Sony Vaio X battery claims put to the test

The incredibly thin (0.6-inches), light (just 1.4 pounds or 2.2 pounds with extended battery wedge), and expensive (£1,899.99 base) Sony VAIO X laptop is universally anticipated, set for release next month.

However, equally anticipated is whether Sony’s claim that the VAIO X battery lasts “all day and well into the night and will set the new standard for battery stamina,” as proclaimed at its IFA unveil back in September in Berlin, is in fact true or a load of codswallop.

Results show that if you’re hoping to get anything close to the hype then you’ll have to opt for the extended battery as the standard 4-cell battery only lasts for about 3 hours. Thankfully, the extended battery bolt-on is included in the X-series price… and <drum roll> according to tests, the VAIO X happily motored on for almost 10 hours using WiFi (GPS and 3G turned off) thereby easily usurping most 6-hour, 6-cell laptops.

Looking good.

Sony VAIO CW Series gets a piece of Windows 7

The range of SonyVAIO laptops has been boosted by a new member – the CW Series, which could well be the most colourful range of 14-inch laptops ever seen.

Like rainbows? You’ll love the Sony VAIO CW, where you can choose from pink, white, red, blue or purple. Personally I’m a fan of green so I’m envious of all these red-based colours. I digress.

The Sony VAIO CW Series is set to launch on the 22nd October, to correspond with the red carpet unveiling of Windows 7. However, these fun and easy to use laptops, have more to offer than simply a new OS. Sony has given the Sony VAIO CW Series a new and fresh look that is both youthful and chic with a compact weight of 2.4kg.

The Sony VAIO CW Series will consist of five different models when it ships on the 22nd October, with pricing starting at £700.

Sony laptops go pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast Cancer Awareness month has arrived this October, and Sony are showing their support with a range of pink gear to help raise the profile of this great and much-needed cause.

Their pink products include a special pink VAIO W Series Mini Notebook bundle, which includes a pink mouse, pink case for the laptop, and a two-tone pink laptop itself. Under the pink skin, the machine is the same VAIO W we have already seen.

The pink Sony VAIO laptops have 10.1-inch screens, N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 160GB of storage. Sony is also offering its Reader Pocket Edition in rose, otherwise known as pink, as well. Sony reports that it will donate $110,000 to breast cancer research from the proceeds of the research.

Refurbished laptops can be the pocket friendly way to laptop happiness

If you’re in the market for a new laptop, have you considered refurbished laptops? Essentially, refurbished laptops are built with components from other, older machines. They are of high quality as they are checked for optimum standards of performance at each level of technical testing – meaning you can get a branded, quality laptop of a latest model at a heavily reduced price compared to the retail price.

From time-to-time, Dell laptops or Sony laptops and other big name manufacturers are available as refurbished, with discounts as high as fifty percent. These laptops tend to be from a new range, and sometimes they are bran new models which for one reason or another were returned to the supplier.

Refurbished laptops come with a one-year warranty for peace of mind, and that warranty can also be extended. If you’re after an expensive, trendy laptop but simply cannot afford to buy one at retail price, refurbished laptops could be just the answer you’re looking for.

Sony roll out backstage remote support for laptops

Sony have unveiled a new service for consumers to optimise their experience with their Sony VAIO laptops. A new Backstage Remote service allows online technicians to diagnose, repair, and upgrade devices remotely so consumers don’t have to leave their homes. Backstage Remote complements the existing Backstage services offered by some Sony stores across the country.

“We know consumers with Sony laptops are extremely busy and when they need PC support they don’t always have time to come into our stores,” said Steven Nickel, Vice President, Backstage Services Group. “Backstage Remote allows us to provide a high level of support at the convenience of the customer.”

Customers can select from a menu of services starting at £19.99, like PC Tune Up, PC Software Repair, Data Back-up and setting up your digital camera to transfer pictures to your PC. For PC support, a technician assumes control of the PC remotely and provides the diagnosis and repair or upgrade.

Big name manufacturers looking to 3D screens

Dell, HP, Sony and Lenovo are working with far-east company Wistron on laptops with screens capable of 3D imagery.

