Sony introduces Vaio Series X, super-light, probably overpriced ultraportable

Sony has been pumping out ultraportable computers for ages, so the company’s got a little bit of expertise in the area. And this year Sony dipped its toe in the Intel-Atom powered netbook space, first with the overpriced and kind of bafflingly-sized Sony Vaio P, and then with the more typical, but still a bit overpriced Sony Vaio Mini W. And that’s why I’m fairly confident in predicting that the Sony Vaio Series X is also going to be an expensive piece of work. But that doesn’t make the newly announced laptop any less sexy.

Sony unveiled the Series X at IFA in Berlin today. The laptop sports an 11.1 inch display, and a unique carbon fiber frame that’s lighter than the plastic and aluminum used in most netbooks. The result? Sony says the Vaio Series X will weigh just 1.5 pounds, but still feature an all-day battery. Oh yeah, and it’s only 14mm or about 0.55 inches thick.

The laptop isn’t exactly going to be a powerhouse. It’ll reportedly pack a low power Intel Atom processor in order to help achieve that long battery life. But with Nokia setting the bar fairly high with its $800 Booklet 3G, all Sony really has to do is release this thing for under a grand to claim it’s staying competitive. Still, I’d love to see the Vaio Series X ship for under $600. I don’t expect to see that, but it would be nice.

You can check out a brief video of the laptop from Netbook News after the break. It looks like the keyboard is pretty slick, but that touchpad looks kind of small to me. Engadget and CrunchGear also have additional pictures.

Update: Engadget also reports that the Intel Atom processor isn’t set in stone, so it’s possible we could see the Vaio X with a different CPU by the time it’s released — which should be in late October after Windows 7 is officially launched. According to Engadget, there are also plans to sell the laptop with a choice of a matte or glossy display, although the demo units on display in Berlin all have matte screens.