Sony have announced a new addition to their Vaio compact notebook computer with the Series-P, and it is sweeeeet. Starting at just $900, the P boasts an 8-inch display and weighs just 1.4 lbs. It has WiFi built in of course, but also allows you to connect to the Internet through a 3G connection (Verizon is the service provider in the US.) In the "other snazzy features" category, there's also a GPS receiver built in. The P comes with bundled navigation software, but I suspect the GPS will be indispensable to road warriors as a way to google for ATMs and restaurants near whatever hotel they find themselves in. The basic model ships with 60 gigabyte conventional hard drive, but you can go up to a 128 GB solid state drive. The graphics chipset will drive an external screen at a resolution of 1600x1200 pixels in addition to its own 1200x768 screen. The CPU is a relatively modest 1.33 gigahertz single-core Intel chip, but given that the Vaio isn't intended for high-end gaming or video editing, the choice of CPU is a reasonable tradeoff for the low weight, 2-4 hour battery life and price. Certainly as I clock up the miles walking the halls of CES while hauling my desktop-replacement MacBook Pro around, the advantages of a lightweight notebook that would let me blog from almost anywhere is becoming more and more appealing. Earlier members of the Vaio line have already found their way to the heart of many an owner, and the P series will be no exception.
