SR1K

NEW Sony Vaio SR1K Notebook PC

The long-awaited successor to the incredibly popular N505SN has finally hit the shops - and as our special reporter discovers, it's a cracker.

New Added Thickness

The 505 weighed a meagre 1.2 kg and managed just 22mm thickness - that's less than an inch, causing countless owners to report their laptops lost or stolen, only to find them tucked between papers in their briefcase. The SR1K, in contrast, packs a more respectable 1.36 kg, and manages to squeeze an extra 10mm into the thickness, making it a far better value 32mm thick.

Latest Materials and build quality

Unlike the 505, which used a rather out-dated solid metal construction, the SR1K uses the very latest plastics to give it a comfortable, flimsy feel, yet without compromising weight.

Advanced NoPorts (TM) configuration

Tired of all those cables winding their way around your desk? Frustrated with Infrared, and confused by parallel versus serial? The SR1K does away with all that using the very latest 'NoPorts' (TM) technonology. This offers:

* No parallel ports * No serial ports * No infrared port

In fact, the only connectivity options to worry about are firewire and USB (as also found on the n505SN).

New Optional Accessories

One drawback of the N505SN was its lack of optional accessories - Floppy drive, port replicator etc. all came as standard. Now you have the option of paying extra for these basic devices, putting you back in control of the configuration.

Completely Restyled

The drop-dead gorgeous sex appeal of the 505 was widely condemmed by conservative employers and parents alike for its corruption of moral standards. Sony have addressed this with a complete redesign, removing any hint of attractiveness from the machine.

Performance Maintained

While the 505 had just 64Mb RAM, the latest model comes with a very respectable 64Mb RAM. Plus, there's a PIII 500 MHz processor compared with the previous model's PII 400. Combined with the use of Windows 2000 rather than Win'98, this offers no increase in actual performance at all.

Special Introductory Price Increase

Despite its cheaper construction, and lacking Infrared, an FDD (£90) or port replicator (staggering £170), Sony have thrown down the gauntlet to competitors with an impressive £100 price increase compared with the N505SN.

Conclusion

With all these extra benefits, plus an incredibly useful jog dial and a built-in modem*, it looks like Sony are onto a winner - and it won't just be the plastic casing that's cracking.

• NB Due to lack of infrared or COM port, the modem on this mobile computer cannot be used with mobile phones.

-SvenHowarth

Any die-hards who refuse to embrace the advanced SR1K can still purchase the N505SN through mail-order, or at http://www.kmhcomputers.co.uk.