little plasticy) has an integrated trackpad for surfing the web from your lap.
Plug another video source, such as a PS3; into the LV’s HDMI input and instead of a Vista PC you’re now looking at a high-definition display. Copyright reasons mean Sony won’t allow you to use both the PC and the HDMI input at the same time, so you have to switch between them, but all the aspects that made the VAIO such a good PC monitor make it an equally good standalone screen. We can’t help but be disappointed by the inability to have, say, a PS3 window onscreen at the same time as a Word document, though.
Sony has obviously used some of their HDTV knowledge with the LV’s physical design. Unlike many all-in-one PCs, the power supply is integrated; go for wireless networking, stick with the integrated speakers and the cordless peripherals and you’ve got a one-cable system. A standard VESA mounting plate means suspending the LV on the wall or, even, on a poseable arm is straightforward, and with the slot-load optical drive hidden on the right-hand side you could easily mistake it for a standard TV. Overall, we’re fans both of the LV-series design and its construction: plastics and other materials used in the main unit are of high quality.
So could you - should you - replace your HDTV with the VAIO LV? A lot of it will come down to room size: 24-inches is big for a monitor, but small for an HDTV. The same display that looks impressive on your desk or, even better, mounted on the wall in your study, looks overwhelmed on a TV stand in all but the smallest of rooms. Yes, you can connect to a bigger screen, but that then leaves you with two high-definition options in close proximity, which seems a bit like overkill.
On the other hand, keeping the LV-series PC as a bedroom set - where the size might be more typical - is a tremendous waste of a very capable computer. No, the VAIO LV makes most sense in a den or games room, serving duty both as your everyday PC and, when the workday is done, the display for some impromptu gaming.
As for the price, there’s another argument. While the range starts at $1,699.99, that gets you a mere 320GB of storage and a DVD burner; the former will quickly fill if you use the Media Center functionality, while the latter doesn’t do justice to the LV’s screen. Instead, you’re looking at $1,899.99 for the 500GB model with Blu-ray player or, if you’re serious about high-def media editing, $2,799.99 for the 1TB version with Blu-ray burner. That’s a whole lot of money, and it would buy you a decent standalone PC and an HDTV certainly larger than 24-inches.
That said, we’ve still a soft spot for the Sony VAIO LV-series. It’s undoubtedly well designed, well constructed and well specified, and if space is an issue but 1080p a must then it’s well worth considering. Mainstream users will likely find they get more for their money - including more interconnecting cables - if they spread it out to separate components, but those who pick the LV are unlikely to be disappointed.
Related: Sony Vaio RT Review - Top Tier All-in-One Multimedia PC
Unboxing Sony VAIO LV
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Written by Vincent Nguyen on November 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Sony is offering this James Bond 007 Sony Vaio TT Series Notebook with carbon fiber black casing that also sports a 007 engraved logo and a leather case. The TT series features an 11.1″ widescreen LCD display, 2GB RAM, a 64GB Solid State Drive, HDMI out, and comes with a pair of noise canceling headphones. If you don’t want to dish out the $2,399 you can always get the Limited Edition 007 8GB Micro Vault Click USB Flash Drive for $29,99.
It allows you to “Gather intelligence for your next mission with the limited edition 007 Quantum of Solace 8GB Micro Vault Click USB flash drive. Featuring a hidden USB connector, it’s easy to transfer and exchange data with colleagues and correspondents. The USM8GL/B also includes Virtual Expander to virtually store three times the information. In addition to the 007 Gun Logo on the side, this flash drive comes preloaded with a Quantum of Solace movie trailer, stills and behind-the-scenes footage.” OMG. This is exactly what you need to become the next James Bond.
[Chip Chick]
Written by Conner Flynn on November 3rd, 2008 with no comments.
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James Bond is certainly know for having interesting gadgets. From the sleek and stylish cars to fancy phones, Bond is always on the cutting edge. And companies, loving a good gimmick, then offer up Bond branded merchandise so you too, can be like Bond.
That’s sort of the case with the Sony VAIO TT Notebook special edition. It is a great laptop on it’s own, but throw on the fact that it’s a special edition laptop meant for the true James Bond fans and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Special features include the “007″ insignia on the left hand corner, a leather sleeve and noise-canceling headphones. Production will also be limited to just 100 units so be sure to act quickly. Though it’ll cost you $2,399. Besides these aspects, this special 007 model is just like the regular Sony VAIO TT and has a 1.2GHz processor, 2GB RAM, HDMI out and a carbon-fiber casing.
[via Gadget Review]
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Written by Brenda Stokes on October 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
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If you’re in the market for a new desktop PC, this latest offering from Sony VAIO might be right up your alley. In fact, the all-in-one computer packs in the features for a pretty reasonable price tag.
