Sony VAIO G3 12.1-inch ultraportable notebooks announced

Sony have announced a new version of their 12.1-inch VAIO G notebook, the Sony VAIO G3 series.  Replacing the ageing current range, the new G3 line-up consists of four models, kicking off with a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo SU9300 then moving up to the 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 for the remaining three, with either 1GB or 2GB of RAM, a 120GB or 160GB hard-drive, or a 64GB SSD on the most expensive G3.

The 12.1-inch display remains – still in 4:3 aspect ratio – with 1024 x 768 resolution and LED backlighting, but the G3 models now have WiFi b/g/n, Intel GMA X4500HD graphics and DDR3 1066MHz memory.  They also have Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, both Memory Stick and SD memory card slots, and biometric fingerprint scanners.

No word on pricing for the new VAIO G3 models as yet, nor specific availability dates.  It's also unclear whether Sony will be making them available outside of Japan.