Sony Announces Advanced Line of Svelte, Ultra-Fast Notebooks; VAIO F490 and F480 Integrates Mobile Pentium III Processors Featuring Intel SpeedStep Technology - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Jan 24, 2000

Pushing the envelope on sleek design and speed in the notebook PCs, Sony Electronics announced Tuesday two new, high-performance additions to popular F Series line -- the Sony VAIO PCG-F490 and the PCG-F480 -- fit for business executives and multimedia users alike.

Both all-in-one F490 and F480 notebooks feature the new mobile Pentium III processors featuring Intel SpeedStep technology, making these notebook computers faster coupled with a longer battery life.

According to Mark Hanson, senior director, mobile PC products marketing for the Personal Network Solutions Company (PNSC) of Sony Electronics, the high performance F400 notebooks include the new mobile Pentium III processors featuring Intel SpeedStep technology, giving them near desktop performance and all the benefits of mobility at 650 and 600MHz.(5)

These processors allow the F490 and F480 notebooks to automatically switch between two performance modes -- a battery optimized mode (when running on batteries) and a maximum performance mode (when plugged in) offering the best balance between performance and battery life.

"The new mobile Pentium III processors featuring Intel SpeedStep technology deliver desktop-class performance without sacrificing mobility," said Robert Jecmen, vice president and general manager, of Intel's Mobile Computing Group. "Sony has taken advantage of these features and is delivering an innovative notebook that delivers high performance for e-business, Internet applications and smooth graphics in a lightweight form-factor."

F400 Series Full-Featured Notebook

A comprehensive range of specifications are included in the F400 Series to a variety of high-performance and multimedia computing requirements. These models offer brilliant, 15-inch displays, are about two inches thin, weigh approximately seven pounds and feature Sony's sleek and elegant mobile design.

The VAIO F490 integrates a new video chip with 6MB of VRAM for ultimate video technology capabilities. Perfect for 3D rendering, CAD-related graphics and other multimedia applications, the F490 comes standard with this AGP (accelerated graphics port) and 3D hardware graphics support.

Hanson said that video editing, architectural drawing and 3D effects are a snap to perform, and consumers have the added benefits of built-in DVD-ROM drive and DVD movie playback on all models.

As with the recently announced F450 and F430, the full line offers Sony's unique 3MAX+ notebook system featuring maximum display size, maximum battery and maximum mobility, plus an all-in-one design including a floppy drive, hard drive and DVD-ROM built-in. All models include DVgate software allowing the user to capture full motion digital video and still photography for multimedia presentations or even video emails.

Just like the VAIO desktop PCs, the F400 Series will also feature Sony's PictureGear version 4.1 software for enhanced management of such digital content as panoramic photography for creative business presentations. Now, users can enjoy the benefits from the latest enhancements to PictureGear software such as transforming scenic vacation shots into panoramas, creating tailored audio tracks and Quicktime 4.0 editing support and playback of animated image files like a movie clip.

Sony's 3MAX+ Features

The F400 Series provides an enhanced feature set, Sony calls the 3MAX+ commitment, including maximum screen size, maximum battery life and maximum mobility.

Maximum Screen sizes make the F Series notebooks ideal for business presentations and quality graphic applications:

* 15-inch XGA active matrix LCD displays

* Crisp display -- ideal for DV editing or business presentations Maximum Battery allows for added business and entertainment flexibility:

* Simultaneous dual battery with DVD-ROM

* Enhanced power for DVD full-length movie playback, on all of the F Series

* Added productivity time while traveling

* Increased time for "on-the-go" DV editing Maximum Mobility provides for enhanced portability without compromise:

* Three-spindle design adds flexibility. The systems include a fixed hard drive and, DVD, as well as a swappable bay for a floppy disk drive or an extra battery

* Weight-saver device allows for additional portability

PCG-F490: High-Performance Consumers, Mid- to Large Business Users

All-in-one convenience converges with Intel SpeedStep technology to create the powerful and speedy new PCG-F490. For executives with a penchant for multimedia features and large, crisp displays in a portable notebook, Hanson said that the F490 is the perfect computing tool, offering desktop performance and video-editing suite capabilities.

The F490 is loaded with Windows 98 (Second Edition), Word 2000, and has a 650MHz(5) mobile Pentium III processor featuring Intel SpeedStep technology and an 18.1GB(3) hard drive. It ships in February with estimated selling price of less than $3,800.(1)

PCG-F480: Ideal for High-End Multimedia and Business Consumers

Sleek, stylish, hearty and fast, the F480 breaks through the computing clutter with its all-in-one features and desktop performance in a compact notebook design. Targeted at the mid- to large-business computing market, the F480 is a solution for multimedia, CAD and DVD applications.