Shortly after going public with the fact that the TZ series of notebooks has been shipped with some factory issues, Sony has introduced today two new notebook series that will benefit from the latest Blu-Ray Disc technology. The newly announced notebooks are part of the company's NS and CS series, and have been designed to provide an impressive high-definition quality.

 

“With these new units, Sony is now offering consumers a host of multi-media PC options to choose from," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. "And with a starting price of around $1,000 for the NS model, we're expecting a new audience to experience HD entertainment on their computers.”

 

The new NS notebook can be equipped with a Blu-Ray Disc-ROM drive, which comes as an option to the basic configuration. This model has been featured with a 15.4-inch widescreen display and uses Sony's own XBRITE-ECO LCD technology to deliver a high-quality video experience. The NS notebook has been designed as a portable multimedia system, and is ideal for listening to music, watching movies and surfing the Internet.

Equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor, it can support a maximum of 4GB of DDR2 memory. The notebook weighs approximately 6.4lbs with standard battery, and comes with a Microsoft Windows Vista Home OS. It will be available for prices ranging from $650 for the basic model, and $1,000 for the Blu-Ray-equipped versions.

 

The new Vaio CS notebook will be offered in several color options, including sangria, cosmopolitan, dove and black. The system is built as a 14.1-inch notebook and is equipped with the same XBRITE-ECO LCD technology as the NS model. It features a unique keyboard design and a LED light feature that becomes active when you play music, thanks to the 12-tone music analyzer.

 

Unlike the NS model, this notebook is based on Intel's latest Centrino 2 technology, and comes with a starting price tag of about $920, while the BD model will start at approximately $1,070. Both new models will be available in stores and select retailers later this year.