VAIO
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VAIO (an acronym for "Video Audio Integrated Operation"), is a brand slogan for many of Sony Corporation's computer products. The branding was created to distinguish items that encompassed the use of consumer audio and video, as well as being conventional computing products. One example of this was the Sony VAIO W Series Personal Computer, which functioned as a regular PC and a miniature entertainment center.
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VAIO Logo
The VAIO logo uses the letters V and A to represent a cosine wave and the letters I and O to represent the numerals one and zero. The logo symbolizes the analog and digital multimedia capabilities of the product line, as well as Sony's vision of entertainment and technology "convergence".
VAIO Products
Sony is expanding the use of the VAIO label. It can now be found on notebooks, subnotebooks, desktop, and a hard-disk-based audio player (called VAIO POCKET player). Network media solutions by Sony will also carry the VAIO brand.
High-end VAIO notebooks are usually shipped with Microsoft Windows XP Professional, while others come with Microsoft XP Home. As of October 2005, VAIO notebooks and desktop are available upon request without pre-installed software at a slightly lower price. Most recently, some models no longer ship with a Recovery CD, but a special partition on the hard drive is used for the recovery information, including operating system and all bundled software. VAIO users are prompted to create a set of recovery CDs or DVDs immediately after purchase.
VAIO computers typically come with "brand name" components, such as Fujitsu hard drives, Samsung RAM, and Matsushita optical drives.
VAIO's Classic R505 SuperSlim Notebook
From 2000-2005 Sony released the PCG-R505 Series Notebook. Generally, a used PCG-R505 with the built in wireless costs more than its successor V505 series. Users of the V505 who switched from the R505 complain that the buttons and general feel are not as high-quality compared to the R505. Identical notebooks were sold in Europe as the R600 series. All are compatible with the "SlimDock", a docking station which contains a floppy disc, DVD/CD-RW and additional ports which the basic unit is missing.
Related Software Applications
VAIO computers feature a wide array of specially designed or bundled software, allowing the user to immediately use it for multimedia purposes. Some of these software products include:
- SonicStage, a digital music manager. Integrated with Sony's Connect downloadable music service, it allows users to transfer music to Sony standalone music players, PDAs, or PSPs.
- VAIO Zone[1] (in Europe and Asia), used for music listening, viewing photo slide shows, and watching TV (when a tuner card is present) and DVDs. VAIO Zone is an equivalent to Apple Front Row and Windows XP Media Center Edition.
VAIO notebooks and desktops were the first to feature a special screen coating called XBRITE™ or ULTRABLACK, which increases the brightness of the screen and makes the image more "lively". This effect is especially apparent when watching a movie on the computer screen. It is not so good, however, for use outdoors, where reflections limit the ability to see the image.