Sony unveils Vaio Mini-W Series netbooks

The Vaio Mini-W Series come in white, pink and brown

Sony has taken a running leap into the netbook space with the Vaio Mini-W Series, promising to bring the company's high calibre devices to the burgeoning market for ultra-light portable devices.

The company made its first foray into the netbook arena with the launch of the P-Series which, although a lot smaller than other netbooks, were around three times as expensive.

The new Mini-W Series will be available in white, pink and brown, and will offer the typical netbook specifications including an Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive all running Windows XP.

However, the inclusion of 10.1in X-Black screen could separate the Mini-W Series from its competitors by providing a superior display.

The devices also include the usual features such as a webcam, and support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. There is no mention of a built-in 3G modem.

Weighing in at 1.19Kg the W-Series is among the lightest netbooks around, but Sony has not confirmed the expected battery life, a feature that could be a deal breaker for many.

The range will be available in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Russia from mid-August. Sony has not yet revealed pricing, but potential customers can expect it to be at the very top end of the netbook scale.