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SONY INTRODUCES A VAIO® DESKTOP PC WITH A TV AND DVD RECORDER AS PART OF ITS NEW SUMMER DESKTOP LINE-UP

VAIO Digital Studio™ PC with Giga Pocket™ Personal Video Recorder Captures, Transfers and Manages Digital Video Content

SAN DIEGO, May 17, 2001 - The first PC in the U.S. to include a DVD-RW drive and a TV tuner with built-in recording capabilities, the VAIO Digital Studio PC with Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder combines television and DVD entertainment with computing. Announced today, the new PCV-RX490TV allows the consumer to watch TV and home videos when they want, where they want.

"This is the industry's first PC with integrated video recording," said Rich Black, director of desktop PC marketing for Sony Electronics' Information Technology Product Division (ITPD). "For consumers who want the latest in entertainment and technology devices, the VAIO Digital Studio PC with Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder allows them to do two things at once - watch TV on the PC and record TV programs onto a hard drive."

The system is equipped with a 1.70GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD-RW and a CD-ROM drive, and 128MB of RDRAM. The included Ethernet port enables a high-speed Internet connection, and up to 100 hours of video can be recorded onto the hard drive. The PCV-RX490TV, which will be available in June, will sell for about $2600, $2,500 after a $100 mail-in rebate. A remote control is included for added convenience.

Sony's new desktop PC enables users to watch TV streamed from cable or other analog sources onto the monitor, and record home videos or TV programs onto the hard drive. Once stored on the hard drive, digital video content can be exported and written onto a DVD using DVD-RW technology. The exported video can then be viewed on a big screen TV or, for the mobile user, on a DVD-equipped notebook computer.

To further enhance the system, Sony's free iEPG (Internet Electronic Program Guide) service provides easy Internet access to a TV program guide and allows for one-click recording setup. Weekly or daily shows can be programmed in the Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder and set to record on a regular basis.

New Mid-Range RX System Offers Expandability Option

Also announced today as part of the Sony VAIO RX series, the PCV-RX450 features an AMD Athlon™ processor, 128MB of SDRAM (expandable to 512MB), DVD and CD-RW Dual Drives, a 10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet connection and external stereo speakers. VAIO PC users are easily able to create custom CDs with stereo sound and enjoy quick network connectivity. This expandable mid-range system offers the ability to upgrade for consumers who want to store even more content. The PCV-RX450 model will be available in June with an estimated price of about $1100, $1000 after a $100 mail-in rebate.

New Digital Studios Offer More Computing Power

The latest additions to the VAIO Digital Studio series announced today, the PCV-RX470DS and PCV-RX480DS models feature the powerful Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor, Microsoft® Word 2002, and external stereo speakers. Movie editing and video email is made easy for VAIO Digital Studio PC users with 32MB of video memory and MovieShaker™ software. The PCV-RX470DS and the PCV-RX480DS PCs will also be available in June for about $1700 and $2100 respectively, $1600 and $2000 after $100 mail-in rebate.

New J-Series Model Provides Even More Value

The final product of the summer line-up, the PCV-J200, features a combo drive CD-RW/DVD, which allows users to download and store music, watch DVD movies, and create and rewrite CDs. With an estimated price of about $850, $800 after $50 mail-in rebate, this entry-level system features a small form factor and is a great value -- perfect for the first-time desktop purchaser.

All desktop systems announced today include Microsoft Windows® Millennium Edition Operating system (upgradeable to Windows XP), 10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet, and Sony's original MovieShaker™, DVgate™, Media Bar™, OpenMG™ Jukebox, PictureGear™, Smart Capture, and VisualFlow™ software.

Key Specifications, VAIO Digital Studio Series, Summer Line-up:

