Steve's Gadget Blog

The S Series features a 13.3" screen with LED backlight and it weighs 2kg with its battery. Sony says that it's "ideal for doing better business" as it uses the latest Intel Core processors and has 4GB of DDR3 RAM. It can be connected to a HD display via the HDMI port - perfect for viewing presentations.

Selected models feature a backlit keyboard and an ambient light sensor, which can adjust the screen brightness depending on the light conditions. Valuable company data will be protected through Advanced HDD Protection that can safeguard data during boot up or hibernation preparation.

It runs Windows 7 Professional and as well as the 4GB of RAM it has a 500GB SATA drive.

The Vaio Z Series is a much more powerful proposition. On top of 6GB of RAM the Z Series features Quad solid state drives that can write data in parallel on up to four SSDs.

Both models weigh in below 1.45kg with battery and are made from carbon fibre and aluminium for added protection. The 13.1" screen is the Vaio Display Premium (the best screen Sony offers) and is full HD.

Like the S Series it has a light sensor that automatically adjusts the screen brightness and runs Windows 7 Professional.

Like all the latest Vaio models (with the exception of the W Series netbook), the S and Z Series feature the Vaio Assist button. It is designed to help users experiencing problems with their laptops by walking them through four stages. It starts with a diagnostic check, then moves on to a troubleshooting feature and finally a full system restore. If none of these work the user is finally prompted to contact Sony.