is a Japanese

personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

manufacturer headquartered in Azumino,

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

. It is owned by Nojima Corporation. Vaio began as a brand of

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, introduced in 1996, until it offloaded it into an independent company in 2014, with

Japan Industrial Partners Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. is a Japanese private equity firm based in Tokyo. Founded in 2002, it received investment from firms including Mizuho Financial Group and Bain & Company. Its CEO is Hidemi Moue. History In 2007, Japan Industrial ...

(JIP) purchasing the Vaio business while Sony maintained a minority stake. Sony still holds the intellectual property rights for the VAIO brand and logo. JIP sold Vaio Corporation to Japanese retailer Nojima in 2025.

Etymology

Originally an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

of Video Audio Input Output, later amended to Video Audio Integrated Operation, and later to Visual Audio Intelligent Organizer in 2008 to celebrate the brand's 10th anniversary. The logo, along with the first of the VAIO computers, were designed by Teiyu Goto, supervisor of product design from the Sony Creative Center in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He incorporated many meanings into the logo and acronym: the pronunciation in both English (VAIO) and Japanese () is similar to "bio", which is symbolic of life and the product's future evolution. It's also near "violet", which is why most early Vaios were

purple Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is ...

or included purple components. Additionally, the logo is stylized to make the "VA" look like a

sine wave A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or sinusoid (symbol: ∿) is a periodic function, periodic wave whose waveform (shape) is the trigonometric function, trigonometric sine, sine function. In mechanics, as a linear motion over time, this is ''simple ...

and the "IO" like binary digits 1 and 0, the combination representing the merging of analog and digital signals. The sound some Vaio models make during startup is derived from the melody created when pressing a telephone keypad to spell the letters V-A-I-O.

Global operations

As of 2023, Vaio is operational in the following countries: *

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

History

As part of Sony

Although Sony made computers in the 1980s, such as

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

-based HitBit computers mainly for the Japanese market, the company withdrew from the computer business around the beginning of the 1990s. Under the then-new VAIO brand, Sony's re-entry into the global computer market began in 1996. Sony's then-president

Nobuyuki Idei Nobuyuki Idei (出井伸之, ''Idei Nobuyuki''; 22 November 1937 – 2 June 2022) was a Japanese businessman. He was chairman and group chief executive officer of Sony Corporation until 7 March 2005. He was a director of General Motors, Baidu, ...

thought "there was no point making an ordinary PC", so the VAIO lineup was to focus on Audio Visual (as the VAIO name suggests), portability, and design. The PCV-90 was the first series of desktops introduced in 1996, and designed with a 3D graphical interface as a novelty for new users. The first VAIO laptop computers followed in 1997 with the US$2,000 PCG-505 "SuperSlim" model, constructed out of a four-panel

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

body. VisualFlow was a Sony program distributed in the late 1990s and early 2000s with Sony VAIO computers. Over the years, many audio visual technologies and interfaces pioneered by Sony became a key focus for its VAIO computers, including

Memory Stick The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory, flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage ...

, i.Link, and even

MiniDisc MiniDisc (MD) is an erasable magneto-optical disc-based data storage format offering a capacity of 60, 74, or 80 minutes of digitized audio. Sony announced the MiniDisc in September 1992 and released it in November of that year for sale i ...

. In 2001,

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

presented a VAIO PC running

Mac OS Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. in a succession of two major series. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the classic Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system ...

to Sony executives, suggesting the possibility of collaboration. Sony's VAIO team ultimately turned down the proposal they regarded a "diversion of resources", as the popularity of the

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

-based premium PC brand was growing. Sony VAIO released later designs (2011 and later) during a period of low PC sales. They included models with innovations such as magnetized stands. The VAIO Tap, which was designed with a completely separate keyboard. The latest models were complemented by the

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, made available for download via Microsoft ...

operating system.

Spin-off from Sony

On 4 February 2014, Sony announced that it was selling its VAIO PC business due to poor sales. Sony created VAIO Corporation, a special purpose company with investment firm

, as part of its restructuring effort to focus on

mobile devices A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. Mod ...

