Sony Launches Vaio YB Notebook Featuring AMD Zacate APU

The Sony Vaio YB features AMD's Zacate clocked at 1.6 GHz, paired with an AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6310 discrete graphics card. It includes a 1366 x 768 pixel LED-backlit screen, 4 GB of DDR 3 memory and 500 GB of HDD storage. It weighs about 3.2 pounds and comes either in silver and black or silver and pink, with a touchpad, and an island-style keyboard.

The Vaio YB runs Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit and includes a Webcam, a microphone, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA outputs, and six hours of battery life.Connectivity options for the Sony Vaio YB include 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1.

Sony last month at CES demonstrated the 11.6-inch VAIO YB series featuring AMD's dual-core E-350 Zacate processor, which is part of the AMD Fusion APU platform that launched at the same event. The E-Series Fusion APUs are based on AMD's new x86 core architecture for mobile devices, code-named Bobcat.

Rumours emerged in September that Sony is preparing a Vaio notebook with full 3D capabilities for release early next year. The upcoming system reportedly features a 3D button for converting 2D images into 3D images and represents Sony's ambitions in the 3D segment of the consumer PC market.

Last June, Sony recalled thousands of Sony Vaio VPCF11 and VPCCW2 notebooks after discovering a flaw in their internal temperature management system. The error allowed those systems to overheat to the point where their cases and keyboards could potentially melt and users could be burned. The Tokyo-based conglomerate advised owners of F-Series and C-Series Vaio notebooks purchased this year to install a firmware update provided by Sony to fix the problem.

The Vaio YB laptop with 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive is available for $599.99. Amazon is also taking pre-orders for a $549.99 version that features 2 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive.