Sony updates ultraportable Vaio P series

Sony has added GPS to its two-handed Vaio P series

Sony has refreshed its Vaio P series of ultraportable notebooks unveiled at CES in January, adding a range of colours, built-in GPS and a compass.

The P series weighs just 600g and has an 8in 1,600 x 768 screen. It is designed to slip into a handbag or jacket pocket, but boasts Windows 7 Home Premium, an Intel Atom Z540 processor, a 64GB solid state drive and 2GB of DDR2 SDRAM at its lowest configuration.

Alternatively, purchasers can opt for an Intel Atom Z560 unit with a 128GB SATA drive and Windows 7 Professional.

The P series can be used while standing or walking, according to Sony, thanks to controls on the side of the unit for thumb navigation.

The device comes with Sony's location search software, and Everywair 3G for mobile roaming. The P series is also the first notebook from Sony to use 'accelerator' technology to browse using motion controls.

Sony said that users simply need to "give it a gentle shake to 'flick' through pictures or the pages of a PDF document, or to navigate back and forth through your web browsing history".

The P series also reacts when shifted between landscape and portrait mode and flips its screen accordingly.

The screen is wide enough to comfortably display a movie or two web pages side by side, Sony said. Although small, the keyboard is full-pitched for easy typing, it added.

Users can choose between Orange, Green, Pink, Black or White. Prices vary between £800 and £1,050 depending on specifications and seller.