Sony has announced four new laptop lines, each taking advantage of Intel’s new Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform: The FW Series of multimedia notebooks, the SR Series of ultraportables and the Z Series of ultraportables, along with the BZ Series of business notebooks. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
FW Series
The main draw to the FW Series is the 16.4-inch widescreen featuring a true 16:9 aspect ratio. Each model in the FW series has an HDMI output for easy connection to an HDTV set. Premium models, starting at $1,750, come with Blu-ray burners, while the baseline models will start around $1,000. They’ll be available later this month.
SR Series
The SR Series notebooks are labeled by Sony as ultraportables, but they tip the scales at just over four pounds. They’re constructed of magnesium alloy and come in five different colors – black, pink, another shade of pink, silver, and another shade of silver. Each model features a 13.3-inch LED backlit widescreen display, Centrino 2 chip, built-in webcam, and 802.11n networking. Pricing starts at $1,400 and they’ll be available at the end of the month.
Z Series
Perhaps the most exciting of Sony’s announcements, the Z Series truly fits the ultraportable bill at just over three pounds. Each model comes with an unorthodox 13.1-inch widescreen display with 1600×900 resolution. Impressive. There’s a Blu-ray drive option and hybrid graphics engine, along with a fingerprint reader and an SSD option. Models start at $1,800 with the SSD-equipped units adding another $500 to the bottom line.
BZ Series
Finally, the BZ Series is the latest in Sony’s line of business-centric notebooks. Models feature a 15.4-inch widescreen display and manage to slide in at under six pounds. Each uses the new Centrino 2 platform and the units start at $1,000. They’ll be available later this month.