. In March 2014, it was announced that Japan Industrial Partners had purchased a 95% stake in the VAIO division. The sale closed on 1 July 2014. On the same day, the company announced refreshed entries in the VAIO Fit and Pro lines. They initially distributed the relaunched products in Japan, then later in Brazil. In August 2015, VAIO announced plans to re-enter international markets, beginning with Brazil and the United States. VAIO CEO Yoshimi Ota stated that the company planned to focus more on high-end products in niche segments (such as the

creative industries The creative industries refers to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. They may variously also be referred to as the cultural industries (especially in Europe) or the ...

), as they felt Sony was somewhat too focused on attempting to garner a large market share in its PC business. The Z Canvas tablet was released in the United States on 5 October 2015, through

Microsoft Store The Microsoft Store (formerly known as the Windows Store) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It was created as an app store for Windows 8 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform apps. With ...

and the VAIO website. On 16 October 2015, VAIO agreed to introduce their products in

through a partnership with a local manufacturer Positivo Informática. On 2 February 2016, VAIO announced that it would unveil a

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

. Also that month, it was also reported that VAIO was negotiating with

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

and

Fujitsu Technology Solutions Fujitsu Technology Solutions GmbH (FTS) is a Munich-based information technology vendor in the so-called "EMEIA" markets: Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. A subsidiary of Fujitsu in Tokyo, FTS was founded in 2009 when the parent firm b ...

to consolidate their personal computer businesses together. On 4 June 2018, Nexstgo Company Limited announced that they would be licensed by VAIO Corporation to oversee the business in Asia. This license agreement between Hong Kongbased Nexstgo and the Japan-based VAIO Corporation would include manufacturing, sales and marketing as well as servicing of VAIO laptops under the VAIO trademark in the Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan markets. Currently in the US, VAIO business products are sold by Trans Cosmos America, Inc. On November 11, 2024, a major Japanese electronics retailer named Nojima Co, Ltd. announced it will acquire Vaio for ¥11.2 billion. It will purchase about 93% of the Japan Industrial Partners's stake while Sony will retain a 4.7% stake. The deal was completed on January 6, 2025 with Vaio becoming a subsidiary of Nojima.

Products

Sony VAIO (1996 to 2014)

Sony's VAIO brand included product lines across

notebooks A notebook is a small book often used for writing. Notebook or The Notebook may also refer to: Computing *Laptop, a type of personal computer **Notebook (laptop), a specific, smaller class of laptop *Google Notebook, a discontinued online appli ...

subnotebook Subnotebook, also called ultraportable, superportable, handtop, mini notebook or mini laptop, is a type of laptop computer that is smaller and lighter than a typical notebook-sized laptop. Types and sizes As typical laptop sizes have decreas ...

s, desktops, media centres, and even Network media solutions. Sony Vaio PCG-F420 notebook

Computers

Sony's VAIO range of computers consisted of the following lineups:

=Desktops

= * Desktops ** PCV series (19962005) * Multimedia Desktops ** PCV-M series (19981999) ** PCV-MX series (2000, built-in FM radio,

player and amplifier) * Tablet PC Desktops ** PCV-LX series (20002008) * Media Center PCs ** VGX-XL series (2005, audio receiver form factor) ** VGX-TP series (2007, cylindrical disc form factor) ** VGC-R series (2006) * All-In-One Computers ** PCV-W series (20022006) ** VGC-VA series (20052006, 20", integrated TV tuner) ** L series (20062013, 15.4" or 19" touchscreen display, integrated TV tuner, Sony's Living Room PC) ** Tap 20 (2013, 20" touchscreen display) ** Tap 21 (2014, 21.5" 1920 x 1080 touchscreen display)

