Bangkok--22 Aug--Sony Thai VAIO Z, VAIO SR and VAIO FW launched to reflect the new definition of technology and architecture unifying in perfect harmony Sony Thai led by the Managing Director Mr. Taisuke Nakanishi, launched the new business policy for laptop marketing. The new direction was revealed under the new slogan ‘Closer to You’, reflecting the uniqueness of ‘VAIO’ product line and the company’s aspiration in successive technology improvement. Justified to respond to today’s complicated lifestyles better, Sony Thai convinced the VAIO line is the answer to all demands for today’s digitalised life of Thai consumers. With the new definition : VAIO — Visual Audio Intelligent Organizer, which transformed the core elements, including witty features, handsome design and acute software, into the product that delivers a totally different experience to the consumers. The VAIO is certain to respond to a wide array of functionalities required by users from different paths of life. Joining the event was Mr. Hideyuki Furumi, Senior General Manager of VAIO Business Group, Sony Corporation, who disclosed the overview of new VAIO direction. The event reached its climax when the “VAIO Z” was officially launched together with the “VAIO FW” and “VAIO SR” amid the joy of VAIO’s celebrity fans, who can manage and balance their working and personal with great efficiency, including (Mark) Tanop Eiamamornpan, Voramas Raksriaksorn, and Kanokros (Pongsatud) Suwansarang with her family. Surrounding by a fierce competition and the ever-changing notebook PC market, Sony Thai today has come to prove its success in establishing a strong standing point of VAIO in Thai market. The VAIO line now takes lead in the Thai notebook PC market. According to the survey by leading marketing magazines and research agents, both the business and household users pose a high confidence in the VAIO line, and name it as their most trusted and admired brand from time to time. “We’re delighted to reveal that the business of VAIO has gained a constant growth each year. It is expected that the 2008 will bring us more than 50 percent growth compared with last year,” said Sony Thai Managing Director Taisuke Nakanishi. “Currently, the VAIO occupies over 60 percent market share in the notebook PC pricing above 45,000 Baht segment. Therefore, we can say that VAIO is the absolute No. 1 market leader in the medium to high-end notebook PC market. The achievement and consumer recognition were the fruit of our dedication in studying the demands of consumers in order to develop the products that truly fulfill consumers’ requirements. The success reflected the voices of consumers showing their satisfaction and reliability towards the Vaio brand. And this has become a force that moved us forward to the elevation of quality. Right now, when the new definition and slogan are launched, we are now ready to create unique VAIO experiences and deliver a total satisfaction to the consumers through 3 key elements which are Product, Shop-Front and Customer Services & Support enhancement.” Mr. Hideyuki Furumi, Senior General Manager of VAIO Business Group of Sony Corporation, further clarified the global target for VAIO business. “By the year 2010, Sony has targeted the growth of VAIO business to reach 10 Billion US dollars all over the world. In order to achieve this, we are set to move forward to invent and offer products with outstanding features,” “Sony is the world’s leading electronic corporation specialising in visual and audio technology. In the last decade, the company decided to converge these knowledge base with IT technology into the Vaio product to differentiate it from typical laptops available in the market.” “Over 10 years since we launched VAIO, the computer market has been growing rapidly and the functionalities greatly changed, such as wireless and broadband technology, music downloads, movie function, etc. We, today, announce new VAIO definition from previous “Video Audio Integrated Operation” to “Visual Audio Intelligent Organiser”. This change highlights the shift in the way people use VAIO products that has taken place over the years. Visual and Audio remain to be the strength and the heritage of Sony, Intelligence is the new vector to bring additional value to VAIO and Organizer is how the three elements of "VIsual" "Audio" and "Intelligence" are combined together. VAIO is a real stylish notebook yet also provides great performances and true mobility. And with all these advantages will enable VAIO stands out on the top of their mind” Added Mr. Furumi. In addition, Sony also changed the VAIO’s old slogan of “No More Bounds” to “Closer to You” in order to envisage the image of Vaio as a brand that delivers technology to the users which will definitely be successful in strengthening the relationship between the Vaio and its user. “The new direction was designed to enable VAIO to understand the consumers’ needs and feelings, without sacrificing the reflection of users’ personality. With these quality, VAIO will definitely get closer to the users, and be a part of their everyday lives. Today, VAIO is not only a brand name, but indeed the brand of experiences that Sony is proud to offer the consumers for a better tomorrow.” concluded Mr. Furumi. Aesthetically, VAIO will continue to sport iconic design elements that have lead and inspired the industry. VAIO designs are the result of Sony’s desire to get customers to have an emotional connection to the notebooks, while remaining functional. Sony fans can expect to see the cylindrical spine that first made an appearance with the original VAIO 505, present across the three new VAIO notebook lines launched today — VAIO SR, VAIO FW and VAIO Z series. The innovative cylindrical spine is the core of the VAIO, forming the power source as well as enabling the notebooks to be as slim as possible while also allowing for the largest possible screen size. Made for all customers, the stylish isolated keyboard is also designed to prevent mistyping, eliminate typing noise as well as improve comfort for women with long manicured nails. VAIO Z — High-performance in an ultra-portable package In a move aimed at meeting the demands of executives searching for the ultimate in mobile computing, Sony Thai today launched its new flagship VAIO Z notebook. Designed and manufactured in Japan, the VAIO Z-Series offers executives and professionals the ultimate in uncompromised mobility. The design was evolved directly from user experience, ensuring rigorous practicality behind the matchless visual appeal. Sony’s engineering and craftsmanship deliver superlative functionality from a remarkably portable platform based on a uniquely compact 12 layer motherboard. The