Sony's AW Laptop isn't really meant for the average technology set, but its ocean of storage space, high quality screen and HDMI out seem to indicate it's more for a designer who needs colour accuracy, or a photographer who has to run through a lot of shots. And with a palm rest that matches the grip on the Sony Alpha DSLR, the two go hand in hand.

The 18.4-inch, 16:9 AW screen supports the Adobe RGB colour profile with reproduction to 137%, and runs 64 bit Vista Ultimate. It has a 2.53 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 512 MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics card, 4 GB RAM and a Blu-ray burner. Filling out its 3.6-kilo frame is a hard drive configuration that includes twin 64 GB SSDs with a 500 GB spinner, or up to a terabyte of standard storage.

The premium version of the Sony AW will start a US$2000 (non-premium model sans Adobe RGB screen starts at US$1600), but as usual, expect that price to go up, up, up as you spec it out. It should arrive in stores in late September. [Sony]

NEW SONY NOTEBOOK REDEFINES THE HIGH-DEFINITION HOME THEATER

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 10, 2008 ¾ Sony today unveiled the all-new VAIO® AW Series high-definition notebook.

Weighing a little more than 8 pounds, the AW model is ideal for the multimedia enthusiast or photographer who likes to view or edit high-definition content on-the-go.

"This new notebook delivers the power of a high-end desktop in a portable form factor," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. "Whether you're gaming, watching a Blu-ray Disc™ movie or editing high-def video, it offers all the HD tools you'll need."

Equipped with an extra-wide 18.4-inch (measured diagonally) LCD display and Sony's own XBRITE-FullHD™ LCD technology (optional), the notebook delivers vibrant colours in stunning 1080p clarity.

It comes standard with a Blu-ray Disc optical drive for play back of high-definition content, including movies in full HD 1080p resolution. Select units can also record, store and play back personal content on high-capacity BD media.

For those who prefer to watch content on a big screen television like a Bravia® LCD, the unit also has an HDMI™ output so you can connect it to a compatible HDTV set for a larger viewing experience (cable sold separately).

The display is ideal for Blu-ray Disc movies. Since many high-definition films are shot using a 16:9 aspect ratio, the unit's extra-wide LCD is constructed with the same dimensions. This minimizes the black bars that typically appear, letting you view movies in their intended format.

The extended workspace also lets you view two full websites at once or compare two documents side-by-side without tabbing back and forth.

The notebook is perfect for photo enthusiasts. With its optional Adobe® RGB colour compatible LCD screen, it displays all colours in the RGB colour space enabling you to view true on-screen reproductions of your digital photos-- so they appear just as they would if they were printed. And since the panel displays in full 1080p, your images will "pop" with razor-sharp detail.

A built-in CompactFlash® slot simplifies the transferring of photos from your digital camera to your PC. And once the images are on your notebook, the pre-installed Adobe Photoshop® Lightroom® software provides one central portal to streamline the process of organizing, editing, archiving and printing photos.

It packs new Intel® Centrino® 2 technology, up to 1TB of storage, and comes pre-installed with your choice of Windows Vista® Home Premium, Vista Business or Vista Ultimate operating systems.

Select AW notebooks feature dual 64GB solid state drives (SSD) with RAID technology for faster boot-up times and application launches. Combined with a 500GB hard drive, the SSD model is equipped with maximum power and storage for handling all your high-definition content.

Available in titanium grey and a glossy piano black finish, the VAIO AW notebook standard model starts at about $1,600, while the premium version starts at around $2,000. It will be available online at www.sony.com/pr/aw. They will also be sold at Sony Style® stores, military base exchanges, and select retailers around the country starting later this month.

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