Today Sony announced refreshed to the main lines of notebooks including, the Z series, C Series and S Series. These aren’t major design changes, but there are some nice upgrades to be found — including a number of special models.

As usual Sony pays a lot of attention to the looks of their notebooks, but the specs don’t look to shabby either. You’ll notice that there is no Ultrabook announced along with these refreshed models.

Sony VAIO Z Series

Sony adds 4G LTE to the Spring 2012 Sony VAIO Z.

First up is the VAIO Z Series which gains a Carbon Fiber white option which you see above. In addition to looking nice, this model can be configured with 4G LTE connectivity. Inside you’ll also find the latest Intel Core i family of processors including up to an INtel Core i7 with Turboboost up to 3.50GHz. This isn’t cheap, but at least Sony throws in the Power Media Dock at the starting price of $1,949.

Sony VAIO S Series

Tack on a sheet battery to your VAIO S or VAIO Z.

The new VAIO S Series still covers the same range of models, a 13 inch and a 15 inch version, but new this year is the option to add a Core i7 processor to both large and small notebooks. There are a number of graphics options including AMD Radeon HD 6470M (512MB VRAM) and AMD Radeon HD 6630M (1GB VRAM).

The big deal for me is that you can get a full HD 1080P HD IPS display on the 15.5 inch model.

You can pick up the 13 inch S Series starting at $799 and the 15.5 inch model at $979, which includes an Intel Core i5 processor and the full HD display. These will be available in February and are compatible with the extended sheet battery.

Sony VAIO C Series

The Sony VAIO C now comes in Kaleidoscope Pink.

Sony saves the flair for the affordably priced C Series. Sony shows off a new color and finish called Kaleidoscope Pink, which you can see above. Starting at $799, the C Series uses a Core i3 processor, which is enough for many home users, and USB 3.0 is tacked on for fast file transfers.

Sony Refreshes VAIO Notebooks For Springtime Fun is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

In order to make the VAIO Z so thin, engineers had to change the approach to how your laptop is put together. Instead of stacking parts, like is common on most notebooks, the VAIO Z keeps things flat. This spread out design makes it possible to go thinner than before.

Sony has included a dual fan setup as well in order to keep the notebook cooler and shrink the size of the notebook.

As it turns out, heat is a major issue that prevents notebooks from going as thin as the components can go. To make the Z thinner, Sony added multiple vents, including holes in the keyboard to aid cooling.

The video is pretty interesting if you’ve ever wondered what it looks like inside an ultraportable notebook.

The VAIO Z comes with a price premium, but may show more than you expect about the future of computing. As prices come down, you too may have an ultraportable notebook with the basic power you need, that can be docked at home to power big displays and multimedia needs.

Given Intel’s push for the Ultrabook, we may start seeing more thin notebooks which will need to take advantage of similar strategies to offer a cool notebook experience. Intel’s Ultrabook fund could help make this a reality. Unlike the VAIO Z, which is $2,000, the Ultrabooks are expected to be under $1,000 when they arrive this year.

Because you shouldn’t leave something so expensive in pieces, Sony has also showed us how the VAIO Z gets assembled in this short video.

Sony VAIO Z Teardown Video Shows Tech Inside Super Thin Notebook is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Though these notebooks will come in four colors — midnight blue, glacier white, and charcoal black — only blush pink was on display. It’s definitely the color most likely to attract attention of the four, though I’d be interested in seeing how the facets created by the geometric cut look in a darker color like black or blue.

Beyond the look of it, I found the texture nice on the tactile front as well. While trying out the keyboard I didn’t find the palm rest distracting or annoying. It actually feels pretty good under the hands. Long-term typing might prove me wrong on this front, so I’m looking forward to using it for a longer stretch in the full review.

I’m not a big fan of the rubber keyboard covers Sony has available for their VAIO laptops even though they do allow for more customization of color. Once I stripped it away I found the typing experience about the same as other VAIO models — good but not great tactile feedback, decent return.

Overall, the system felt snappy to me, though the models on display didn’t appear to be final production as far as OS and software.

The weight on the 14-inch model is a nice balance, sliding it into thin and light territory, but not ultraportable. This series also comes in 15.5 and 17.3-inch versions. Sony offers customers the choice of second-gen Core i5 and i7 processors from Intel or, in the case of the 15-inch model, an AMD E-350 APU.

