Sony builds pretty notebooks, and the VAIO NW series is no exception. The textured plastic enclosure looks fabulous in silver, and it resists fingerprints far better than the glossy finishes that have become so common. While it’s exciting to see a Blu-ray drive in a notebook at this price point, it’s unfortunate that the battery doesn’t have enough juice to finish a feature-length movie.

After the buzz with Sony VAIO P Series, Sony has come up with another new notebook series. The VAIO NW Series, is the series that push the "Gracefully thin" to the edge of their marketing. According to Sony the NW series are designed to be ‘gracefully thin’, they measure in at 1.2 inches thick. The thickness of just 1.2-inch, it should be ready for the thin Laptop competition, together with Macbook Air. With a thickness of 1.2-inches, Sony VAIO NW is definitely not as thin as Sony's thinnest laptop, VAIO X Series, but it is fairly thin for an entry level, full-fledged notebook.

The first thing you’ll notice about the 14.6 x 9.8 x 1.2-inch, Walnut Brown VAIO NW is the cool faux-wood design on the lid, which extends to the base of the system. If you’re not keen on this look, Sony also offers the system in Birch White and Silver Rattan. Owing to the NW’s "waved body" design, the keyboard resides in a slight depression, but it didn’t negatively impact our typing.

Apart from the Rosy Brown, Sony VAIO NW is also available in Shimmering White and Black. The textured, wavy plastic lid and base resists fingerprints better than the glossy finishes that other Sony laptops have. But other problem arises. The textured surface traps dusts and specks much more easily than the glossy surfaces. So you would have to clean and wipe off the dusts often, which is somewhat "hard work" for me, maybe for you too.

The contours of the VAIO NW are soft and the footprint is smaller compared to other models with the same screen size, making this notebook computer compact and easy to carry. Initially available in two colors, silver and brown, the tone is gentle and harmonious with the home environment. More colors such as white will become available in fall.

Above and to the right of the keyboard are a row of buttons that let us launch the Splashtop instant-on browser (which allows users access to the Web while avoiding Vista’s lengthy boot times), mute the speakers, and turn the display off (for when you’re using the notebook only to listen to music, for example). We would have liked to see dedicated volume controls, but it’s easy enough to adjust with function keys. At 5.6 pounds, the VAIO NW isn’t a system you’ll want to constantly keep in tow, but it’s certainly light enough to easily move from room to room.

Equally important to its design in relation to our surroundings is its eco-friendliness. It meets the latest industry energy efficiency standard, ENERGY STAR® 5.0, and its construction is carefully thought through to keep the amount of waste low by using both recycled and recyclable material in the body and packaging. The VAIO NW11-series has an impressive storage capacity of up to 500GB, making it ideal for multimedia, and has 4GB memory, allowing rapid file access and easy multi-tasking. Its 15.5" true 16:9 widescreen is stunning with Sony’s X-black LCD, which delivers vibrant colors and crystal sharp details.

There’s more peace of mind that the VAIO NW notebook offers. When you want to watch or share content on a large HDTV screen, it has an HDMI™ output so that you can easily connect to the TV with a single cable that delivers both video and audio signals. This feature makes your life easier and all the more fun particularly when enjoying HD content, whether it’s your HD home videos, HD photo slideshows or watching Blu-ray Disc™ movies (model VGN-NW11Z).