According to PC World, Sony is going to be jumping into the netbook / sub-notebook competition with a low-cost laptop using a VIA Technologies CPU (similar to the one used by the HP 2133 Mini-Note).
PC World reports that Quanta Computers (an OEM for laptop sellers) was displaying a prototype that was based on the recently announced VIA OpenBook reference design / form factor. Quanta says that it will be shipping in the third quarter of this year.
Somebody checked the properties window of the prototype (it was running Windows Vista Home Basic) and it just so happened to list Sony as the manufacturer. When this was pointed out, the Quanta executive in charge closed the window and refused to comment about the matter. As PC World points out, even though Quanta is producing the computer, it’s normal for the customer (whether it be Sony or Apple or whoever) to be listed as the manufacturer.
Should it stay true to form and follow the VIA OpenBook form factor, it will have an 8.9-inch widescreen display (1024×600), with VIA’s C7-M 1.6GHz CPU, and VIA’s VX800 chipset.
Read: PC World