Sony's Centrino 2 portables leak, show 16:9 models

Sony has inadvertently tipped its hand about its notebooks based on Intel's Centrino 2 platform, based on several manuals and product leaks posted online. The VAIO FW will replace the FZ (pictured) and will switch to a new 16.4-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio display that suits it to watching Blu-ray movies. In American form, a stock model should ship with Intel's upcoming lower power 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo as well as 3GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive; higher-end models will speed up to 2.53GHz, top out at 4GB of memory, and hold a 320GB hard drive.

A second new model, the VAIO Z series, is the first-ever notebook to use a 13.1-inch display at the same ultra-wide ratio and will display at 1366x768; most details are unavailable outside of its use of an LED-backlit display and the option of HDMI out, though the system is likely to be very thin and will depend on low-power 2.26GHz and 2.4GHz chips; storage is likely to range between 200GB and 250GB while some models are also known to come with 4GB of RAM.

Other more conventional models will also receive updates; the 13.3-inch VAIO SR will also get the 2.26GHz processor as well as 3GB to 4GB of memory and 160GB to 250GB of hard disk space. The Europe-only VAIO BZ will update the 15.4-inch business notebook with similar Core 2 Duos as well as as between 2GB to 4GB of memory and 160GB to 200GB of permanent storage.

The AR, CR, and TZ series are also expected to receive new updates but aren't planned for refreshes until late 2008 or early 2009. American pricing and exact launch dates for the nearer-term systems aren't available, though few if any will appear before Intel's full Centrino 2 chipset is complete by August. [via NotebookReview]

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Other story tags: Intel, sony, blu-ray, Core 2, Centrino, VAIO