SONY VAIO Laptops

VAIO, an acronymfor Video Audio Integrated Operation, is a sub-brand for many ofSONY's computer products. Although Sony made computers in the 1980s for the Japaneese market only, Sony withdrew from the computer business around the turn of the decade. Sony's re-entry to the computer market, this time globally, under the new VAIO brand, started in 1996 with the PCV series of desktops. The VAIO logo also represents the integration of analog and digital technology. The 'VA' represents an analog wave and the 'IO' represents digital binary wave.

Sony is expanding the use of the VAIO label. It can now be found on notebooks, subnotebooks, desktop, and a hard-disk-based audio player that comes in both 20GB and 40GB variations .Network media solutions by Sony will also carry the VAIO brand.

High-end VAIO notebooks are usually shipped with Microsoft Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Home Premium. , while low end laptops such as N series come with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic. The highest end of the AR series spec are the exception, coming with Windows Vista Ultimate. As of October 2005, VAIO notebooks and desktop are available upon request without pre-installed software at a slightly lower price[citation needed].

In mid-2005, all models stopped shipping with a Recovery CD, but an instead feature a hidden partition on the hard drive, accessible at boot via BIOS or also within Windows via a utility. The partition allows the user to either reimage his hard drive to factory state, or to create recovery media. VAIO users are prompted to create a set of recovery CDs or DVDs immediately after purchase, along with a prompt to register at My Club Vaio, a internet forum for VAIO users which also provides automatic driver updates and technical support via email, along with exclusive desktop wallpapers and promotional offers.

On recent models, you are also prompted to register your trial versions of Microsoft Office and Norton Anti-Virus upon initial boot. However, Norton is being replaced with McAfee Antivirus on the newest models.

VAIO computers come with components from companies such as Intel processors, Seagate Technology, Fujitsu or Toshiba hard drives, Infineon RAM, Atheros and Intel wireless chipsets, Sony (usually made by Hitachi) or Matsushita optical drives, Intel or NVIDIA graphics processors and Sony speakers

Some Sony VAIO models come with Sony's proprietary XBRITE (also named as ClearBright in Japan and Asia-Pacific region) displays. The first model that introduced this feature is the VAIO TR series. It is also the first consumer product to utilize such technology. It is a combination of smooth screen, anti-reflection (AR) coating and high-efficiency lens sheet. Sony claims that the smooth finish provides a more sharp screen display, the AR coating also prevents external light from scattering when it hits the screen, and the high-efficiency lens sheet provides 1.5 times more brightness improvement over traditional LCD(liquid crystal dysplay) designs, while also extending battery life due to less usage of the LCD backlight. The technology was pioneered by Sony engineer Masaaki Nakagawa, who is in charge of the VAIO TR development.

The SZ series features both an Intel GMA 950 graphics chip and an NVIDIA graphics chip. These laptops can cold-switch between the GMA 950, to preserve battery life, or the NVIDIA chip, to enhance graphics performance. These are so far the only notebooks on the market with this feature, as Sony has patented the technology.

The high-end AR Series VAIOs were the first to incorporate a Blu-ray Disc burner. These laptops were designed to be the epitome of high-definition products including a 1080p capable WUXGA (1920 × 1200 pixels) screen, HDMI output and the aforementioned Blu-ray burner. The AR series also include an illuminated logo below the screen. Blu-Ray/HDMI capable models have been the subject of intense promotion since mid-2007, selling with a variety of bundled Blu-Ray discs.

Another recent addition to the VAIO series is the TZ model. This new design features a 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD) for rapid boot-ups, quicker application launches and greater durability. If selected, a 250GB Hard Drive may also be included in place of the built-in CD/DVD drive to provide room for additional storage. For security this model includes biometric fingerprint sensor and a Trusted Platform Module. The TZ offers a Built-in highly miniaturized MOTION EYE camera built into the LCD panel for video conferencing. Additional features include the XBRITE LCD, integrated Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) technology and Bluetooth technology.