 | |
 Headquarters of VAIO Corporation, Nagano prefecture | |
Native name | VAIO株式会社 |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Sony Vaio |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Computer hardware Electronics |
| Predecessor | Sony Corporation |
| Founded | 1996; 29 years ago (1996) (as Sony's computer brand) July 1, 2014; 10 years ago (July 1, 2014)[1] (as an independent corporation) |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
| Products | Personal computers |
| Owners |
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| Website | Japanwww United Statesus Brazilbr Chilecl Hong Konghk Taiwantw Singaporesg Malaysiamy Chinawww Argentinaar Indiain Middle Eastmea Mexicomx Uruguayuy |
VAIO Corporation (VAIO 株式会社,BaioKabushiki Kaisha,English:/ˈvaɪ.oʊ/) is a Japanesepersonal computer manufacturer headquartered inAzumino,Nagano Prefecture.[3] It is owned by Nojima Corporation.[4]
Vaio began as a brand ofSony, introduced in 1996, until it offloaded it into an independent company in 2014, withJapan Industrial Partners (JIP) purchasing the Vaio business while Sony maintained a minority stake. Sony still holds the intellectual property rights for the VAIO brand and logo.[5] JIP sold Vaio Corporation to Japanese retailer Nojima in 2025.[4]
Originally anacronym ofVideo Audio Input Output, later amended toVideo Audio Integrated Operation,[6] and later toVisual Audio Intelligent Organizer in 2008 to celebrate the brand's 10th anniversary.[7] The logo, along with the first of the VAIO computers, were designed by Teiyu Goto,[8][9] supervisor of product design from the Sony Creative Center inTokyo. He incorporated many meanings into the logo and acronym: the pronunciation in both English (VAIO) and Japanese (バイオ) is similar to "bio", which is symbolic of life and the product's future evolution. It's also near "violet", which is why most early Vaios werepurple or included purple components. Additionally, the logo is stylized to make the "VA" look like asine wave and the "IO" like binary digits 1 and 0, the combination representing the merging of analog and digital signals.[10] The sound some Vaio models make during startup is derived from the melody created when pressing a telephone keypad to spell the letters V-A-I-O.[11][12]
As of 2023, Vaio is operational in the following countries and regions:[13]
As of 2023, Vaio operates its stores in several countries and regions, such asArgentina,Brazil,Chile,Hong Kong,India,Japan,Malaysia,Mexico,Singapore,Taiwan, theUnited States andUruguay and so on.[13]
Although Sony made computers in the 1980s, such asMSX-based HitBit computers mainly for the Japanese market, the company withdrew from the computer business around the beginning of the 1990s. Under the then-new VAIO brand, Sony's re-entry into the global computer market began in 1996. Sony's then-presidentNobuyuki Idei thought "there was no point making an ordinary PC", so the VAIO lineup was to focus on Audio Visual (as the VAIO name suggests), portability, and design.
The PCV-90 was the first series of desktops introduced in 1996, and designed with a3D graphical interface as a novelty for new users. The first VAIO laptop computers followed in 1997 with the US$2,000 PCG-505 "SuperSlim" model, constructed out of a four-panelmagnesium body.[14]VisualFlow was a Sony program distributed in the late 1990s and early 2000s with Sony VAIO computers.
Over the years, many audio visual technologies and interfaces pioneered by Sony became a key focus for its VAIO computers, includingMemory Stick,i.Link, and evenMiniDisc.[15]
In 2001,Steve Jobs presented a VAIO PC runningMac OS to Sony executives, suggesting the possibility of collaboration. Sony's VAIO team ultimately turned down the proposal they regarded a "diversion of resources", as the popularity of theWindows-based premium PC brand was growing.[16]
Sony VAIO released later designs (2011 and later) during a period of low PC sales. They included models with innovations such as magnetized stands. The VAIO Tap, which was designed with a completely separate keyboard. The latest models were complemented by theWindows 8 operating system.[14]
On 4 February 2014, Sony announced that it was selling its VAIO PC business due to poor sales.[17] Sony created VAIO Corporation, a special purpose company with investment firmJapan Industrial Partners,[18] as part of its restructuring effort to focus onmobile devices. In March 2014, it was announced that Japan Industrial Partners had purchased a 95% stake in the VAIO division.[19][20]
The sale closed on 1 July 2014. On the same day, the company announced refreshed entries in the VAIO Fit and Pro lines. They initially distributed the relaunched products in Japan, then later in Brazil.[21][22] In August 2015, VAIO announced plans to re-enter international markets, beginning with Brazil and the United States. VAIO CEO Yoshimi Ota stated that the company planned to focus more on high-end products in niche segments (such as thecreative industries), as they felt Sony was somewhat too focused on attempting to garner a large market share in its PC business. The Z Canvas tablet was released in the United States on 5 October 2015, throughMicrosoft Store and the VAIO website.[23][24] On 16 October 2015, VAIO agreed to introduce their products inBrazil through a partnership with a local manufacturerPositivo Informática.[25]
