Sony's first ultrabook, the Vaio T13 & T11

Sony is no stranger to thin, portable laptops. Take the company’s Vaio Z series laptop, a 13-inch device that’s just 0.66 inches thick and weighs only 2.57 pounds. While those specs make most of us think “ultrabook,” Sony on Wednesday revealed its first true, Intel-approved ultrabooks, the Vaio T series.

The irony? The 13-inch model in Sony’s new ultrabook line-up is a bit thicker and much heavier than the company’s existing super-thin Z series notebook. It’s a curious data point given device thinness and lightness is an ultrabook calling card. The new T13 weighs 1.6kg. That’s about 3.5 pounds — nearly a full pound heavier than the Vaio Z series notebook.

As for thinness, the T13 ultrabook is 17.8 mm, about 0.7 inches. That’s just a smidgen thicker than Sony’s 0.66-inch Z series notebook, but it’s still a noteworthy data point considering ultrabooks are supposed to own the thin-and-light crown.

Beyond this, the new Vaio T computers include what you’d expect in an ultrabook. The lineup features 11-inch and 13-inch models, the Vaio T11 and Vaio T13, respectively. The computers feature slick silver bodies made of magnesium and aluminum, and include HDMI and VGA ports, as well as SD/MMC card reader slots.

Sony’s 13-incher will come with 4GB of memory, a 1366×768 display, hybrid 320GB HDD and 32GB SSD storage, and Intel HD Graphics 3000. It promises up to nine hours of battery life, and an “any time” charger for your smartphone, allowing you to charge your phone even when the laptop is off, or in sleep mode.

The T Series specs aren’t mind-blowing, but they’re on par with ultrabooks currently on the market. But, unfortunately, what’s on the market right now will soon be outdated when Intel’s third-generation Ivy Bridge processors begin arriving in hardware. Sony’s specs show that the T Series ultrabooks will run Intel’s Core i3-2367M processor, a Sandy Bridge chip that will be eclipsed by Ivy Bridge.

It seems strange that Sony would announce and release its first ultrabook on the Sandy Bridge platform only months before we’re expecting to see Ivy Bridge ultrabooks. We reached out to Sony for comment, but received no response by press time.

The T11 and T13 will be available within the month in the European market, according to a Sony press release. There’s still no word on pricing or stateside availability.

Source: Wired

Tags: Sony, Ultrabook, Sandy Bridge, Laptop