Vaio makes a comeback
We thought the Vaio brand would disappear forever from the U.S. market when Sony sold off its PC business to a Japanese investment firm last year so that it could focus on mobile. Well, we were wrong.
Vaio will return to the U.S. this fall as the Vaio Z Canvas, a Surface-like 12.2-inch laptop with a detachable display. A photo of the Vaio Z Canvas is posted on a teaser page in which you can enter your email address to receive future updates, otherwise there's not a lot of info being provided directly to the public.
However, Vaio boss Yoshimi Ota did reveal to The Wall Street Journal that it's planning to sell laptops in Microsoft's retail stores in the U.S. He also noted that the Canvas Z will be a premium product, as his strategy is to target high-end niches rather than mainstream users like Sony did.
The new Vaio is building a reputation as being pricey. Vaio machines start at about $1,600 in Japan, while the Canvas Z will debut at $2,199 in the U.S. That's gaming laptop territory and could be a tough sell for a system that resembles a Surface Pro 3.
Interestingly, Vaio is going after graphic designers, photographers, and other users entrenched in Apple's camp. The way Mr. Ota sees things, there aren't any decent Windows-based alternatives to Apple's higher-end Macs.
Beyond PCs, Mr. Ota also wants to get into Vaio-branded robots, which can be "humanoid or dog-shaped" or whatever, along with wearables, communication devices, and factory-automation machines with artificial intelligence.
Sounds ambitious to us, and perhaps even overly ambitious.
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From maximumpc
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