Sony rolls out fresh VAIO G2 ultraportable in Europe

Sony today spread the availability of its VAIO G2 notebook to Europe. The 12-inch, ultralight (2.2-pound) notebook now runs on an ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo but is capped at 1.06GHz versus the 1.2GHz model available in Japan. Nonetheless, the system also has the choice of a 64GB solid-state hard drive that greatly improves load times and extends battery life; Sony has revised its estimates slightly to give the G2 an 11.5-hour runtime when put into its most energy-efficient mode and using a high-capacity battery. A normal, lighter battery peaks at seven hours, according to Sony.

While prices and trim levels are bound to vary depending on the country, the example Italian version of the carbon fiber VAIO is being kept simple and will vary only by storage and price. Systems will top out at the 2,100-Euro ($2,977) VAIO G21VN/B with the 64GB SSD option, 2GB of memory, and a fingerprint reader. A lower-cost version will use a slower but more capacious 100GB rotating hard drive as well as halve memory to 1GB for an unknown price.