New Sony's VAIO PC PictureBook C1VN

Sony today announced that its new VAIO PictureBook C1VN will feature the Crusoe processor, whose energy-saving capabilities will substantially enhance the popular notebook PC's battery life.

New Processor Nearly Doubles the Battery Life of VAIO PictureBook PC for up to 5 1/2 Hours(a) of Mobile Use Sony Electronics today announced that its new VAIO(R) PictureBook C1VN notebook computer will feature the Crusoe(TM) processor, whose energy-saving capabilities will substantially enhance the popular notebook PC's battery life. With the new C1VN model expected to ship next month, Sony is slated to be the first to bring the benefits of the Crusoe processor to U.S. consumers. "With Sony's VAIO PC line, we're constantly enhancing the consumer's PC experience by providing the world's most robust technologies in stylish, ultra-light and compact form-factors," said Mark Hanson, vice president and general manager for VAIO PC products at Sony Electronics.

"At just 2.2 pounds, the PictureBook is light weight. Couple that with the enhanced battery life Sony is experiencing with Crusoe and consumers get more productive mobile time and greater flexibility in how they use their notebooks. With this technology, there's no reason to be tethered to a power cord or searching for an AC adapter." In addition to substantially improved battery life, the PictureBook features a new built-in progressive scan camera for better digital still and video images and a full complement of digital video editing software, making it one of the market's smallest, most powerful business computing and digital video editing systems. Among the PictureBook's full suite of office and entertainment applications is Sony's MovieShaker(TM) -- a fun, simple application for producing digital home movies, complete with transitions, effects and music -- Intuit Quicken(R) 2000, QuickTime (TM), Microsoft(R) Word 2000 and Adobe's Photo Deluxe(R), Business Edition. Also featured are additional Sony applications, including DVgate(TM) and PictureGear(TM), which allow users to capture full motion digital video and still photography for dynamic multimedia presentations -- or even video e-mail. PictureGear(TM) allows for enhanced management of digital content - both sound and video files. Users can visually organize and manage personal digital content collections including still images, digital video clips, MP3 files and much more.

In addition to the super-fast 600 MHz(b) Crusoe Processor and the new progressive-scan CCD camera, the VAIO PictureBook has a 12 GB(c) hard drive, 128 MB of SDRAM -- and a dedicated MagicGate(TM) Memory Stick(R) media slot for easy storage of downloadable SDMI-compliant music, high-resolution images and other data. The VAIO PictureBook features Sony's programmable Jog Dial(TM) control for easy application loading of a host of user-friendly applications.

The new PictureBook PC begins shipping in October with an estimated selling price of $2,299(d) The PictureBook will also feature Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Millennium Edition (Me) operating system. "It's no surprise that Sony, the company that created the ultralight notebook category, is first to market with Crusoe," said Dave Ditzel, chief executive officer, Transmeta. "Unlike other microprocessors, Crusoe uses an innovative 'smart layer' of software to perform functions normally done in hardware on a chip. This fundamental, unique design difference allows Crusoe to be smaller, run cooler and be more power-efficient than traditional microprocessors."

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Sony VAIO C1MV Picturebook with Processor Versi Crusoe TM5800

When Sony first introduced the Picturebook it was the very first Cruseo-based subnotebook to make it on to the market. The release of the C1MV Picturebook on Transmeta's 0.13 micron TM5800 signifies that subnotebooks with non-Intel chips are growing in demand. The C1MV features a 733MHz TM5800 processor, Windows XP and the standard integrated CMOS camera above the high resolution 3/4 size TFT display. The VAIO C1MV and is expected to retail for about $1900USD mid-November 2001.

Like the earlier Crusoe-powered VAIO Picturebook's the C1MV is incredibly slim and portable - but while still packing in a host of features that make it useful to both the business and home user. At 1.0" thick and weighing a 2.2 pounds, the C1MV comes standard with a 20GB hard drive, 128MB DDR memory, 8MB ATI Radeon-M graphics chip, 8.95" UWSXGA (1280x600) TFT display and TM5800 733 MHz Crusoe processor.

The TM5800 series is manufactured on the 0.13 micron process, enabling the C1MV to consume less power and remain in use for upto 15.5 with a quad-size battery. The standard size battery has enough power for the VAIO C1MV to remain in operation for up to 4 hours. As with previous Picturebooks, battery life is influenced by how much the CMOS camera is used. All that in a package which measures 1" x 9.8" x 6" and weighs only 2.2lbs!

Port Replicator

Since subnotebooks are notorious for casting aside anything that even remotely fits under the term "legacy" the VAIO C1MV comes bundled with a external port-replicator. The port replicator makes it possible for C1MV users to make use of a 10/100 Ethernet connection or multimedia ports for video editing for example.

Business will probably be content to just leave the port replicator and all the cables at work, and take the C1MV alone. The C1MV subnotebook is with a V.90 modem, IEEE 1394 connection, and Memory Stick media slot - Sony's brand of proprietory flash memory. Three different sizes of batteries are available to power the notebook; standard, double and quad. With the largest battery pack clipped in, the C1MV can run for about 15.5 hours, and with the double battery 8 hours.

DVD-Quality Video

The hallmark of any VAIO Picturebook is the built-in rotating CMOS camera just above the 8.9" TFT screen. On the VAIO C1MV, the designers have opted to use a progressive scan camera with one-button capture or digital still and video images - directly to the computer.

The C1MV also sports MPEG1 thru MPEG4 and JPEG support to yield an ideal platform for viewing DVD quality video on the 1280 x 600 screen. The notebook even goes so far as to house a built-in real time MPEG2 encoder and decoder. The encoder makes it possible for users to convert an external video source to MPEG2 for higher quality video playback.

Given Sony's past efforts the C1MV looks to be a tantalizing extension of the original Picturebook, and one which will hopefully offer users a Cruseo-based platform with long battery life, decent performance, and superb functionality.

READ MORE - Sony VAIO C1MV Picturebook with Processor Versi Crusoe TM5800