VAIO VGX-XL100 -- Sony makes a computer that goes on its side

It's the VAIO VGX-XL100, a computer doesn't look like a computer. It looks pretty so you can put it in your lounge without feeling embarrassed when girls come round (having more than one computer in your house is a big "no no" when it comes to looking cool in front of women, according to Lorraine Kelly in last week's Heat magazine).



It's a COOL computer. It's meant for the vague, barely-existing world that is "high definition", in which men try to convince themselves that spending £2000 on a TV and £1000 on something to send video to it was a really good idea.

THE FULL STUFF ABOUT IT:

The XL100-Series : Full-Spectrum Entertainment At Its Best
The real entertainment centre for the living room

Brussels, 6 January 2006 - Today sees the launch of the VGX-XL100, a VAIO home entertainment PC which connects directly to the TV. As ever, the emphasis is on the best in AV-IT, providing full support for super-high quality DSD audio and HD video supported by Intel Viiv technology for maximum performance.

The XL100-Series
The XL100 is the core of the digital home. Designed to be used in the living room with a TV as its display, it comes in a stylishly restrained black and brushed silver case which will harmonise with any décor. Ideally, the XL100 should be used with an HD-ready TV as it is the first VAIO system with HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) and Component TV outputs. This means that unlike conventional entertainment PCs, it can output a true HD-quality signal. Setup is simple, and little cabling is required. A wireless keyboard with integrated touchpad and a remote controller are included as standard, so it's easy to use wherever you are in the room.

The XL100's powerful hybrid TV tuner lets you watch both analogue and digital TV rather than just analogue channels. The capacious 250GB hard disk means that the XL100 can act as a video recorder as well, not to mention as a music centre and DVD player. A potent Intel Pentium D Processor 920 and 128MB NVIDIA Geforce 6600 graphics provide the muscle for gaming. In other words, this is the complete entertainment system for the home, but a tap on the touchpad brings true PC functionality to the fore. In seconds you can be shopping online or catching up with your email. And there's one last thing: despite its heavyweight credentials as a PC, painstaking engineering ensures that the XL100 is completely silent.

The XL100 is supplied with Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre Edition for simplified access to media features as well as full PC functionality. In addition, it comes with VAIO Information Flow, a specially designed graphical interface for use at a distance from the screen. This makes interaction with the XL100 a very simple matter, and provides instant access to popular services including RSS feeds, a newsreader, podcasting, picture slideshows and the music player. XL100 also incorporates Intel(r) Viiv technology, Intel's new brand for the digital home, designed to enhance and help manage how consumers enjoy, manage and share digital entertainment in the home. "The XL100, based on Intel Viiv technology will be instrumental in delivering a great digital entertainment experience in the home," said Herbert Weber, Director of Marketing Digital Home, Intel Europe, Middle East, Africa. "Intel looks forward to working with Sony on making digital entertainment effortless and more personal for consumers."

"The XL100 represents the next stage of the entertainment PC concept," says Jun Koyama, Director of IT for VAIO Of Europe (VOE). "By this I mean dual core power, cuttinga edge AV features and seamless PC/entertainment integrtion. All this is wrapped up in the design and quality that is fundamental to VAIO."

They said PODCASTING :(