The cheapest VAIO laptop yet

Matthew Elliott | Sep 27, 2007

The VAIO NR popped its head up in Germany a few weeks ago. Now Sony has announced its new budget laptop will make its US debut next month. With a starting price of US$750, it undercuts Sony's current budget model, the VAIO N, by a hefty US$200. Despite its low price, Sony didn't skimp on design, outfitting the 15.4-inch, 2.81kg with a textured chassis it describes as "fabric-like" and "pleasing to the eye and cool to the touch". You'll have your choice of three colors, which Sony calls wenge, silk and granite, and everyone else calls brown, white and silver.

Sony lists four VAIO NR configurations. An Intel Core 2 Duo processor is offered on the highest-end config, the NR160, but the other three units, the NR110, NR120, and NR140, use lower-end Pentium Dual Core processors that operate on a 533MHz frontside bus. The entry-level VAIO NR110 model features a Pentium Dual Core T2310 CPU, 1GB of memory, a surprisingly roomy 120GB hard drive, Intel GMA X3100 graphics, b/g Wi-Fi, and a DVD burner. It all adds up to a good value, but we'd want another gigabyte of memory to ensure a pleasant experience with Vista Home Premium.

When contacted, Sony Singapore told CNET Asia the units will be available but did not commit on when they will arrive.

This post originally appeared in CNET Crave.