=Notebooks

= * Ultraportable Premium ** 505 series (19972004, 10.4" or 12.1" display, external floppy and CD drives, originally called SuperSlim) ** 700 series (19971998, 12.1" display, external floppy and CD drives) ** 800 series (19981999, 13.3" display, external floppy and CD drives) ** TX series (20052007, 11.1" 1366 x 768 display, first laptop with 16:9 LED backlit display) ** TZ series (20072008, 11.1" 1366 x 768 display) ** TT series (20082010, 11.1" 1366 x 768 display) ** SZ series (20062008, 13.3" 1280 x 800 display, switchable graphics) ** Z series (20082014, 13.1" display, switchable graphics) * Ultraportable Mainstream ** SR series (2000-2001, 10.4" SVGA display, circular trackpad) ** SRX series (2001-2002, 10.4" 1024 x 768 display, circular trackpad) ** TR series (2003, 10.6" 1280 x 768 display) ** VX series (2002, 10.4" or 12.1" display) ** SR series (20082010, 13.3" 1280 x 800 display) **

S series S series or Series-S may refer to: Technology * S-Series (rocket family), funded by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency * Fujifilm FinePix S-series * Minolta Vectis S series, cameras * Samsung Galaxy S series, smartphones and tablets * Sony Eri ...

(20102013, 13.3" 1600 x 900 display) ** T series (20122014, 13.3" 1366 x 768 display) ** Y series (13.3" 1366 x 768 display, no optical drive) * Ultraportable Netbooks ** G series (2007, 12.1" 1024 x 768 display, Intel Core processor) ** M series (2008, 10.1" 1024 x 600 display, Intel Atom processor) ** W series (2009, 10.1" 1366 x 768 display, Intel Atom processor) ** X series (11.1" 1366 x 768 display, Intel Atom processor) * Consumer, Home & Work ** F series (19992000, 13.0" or 14.1" 1024 x 768 display, desktop replacement) ** FX/FXA series (20012003, 14.1" display, desktop replacement) ** XG/XE/XR series (19992001, 13.3" or 14.1" 1024 x 768 display, modular DVD/CD-RW/Floppy/2nd battery/2nd hard drive bay) ** QR series (2001, 13.3" 1024 x 768 display) ** FRV series (2003, 15" 1024 x 768 display, desktop replacement) ** GR series (2002, 15" 1400 x 1050 display, desktop replacement, swappable multi-bay) ** GRX series (2002, 15" 1024 x 768 or 16.1" 1600 x 1200 display, desktop replacement) ** GRZ series (2003, 15" 1024 x 768 display, desktop replacement) ** GRT series (2004, 15" 1024 x 768 or 16.1" 1600 x 1200 display, desktop replacement) ** NV/NVR series (2002-2005, 15" 1024 x 768 or 1440 x 1050 display, modular Floppy/

Numeric Keypad A numeric keypad, number pad, numpad, or ten key, is the calculator-style group of ten numeric keys accompanied by other keys, usually on the far right side of computer keyboard. This grouping allows quick number entry with right hand, ...

/Compact Subwoofer bay) ** B series (2004) ** BX series (2005, 14.1" display) ** FJ series (2005, 14.1" display) ** C series (13.3" 1280 x 800 display, choice of colors) ** CR series (2007, 14.1" 1280 x 800 display, choice of colors) ** NR series (2007, 15" 1280 x 800 display) ** E series (2010, 15.5" or 17.3" display, choice of colors) ** XE series (2011, 15.5" 1920 x 1080 display) ** Fit 14 & 15 (2013, 14" or 15" touchscreen laptop, SVF) ** Duo (2013, 13.3" hybrid touchscreen laptop, SVD) ** Tap 11 (2013, 11.6" touchscreen convertible, SVT) * Multimedia ** A series (2004, 17" 1920 x 1200 display) ** AX series (2005, 17" 1440 x 900 display) ** AR series (2006, 17" 1440 x 900 or 1920 x 1200 display, first with BD-R drive) ** AW series (2008, 18.4" 1680 x 945 or 1920 x 1080 display) * Portable Entertainment ** FS series (20052006, 15.4" 1280 x 800 display) ** FE series (20062007, 15.4" 1280 x 800 display) ** FZ series (20072008, 15.4" 1280 x 800 display) ** FW series (20082010, 16.4" 1920 x 1080 display) ** F series (2010, 16.4" 1920 x 1080 display) ** NW series (2009, 15.4" 1366 x 768 display) * Lifestyle & UMPC

Subnotebooks Subnotebook, also called ultraportable, superportable, handtop, mini notebook or mini laptop, is a type of laptop computer that is smaller and lighter than a typical notebook-sized laptop. Types and sizes As typical laptop sizes have decrease ...

