Sony Vaio E series expands, adds Intel Wireless Display

The larger Vaio EC: any color, as long as it's black.

(Credit: Sony)

Remember the Sony Vaio E? When we reviewed it earlier this year, we were quite excited about Sony's more budget-priced multimedia Vaio, both because it had a Core i3 processor and optional Blu-ray. We'll admit it. We were also a little intrigued by the Vaio E's optional neon colors and funky neon keyboard skins.

The only problem? The E was limited to a 15-inch screen size. That's been remedied with new Vaio EA and EC models, in 14 and 17.3 inches, respectively.

The Vaio EA starts at $769 with a Core i3-350M CPU and built-in Intel Wireless Display, with an optional Core i5 upgrade, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 graphics, and Blu-ray that will cost extra. It comes in the same rainbow of colors, from Lava Black to Caribbean Green, as the first Vaio E. For an extra $20, you can pimp it out even further with a removable black, blue, green, pink, or purple keyboard skin that can double as a germ/crumb protector and garish eye candy.

The Vaio EC starts at $819, and only comes in relatively somber black. It comes standard with a Core i3 processor and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 graphics. Upgrades include a more powerful ATI 5650 GPU, Core i5, and Blu-ray, but no Intel Wireless Display. The option to layer on a neon keyboard skin, however, remains yours.