The systems should utilise stereo 3D technologies patented by Wistron itself. Acer is also said to be looking into the feature having struck a deal with US-based DDD company, who offer similar services to Wistron.

While the quality of stereo 3D technologies of DDD or Wistron is not clear at the moment, just like technical requirements of these technologies, it is certain that all of the aforementioned notebook makers (and stereo 3D tech developers as well) are planning to target high-end notebooks for gamers with advanced capabilities.

HP laptops have led the way in 3D enterprise but Sony laptops are coming up in their rear-view mirror – though they’ll be hard-pressed to counter HP’s target date of June next year.

Sony announce two browser partners for their new Vaio X

The new Sony Vaio X notebook, which is only 14mm thick and 700g, is set to come ready with two browsers installed – which will be…. drum roll…  Google Chrome and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

This makes Sony laptops the first manufacturer to bundle the Chrome browser from Google into their new laptop systems.

Since being launched 12 months ago, the Chrome browser has only managed to pinch 2.7% share of the global browser market with the search company tipped to announce additional browser deals during the coming months.

Analysts believe that Google are looking to secure a deal with the top five PC manufacturers including HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba in order to increase their market share significantly. This could result in themclaimingthird place in a battle with Firefox, Opera and Safari.

Laptop bags beginning to outweigh the laptop inside them

As technology enhances day by day, the size and weight of laptops is shrinking at the same scale.

Some laptops weigh in at just about 400 to 500 grams – the reason being down to newer and smaller components, including CPUs that require less power to cool, solid state disks and more compact batteries – and incredibly this means that the machines themselves are, in some cases, lighter than the laptop bags they are carried in.

Sony laptops have been at the forefront of this downsizing, with the Sony Vaio VGN-UX1XN netbook that comes with an Intel Core Solo processor and has a clock speed of 1,333 MHz. It has a small display screen that is just 4.5 inches in size.

Samsung’s NC10 is another featherweight laptop that weighs just over 550 grams. It comes with an Intel Atom N270, has an internal RAM capacity of 1,024 MB, and possesses a 160GB hard drive.

Sony to release carbon-fibre VAIO

Sony surprised everyone at the the IFA 2009 press conference with an ultra-thin carbon fibre netbook called the Sony Vaio X.

President of Sony Europe, Fujio Nishida, displayed a full-working model of the 14mm laptop, which will feature Windows 7.

The Vaio X weighs under 700g, with an 11.1-inch screen and an ‘all-day’ battery that “will set the standard for stamina”.
Other specs are yet to be officially released, but it looks as if the Vaio X will come with an aluminium keyboard, 2GB RAM, a selection of USB ports, memory card slot and VGA output – pretty standard for Sony laptops then. ETA is ‘Autumn’, although Christmas is more likely.

Green battery tips for laptop users

Despite general battery care for laptops being readily available, there are many misconceptions which still exist often leaving people out of pocket and living with a lifeless laptop which is never any fun.

And with laptops moving into the office each and every day and many businesses are struggling to find top ways to keep their battery holding onto a longer life.

Paul Mah, Expert Tech Insight and Advice for Small Businesses at SMB Tech has come up with some new solutions to help you keep your laptop battery in good working condition.

Avoiding buying spare batteries

Many small to medium businesses who buy a large number of laptops are often tempted to purchase additional spare batteries in case they need it.

Paul Mah says there are two crucial reasons to why buying a second battery is a bad idea and the first is simply the fact that you will possibly never use it. The second scenario is slightly more crucial and an established fact about laptop batteries. “While not widely known, lithium-ion batteries start deteriorating the moment they leave the factory,” Mah said. “In fact, even if left unused at temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius, studies have shown that the maximum charge of a lithium battery can hold could drop as much as 35 per cent in just one year.
“So even if you are a heavy user and expect to wear down the original battery in a year, it would be better to buy a replacement battery only when you are ready to use it.”

Another way of reducing the lifespan of your battery laptop is by exposing it to excessive heat. For example, leaving your laptop sat in the summer heat in your car would be a definite no go.

Almost all of the new laptops, such as the Sony Vaio have well-designed heat ventilation so normal usage should not affect their lifespan.