** C1 series (19982003, 8.9" 1024 x 480 display, branded as PictureBook) ** GT series (2001, Japan only, 6.4" display, built-in digital camera) ** U series (20022004, 6.4" or 7.1" 1024 x 768 display, Sony's first

UMPC An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a Pen computing, pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in Spring 2006. Sony had already made a first at ...

) ** UX series (2006, 4.5" 1024 x 600 display) ** P series (20092010, 8" 1600 x 768 display)

=Experience

= Included as part of the

out-of-box experience An out-of-box experience (OOBE ( )) is the experience an end-user has when taking a product after unboxing, or for digital distribution, runs the Installation (computer programs)#Installer, installer, and is preparing to first use it, as opposed t ...

are prompts to register at Club VAIO, an online community for VAIO owners and enthusiasts, which also provides automatic driver updates and

technical support Technical support, commonly shortened as tech support, is a customer service provided to customers to resolve issues, commonly with consumer electronics. This is commonly provided via call centers, online chat and email. Many companies provid ...

via email, along with exclusive desktop wallpapers and promotional offers. From 1997 to 2001 in Japan, the

SAPARi was an online 3D computer graphics, 3-D virtual world service developed in Java (programming language), Java and run by Sony. Users could speak to one another and join chat lobbies by using a dedicated server browser called the Community Place ...

program was also pre-installed on VAIO machines. On later models, the customer is also prompted to register the installed trial versions of

Microsoft Office 2010 Microsoft Office 2010 (codenamed Office 14) is a version of Microsoft Office for Microsoft Windows unveiled by Microsoft on May 15, 2009, and released to manufacturing on April 15, 2010, with General availability release, general availability on ...

and the

antivirus software Antivirus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware. Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the name ...

(

Norton AntiVirus Norton AntiVirus is a proprietary software anti-virus or anti-malware product founded by Peter Norton, developed and distributed by Symantec (now Gen Digital) since 1990 as part of its Norton family of computer security products. It uses sign ...

on older models, and

McAfee VirusScan McAfee Antivirus is an antivirus software created and maintained by McAfee (formerly known as Intel Security, and Network Associates prior to that). Originally marketed as a standalone product, it is also bundled with McAfee Antivirus Plus, McA ...

or TrendMicro on newer ones) upon initial boot. Vaio computers come with components from companies such as

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

processors,

Seagate Technology Seagate Technology Holdings plc is an American Computer data storage, data storage company. It was incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology and commenced business in 1979. Since 2010, the company has been incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with ...

, Hitachi, Fujitsu or

hard drives,

Infineon Infineon Semiconductor solutions is the largest microcontroller manufacturer in the world, as well as Germany's largest semiconductor manufacturer. It is also the leading automotive semiconductor manufacturer globally. Infineon had roughly 58,0 ...

or Elpida RAM,

Atheros Atheros Communications, Inc., was an American computer networking company independently active from 1998 to 2011. It produced semiconductor chips for network communications, particularly wireless chipsets. The company was founded under the nam ...

and Intel wireless chipsets, Sony (usually made by

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

) or Matsushita optical drives, Intel,

NVIDIA Nvidia Corporation ( ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang (president and CEO), Chris Malachowsky, and Curti ...

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...

graphics cards and Sony speakers. Recent laptops have been shipped with

Qimonda Qimonda Aktiengesellschaft, AG ( ) was a German DRAM, memory company split out of Infineon Technologies (itself a spun off business unit of Siemens AG) on 1 May 2006 to form at the time the second largest DRAM company worldwide, according to the ...

RAM, HP speakers with Realtek High Definition Audio Systems, and optional

Dolby Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (Dolby Labs or simply Dolby) is a British-American technology corporation specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and high-dynamic-range television (HDR) imaging. Dolby li ...

