Sony punts new business Vaios

The Sony Vaio TT promises up to eight hours of battery life

Sony has unveiled a range of high-end Vaio notebooks aimed squarely at the travelling executive market.

The flagship of the new business focused laptops is the TT range, a trio of small, ultra light models that Sony reckons will be a boon to any high-flying exec.

The notebook measures 23.5mm at its thinnest point and is encased in carbon fibre to help keep the weight down, which comes in at around 1.32kg.

By running on Intel's Ultra Low Voltage Core 2 Duo Processor and using dynamic screen lighting, the TT promises up to eight hours of battery life.

Although at the launch event, Windows Vista managed only four and a half hours of battery life from the demo unit, even with power saving turned on.

The battery also comes with a quick charge function that provides 50 per cent of its battery life from just over an hour of charging.

The ultra-portable TT notebook comes with between 2Gb and 4Gb of RAM, a 120GB or 160GB hard drive with drop detection built in, and an 11.1in widescreen X-black LCD display. Unlike many ultra-portable notebooks, the TT includes a DVD rewriter.

For security, there is a fingerprint reader and the Trusted Platform Module hardware which encrypts data on the drive.

Rounding out the business appeal, the TT also boasts embedded mobile broadband support and comes with a T-Mobile SIM card with 30 days free internet access. The notebook is provided unlocked, so those who wish to use another service provider can do so.

Chris Trewhitt, product marketing manager for Sony Vaio in the UK, explained at the launch event in London that the TT was designed specifically for the needs of the mobile executive who requires a device that is portable, has a long battery life, can remain in constant contact and is secure.

"Recently we have seen a number of competitors claiming to offer a mobile computing solution," he said.

"However, if you only address one or two of the mobile workers' needs, such as improved weight, to the detriment of basic functionality, or offer increased battery life but neglect to make the product truly portable, then clearly the user will suffer."

The TT series will be available from 14 November for between £1,599 and £1,999. There will also be a consumer model available which has no embedded mobile broadband and runs Vista Home Premium for £1,349.