Sony launches VAIO Red PCs

Sony recently launched the bold red-colored PCs in limited quantity in an effort to raise the status of its VAIO Duo, Pro, and Fit laptops. The company is calling it “VAIO – Red Edition PCs”. The laptops in red went on sale earlier this year in Japan and Europe. Unlike other models, the red edition PCs combine "premium" design and engineering features, says the company. They come with Windows 8, Intel Core i7 fourth generation processors, and Sony display, camera, and audio technology. All models are touch-enabled.

More specifically, Sony says the VAIO Pro 13 is the first laptop to include a high speed PCIe SSD drive, which provides faster performance than traditional SSD drives. The VAIO Fit 15 offers a hybrid hard drive and optical drive that can read and write Blu-ray Disc media.

The VAIO Duo 13 model is available for $2,999.99. The VAIO Pro 13 model is available for $2,599.99. The VAIO Fit 15 model is available for $1,999.99. 

Sony unveils VAIO 3-D Laptop prototype

Get ready for a laptop computer with 3-D video and games. Sony, hoping that could be the Next Big Thing, has showed prototypes of an upcoming VAIO 3-D laptop at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, and announced plans to launch a 3-D TV channel.

According to Sony CEO Howard Stinger, the laptop, with a 3-D button and active-shutter glasses, will formally debut in the spring. The prototypes use a frame-sequential technology that alternates between left- and right-eye views, with blank screens between them to keep them separate enough for the mind to create good-quality three dimensions. The video is displayed at 240 frames per second to create 60 fps video.

Sony is moving forward quickly on 3-D across its product line, in addition to TVs. It also announced at IFA that existing Blu-ray HD DVD players and the PlayStation 3 game console will be updated with firmware so they can play 3-D. Stringer demonstrated a variety of 3-D titles, including Major League Baseball, Mortal Kombat, Virtual Tennis 4, Killzone 3, and others.

The company has also announced a 3-D video projector and said its 3-D TV channel will focus on natural history, children's programs, science and movies. New 3-D feature films in the works from Sony include The Green Hornet, Resident Evil Afterlife, and new sequels in the Spider-Man and Men in Black franchises.

The presence of 3-D display technology on a laptop raises the possibility of third-party development of 3-D applications. Shim noted that this "chicken and egg problem," where developers will be reluctant to develop for a nonexistent or small installed base, might be resolved by "seeding" 3-D-based software. Sony has begun to do this with games, and Shim suggested other companies that are similarly interested in advancing this platform might also begin such development.

Sony to enter Netbook PC market with new Vaio laptop

Sony Corp has plans to launch a new Vaio laptop that will sell for around 60,000 yen ($629) in Japan in August, making its entry into the fast-growing netbook market.

Netbook PCs are smaller and cheaper than traditional notebook computers and optimized for simpler computing tasks such as Web browsing and email.

Pioneered by Taiwan's Asustek in 2007, other global brands such as Acer Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc have pushed out their own lines since then.

The new Sony machine is equipped with Microsoft Corp's Windows XP operating system and Intel Corp's Atom processor.