Sony to Debut More Affordable VAIO NR Notebooks

Today Sony announced its newest addition to the VAIO line of notebooks: the NR, its cheapest model to date.

Historically, Sony's VAIO line has been heavy on style while remaining light in your backpack. Though at times some entries in the line do look conspicuously similar to MacBook Pros, they have a design ethic that appeals to many.

The price tag VAIOs typically carry is quite large as well, with some retailing for over $3,000 USD. Today, however, Sony announced its lowest-priced VAIO notebooks to date. They're still stylish: slim with rounded corners, in a textured chassis that looks and feels - though isn't - upholstered.

Dubbed the NR series, these entry-level notebooks will include Intel Core 2 Duo processors pre-installed with Vista Home Premium. Standard features include 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN, 4 USB ports, CD/DVD burning capability, and slots for Expresscards, SD cards and PROTM memory sticks.

The full line of VAIO notebooks and options is available at Sony Style, though the NR will be added in October with a base price of $750 USD.

By adding another series of notebooks to its line, Sony could be diluting the VAIO brand name even further, even beyond "VAIO Professional." Where a more affordable option is welcome, the VAIO name tag has been placed on everything from UMPCs with its UX series to its flash memory-based TZ series. With the inclusion of the NR, there are 10 vastly different series present, each with their own subset of models. It will have no problem standing out at that price, but Sony may discover it still needs to separate its student market from its enthusiast and business markets if it wants to put VAIO on top.