VGN-TT190UBX:
• 11.1 inch LED screen with XBRITE-DuraView™ (1366×768)
• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor SU9400 at 1.4ghz
• 4GB of DDR3 RAM
• 2.87 pounds
• (2x) Blu-Ray writer, reader / DVD writer, reader / CD writer, reader
• 250gb (128GBx2 RAID) solid state hard drive
• HDMI output, 2 USB ports
• Built-in camera
• Memory stick Pro, SD slot
• Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n, ethernet
• Windows Vista Ultimate

Common features of the VGN-TT190EIN, VGN-TT190EIR, VGN-TT190NIB:
• 11.1 inch LED screen with XBRITE-DuraView™ (1366×768)
• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor SU9300 at 1.2ghz
• Up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM
• 2.87 pounds
• Hard drive options max out at 160GB (non SSD, SATA 5400rpm)
• DVD writer, reader / CD writer, reader
• HDMI output, 2 USB ports, VGA output
• Built-in camera
• Memory stick Pro, SD slot
• Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g/n, ethernet; we are unsure which model will have the EVDO that was cleared by FCC
• Windows Vista® Home Premium (VGN-TT190EIN/VGN-TT190EIR), or Windows Vista® Business (VGN-TT190NIB can also get XP Pro)

[Sony Insider]

If the relative scale between the laptops still has you baffled to how small everything is, check the Coke can on the far right. Not only does it look like the Dell is a hard-ass, as it appears to have brought a Cola with it during its incarceration period, it also gives you more of an idea of how small these devices really are. The Macbook Air is unquestionably the thinnest, but the sexiest in picture? That's your call. Personally, I like my gadgets to match, and the last time there was black keys on a white Macbook, I almost threw-up, but hey, never say never, right?

Looks aside, we're wondering; is the Macbook Air the Kyser Soze of the bunch? After all, the biggest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he never existed, and he didn't succeed in his inconspicuous ways by being an obese portable computer. [Gizmodo's Macbook Air Coverage]

Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing, thought the engineering to get a laptop that thin was extremely impressive. But Sony had a similiar vision for an ultraportable once, a carbon fiber notebook in 2004 called the X505 (above) that eschewed the optical and was 0.3 inches thick (compared to 0.16 of the Air) at its thinnest segment. It wasn't that well received, and research later pointed out that "Thinness is not the holy grail". Making something that thin and sexy cost it too much usability. (Many of you agree in the comments on Giz.)

To be fair, dropping an optical in 2004 made no sense, but it makes more sense in 2008, especially with broader internet connections, bittorrent, greater storage capacity, thumbdrives, and Apple's Remote optical drive tech which works over wireless N. But since the X505, ultra portables from Sony have evolved into the TZ, complete with LED backlight, a small but usable keyboard, plenty of ports and built in 3G data. So it is possible that Sony believes they are in many ways 4 years ahead of Apple in their understanding of what consumers want.

When the NYTimes pushed Jobs on the issues of limited storage, he responded, "Maybe this isn't the computer for you." I asked Mike who they thought the computer was for. "Beats me" was the initial reply, but came up with an answer: The extremely design conscious. I asked what feature he'd bring back to the Air, and without hesitating, he thought it should have for 3G.

I wish I could dismiss all of this as competitive trash talk, but too many of you feel the same conflicting feelings about where the Air fits into your collection of machines. At Giz, we're only tormented inside because we still want to buy it, despite it being not all that practical.

It turns out that, surprise surprise, you pay a premium for a tiny form factor. The MacBook Air is seriously expensive for the guts you get inside, but Apple isn't the only company guilty of charging insane amounts for smaller computers. Just look at the Sony Vaio TZ150N, for example. $2,100 for a 1.06 GHz processor? Are you kidding me? I don't care how small, it's still a rip-off.

The best deal—if you don't mind an extra pound of weight and half-inch of thickness—is the Dell XPS M1330. It bests the MacBook Air in nearly every single category, delivering about 30% more processing power, 50% more memory, over 300% more hard drive space, plus a dedicated graphics card. All of this, for $300 less. But also, two hours less of battery life, thanks to the new smaller and more efficient Core 2 Duo processor in the MacBook Air.

But it's really no surprise that a form factor as striking as the MacBook Air's warrants a premium price. Super-slim and light laptops as a category have yet to come down from the stratosphere, dollar-wise. It's a form factor that SSD just makes loads of sense for, lightening them up and cutting down on battery life, but that drives the price up even further for the time being. Chips are still getting smaller and screen technology keeps improving. In a couple of years, these form factors will be reasonably priced with great specs, but until then, prepare to pay a huge chunk more for a bit less power, just so you can brag about having the thinnest computer on the block.

