Sony to launch iPod rival

This summer Sony will be releasing a new range of consumer-focused Vaio computers, including a handheld version aimed directly at fans of Apple's all-conquering iPod music player.

The Vaio Pocket, or VGF-AP1, has a 2.2in colour screen, 20GB hard drive, weighs less than 20g and currently costs $465 (£265). Sony is claiming a 20-hour battery life for the device, which can play MP3, WMA and WAV formats as well as the company's proprietary ATRAC3 format.

Sony Europe declined to give a UK launch date but confirmed that the devices should be on the market here by the end of the summer.

This is the first MP3 player Sony has launched with a hard drive - with the exception of two models released earlier in the year through Aiwa - and could signal the end of the line for Mini-Disc development.

The company also detailed some of its other forthcoming innovations, such as the Vaio Type U, the smallest Windows XP computer on the market; a future concept computer with a terabyte hard drive; and improved audio-visual capability for the entire Vaio range.

At 167mm by 108mm by 26.4mm, the Vaio Type U is the smallest Windows PC is designed for use as a handheld device, although a keyboard is optional. It uses a low-powered Celeron processor and has a screen built in.