To be official, the Sony VAIO VGC-JS110J/S 20.1-inch all-in-one desktop PC (whew!), as it’s called, is currently just available in the base model. This base model includes a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo procesor, 320GB hard drive, 4GB RAM and Microsoft Vista Home Premium included.
You can order the VAIO now for $1000. However, there are higher-end models available for pre-order at the moment, so if you’re willing to spend a little more to get a little more and are willing to wait a bit, you might want to sit this one out.
[via ComputerMonger]
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Written by Brenda Stokes on October 15th, 2008 with no comments.
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The market for a $4,449.99 ultraportable can’t be too large, but that didn’t stop Sony from giving in to their darkest miniaturization impulses with the VAIO TT. Billed as the world’s lightest Blu-ray laptop and set for release on October 15th, Engadget received an early delivery of the top-spec VGN-TT198U just begging for an unboxing.
The VGN-TT198U has dual 128GB SSDs, a Blu-ray burner, 11.1-inch LED-backlit display and runs a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 CPU with 4GB of DDR3 RAM. Connectivity includes 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth and HDMI output; you can also specify WWAN courtesy of either integrated EV-DO or HSPA.
Engadget love the display, the build, the keyboard, the performance, the size and the super-light carbon-fiber chassis, but at the end of the day they can’t justify the price. Of course, there are far cheaper versions of the TT - opt out of Blu-ray and the SSD RAID array, for instance - so you pay your money and you make your choice. I’ve been really very good this year, so I’m hoping Santa doesn’t think it too presumptuous for me to put the TT on my Christmas list.
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Written by Chris Davies on October 9th, 2008 with no comments.
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With SlashGear refusing to fly me on an impromptu holiday to Japan for the CEATEC 2008 expo, I’m having to admire things like this dissected Sony VAIO TT from a distance. On display at Sony’s stand, the flagship ultraportable is a masterpiece of shrunken components.
Considering the TT is based around an 11.1-inch display, it’s surprising that they still manage to fit a Blu-ray drive along with a twin SSD RAID array. The optical drive takes up almost half the width, in fact, with the battery taking a fair bite out of the back.
Sony are claiming that the TT is the world’s lightest Blu-ray notebook; it’s 2.87 pounds and less than an inch thick, with a chassis made from lightweight carbon-fiber. Pricing begins at around $2,100, rising to $2,700 for a Blu-ray equipped model, and topping out at $4,344.99 for the VGN-TT190UBX with Blu-ray and the SSD drives.
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Written by Chris Davies on October 3rd, 2008 with no comments.
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Sony announced the VAIO TT series notebook touting as the lightest Blu-Ray notebook (2.87 pounds) available in the market. The claim is true but only if you can afford the ask price which stands at $4345. In all, there are five different models to choose from - VGN-TT190EIN, VGN-TT190EIR, VGN-TT190EJX, VGN-TT190NIB and VGN-TT190UBX with the last one being Blu-Ray enabled. The common specifications of the first four models are an 11.1-inch LED backlit screen, 1.20GHz Core 2 Duo SU9300 processor, Intel GS45 chipset, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD (64GB SSD only in VGN-TT190EJX), webcam, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, card reader, HDMI-out, DVD burner and choice of Windows Vista Home, Business or downgrade to XP.
On the other hand, VGN-TT190UBX is equipped with a 1.40GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD and Blu-Ray burner. Rest of the specifications is same as its siblings. Non Blu-ray notebooks price hovers in the range from $2095 to $2145.
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Written by Kunal Gangar on September 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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Sony are preparing to drop a new VAIO ultraportable, the TT-series, which will replace the VAIO TZ. Make no mistake, this is no netbook; according to SonyStyle’s VAIO advisor, the four model TT-range will top out with a 1.4GHz Intel SU9400 Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM and dual 128GB SSDs in RAID setup. The top-spec VGN-TT190UBX also has a Blu-ray burner and HDMI output, and weighs just 2.87-pounds; every model has an 11.1 inch LED screen with XBRITE-DuraView running at 1366 × 768.
The other three configurations - the VGN-TT190EIN (in gold), VGN-TT190EIR (in red) and VGN-TT190NIB (in black) - have 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo SU9300 processors, up to 4GB of RAM and up to 160GB of non-SSD 5,400rpm storage. They also use DVD writers, rather than Blu-ray. Wireless connectivity is WiFi a/g/n, Bluetooth and ethernet across the board, with an EVDO model (or option) coming at some point. Like the TZ there are two USB ports, VGA out, a built-in webcam, Memory Stick and SD slots.
The VAIO TT looks to be a real stormer of an ultraportable, by specs at least, and it’ll be interesting to see what Sony have done in terms of style. Since the TZ was released, Apple have brought out their MacBook Air, Lenovo their ThinkPad X300 and a variety of other manufacturers have introduced slick ultraportables. However if there’s one thing Sony generally has a knack for, it’s making polished, expensive laptops.
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Written by Chris Davies on September 22nd, 2008 with no comments.
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