Sound Room technology. A selection of media centres were added to the VAIO range in 2006. These monitorless units (identified by a product code prefixed by VGX rather than VGN) are designed to form part of a home entertainment system. They typically take input from a TV tuner card, and output video via HDMI or

composite video Composite video, also known as CVBS (composite video baseband signal or color, video, blanking and sync), is an analog video format that combines image information—such as brightness (luminance), color (chrominance), and synchronization, int ...

connection to an ideally high-definition television. The range included the XL and TP lines. The VGX-TP line is visually unique, featuring a circular, 'biscuit-tin' style design with most features obscured behind panels, rather than the traditional

set-top box A set-top box (STB), also known as a cable converter box, cable box, receiver, or simply box, and historically television decoder or a converter, is an information appliance device that generally contains a Tuner (radio)#Television, TV tuner inpu ...

design. In 2013, Sony VAIO's range comprised seven products. The most basic were the E, T and S series while the high end models, the F and Z Series, were discontinued. Sony also had a range of hybrid tablet computers, with models called VAIO Duo 11/13, VAIO Tap 11/20 and VAIO Fit multi-flip, as well as a

desktop computer A desktop computer, often abbreviated as desktop, is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk (as opposed to a portable computer) due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuratio ...

under the L series. These models use

systems and

processors, as described above.

Portable music players

Sony released some of their early

digital audio player A portable media player (PMP) or digital audio player (DAP) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. Normally they refer to small, battery-powered devices ...

s (DAP) under the VAIO line. The first model, the "VAIO Music Clip", was released in 1999, powered by an AA battery and featuring 64 MB of internal memory. It differed from Sony's players in the "Network

Walkman is a brand of Personal stereo, portable audio players manufactured by Sony since 1979. It was originally introduced as a portable Compact Cassette, cassette player and later expanded to include a range of portable audio products. Since 2011, ...

" line, which used external

medium at the time. Succeeding models were also released, but it was mainly sold domestically, with Walkman-branded players more widespread internationally. In 2004 the brand made a comeback with the VAIO Pocket (model VGF-AP1L), featuring a 40 GB hard disk drive for up to 26,000 songs, and a 2.0-inch color LCD display. Like Walkman DAPs it used

SonicStage SonicStage is a discontinued software product from Sony that is used for managing portable devices when they are plugged into a computer running Microsoft Windows. It comprises a music player and library manager, similar to iTunes, Windows Media Pl ...

software.

Music streamers

Sony had also released several other products under the VAIO lineup, including the VAIO WA1 wireless digital music streamer, essentially a portable radio and speaker.

VAIO (2014 to present)

The current and past lineup of Vaio computers, developed by VAIO Corporation, continues the same product line naming, and currently include: * VAIO Z * VAIO SX14 * VAIO SX12 * VAIO FH14 * VAIO FE14 * VAIO FE15 * VAIO F14 * VAIO F16 * VAIO S13 * VAIO S15

Z Canvas

The first new VAIO computer developed by VAIO corporation was the VAIO Z Canvas

2-in-1 PC A 2-in-1 laptop, also known as 2-in-1 PC, 2-in-1 tablet, laplet, tabtop, laptop tablet, or simply 2-in-1, is a portable computer that has features of both tablets and laptops. 2-in-1 PCs consist of portable computer components within light ...

, which began sales on 23 September 2015 starting from $2,199 in the USA. The Z Canvas is focused on creative professionals as its target audience. Graphic artists, illustrators, animators, etc. With a 12.3-inch LCD WQXGA+ 2560 x 1704 IPS

multi-touch In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one somatosensory system, point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CE ...

display with digitizer stylus (pen) capability, the Z Canvas looks similar in design to the Microsoft

Surface Pro 3 The Surface Pro 3 is the third-generation Surface-series 2-in-1 detachable, designed, developed, marketed, and produced by Microsoft. It originally ran the Windows 8.1 Pro operating system (OS), but the optional upgrade to Windows 10 Pro (OS) o ...

