Now that VAIO is no longer part of Sony’s PC business, the company has been working hard on rebooting its independent computer business. The company recently announced two new computers in Tokyo.
The VAIO Z and VAIO Z Canvas at the company’s new touch screen laptop hybrids. The former is intended for use in enterprise while the latter is more of a creativity tool.
Engadget was on-hand to get plenty of pictures, as well as the basic specs of both devices.
The VAIO Z features “multiflip” mode, allowing the user to transform the 13.3-inch laptop into a tablet. The keyboard can also be positioned behind the screen for movie viewing or video conferencing activities.
It houses a second-generation SSD and Core i7 processor. The device weighs 2.95 pounds and measures about 0.66 inches in thickness.
There is a special power-saving display with a narrow lighting angle and a unique battery design with improved power capacity. It is for these features that VAIO claims the battery lasts up 15.5 hours.
The VAIO Z is available for preorder in Japan today for approximately $1,600.
The VAIO Z Canvas features a removable 12.1-inch display with 2560 x 1740 screen resolution. It also comes with a digitizer stylus. VAIO claims that it will come with up to 1TB of storage.
There is no official information as to price or release date of the Canvas model.
You know, VAIO just needs to maintain high quality build materials AND (emphasis on and) have vastly superior support/customer service than when under Sony’s umbrella and they’ll do fine. The machines weren’t really the problem. It was Sony’s lack of commitment (and public perception) to actively support their customer’s products which killed them. Kind of like Hewlett Packard (HP) in fact.
When you’re paying $1500+ for a machine, include some simple restore DVD’s (not JUST restore partitions). Include a “how to use Windows XX” or “Linux” online video tutorial series like lynda.com or vtc.com offers and you’d already be light years ahead of where you are now. In fact, buy, invest or license and customize a hard drive imaging company’s software (Macrium Reflect, Acronis True Image or the like) and offer it as part of the installation (make it easy to use too) and you’ll have very happy customers!
The one thing about BlackBerry I love is their online tutorials on how to use their phones/tablets. They are first class and won them awards. Copy and promote this as part of your brand and you’ll have much greater success. Also, remember the webOS Pivot digital magazine? It was amazing and it was the only piece of advertising I actually looked forward to getting. Do something similar!
You can even go so far as to charge for extended support after a generous time frame (2 years)…but make it financially reasonable to stay part of the support chain. Want reoccurring revenue? BINGO!