The new machine, which will be available first in June in Japan, is not likely to disappoint Sony fans. Its widescreen display gives it a distinctive look and a long list of features and good networking support rounds off the machine, for which Sony says it is yet to decide on overseas launch plans.

Intel Inside

The PCG-TR1 is based around Intel's recently launched Pentium M processor running at 900 MHz. The machine can accommodate between 256MB and 1GB of DDR266 (Double Data Rate 266) memory and it has a 30GB hard drive. There is also a built-in CD-RW/DVD-ROM optical drive, which supports CD-R writing at 8X and CD-RW writing at 4X speed.

The display is a 10.6-inch widescreen TFT LCD with WXGA resolution (1,280 pixels by 768 pixels). Just above the display there is a small video camera. It can be used to snap pictures or works with Sony's bundled videoconferencing software although it has a relatively low resolution of 370,000 pixels, which means it can manage around VGA resolution (640 pixels by 480 pixels) quality.

 

To aid picture capture Sony has put a capture button to the right of the main display. It is one of four buttons placed next to the display; the others are volume up/down and a zoom button.

Going Wireless

Three wireless networking standards are supported: IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11a, and Bluetooth 1.1, in addition to the Fast Ethernet and ILink/IEEE1394 wired networking standards. Other connectors include two USB 2.0 ports, a PC Card slot, Memory Stick Pro slot, and a connector enabling the notebook to be used with an external monitor.

It weighs just over 3 pounds and measures 10.6 inches by 1.4 inches by 7.4 inches. Battery life for the standard pack is between 4.5 hours and 7 hours with the large battery pack providing enough power for between 7 hours and 10 hours, according to Sony.

Sony will put the PCG-TR1 on sale in Japan on June 7 for a price around $1,970.