, but comes with

Windows 10 Pro Windows 10 has several editions, all with varying feature sets, use cases, or intended devices. Certain editions are distributed only on devices directly from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), while editions such as ''Enterprise'' and '' ...

and is available as a

Microsoft Signature PC Microsoft Store was a chain of retailer, retail stores and is an Microsoft Store (digital), online shopping site, owned and operated by Microsoft and dealing in computers, computer software, and consumer electronics. The Microsoft Store offer ...

. It has an

Intel Core i7 Intel Core is a line of multi-core (with the exception of Core Solo and Core 2 Solo) central processing units (CPUs) for midrange, embedded, workstation, high-end and enthusiast computer markets marketed by Intel Corporation. These processors ...

processor, an Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200, a 2nd generation

PCIe PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe, is a high-speed standard used to connect hardware components inside computers. It is designed to replace older expansion bus standards such as Peripher ...

SSD with PCIe Gen.3 compatibility (up to 1 TB) or

SATA SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard ...

/M.2 for the 256 GB model, and up to 16 GB of memory.

Smartphones

In February 2016, VAIO announced the VAIO Phone Biz—a premium built mid-range

Windows 10 Mobile Windows 10 Mobile is the fourth and final generation of Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system, succeeding Windows Phone 8.1. First released in 2015, it was marketed by Microsoft as being an Windows 10 editions, edition of its Per ...

device. This was VAIO's first Windows smartphone. In March 2017, VAIO announced VAIO Phone A, which had the look of the VAIO Phone Biz, but runs the Android operating system instead.

Technology

Innovations

Over the years, the Sony VAIO lineup has been responsible for many 'firsts' in desktops and laptops, as well as for setting trends for what would now be considered standard equipment.

Integrated webcam

The Sony VAIO C1 PictureBook subnotebook, first released in 1998, was among the first to feature a built in web-cam, at 0.27 megapixels, and could swivel around to capture photos on both sides.

Chiclet keyboards

The Sony VAIO X505 laptop, released in 2004, popularized the

chiclet keyboard A chiclet keyboard is a computer keyboard with keys that form an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like erasers or " Chiclets", a brand of chewing gum manufactured in the shape of small squares ...

in laptops.

Displays

Some Sony VAIO models come with Sony's proprietary

XBRITE A glossy display is an electronic display with a glossy surface. In certain light environments, glossy displays provide better color intensity and contrast ratios than matte displays. The primary disadvantage of these displays is their tendenc ...

(known as ClearBright in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region) displays. The first model to introduce this feature was the Vaio TR series, which was also the first consumer product to utilize such technology. It is a combination of smooth screen, anti-reflection (AR) coating and high-efficiency lens sheet. Sony claims that the smooth finish provides a sharper screen display, the AR coating prevents external light from scattering when it hits the screen, and the high-efficiency lens sheet provides 1.5 times the brightness improvement over traditional LCD designs. Battery life is also extended through reduced usage of the LCD

backlight A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) that provides light from the back or side of a display panel. LCDs do not produce light on their own, so they require illumination—either from available light, ambie ...

. The technology was pioneered by Sony engineer Masaaki Nakagawa, who is in charge of the Vaio TR development. The TX series, introduced in September 2005, was the first notebook to implement a LED back-lit screen, which provides lower power consumption and greater color reproduction. This technology has since been widely adopted by many other notebook manufacturers. The TX series was also the first to use a 16:9 aspect ratio screen with 1366x768 resolution. The successor to the TX series was the TZ series in May 2007. This new design featured an optional 32 or 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD) for rapid boot-up times, quicker application launches and greater durability. If selected, a 250 GB Hard Drive could also have been included in place of the built-in CD/DVD drive to provide room for additional storage. For security, this model included a biometric fingerprint sensor and

Trusted Platform Module A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a secure cryptoprocessor that implements the ISO/IEC 11889 standard. Common uses are verifying that the boot process starts from a trusted combination of hardware and software and storing disk encryption keys. ...

. The TZ offered a built-in highly miniaturized Motion Eye camera built into the LCD panel for video conferencing. Additional features included the XBRITE LCD, integrated Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) technology and Bluetooth technology.

