Video Review of VAIO W Netbook

Yet another video that wow-wows the features of the all new VAIO W series Netbooks. And after you have seen the video, just go through the comments. That's called an enthusiasm.

Google Chrome to be default Sony Vaio browser

Sony will deliver its Vaio line of PCs with Google Chrome installed as the default browser, and the Internet giant is said to be in similar talks with other computer manufacturers, the Financial Times reported.

The deal is a big win for Google, which has struggled to give Chrome a significant share of the market. In August, Chrome captured nearly 3 percent of the market, versus Internet Explorer's 67 percent and Firefox's 23 percent, according to Net Applications.

The agreement is Google's first with a computer manufacturer. Microsoft has similar deals with PC makers to make Internet Explorer their default browser, and IE comes with the Windows operating system in the United States.

From the Financial Times report:

Similar distribution alliances have become a key part of the internet search wars as Microsoft and Google vie to be the default search service on new PCs.

Google confirmed that Sony PCs carrying Chrome had started to go on sale and said it was in talks for similar deals with other computer makers. It said the arrangement was "experimental" and part of wider efforts to boost distribution, including a deal to make Chrome available to internet users who download the RealPlayer software and the company's first use of television advertising.

Along with Chrome will come Google as the default search engine on Vaio PCs. Many computers come with Google as the default, though many don't; Microsoft, for instance, has distribution deals with Dell, HP and Lenovo to make Bing the default engine on their computers.

Of course, users as always will have the option to use a different browser on Vaio computers.

"Competition in the marketplace is good, and people have the right to choose a browser that is best for them," a Microsoft spokesperson said in response to Google's announcement. "People will choose Internet Explorer 8 for the way it puts the services they want right at their fingertips, protects them from social engineered malware and phishing threats more than any other browser, respects their personal choices about how they want to browse and, more than any other browsing technology, puts them in control of their personal data online."

Source: Financial Times & Microsoft Blog

Review: Sony Vaio W Series

I've spent quite a bit of time with it. Let me now give you my conclusions. Fantastic!

The keyboard, even more fantastic. It doesn't have that eraser little thingy inside that is really irritating on the Sony P. This one has a good trackpad. Springy keys, I love the way these are. These pebble keys, ever since Mac started doing it and everyone started following. Keep doing it, don't change and go back to those ugly keyboards.

Good resolution on a 10" screen. The resolution is not that startling that you start thinking that you've grown really old, because it's not that small in text. Good enough at about 1366x768. Fantastic!

Multimedia seems to be a great focus in this particular product because, in every way possible they've crammed it with multimedia features. Including the fact that you can use it as a DLNA server, which means you can stream from here on to your TV or your playstaion 3. So all of that is good.

So what's not good? Obviously the battery life. I don't think that any netbook in the world should be sold with anything less than eight hours of battery life.

I don't care if that battery sticks out a little, I'll go with ugliness in one part of a netbook if it can give me eight hours of battery life. Three hours on a netbook? The very idea of a netbook is that I can carry it, travel with it, that I don't have to think of carrying an adapter with it. What's the idea if its only three hours?

What's then the final conclusion? The price point. A netbook should be priced at a certain price point. Even if it's premium it can't go way over.

The Sony Vaio P broke that rule. At Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000, I could have brought three netbooks. This one is priced low (at Rs 29,990) and its priced very attractively for a Sony, but is it priced right for a netbook?

Pros
Keyboard
Multimedia features
Screen size and resolution

Cons
Battery life
Higher-end price tag

Good improvement by Sony yet it could have been better.

Review: Sony Vaio W netbook

The show takes a look at product specifications and price of Sony Vaio W netbook and telepresence and teleconferencing solutions for banking. Various features of Microsoft's Zune HD are also compared with iPod Touch.

Source: NDTV Tubaah