[Gizmodo's Macworld 2008 Full Coverage]

Media Alert: Sony Transforms PCs into Ultimate Dream Machines

Subject: New VAIO PCs Feature Supercharged Models

Body: Sony today announced it would be shipping super-charged versions of its VAIO® PCs. Dubbed VAIO Premium, these units will empower users with lighting-fast processing speeds, massive amounts of storage, and innovative technologies to improve performance.

Fueling these dream machines will be the new Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors— T9000 and T8000 series. Among the very first to ship with these chipsets, these PCs will provide business travelers and multimedia enthusiasts alike with unparalleled power and multi-tasking capabilities. The result: high-definition content management, fast-paced gaming and performance like never before.

Mass Storage Meets Ultra-portability

VAIO TZ298N/X Premium Notebook: Outfitted with a carbon fiber chassis, this notebook combines 64 gigabytes of SSD memory with 250 gigabytes of HDD space creating a roomy 314 gigabytes storage configuration. Powered with an Intel Core2 Duo processor U7700, designed for performance and low power consumption, it features an 11.1-inch widescreen display and weighs just 2.7 pounds— making it ideal for travel. The notebook is priced at about $3,600.

•It becomes a hair thinner, but reaches deeper than the TX. For practical purposes it is the same size. It's 2.7 pounds, compared to 2.8 from before. I wonder if that comes at the expense of battery life (more later.)
•It gains a gappy, Macbook-styled keyboard, which is reinforced for when you're pounding on the keys.
•The screen is still LED-backlit, 11-inch 1366 x 768. But the carbon fiber lid is also reinforced to protect the LCD, and it has a user-facing webcam running at 0.3MP.
•LCD catch 22: It's so sharp, you want to get closer to read text. When you get too close, your viewing angle naturally increases, so the edges of the screen start to color differently than the center.
•It still has EVDO revision A by Sprint, but loses the external antenna which often broke anyway, and gains N on top of WiFi A/B/G.
•The TX's Core Solo U1500 processor gets upgraded to a Core 2 Duo U7500. Or in the jet black Limited Edition TZ, a U7600 at 1.2GHz. (On top of 32GB of SSD instead of a HDD, for $3000.)
•The limited edition also has a clear gel coat of paint, which shows off the carbon fiber beneath the surface. Very cool.
•Unfortunately, battery life is rated at 7.5 hours vs the 10 hours in the TX. (Contradicting that stat, later the press materials say 11.5). I'd like to know the truth—my favorite memories of the TX involve almost 8 hours of straight EV-DO trapped on Route 80 during a Tahoe snowstorm.
•Good lord. It comes preloaded with tons of craplets. One piece of ware is a locationfree TV client, to coincide with a VAIO-branded, component input base station I will tell you about in a later post. As far as craplets go, this is a screenshot of first boot. I kid you not.
•Video is handled by the same Intel 945GMS integrated chipset, with a VGA out for a secondary monitor.
•The media controller, which could play back DVDs/CDs/photos without Windows is now able to run MP3s from the drive, and presumably memory stick. The media keys are on the front face of the device, and the fingerprint reader is in between the mouse buttons. These last two changes are bad.
•There is an ExpressCard/34 slot now. But there are SD and memory card readers, 2 USB ports, Ethernet (now Gigabit), modem, and a 4-pin FireWire port, like before. I would beg for an HDMI port.
•The touchpad has a textured, rubbery feel that gives good tactile feedback without catching your finger. I love it.
•The power button is, unwisely, on the side of the hinge, putting it in a prime spot for accidental clicks as you move things around the desk or grip the laptop for movement.
•The hard drive, as before, has head drive parking when it detects an impending shock.
•The "DVD±R Double Layer/DVD±RW" drive is tray loading, like before. The non-Special Edition models come with 100GB 4200RPM HDDs.
•There are 3 models. The VGN-TZ150N/B and VGN-TZ170N/B are identical, except the 150 comes with 1GB of RAM versus the 170's 2GB of RAM. Both come in silver, black, and purplish-red. The VGN-TZ191N/X comes in that clear gel coating that shows off the carbon fiber underneath, and again, has 32GB of SSD, and a faster U7600 Core 2 Duo chip running at 1.2GHz. Death to Sony's naming schemes!