	PCV-RX490TV	PCV-RX480DS	PCV-RX470DS
Processor	Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 1.70 GHzą	Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 1.70 GHzą	Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 1.50 MHzą
Cache Memory	256 KB Integrated On-Die Level 2	256 KB Integrated On-Die Level 2	256 KB Integrated On-Die Level 2
Operating System	Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition	Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition	Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition
Sony Original Software	Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder DVgate™ Media Bar™ MovieShaker™ OpenMG™ Jukebox PictureGear™ Smart Capture VisualFlow™	DVgate™ Media Bar™ MovieShaker™ OpenMG™ Jukebox PictureGear™ Smart Capture VisualFlow™	DVgate™ Media Bar™ MovieShaker™ OpenMG™ Jukebox PictureGear™ Smart Capture VisualFlow™
Other Software Applications	Adaptec Direct CD™ Adaptec Easy CD Creator™ Adobe Acrobat™ Reader Adobe Photoshop® Elements Adobe Premiere® LE Apple QuickTime™ ArcSoft PhotoPrinter 2000 Pro Quicken® 2001 New User Edition Microsoft® Outlook® Express Microsoft® Word 2002 Sonic Foundry Sound Forge® XP 4.5 Tomb Raider Chronicles™	Adaptec Direct CD™ Adaptec Easy CD Creator™ Adobe Acrobat® Reader Adobe Photoshop® Elements Adobe Premiere® LE Apple QuickTime™ ArcSoft PhotoPrinter 2000 Pro Quicken® 2001 New User Edition Microsoft® Outlook® Express Microsoft® Word 2002 Sonic Foundry Sound Forge® XP 4.5 Tomb Raider Chronicles™	Adaptec Direct CD™ Adaptec Easy CD Creator™ Adobe Acrobat® Reader Adobe Photoshop® Elements Adobe Premiere® LE Apple QuickTime™ ArcSoft PhotoPrinter 2000 Pro Quicken® 2001 User Edition Microsoft® Outlook® Express Microsoft® Word 2002 Sonic Foundry Sound Forge® XP 4.5 Tomb Raider Chronicles™
Standard RAM	128 MB PC-800 RDRAM, expandable to 512 MB	128 MB PC-800 RDRAM, expandable to 512 MB	128 MB PC-800 SDRAM, expandable to 512 MB
Hard Drive	80 GB˛ HD	80 GB˛ HD	60 GB˛ HD
Drives	2X max. DVD-R write 1X max. DVD-RW write 40X max. CD-ROM	16X max DVD-ROM 40X max. CD-ROM 12X8X32X max. CD-RW	16X max DVD-ROM 40X max. CD-ROM 12X8X32X max. CD-RW
Floppy Disk Drive	3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive	3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive	3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
Video & Graphics	4X AGP 3D Graphics Hardware Acceleration (NVIDIA® GeForce2 MX™	4X AGP 3D Graphics Hardware Acceleration (NVIDIA® GeForce2 MX™	4X AGP 3D Graphics Hardware Acceleration (NVIDIA® GeForce2 MX™
Modem	V.90 Modem	V.90 Modem	V.90 Modem
Ethernet	10Base-T/100 Base-TX Fast Ethernet	10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet	10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet
Dimensions (CPU)	8.0"(W) x 14.2"(H) x 14.6"(D)	8.0"(W) x 14.2"(H) x 14.6"(D)	8.0"(W) x 14.2"(H) x 14.6"(D)
Availability	June	June	June
Rebates	$100 mail-in	$100 mail-in	$100 mail-in
ESP	$2599.99	$2,099.99	$1,699.99

Key Specifications, VAIO RX Series, Summer Line-up:

	PCV-RX450
Processor	1.0 GHzą AMD Athlon™ processor
Cache Memory	384 KB total on chip
Operating System	Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition
Sony Original Software	DVgate™ Media Bar™ MovieShaker™ OpenMG™ Jukebox PictureGear™ Smart Capture VisualFlow™
Other Software Applications	Adaptec Direct CD™ Adaptec Easy CD Creator™ Adobe Acrobat® Reader Adobe Photoshop® Elements Apple QuickTime™ ArcSoft PhotoPrinter 2000 Pro Corel® Wordperfect® Quicken® 2001 User Edition Microsoft® Outlook® Express VAIO Smart™ Keyboard Tomb Raider Chronicles™
Standard RAM	128 MB PC-133 SDRAM, expandable to 512 MB
Hard Drive	40 GB˛ HD
Drives	16X max DVD-ROM 40X max CD-ROM 12X8X32X max. CD-RW
Floppy Disk Drive	3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
Video & Graphics	SiS730S
Modem	V.90 Modem
Ethernet	10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet
Dimensions (CPU)	8.0"(W) x 14.2"(H) x 14.6"(D)
Availability	June
Rebates	$100 mail-in
ESP	$1,099.99

Key Specifications, VAIO J Series, Summer Line-up:

	PCV-J200
Processor	900 MHzą AMD Duron™ Processor
Cache Memory	192 KB total on chip
Operating System	Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition
Sony Original Software	DVgate™ Media Bar™ MovieShaker™ OpenMG™ Jukebox PictureGear™ Smart Capture VisualFlow™
Other Software Applications	Adaptec Direct CD™ Adaptec Easy CD Creator™ Adobe Acrobat® Reader Adobe Photo Deluxe® Apple QuickTime™ ArcSoft PhotoPrinter 2000 Pro Corel® Wordperfect® Quicken® 2001 New User Edition Microsoft® Outlook® Express VAIO Smart™ Keyboard
Standard RAM	128 MB PC-133 SDRAM, expandable to 512 MB
Hard Drive	40 GB˛ HD
Drives	4.8X max DVD-ROM 4x4x24 max. CD-RW
Floppy Disk Drive	3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
Modem	V.90 Modem
Ethernet	10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet
Dimensions (CPU)	6.7"(W) x 12" (H) x 14.4" (D)
Availability	June
Rebates	$50 mail-in
ESP	$849.99

ąMHz & GHz denote microprocessor internal clock speed. Other factors affect application performance.

˛GB means one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. Accessible capacity may vary.

Editor's Note: Sony Electronics' Information Technologies Product Division (ITPD) is based in San Diego. ITPD markets branded VAIO notebook and desktop computer products; CLIÉ handheld devices and home digital photo printers. For additional information about Sony products, customers can call (888)222-SONY, or visit Sony's web site at: www.sony.com/vaio. Press releases and digital images are available at Sony Electronics' news and information web site at: www.sony.com/news.