After announcement of AR-series Core 2 Duo models last month, Sony offers through its online shopping center (at SonyStyle.com) only Vaio VGN-AR230G AR-series Core 2 Duo model built around T5600 CPU. Vaio VGN-AR290 blue-ray enabled notebook currently is not available. The only blue-ray model which is currently available through Sony shopping center is Sony VAIO® AR190G Core Duo Notebook. Its starting price of $3,399 partially explains why Sony didn’t rush out with Core 2 Duo sibling of this model, which could be even more expensive.

Vaio VGN-AR230G quick specs:

Processor & Chipset: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache), FSB 667MHz, Chipset: Intel® 945PM
Operating System: Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2
Connectivity: Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (802.11a/b/g), Fast Ethernet 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX (RJ-45), Integrated V.92/V.90 Modem with (RJ-11)
LCD: 17” WXGA5 (1440×900) with XBRITEâ„¢ technology
Hard Drive: 200GB4 4200rpm Serial ATA Hard Drive
Memory: 1GB PC2-4200 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (512MB x 2)
Graphics: NVDIA® GeForce® Go 7400 - 64MB + TurboCache™ supporting up to 256MB Video RAM
Graphics Interface: VGA out w/ Smart Display Sensor, HDMIâ„¢ out and S-Video out
Optical Drive: DVD+R Double Layer/DVD±RW Drive
Audio: Sound System - Sony® Sound Reality™ - Audio Enhancer; Audio Interface: Microphone jack, Headphone jack
Multimedia Card Reader: Supports optional Memory Stick® and Memory Stick DUO™ media with MagicGate® functionality and Secure Digital Media (SD)
One PCMCIA - Type II/Type I card slot with CardBus support
One ExpressCardâ„¢ /54 Slot
Other Interfaces: i.LINK® connector(IEEE 1394)35 (1 4pin), 3 USB 2.0 ports, port replicator connector
Pointing Device & Keyboard: Electro-Static touch pad, QWERTY, 86 keys with 2.5mm stroke and 19.05mm pitch
Battery & Estimated Battery Life: Standard Battery (VGP-BPS2B), Standard Battery: 1.5-2.0 hours13
Communication: Built-in camera and microphone
Color: Black

This entry was posted on September 20, 2006 and is filed under Sony VAIO AR series.