So far, the Sony VAIO E Series looks like it will make for a nice mainstream multimedia machine. The notebooks start out at $549 and are available now at the SonyStore. We’ll have a full review of the Sony VAIO E Series for you soon.

Sony VAIO E Series: Hands-On With Sony’s Multi-Faceted Multimedia Machine is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

The Sony Vaio Z connects to the Power Media Dock to power up to 4 Displays.

Sony has crammed a collection of great specs into the thin and light frame of the VAIO Z starting with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 processor capable of TurboBoost speeds of 3.4GHz, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. The 13″ display comes standard with a 1600 x 900 resolution, but if you can’t settle for anything less than 1080P Sony also has you covered with an upgraded display option. A backlit keyboard, optional 3G, 1.3MP webcam and HDMI out round out the internal specs. Sony claims 7 hours of battery life with the built in battery, but offers a sheet battery which will stretch your computing time out to the 14 hour mark.

The Sony Vaio Z Power Media Dock delivers more power when you are at home.

At first glance the VAIO Z looks like another MacBook Air competitor trying to out-spec Apple’s most popular notebook, but when you take a look at the dock you’ll see why Sony thinks you’ll choose the VAIO Z over the competition. When you return home from your road trip, where thin and light are most important, you can plug the VAIO Z external dock into the Light Peak (Thunderbolt) port on your VAIO Z to gain access to a Blu-Ray Player, AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics with 1GB RAM and a slew of connections including HDMI, VGA, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0.

The dock can power 4 monitors at once including the notebook display, which is a big deal for power users. Sadly the Light Peak connection uses a Sony specific connector so you won’t be able to enjoy the new Thunderbolt accessories, whenever they make it to market.

The VAIO Z is thinner than the MacBook Air, but just barely with a thickness of 16.65mm compared to the MacBook Air’s 17mm body. The VAIO Z is also lighter, weighing in at 2.64 pounds compared to 2.91 on the MacBook Air 13″.

Hands on with the Vaio Z and Power Media Dock

We expect to see the Sony VAIO Z go on sale in July in the U.S. Currently UK readers can pre-order the VAIO Z, which is available for roughly $1,835 and an additional $500 for the dock. If you want the higher end 1080P model prepare to sacrifice your car down payment to come up with the $3,000 estimated price, but at least that includes the dock.

Sony Vaio Z: Thinner Than MacBook Air, External Dock with Powerful GPU is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Sony VAIO E Series

The Sony VAIO E Series update includes new processor options, allowing users to pick between the latest Intel 2nd Gen Core i3 or Core i5 Intel processors and the AMD Fusion E-350 dual-core fusion processors which pack in a very capable AMD Mobility Radeon HD6130 GPU to handle graphics. You can pick up a VAIO C notebook in 14″, 15.5″ or 17.3″ sizes to fit your needs. The color options include midnight blue, glacier white, charcoal black and blush pink, but the 17.3″ VAIO C will only be available in black or white.

The cases of these computers have an interesting geometric pattern on the lid and wrist rest that grabs attention, which Sony says will make the notebooks fingerprint resistant.

In addition to color enhancements the E Series now have keyboards that span edge to edge, with the larger models packing a dedicated number pad. Sony describes the touchpad as dimpled,  meaning it is recessed into the wrist rest with two buttons in front of the pad.

Three hardware buttons on the E Series will engage WEB, VAIO and ASSIST functions. They three functions do the following:

• WEB – access to the Internet without having to boot into Windows
• VAIO – loads the Sony Media Gallery software which plays various kinds of media
• ASSIST – takes you to the VAIO Care support system

Sony is aiming these notebooks at the average user who wants to do basic tasks , with the ability to also deliver on the entertainment experience. The computers can be connected to an HD TV for 1080p HD movies via a HDMI cable. There will be an option for Remote Keyboard function that interfaces with Sony branded TVs, Blu-ray players to control them and there will be Remote Play for connecting to a Sony PlayStation 3 so that you can access the multimedia content on your PS3 using the notebook through the Internet while away from the gaming system.

Other features include:

• LED backlit LCD
• Built-in mic
• Web camera with face tracking

Pricing and Availability

These VAIO E Series computers will start at around $550. You can pre-order one starting on June 19 at Sony’s Website. Sony Stores and other major retailers will be carrying them in the next month.

