Is the Sony Vaio X the ‘world’s lightest’ laptop?

Sony has once again staked its claim to rule the high-end of the notebook market with the Vaio X, which it claims is the "world's lightest laptop".

A highlight of the new featherweight machine is its aluminium/carbon fibre construction that enables it to be just 13.9mm slim and weigh a mere 780g - despite claiming to offer 16 hours of battery life.

The 11.1in display uses Sony's X-Black LCD tech with an LED backlight. The X-Series also features integrated mobile broadband as well as draft-N Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

However, it's also set to start the notebook/netbook controversy raging, as the processor is a 1.86GHz or 2GHz Intel Atom chip.

While Windows 7 is available from 22 October, those looking to get hold of the X-Series will have to wait until November.

Sony would not confirm pricing but said it expected the 1.86GHz model to retail for 1,300 inc VAT and the 2GHz model for 1,900.

Click here to read our first look review and here for our sister title's PC Pro's take on the new machine.

Benny Har-Even is a twenty-year stalwart of technology journalism who is passionate about all areas of the industry, but telecoms and mobile and home entertainment are among his chief interests. He has written for many of the leading tech publications in the UK, such as PC Pro and Wired, and previously held the position of technology editor at ITPro before regularly contributing as a freelancer.

Known affectionately as a ‘geek’ to his friends, his passion has seen him land opportunities to speak about technology on BBC television broadcasts, as well as a number of speaking engagements at industry events.