Super Thin, Super Light Vaio X

Sony is pushing the promoting the Vaio X as the world's thinnest, lightest notebook -- and it likely is. Weighing as little as 655g and only 13.9mm thick, it beats the Apple MacBook Air's 1.36kg and 19.4mm, and is targeted at the style-conscious business user.
Sony's saying a battery life so long as sixteen hours, though you'll need the extended battery to achieve that, adding a few millimetres to the depth and a big amount to the weight of the machine. Routinely, you will get eight hours liberty. The 11.1in diagonal, 1366x768 resolution screen is backlit by power-saving LED technology and you can specify one of three solid state disk ( SSD ) sizes : 64GB, 128GB or 128GB. Only with a 64GB SSD and without the optional, HSPA-capable 3G module does it achieve 655g ; the added parts boost weight by 130g to 785g. Still, not a heavyweight.
The light-weight carbon-fibre casing is either gloss or matte finished, depending on whether you specify, respectively, the top-end VPC-X11Z1E/X with a 2GHz Atom CPU and a 256GB SSD, or the entry-level VPC-X11S1E/B, which sports 1.86GHz and a 128GB SSD. The entry-level model's matte finish is maybe more fascinating and, in contrast to the top-end model, doesn't need constant polishing to remove fingerprints, though I was guaranteed by the product chief that the glossy model contains a polishing material. Both come with 2GB DRAM, an Intel graphics subsystem and 802.11n WiFi connectivity. Also standard are 2 USB ports, a neat, space-saving Ethernet port, SD card and Sony Memory Stick slots, Bluetooth and a camera. You get VGA out too for powering a projector.
despite the awkward names, the models are both interesting and so easy to stroll around with and to use. Ease of use features include a multi-finger touchpad, though I didn't test this, and it comes with Windows 7. The sole query mark is the screen : it's just over 2mm thick and flexes worryingly, while it didn't appear to suffer with being picked up by the corner of the panel.
The Sony Vaio X is a very attractive piece of kit that hits the high end of the desirability scale but only some time spent with it'll tell if it delivers what it guarantees. Expect a full review in these pages shortly.
Available from November 2009, the entry-level Vaio X costs £1,299, the top-end costs £1,799.