Switchable graphics

The SZ series was the first to use switchable graphics – the motherboard contained an Intel GMCH (Graphics Memory Controller Hub) featuring its own in-built graphics controller (complete memory hub controller and graphics accelerator on the one die) and a separate NVIDIA graphics accelerator chipset directly interfaced with the GMCH. The GMCH could reduce power consumption and extend battery, life whereas the NVIDIA chipset provided greater graphics processing power. A mechanical switch toggled between the graphics options but required that the user preselect the mode to use before the motherboard could initialize. The Z series, which replaced the SZ series, can change graphics modes "on the fly" on Windows Vista, and does not require a restart of the system. This feature has subsequently been used by other manufacturers, including Apple, Asus and Alienware.

Blu-ray

The AR Series was the first to incorporate a

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

burner, at the height of the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD format war. This series was designed to be the epitome of high-definition products including a

1080p 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the sc ...

capable

WUXGA A display resolution standard is a commonly used width and height dimension (display resolution) of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain comb ...

(1920 × 1200 pixels) screen,

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary digital interface used to transmit high-quality video and audio signals between devices. It is commonly used to connect devices such as televisions, computer monitors, projectors, gam ...

output and the aforementioned Blu-ray burner. The AR series also includes an illuminated logo below the screen. Blu-ray/HDMI capable models have been the subject of intense promotion since mid-2007, selling with a variety of bundled Blu-ray Discs. The AR series was subsequently replaced by the AW series, and in 2011, replaced by the F Series, which incorporates all of these features in a 16.4" 16:9 display.

Startup Chime

The chime heard when a VAIO computer is booted are the

DTMF Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling is a telecommunication signaling system using the voice-frequency band over telephone lines between telephone equipment and other communications devices and switching centers. DTMF was first developed ...

notes corresponding to V-A-I-O (8-2-4-6) dialed on a telephone keypad.

Bundled Software

Sony has been criticized for loading its VAIO laptops with bloatware, or ineffective and unrequested software that supposedly allows the user to immediately use the laptop for multimedia purposes. This includes trial versions of

Adobe Premiere Elements Adobe Premiere Pro is a video editing application developed by Adobe Inc. and is distributed as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. It is primarily used for producing high-quality videos across various industries. History Original A ...

Adobe Photoshop Elements Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe for Windows and macOS. It was created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. It is the most used tool for professional digital art, especially in raster graphics editing, ...

with VAIO Media Gate and XMB. Sony later offered a "Fresh start" option in some regions with several of their business models. With this option, the computer is shipped only with a basic Windows operating system and very little trial software already installed. The default webcam software in Vaio notebooks is ArcSoft WebCam Companion. It offers a set of special effects called Magic-i visual effects, through which users can enhance the images and videos taken through the webcam. It also features a face detection feature. Certain other Sony proprietary software such as Click to Disc Editor, VAIO Music Box, VAIO Movie Story, VAIO Media Plus are also included with recent models. Those shipped with ATI Radeon video cards feature the Catalyst Control Centre, which enables control of brightness, contrast, resolution etc., and also enables connection to an external display the best laptop.

Recovery Media

Early Sony VAIO models included recovery media in the form of CDs and/or DVDs. Beginning in mid-2005, a hidden partition on the

hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...

, accessible at

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

via the

BIOS In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is a type of firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization d ...

or within Windows via a utility was used instead. Pressing 10at the Vaio logo during boot-up will cause the notebook to boot from the recovery partition; where the user has the choice of either running hardware diagnostics without affecting the installed system, or restoring (re-imaging) the hard drive to factory condition – an option that destroys all user installed applications and data). The first time a new VAIO PC is started up, users are prompted to create their own recovery media. This physical media would be required in case of

hard disk failure A hard disk drive failure occurs when a hard disk drive malfunctions and the stored information cannot be accessed with a properly configured computer. A hard disk failure may occur in the course of normal operation, or due to an external factor ...

and/or replacement. In cases where the system comes with Windows 7 64-bit pre-installed, the provided recovery media restores the system to Windows 7 32- or 64-bit.