Cliff Saran’s FUD blog

This afternoon I was at the launch of a family of business laptop PCs from Sony.  Powered by the latest generation of Intel Centrino and Core Duo chips, the new Sony Vaios offer fingerprint recognition, a trusted computer module for encrypting data and the high-end model includes a SIM card for 3G wireless internet.

But you get this kind if stuff on certain HP and Dell machines. So what's special? Well first these are Sony laptops. Each machine in the line-up looks great. It's not quite drop-dead gorgeeous like the Apple MacBook Air, but in terms of good looks and street cred, I think the Vaio family is a definite 8/10. And of course it's a Sony, which means the screen and video are going to be superb. But unlike the more expensive MacBook Air, Sony appears to have made its machine corporate friendly.

Now this is great news for execs who lusted after the Apple MacBook Air but were told by IT that MacOS was not a supported platform. The businesses Vaios will run both Vista and XP Pro and there's a downgrade disc in the box.

So I guess IT departments won't so easily fob off exec users with the excuse that it's not supported. With a manufacturer price of under £850 for the basic Vaio, IT departments could soon find a stampede, as users demand sexier laptop models compared to the dull grey and silver HP and Dell machines.

Now I just need to get my hands on one to try out the Vaio for myself.