Sony VAIO C Series

For users that want a more portable solution, with the ability to add a Blu-Ray drive, Sony offers the refreshed VAIO C notebooks which come in 14″ and 15.5″ sizes. Along with new spec options, which include Intel Core i3 and Core i5 Sandy Bridge processors, the VAIO C notebooks can now by purchased  in Neon Red and Thunder Blue.

Graphics will be powered by the AMD Radeon HD 6630M 1GB Hybrid GPU on higher end models. This graphics processor will give you pretty good performance and thanks to the hybrid system decent battery life when you don’t need the horsepower. Sony promises up to nine hours of battery life on the smaller 14 inch system, while the larger 15.5 inch C Series will give you up to eight hours. Even if we discount the battery ratings to two-thirds, the promised battery life is still quite good.

On certain “Signature Collection” models Sony will include their Imagination Studio Suite 2 VAIO Edition which is optimized to handle multimedia editing  for users who want to get creative with pictures, audio and video.

If you get the Intel WiDi adapter along with your C Series laptop, you will enjoy wireless HD video streamed to your HD TV set. The computers also sport the following:

• Backlit keyboard, with a number pad on larger models
• HD web camera with Exmore sensor technology
• The same three shortcut buttons for WEB, VAIO and ASSIST mentioned above

Pricing and Availability

Like the E Series, you can pre-order The VAIO C notebook in Thunder Blue at Sony.com on June 19 starting at $730. This Thunder Blue model will also arrive at many retail locations in June.

The Neon Red VAIO C will come out later this summer, with availability at the following stores:

• ABT Electronics
• B&H Photo
• Fry’s Electronics
• J&R Electronics
• MicroCenter
• Nebraska Furniture Mart
• Sony Stores

Sony VAIO E and VAIO C Notebooks Gain Faster Processors, Brighter Colors is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

NOAA Photo Library Via Flickr

Students in Michigan are about to go on an amazing adventure with Sony VAIO notebooks and Intel Processors. Project Shiphunt has just been launched to bring a group of Michgan students together to look for sunken ships in the Great Lakes.

Project Shiphunt will take place at the NOAA’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena Michigan, where the students will search for one of the numerous sunken ships which have met their demise in the Great Lakes.

This isn’t just a pretend search through the Great Lakes, according to the project announcement,

Students will learn skills to help them find and explore a shipwreck. Along the way, the students will have the chance to discover the vast, rich history of one of the world’s greatest waterways and learn how scientists document and preserve an irreplaceable site for future generations. The students will decide which shipwreck to search for and then put their VAIOs to work. A search for the students is currently underway and we will update you on the team once it’s assembled.

This is an incredibly cool project which is exploring a heavily trafficed waterway which likely claimed over 5,000 ships during the past several hundred years.

Even if you aren’t a teenager, this is a cool project. Unfortunately Sony and Intel aren’t inviting the general public to be a part fo the actual ship hunt, but you can play along with the virtual Project Shiphunt game which allows you to use Google Earth to explore sunken ships.

Image from NOAA Photo Library Via Flickr

Michigan Students Search for Sunken Ships with Support From Sony & Intel is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Sony VAIO “Ultimate Mobile PC” could be the rumored Sony VAIO Hybrid Notebook which is rumored to include a fast Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor and Thunderbolt connectivity. The rumored VAIO Hybrid Notebook is said to connect to an external dock via Thunderbolt to connect an external AMD GPU and a Blu-Ray Drive.

If this Hybrid VAIO Comes to market it will be competing with the MacBook Air, likely in a more powerful Core i5 and Core i7 model, as well as the Samsung 9 Series.

The Sony VAIO Slider looks like it will directly compete with the Samsung 7 Slider as a Windows 7 tablet and may also draw the attention of Eee Pad Transformer fans. This sliding notebook is rumored to have a 9.4″ display and run on the Intel Atom Pine Trail CPU. Rumors point to a $800 pricepoint and an October launch. This device looks like it will compete with the Samsung 7 Slider. If rumors are true, the Freestyle Hybrid PC will run Windows 7.

Sony Slide Leaks MacBook Air Competitor and Sliding Vaio PC is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Sony announced that the new Sony VAIO S ultraportable is now available for preorder from SonyStyle. The VAIO S was announced at CES 2011 and comes with 2nd Gen Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processor options as well as Intel WiDi 2.0 and the ability to last 15 hours with the optional slice battery.

