The Tokyo-based electronics giant is initially targeting the SMB market with the new range, according to Colin Woodward, group product manager for the company in the UK. He added that, until now, Sony has had only professional versions of its consumer-oriented laptops to offer to that market segment. This is the first time we’ve had a dedicated chassis for the business segment, as reflected by the fact that we’re guaranteeing continuity of the basic chassis in the BX Series for 12 months, where on the consumer side we change them every three months, he went on.
The BX-Series is the more mainstream of the models launched in the Professional range, with prices from GBP700 ($1,232) to GBP1,100 ($1,937).
At the other end of the spectrum is the TX-Series of ultra-light sub-1.25kg laptops, with prices going from GBP1,500 ($2,642) to GBP1,700 ($2,995), while in between is the S5-Series, with greater performance characteristics and a weight of 1.95kg. All three series run Windows XP and are WLAN-ready.
Sony is entering an arena occupied by Dell, HP, IBM and, in Europe, Fujitsu Siemens with these devices, and, as Woodward acknowledged, it lacks the scale to compete on price. Instead, it is going for total cost of ownership, touting features such as reliability and productivity. The devices come with one-year return-to-base included in their price plus a next-day, on-site support contract that is separately negotiable.
