Despite shutting down its traditional ultraportable line worldwide in favor of netbooks like the VAIO P, W and X, Sony today quietly resurrected the VAIO TT in its home country. The new model reflects the modern reality and uses significantly less expensive Intel CULV-based processors across most of the line. Customers can go to as basic a chip as the 1.2GHz Celeron as well as 1.4GHz and 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo models.
The systems unsurprisingly migrate to Windows 7 and accordingly get large RAM upgrades, with up to as much as 8GB of RAM already installed in higher-end configurations. A 512GB solid-state drive is also an option, though lower capacity SSDs down to 128GB, as well as traditional hard drives between 250GB and 500GB, are options. Other extras bring Blu-ray, 802.11n Wi-Fi and a dual digital TV tuner.
Battery lifetime has been extended on the notebook with the processor switch and can hold out to 11 hours even on the stock battery; an extended-capacity battery is estimated to last for about 17 hours.
Sony so far starts pricing at the equivalent of $1,406 in Japan but hasn’t unveiled any plans for international launches. A US release, if any, is likely to see a lower price.
