Sony VAIO A39GP
Sony's latest flagship VAIO notebook, the A39GP, will appeal to avid gamers and multimedia enthusiasts with deep pockets.
Sony's latest flagship VAIO, the A39GP boasts some pretty impressive specs. Pitched at the high-end of the desktop replacement market, this multimedia notebook features a beautiful 17-inch widescreen LCD with Clear Bright technology that supports resolutions up to WUXGA (1920 x 1200 pixels).
The notebook can be attached to a dock that Sony includes in the package, which provides convenient connections to peripherals via an array of ports. There are four USB 2.0 ports, VGA output, DVI-D, optical digital audio out, RJ-45 Ethernet, stereo audio inputs and outputs, composite video out, S-Video out and a printer port. Sony includes two desktop speakers that plug directly into dedicated audio connections on the dock.
Centrino technology is onboard the A39GP with a Pentium M processor 770 (2.13GHz) that, like the recently released Pentium 4 chips, supports Intel's power-saving SpeedStep technology. Providing memory to drive multiple applications is 512MB of RAM, which is expandable to 2GB.
The A39GP features 802.11b/g integrated wireless networking and a gigabit 1000Base-T Ethernet jack for fast wired connections. Also included are a 5,400rpm 100GB Serial ATA hard drive and a multi-format DVD burner that supports double layer +R media. An ATI Mobility Radeon X600 with 128MB of dedicated video memory handles the graphics.
Downside:
While the A39GP might be an A/V entertainment master, it comes at a very high price. With a recommended retail price of $4,999, there aren't many other consumer notebooks that top this price. By comparison, Apple's high-end 17-inch Powerbook retails for AU$4,299 -- sans port replicator and speakers though.
Outlook:
The VAIO A39GP will appeal to gamers and multimedia users looking for a powerful notebook for the home environment.
Sony also launched six other notebooks under the VAIO brand last week, which included business models, all-round performance notebooks and a 1.3kg ultraportable laptop, the T27.
The T27 is a comparatively tiny model with a 10.6-inch widescreen display, 60GB hard disk, DVD+/-RW drive and an Intel Pentium M processor 753 (1.2GHz). Sony claims the T27 offers up to 8.5 hours of battery life from a single charge, or sustains 5 hours of constant DVD play back.