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Sony has produced the first notebook computers to feature the supposedly revolutionary short-range wireless communications system known as Bluetooth.
We have seen this technology in headphones and other add-ons before, but never in a notebook. The two ultra-portable Vaios feature fully-integrated Bluetooth modules, antennae and software.
The SR31K features a 750Mhz Mobile Pentium III processor with SpeedStep, 128Mb Ram (upgradable to 256Mb) and a 15Gb hard drive. The 10.4in display is powered by an 8Mb Savage S3 graphics chipset.
A lack of any legacy ports has enabled Sony to keep the weight down to just 1.36kg which, alongside the slim dimensions, makes this notebook ultra-portable. You also get a FireWire port and a PC Card slot, which is taken up by the external CDRom drive.
The obligatory MagicGate Memory Stick slot is included as well. A jog-dial control completes the features list for the SR31K, which gives you plenty of multimedia storage and connectivity options.
The smaller PCG-C1VFK is equipped with a 667Mhz Transmeta Crusoe processor, specifically designed to achieve high performance with lower power consumption.
The compact display is well lit and clear and the Motion Eye camera, which is attached to the top of the screen and can rotate through 180 degrees, is a pleasing extra. Both notebooks have Windows 2000 and special Sony software, such as OpenMG for music storage and VisualFlow for sharing images.
The PCG-SR31K's Bluetooth antenna, hiding in a thin black ridge at the top of the screen, is activated by a button on the side. (It's on the base of the C1VFK.) The blue LED illuminates and you are faced with the visually impressive BlueSpace software.
This detects nearby Bluetooth devices with a sonar-style bleep, before negotiating a connection. Annoyingly, it's necessary to instigate this yourself, since the machines can't recognise each other automatically.
Once connected you can choose from the icons on screen, which allow you to use File Push, a simple file-transfer utility. The machines connect via a 'virtual' serial port or local area network, and you can also link to remote devices attached to the other machine.
The BlueSpace software is quite clear with simple icons and diagrams but the interface doesn't offer the complete control you might expect. It's easy to use if you're performing straightforward tasks but can get tricky for more complex degrees of control.
After taking about a minute to assign an IP address the notebooks managed to exchange information at about 500Kbps when within a couple of metres range, but this figure dropped as we moved them apart. At a distance of roughly 12 metres the connection was lost. The transfer speed was less than the 1Mbps Bluetooth limit, but should be fast enough for most.
Considering that Bluetooth is being touted as the wireless link to unite all cordless machines and add-ons in the future, compatibility could be a problem. These notebooks can only connect to an IP address if it is another Vaio running BlueSpace. A password system protects you from unknown Bluetooth modules.
Specifications: PCG-SR31K
- 750Mhz SpeedStep Pentium III processor
- 128Mb Ram
- 15Gb hard disk
- 8Mb S3 Savage/IX8 graphics chipset
- 10.4in XGA TFT display
- Windows 2000
- Dimensions: 259 x 209 x 32mm
- Weight: 1.36kg
- Price £1802 (inc VAT).
Features: ****
Build quality: ****
Performance: ****
Value for money: ***
Overall: ****
Specifications: PCG-C1VFK
- 667Mhz Transmeta Crusoe TM5600 processor
- 128Mb Ram
- 15Gb hard disk
- 8Mb ATI 3D Rage Mobility graphics chipset
- 8.95in TFT LCD display
- Windows 2000
- Dimensions: 248 x 152 x 27mm
- Weight: 1.01kg
- Price £1702 (inc VAT).
Features: ****
Build quality: ****
Performance: ****
Value for money: ***
Overall: ****
Contact: Sony UK
0870 542 4424
www.world.sony.com
See also:
At last, a real live Bluetooth product. Does it live up to the hype? 24 Apr 2001
All Notebooks & Tablets PCs
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