Super Thin, Super Light Vaio X 65

Sony is touting the Vaio X as the world's thinnest, lightest notebook -- and it probably is. Weighing as little as 655g and only 13.9mm thick, it beats the Apple MacBook Air's 1.36kg and 19.4mm, and is targeted at the style-conscious business user.

Sony's saying a battery lifespan so long as sixteen hours, though you will need the extended battery to reach that, adding a few millimetres to the depth and a big amount to the weight of the machine. Routinely, you'll get 8 hours liberty. The 11.1in diagonal, 1366x768 resolution screen is backlit by power-saving LED technology and you can stipulate one of three solid state disk ( SSD ) sizes : 64GB, 128GB or 128GB. Only with a 64GB SSD and without the optional, HSPA-capable 3G module does it achieve 655g ; the added parts boost weight by 130g to 785g. Still, hardly a heavyweight.

The light carbon-fibre casing is either gloss or matte finished, depending on whether you specify, respectively, the top-end VPC-X11Z1E/X with a 2GHz Atom CPU and a 256GB SSD, or the entry-level VPC-X11S1E/B, which sports 1.86GHz and a 128GB SSD. The entry-level model's matte finish is maybe more engaging and, in contrast to the top-end model, doesn't need constant polishing to get rid of fingerprints, though I was guaranteed by the product executive the glossy model contains a polishing material. Both come with 2GB DRAM, an Intel graphics subsystem and 802.11n WiFi connectivity. Also standard are a pair of USB ports, a neat, space-saving Ethernet port, SD card and Sony Memory Stick slots, Bluetooth and a camera. You get VGA out too for powering a projector.

despite the clumsy names, the models are both interesting and very easy to walk around with and to use. Simplicity of use features include a multi-finger touchpad, although I did not test this, and it comes with Windows seven. The sole question mark is the screen : it's just over 2mm thick and flexes alarmingly, although it failed to seem to have being picked up by the corner of the panel.

The Sony Vaio X is a particularly fascinating piece of kit that hits the high end of the desirability scale but only a little time spent with it will tell if it delivers what it guarantees. Expect a full review in these pages shortly.

Available from November 2009, the entry-level Vaio X costs £1,299, the top-end costs £1,799.