VAIO S Quick Specs:

The Sony VAIO S has a 13.3″ display with a 1366×768 resolution and comes in a black or white magnesium and aluminum chassis which is helps keep the weight of this thin and light down to 3.8 pounds. The VAIO S can be configured with up to a 2.7GHz Sandy Bridge Intel Core i7-2620M processors with TurboBoost 2.0 to deliver up to 3.4GHz of power when needed. The ultraportable can support up to 8GB DDR3 RAM.

The VAIO S can be configured with up to an AMD Radeon HD 6630 GPU with 1GB RAM for optimum video performance, that can switch over to the integrated Intel graphics solution to extend battery life.

The VAIO S comes with several storage options including twin SSDs with RAID 0 technology as well as numerous hard drive options including up to a 500GB 7200 hard drive or a 5400RPM 750GB hard drive.

There are also optical drive options including Blu-Ray, Intel WiDi 2.0 to stream wireless HD to your HDTV, Bluetooth and USB 3.0. The VAIO S models all have backlit keyboards and a multitouch mousepad as well as MOTION EYE webcams and the standard VAIO, WEB and Assist buttons.

VAIO S Battery Life:

The VAIO S comes with a standard battery rated at up to 7.5 hours with the default settings, or 6.5 hours on full brightness. While playing a DVD or Blu-Ray expect around 4.5 hours. You can double the VAIO S battery life by adding a “sheet” battery which is shown above and is similar to the slice batteries commonly found on business notebooks. The VAIO S Slice battery is an extra $150 and brings your battery life up to 15 hours with default settings and 13 hours at maximum brightness. The slice battery snaps on to the base of the notebook rather than sticking out the back, and brings the weight of the notebook up to 5 pounds.

Sony VAIO S Pricing and Availability:

The Sony VAIO S is available for preorder today starting at $970. The optional slice battery adds $150. No ship date has been formally announced.

Sony VAIO S Gallery:

Sony VAIO S Lands w/ Sandy Bridge & 15 Hr Battery Option, Starts at $970 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The 9.4-inch Windows 7 slider tablet form factor from Sony would bear the VAIO moniker and could be a successor to the VAIO P series, which is a compact premium netbook.

The sliding notebook, however, will utilize netbook innards as the VAIO slider will be powered by an Intel Atom Pinetrail processor. The device is expected to be priced around $800 when it will be introduced in October, but that pricing may increase at launch according to Engadget‘s sources.

Sony to Release 9.4-Inch VAIO Slider Tablet Windows PC? is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.

Sony VAIO CA Specs:

Powering the VAIO CA notebooks are the Second Generation Intel Core i5  processors with TurboBoost 2.0 which can automatically boost your speed when you need extra power so that you don’t get bogged down waiting for a video to finish rendering or when you need the extra power during a game. The Gaming boost can be amplified with the AMD Radeon HD 6630 graphics processor with 1GB RAM that is available on select VAIO CA models. Select models can also be configured with a Blu-Ray player.

The Sony VAIO CA notebooks are available with a 14.4″ display and the option of upgrading to a full HD 1080p display for users who desire a high-resolution monitor. For users who want to share what’s on their screen, the VAIO CA is equipped with Intel Wireless Display 2.0 which can stream your content in 1080P to your HDTV with a separate adapter. The WiDi 2.0 adapters will be available from numerous retailers for around $99.

Sony VAIO CA Features:

Another plus for the VAIO CA is the inclusion of the Sony Imagination Studio Suite 2 VAIO Edition software suite which includes numerous tools for users to get started creating multimedia content. This software package is essentially iLife for PCs with a Sony Vegas™ Movie Studio HD Platinum, Acid Music Studio, Soundforge and more. The Sony VAIO CA also comes with the Adobe Acrobat Standard to round out the out of box experience.

Other cool features include the ability to use your VAIO C series notebook to navigate the menus on your Playstation 3 or BRAVIA HDTV. The VAIO CA notebooks will also come with a backlit keyboard standard for ease of use in low light environments and a HD webcam that is optimized for low light settings.

Sony VAIO CA Price and Availability:

The Sony VAIO CA 14.4″ notebook will be available on March 13th with a starting price of $880 from SonyStyle and from select retailers including ABT Electronics, B&H Photo, Fry’s Electronics, J&R Electronics and MicroCenter.

Sony VAIO CA Gallery:

Sony VAIO CA 14.4″ Notebook Announced w/ 2nd gen Core i5 and WiDi 2.0 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.