Sony has rolled out a new multimedia notebook in the form of the Sony VAIO FW, catering to high definition fans the way such movies were meant to be seen. You will be able to choose from a plethora of configurations, ranging from a standard to a premium model. Of course, the latter is able to play Blu-ray discs, letting you enjoy high definition content in full 1080 HD resolution when hooked to a compatible HDTV. In addition, it makes for a great backup device by storing, recording and playing back personal content on high-capacity BD media - I know I could certainly make do with 25GB of extra storage space. The FW notebook will tip the scales at slightly over six pounds, which makes it quite hefty. One of the payoffs would be the 16.4″ widescreen display - the first of its kind in the world, merging the best of both 17″ and 15.4″ models in a solitary display. The widescreen LCD display is perfect for watching widescreen movies, minimizing the black bars that appear while letting you view movies in their intended format.

The notebook is powered by new Intel Centrino 2 technology, the chipset designed for sizzling performance, instant system responsiveness and energy efficiency. Select units come pre-installed with the Windows Vista Ultimate operating system. The series comes with three entertainment software applications. Offerings include VAIO Movie Story software - an easy way to produce your own high- quality home movies, VAIO MusicBox software - a fun way to enjoy music based on your mood, and Click to Disc/Editor software - for easy DVD/BD video- editing and creation. The model also includes VAIO Media software, a DLNA-enabled media sharing application that lets you wirelessly stream content stored on your PC throughout your home network. Movies, music and digital still images can be streamed from the notebook to a PLAYSTATION 3 or VAIO Home Theater PC that is connected to a TV for big-screen enjoyment. The PC is equipped with plenty of slots, ports and jacks, including a Memory Stick media/SD card slot, three USB ports, an i.LINK IEEE-1394 port, microphone and headphone jack, and a 34mm ExpressCard slot making it easy to transfer files from external devices.

Standard FW models start from $1,000 upwards, while the premium model will hit the region of $1,750. These will be available sometime later this month.

Press Release