Sony unveils 'Centrino 2' notebook family

Sony UK today unveiled its latest Centrino notebook, two days before the technology on which it's based will be formally launched by Intel.

That probably explains why the Japanese giant is so frugal in listing the new Vaio FS series' processor specs. However, it did let slip that the machines will used Intel's 915M chipset family, formerly best known by its codename, 'Alviso', and essentially a mobile version of the desktop Pentium 4 chipset 'Grantsdale'.

It's probably a 915PM chipset, since the notebooks feature Nvidia's recently announced GeForce 6200 Go mobile GPU which "takes full advantage of the PCI Express architecture", Sony said.

There'll be a Pentium M chip in there, of course, almost certainly using Alviso's 533MHz frontside bus. And since the FS series is Centrino-branded, an Intel Wi-Fi adaptor too. Sony said the new machines will sport 802.11b/g WLAN connectivity.

The FS series' display is a 15.4in widescreen XGA job built using Sony's superior X-black (aka X-brite) technology. Sony has also integrated double-layer DVD±RW drives. The whole lot weighs 2.8kg.

Intel is expected to announce 'Sonoma', the second generation of its Centrino platform on Wednesday, 19 January. Last week, Toshiba announced its own Sonoma-based notebook line-up. ®

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