SONY'S LATEST ULTRA-PORTABLE VAIO NOTEBOOK TURNS HEADS WHILE TURNING UP PRODUCTIVITY

SAN DIEGO, July 18, 2007 ⎯ Sony today took the wraps off a new line of richly-designed, high-performance ultra-portable notebooks.
The VAIO® TZ model incorporates the power of a larger PC into a small, portable form factor. Luxuriously sleek, it weighs just 2.65 pounds and measures less than 1-inch thin.
The notebook is available in a classic black, premium carbon, champagne gold, and hand-painted Bordeaux. The unit has a carbon-fiber casing that contributes to its light weight, extra-slim figure and durability.
The model incorporates an energy-efficient 11.1-inch widescreen display (diagonal) with Sony's original XBRITE-HiColor™ LCD technology, producing images in brilliant detail for razor-sharp viewing on-the-go.
"Sony is known for miniaturization and being an innovator in design, but this time we have really out done ourselves," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. "This new notebook is an engineering marvel that I believe is one of the best looking PCs on the market."
Designed for ease-of-use, the keyboard's keys are raised slightly above an attractive piano-black bezel layer producing a user-friendly touch. An extra support layer has been added to increase the stability of the keys, giving them an unwavering motion for quieter typing.
-more-

Mobility and Performance
The notebook packs the latest Intel® Core™ 2 Duo ultra-low processor designed for high performance and low power consumption— perfect for advanced multi-tasking, and four to 7.5 hours of standard battery life on a single charge.
The unit's built-in 802.11n wireless LAN capabilities make it faster and easier to connect to compatible wireless networks with greater performance and range. Whether surfing the web at the office or a local coffee shop, you can connect to compatible hot spots with greater ease and wirelessly stream video at high speeds.
The PC also integrates a wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) technology provided by the Sprint® Mobile Broadband Network and its latest mobile network technology, EV-DO Revision A. A separate Sprint service subscription is required.
This technology supports faster data rates than Release 0 and higher system capacity enabling users to send and receive large amounts of data at broadband speeds. These faster speeds will enable customers to take advantage of large file uploads, video telephony and video messaging for blazing-fast wireless access beyond hotspots.
The new notebook features integrated Bluetooth® technology for wireless communication with compatible Bluetooth-enabled devices. Sony's SmartWi™ technology has also been added for a seamless experience navigating between wireless WAN, wireless LAN and Bluetooth technologies.
An optional MOTION EYE® camera with a microphone built into the razor-thin LCD panel lets you video conference with colleagues, families and friends. It requires a broadband connection and VoIP services sold separately.
For security, an integrated biometrics fingerprint sensor has been added so you can access password protected content with the touch of a finger. The PC comes pre-installed with the Microsoft® Windows Vista® Business operating system.
LocationFree Entertainment
The TZ unit also comes loaded with LocationFree® software. This allows you to "place-shift" live television broadcasts, access a personal video recorder or DVD player, and view that content on your notebook via the Internet with broadband connectivity. A new VAIO-branded LF-V30 base station, with enhanced functionality, is required and will be sold separately starting in September.
The notebook is equipped with Instant Mode so you can go straight to watching a movie, playing music or viewing photos at the touch of a button— without having to boot-up the operating system.
The included Click to DVD® software and DVD±R Double Layer/DVD±RW drive can be used to create customized DVDs, dynamic presentations and manage multimedia files.
A flash-based model will also be available. This unit will provide a rapid boot-up and quicker access to applications, while reducing the risk of hard drive damage—an ideal feature for travelers in situations where sudden movements are common.
The standard VAIO TZ notebook will start at about $2,200, while the flash-based model will go for around $3,000. Both models will be available online at HYPERLINK "http://www.sony.com/pr/tz" www.sony.com/pr/tz. They will also be sold at Sony Style® stores, military exchange bases and select retailers around the country beginning in August

Sony is going for a pretty significant update of its laptops this summer. Pictured above is the 15.4-inch Vaio FZ19, which will use Intel's Santa Rosa chipset and integrated X3100 graphics card. There's also the TZ, a retread of the current TX series, which will be an ultra-portable number with 11.1-inch screen, and a refresh of the SZ4 called the SZ5.

July will see a couple more models - the CZ series, which boast a 13.3-iunch screen, and the CR, a 14-inch widescreen notebook. Both of these have unknown specs, but I guess we will know more soon. There's no picture of the TZ, which sounds like the most interesting of the lot, but its specs are after the jump.

TZ specs
integrated DVD-DL
2GB of RAM
100GB HD
WLAN A/B/G
Fingerprint scanner
Integrated WebCam

No prices either, I'm afraid. – Ad Dugdale

Sony Vaio TZ, SZ5, FZ and CZ laptops coming this summer [PC Launches]