Sony Vaio AR series: 17", £1050 - 1800, Blue-ray disc, Windows Media Centre or Vista Home Premium
With Sony's new Blue-ray disc and an integrated analogue/digital TV tuner with remote control (on some models), these sexy, glossy black machines have a great screen, graphics and Intel's powerful Core 2 Duo processors. Screen resolutions of 1440x900 or 1920x1200, disc capacities from 160GB to 240GB, and weigh-in at a shoulder breaking 3.8KG. Don'd buy one from a Sony shop, but cheaper via the ads on the right of this page.
Sony Vaio N series: 15.4" widecreen , £600 - 700, XP Professional or Media Centre Edition
Great value for money, this smart, minimalist looking, imac-like designs has a medium specification, with Core Duo processors, up to 1GB RAM & 100GB hard disk and all the usual connections, but unfortunately just integrated Intel graphics using shared memory. As a result they are rated as 'Vista Capable' though not 'Premium Ready'. Bit of a bloater too at over 3kg!
Sony Vaio FE series: 15.4" widecreen, £750 - 1,000, Windows XP Media Centre Edition
The higher spec. and more conventional looking of Sony's two 15.4" laptop ranges, the FE series has either Intel's Core Duo or the newer Core 2 Duo processors, Windows XP Media Centre, integrated camera & mic, upto 2GB RAM & 200GB hard disk plus a decent graphics card, making it far more capable than the N series for games or any graphically intensive application. It is also lighter at 2.8kg, and rated as Vista 'Premium Ready'.
Sony Vaio C series: 13.3" widecreen, £900'ish, Windows Media Centre (C1) & Vista Home Premium (C2)
The latest consumer range of MacBook-style consumer notebooks from Sony. Bang up-to-date Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB RAM, 100GB to 200GB hard disks and Nvidia GeForce 7400 graphics (on higher spec models) ensure this trendy new line has the horsepower for any application, and can run Vindows Vista.
Sony Vaio SZ series: 13.3 " widecreen, £1,050 - 1,500, Windows XP Home & Professional
Lovely, stylish, light (1.8kg) powerful notebook with up-to-date'ish Core Duo processors and a powerful graphics card. Reflected in the price is the combined usefulness and mobility of this notebook, with 4'ish hours of battery life, 1280x800 pixel screen, it's stylish lightweight magnesium chassis and integrated camera, mic & multi-card reader. A weight/power/style/usefulness sweetspot in the sony range, if you can afford it.
Sony Vaio G series: 12.1" 4:3 screen, £1,500'ish, Windows Vista Business
Based on the latest & fastest version of Intel's ULV (ultra low voltage) Core solo this 1.33GHz processor will keep going for up to a claimed 9 hours. The combination of fingerprint scanner and motherboard-based TPM (trusted platform module) solution also make this a very secure solution. Even lighter than the TX3 at just 1.13kg, and with 2GB of memory out of the box to help it cope with Vista, there's also a compact, pen-shaped 170g power supply to go with this smart looking, carbon fibre-toting design. Also available in brown leather! Yeah... that's what I thought too.
Sony Vaio TX3 series: 11.1" widecreen, £1,300 - 1,550, Windows XP Professional
One of 2 Sony ranges for the mobile executive, the option of carbon fibre, slate blue & charcoal finishes further enhance the stylish niche where this sub- notebook PC resides. At 1.25kg, integrated graphics & ultra-low voltage Intel Core Solo processor result in upto 7 hours of battery life, it is ideal for working on documents & presentations on long train/plane/car journeys. Small'ish keys might get to you if you use it a lot. Pricey but nice.
Sony Vaio UX series: 4.5" (1024 x 600), £2,000, Windows Vista Business
With such a tiny form factor, weighing just 486g, and with it's touch screen plus slide-out keyboard, Sony's 'Micro PC', as it's referred to on the Sony website, is a feat of engineering. It's 32GB flash memory instead of a hard disk means it boots-up in just a few seconds. With fingerprint recognition for security, most connections of a regular notebook, front & rear cameras and a docking station, this little miracle is more than just a toy for carting around photos & mp3s.
Sony Vaio BX series: 14 " - 17", £500 - 1,300, Windows XP Professional
With fingerprint recognition built-in to most models, Sony's BX range is firmly aimed at business users. Their more bland designs separate them from the other Sony models above. With screen sizes from 14" to 17", this range has both widescreen as well as regular screen formats, and they have a wide range of specifications including models with up-to-date Core 2 Duo processors and separate graphics cards.