Sony steps into netbook ring with Vaio W-Series

Sony has finally decided to release a netbook - some two years after the craze for the cheap and cheerful devices first kicked off.

The Vaio Mini W-Series will be available in the UK in mid-August, Sony said. It features a 10.1 inch screen with 1366x768 resolution. The W-Series weighs in at 1.19 kilograms. It runs an Intel Atom processor and features 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM and comes with Windows XP.

The style-friendly device will come in three colours - white, pink and dark brown - and features a stain resistant palm rest on the keyboard to keep it pretty.

Sony could not confirm pricing, but Reuters reported a Japanese version would cost about 60,000 yen (390).

Despite rumours it would launch a netbook at CES in January of this year, Sony instead unveiled the P-series, an ultra-portable, high spec and relatively highly priced device.

Click here to read our buyer's guide to the top 10 netbooks.