Sony Vaio W

The Sony Vaio W scores mainly on its stylish looks, rich feature set and build quality. While its hardware configuration is similar to most netbooks, there are a few things that set this one apart.

Unlike a plain Jane netbook, this one is quite an eye candy. The entire body follows a metallic color theme. The unit we tested has a deep-pink lid and touchpad, with a light-pink bezel, and a satin chrome keyboard. The pink theme along with the matt finish truly enhances the look and is more feminine. Thankfully, there are other colors available too — brown and white.

The main feature that differentiates this netbook from others is the placement of the card readers, wireless on/off switch and the power button in front. There are two card readers, SD and Sony’s proprietary memory stick PRO duo.

The rest are mostly common features. There are 2 USB, a VGA and an Ethernet port, audio jacks, a Kensington lock slot and a webcam. Connectivity is offered via Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi-N and Bluetooth, which is the best combination in netbooks yet.