case is constructed from advanced carbon fibre materials typically associated with the world of F1 racing and the aerospace industry. Weighting in at a mere 1.48 kg, the Sony Vaio Z model incorporates a 13.1-inch widescreen display which is ideal for both desktop and mobile. The super-slim display has a 16:9 aspect ratio at 1600 x 900 pixels (WXGA++) offer 100% color priority — perfectly matching High Definition (HD) quality. The keyboard looks outstanding with beautifully brush-finished aluminum panel. The precision engineered ‘isolation’ key spacing and delicately concave key surfaces provide faster, more accurate and comfortable typing. The unique look of the VAIO Z owes much to the cylindrical hinge between the body and the screen. This provides an ergonomic and secure grip for carrying, while internally it serves as the holding space for the battery. With impeccable design logic, the end caps house the power cable input and power button respectively. The button itself glows elegantly in emerald green when the system is active and pulses gently orange when in standby, artfully complementing the overall styling. In order to boost battery life as much as possible, the VAIO Z has a special Stamina Mode switch which allows the user to select between two graphics chipsets, lightning fast 3D performance delivered by the NVIDIA? GeForce? 9300M GS GPU or high stamina using integrated Intel graphics. The setting is changed via a conveniently located switch above the keyboard and does not require rebooting. VGN-Z16SN will be available in the market from August 25 while the pre-booking for VGN-Z17GN will start from Aug 21 to Sep 2 and will be launched in the market in September. VAIO FW - features the world’s first 16.4-inch display, which combines the benefits of a slightly larger17-inch widescreen with the smaller “footprint” of a 15.4-inch model. It is designed as the ultimate entertainment notebook, delivering home theatre quality via cutting-edge technologies, in a compactly designed package. For excellent compatibility with the latest HD content, it is equipped with Blu-ray Disc drives on selected models that has both read and write capability, allowing users to store up to 50GB of HD video content on a single disc. Central to the VAIO FW series is its impressive 16.4-inch wide Clear Bright LCD [Rich Colour] display. Sharing the same 16:9 aspect ratio of HD LCD TVs, the specially designed WXGA++ display produces a remarkable 1600 x 900 resolution for beautiful playback of HD-format movies and personal HD videos. Combined with Sony’s patented XBRITE-HiColor? LCD technology, the display delivers razor-sharp details, bold colors and glare-free viewing. The carefully crafted isolated keyboard features outstanding functionality and contributes to the VAIO FW series ease-of-use. Key action is swift and sure, while the full-pitch layout assures accurate input even for ladies with long fingernails. The notebook is powered by new Intel Centrino 2 processor technology and includes VAIO Media software, a DLNA-enabled media sharing application that lets you wirelessly stream content stored on your PC throughout your home network.VAIO FW has been available in the market starting from August with 2 models — VGN-FW17GU/H and VGN-FW15S/B VAIO SR - constructed of lightweight, durable magnesium alloy, the SR notebooks are available in 3 striking colors— black, pink, and silver. Weighing less than 2 Kg, the SR notebook boasts a 13.3-inch LED backlit widescreen display and Sony’s patented XBRITE-ECO? LCD technology for clear, crisp images that truly “pop” off the screen. The PC features “Switch” technology enabling customized “personalities” or modes for home, work and entertainment. You can customize each mode with its own wallpaper and a set of five shortcuts to correspond to various scenarios. Set your favorite websites for home, office applications for work, and programs that allow you to enjoy music and movies when you are ready to relax. Equipped with a uniquely designed keyboard, the unit’s individual keys are slightly raised, producing a user-friendly touch and improved typing experience. VAIO SR has been launched in the market starting from August and available in 2 models — VGN-SR17SN and VGN- SR15SN (with 3 colors variation — black, silver and pink) To enhance more VAIO experience, Sony Thai also plan to provide additional services and privileges under this new slogan to get closer to the consumers. The shop renovation is another way to attract more customers and let them start to enjoy the VAIO experience with the assistance by well-trained VAIO staffs. New shop location at the trendy and lifestyles shopping malls is also an on-going step to enable VAIO to get closer to the new customer groups whose their lifestyles never get close to the IT stores. In terms of the additional warrantee offers, Sony also provides the “VOS” or “VAIO Overseas Service” that offers the customers with repair services at no charge in designated overseas countries for one year. Furthermore, Sony Thai will also provide the extra comfort with 1-year insurance, “VAIO Shield”, the joint insurance program with Bangkok Insurance. The customers will feel less worry about the risk of product lost and damage by accident. And for the VAIO customers, they can participate in “My Sony” membership program by on-line registration and receive numerous exclusive offers and privileges such as 3 - month extended warranty, monthly newsletter, the right to join free exclusive seminars and workshops to learn how to use the product and application even more effectively, etc. Sony will not stop and will continue to find out the customers’ needs and will deliver the better services to the customers to ensure the highest customers’ satisfaction and the customers can fully enjoy the VAIO experience. All new VAIO Series are ready for everyone to feel VAIO Experience at Sony Style, Sony Universe and dealer shops. For more information, please contact the Customer Information Center at Tel. 0-2715-6100 or access to our website www.sony.co.th” Closer to you The evolution continues. VAIO now becomes your indispensable partner, integrating closely with all aspects of your lifestyle. From the sheer pleasure of opening the package and seeing the improved quality and design, to stress-free support and superlative customer service, you will fully appreciate the polished intelligence that is the hallmark of new VAIO. In essence, a wonderfully moving experience that brings VAIO closer to you. For Media Inquiries, please contact Corporate Communications, Sony Thai Co., Ltd. Teeradej Pruksawananon and Warisa Rareunjit Tel. 0-2715-6298-9 E-Mail — Teeradej.pr@ap.sony.com / Warisa.ra@ap.sony.com