July 30 - 2:55pm EDT   Sony retail locations will soon offer some of the same expanded service options as Apple stores, according to an announcement the electronics giant made late yesterday. Though not making any comparisons of its own, the company says a number of its Sony Style locations will soon grow their Backstage service current PC repair-only focus to at least temporarily include one-on-one training sessions. Similar to Apple's One-to-One, Sony hopes to attract students coming back to school by letting them book two free appointments with a retail staffer to train on using the company's VAIO PCs. [full story]

July 15 - 12:10am EDT   Sony on Monday unveiled the VAIO SR series ultraportable notebook, offered in five colors, and offering users a Centrino 2-based computing experience. The SR is constructed from magnesium alloy in night black, sunset pink, glossy pink, classic silver, and glossy silver, weighing in at just over four pounds with a 13.3-inch LED-backlit screen. The SR series features a MacBook style keyboard: integrated, with squared, and raised keys. This prevents debris from getting under keys easily, while also providing a more comfortable typing experience. [full story]

July 14 - 11:35pm EDT   Sony's Centrino 2 notebook refresh tonight adds the VAIO BZ. It keeps the same 15.4-inch display as the outgoing VAIO BX but in a slim, magnesium shell the company says is tough enough to resist shocks while keeping the weight under six pounds. The display is now LED-backlit on some models for a more accurate (and power-efficient) image, while the keyboard has been designed to resist spills. [full story]

July 14 - 11:35pm EDT   Sony on Monday evening unveiled its new Centrino 2-powered line of ultra-portable VAIO Z Series notebooks, with options for Blu-ray, a flash-memory SSD drive, Sprint broadband, and more. Weighing just over 3 pounds, the VAIO Z model offers speeds up to 2.53GHz, incorporates the first ever 13.1-inch widescreen 16:9 display with Sony's XBRITE-DuraView LCD technology for what its claims is "scratch-resistant durability and 100 percent color saturation." All models feature a better-spaced MacBook-line keyboard layout, while the high-end models feature 1600 X 900 resolution for up to 40 percent wider workspace than a standard display (in the same "footprint"). [full story]

July 14 - 11:05pm EDT   As part of a sweeping update of its notebook line to Intel's new Centrino 2 mobile platform, Sony tonight unveiled what it says is the first media-centric notebook with a 16.4-inch, 16:9 ratio display. The VAIO FW replaces the FZ and uses its extra-wide 1600x900 resolution not just to play Blu-ray movies and other widescreen content without black bars but also to offer an ideal size mix: the image is closer to a 16:10 ratio 17-inch display but has the depth of a 15.4-inch notebook, rendering it easier to carry. It also more easily fits two documents side-by-side, the company argues. [full story]

July 12 - 2:10pm EDT   Sony today posted a teaser confirming the launch date for its Centrino 2-based VAIO line. The electronics maker expects to formally unveil the new range on July 14th at 9PM Eastern and is known to be introducing several new models as well as potentially refreshing existing systems for the initial launch. In addition to better performance, they should also consume less power in most models. [full story]

July 11 - 4:10pm EDT   A series of leaks of Sony VAIO updates has wound to a conclusion on Friday with the appearance of the VAIO BZ. The 15.4-inch pro system shifts to a new 1440x900, LED-backlit display which both produces a better picture, reduces the power draw, and more eco-friendly; like other recent leaks, both systems are also based on Intel's imminent Centrino 2 platform and will come with faster GMA X4500HD integrated graphics than the outgoing BX models. [full story]

July 11 - 12:20am EDT   The rumored Sony Vaio Z series was confirmed Wednesday, as photos of informative pamphlets detail the three tiers that will be available. NotebookReview reveals that the 13.3-inch laptops will boast a 16:9 formatted screen resolution of 1366 by 768 in the entry model, or 1600 by 900 in the mid- and high-end models. Processors range from a Centrino 2-based 2.26GHz P8600 chipset, to a 2.54 P9500 chipset. Each model features a dual-layer DVD burner, 128MB or 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS, 200GB to 320GB of hard drive space, and 2GB to 4GB DDR2 memory. [full story]

July 8 - 1:50pm EDT   Intel expects to make notebook processors running at 25 watts an everyday occurrence, the company said today. The firm now expects most future systems based on its upcoming Centrino 2 mobile platform to consume less power, dropping significantly from the 35 watts of today's Core 2 Duo processors. The shift should both extend battery life as well as cool down the systems themselves, letting PC designers offer slimmer and potentially quieter notebooks without giving up performance. [full story]

July 7 - 3:05pm EDT   Sony's VAIO FW and SR have been spotted and reveal a design reminiscent of aluminum MacBooks along with additional specifications for at least European models. The VAIO FW is both confirmed to be one of Sony's first notebooks with a 16:9 ratio display and has a 16.4-inch, 1600x900 LCD sharper than the 1440x900 screens found on some 15.4-inch portables. It also has the same through-tray keyboard design as the VAIO TZ, the MacBook Air, and some other systems. [full story]

June 25 - 1:00pm EDT   Sony has updated the VAIO TP1, a Media Center PC based on an unusual puck-shaped chassis. The VGX-TP1DQ/B and VGX-TP1D are both equipped with two land-based digital TV tuners, HDMI output, and new video recording software. The DQ/B however is considered the top model, and is equipped with a Blu-ray drive, along with a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of system RAM, a 500GB hard drive and a GeForce 8400M GT video card with 256MB of memory. [full story]

June 23 - 2:55pm EDT   Sony has inadvertently tipped its hand about its notebooks based on Intel's Centrino 2 platform, based on several manuals and product leaks posted online. The VAIO FW will replace the FZ (pictured) and will switch to a new 16.4-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio display that suits it to watching Blu-ray movies. In American form, a stock model should ship with Intel's upcoming lower power 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo as well as 3GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive; higher-end models will speed up to 2.53GHz, top out at 4GB of memory, and hold a 320GB hard drive. [full story]

June 2 - 12:50pm EDT   HP and its gaming acquisition, Voodoo PC, are planning to make a major announcement on June 10th, Forbes writes. Though the companies are refusing to detail any specifics in their early publicity efforts, they will say that the product(s) are intended to bring Voodoo's emphasis on aesthetics and performance to HP's mainstream audience. With few exceptions, most HP computers are designed for a budget or mid-range level, and do not use unique case or monitor shapes. [full story]

May 7 - 3:45pm EDT   Complementing its TP HD home theater PC, Sony on Wednesday rolled out a new home server. The 1TB HS1 and its 1.5TB HS1S counterpart are some of the first VAIO extenders offered by Sony and are built expressly to share content automatically: PCs with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compatible software, as well as devices such as the PlayStation 3, can automatically find content from the HS1 and stream it over a gigabit Ethernet link. [full story]

March 21 - 8:45pm EDT   Sony tonight has already dropped the fee for its Fresh Start program less than a day after it was introduced. While the VAIO TZ offered with Fresh Start does not come with the option enabled by default, the company now allows the option to remove trial software to be enabled for free versus the $50 cost from before. Sony has not officially stated its reasons for the decision but is known to be reacting to criticisms for charging extra to remove unwanted software. [full story]