On 2 February 2016, VAIO announced that it would unveil aWindows 10smartphone.[26] Also that month, it was also reported that VAIO was negotiating withToshiba andFujitsu Technology Solutions to consolidate their personal computer businesses together.[27]
On 4 June 2018, Nexstgo Company Limited announced that they would be licensed by VAIO Corporation to oversee the business in Asia. This license agreement between Hong Kong–based Nexstgo and the Japan-based VAIO Corporation would include manufacturing, sales and marketing as well as servicing of VAIO laptops under the VAIO trademark in the Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan markets.[28][13]
Currently in the US, VAIO business products are sold by Trans Cosmos America, Inc.[29]
On November 11, 2024, a major Japanese electronics retailer named Nojima Co, Ltd. announced it will acquire Vaio for ¥11.2 billion. It will purchase about 93% of the Japan Industrial Partners's stake while Sony will retain a 4.7% stake.[30][4] The deal was completed on January 6, 2025 with Vaio becoming a subsidiary of Nojima.[31][32]
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Sony's VAIO brand included product lines acrossnotebooks,subnotebooks,desktops,media centres, and even Network media solutions.
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Sony's VAIO range of computers consisted of the following lineups:
Included as part of theout-of-box experience are prompts to register at Club VAIO, an online community for VAIO owners and enthusiasts, which also provides automatic driver updates andtechnical support via email, along with exclusivedesktop wallpapers andpromotional offers. From 1997 to 2001 in Japan, theSAPARi program was also pre-installed on VAIO machines.[33] On later models, the customer is also prompted to register the installedtrial versions ofMicrosoft Office 2010 and theantivirus software (Norton AntiVirus on older models, andMcAfee VirusScan or TrendMicro on newer ones) upon initial boot.
Vaio computers come with components from companies such asIntel processors,Seagate Technology, Hitachi,Fujitsu orToshiba hard drives,Infineon orElpida RAM,Atheros and Intel wireless chipsets, Sony (usually made byHitachi) orMatsushita optical drives, Intel,NVIDIA orAMD graphics cards and Sony speakers. Recent laptops have been shipped withQimonda RAM, HP speakers with Realtek High Definition Audio Systems, and optionalDolby Sound Room technology.
A selection of media centres were added to the VAIO range in 2006. These monitorless units (identified by a product code prefixed by VGX rather than VGN) are designed to form part of a home entertainment system. They typically take input from a TV tuner card, and output video via HDMI orcomposite video connection to an ideally high-definition television. The range included the XL and TP lines. The VGX-TP line is visually unique, featuring a circular, 'biscuit-tin' style design with most features obscured behind panels, rather than the traditionalset-top box design.
In 2013, Sony VAIO's range comprised seven products. The most basic were the E, T and S series while the high end models, the F and Z Series, were discontinued. Sony also had a range ofhybrid tablet computers, with models called VAIO Duo 11/13, VAIO Tap 11/20 and VAIO Fit multi-flip, as well as adesktop computer under the L series. These models useWindows systems andIntel processors, as described above.[34]
Sony released some of their earlydigital audio players (DAP) under the VAIO line. The first model, the "VAIO Music Clip", was released in 1999, powered by an AA battery and featuring 64 MB of internal memory. It differed from Sony's players in the "NetworkWalkman" line, which used externalMemory Stick medium at the time. Succeeding models were also released, but it was mainly sold domestically, with Walkman-branded players more widespread internationally.[35] In 2004 the brand made a comeback with the VAIO Pocket (model VGF-AP1L), featuring a 40 GB hard disk drive for up to 26,000 songs, and a 2.0-inch color LCD display. Like Walkman DAPs it usedSonicStage software.[36]
Sony had also released several other products under the VAIO lineup, including the VAIO WA1 wireless digital music streamer, essentially a portable radio and speaker.[37]
The current and past lineup of Vaio computers, developed by VAIO Corporation, continues the same product line naming, and currently include:
The first new VAIO computer developed by VAIO corporation was theVAIO Z Canvas2-in-1 PC, which began sales on 23 September 2015 starting from $2,199 in the USA. The Z Canvas is focused on creative professionals as its target audience. Graphic artists, illustrators, animators, etc. With a 12.3-inch LCD WQXGA+ 2560 x 1704 IPSmulti-touch display with digitizerstylus (pen) capability, the Z Canvas looks similar in design to the MicrosoftSurface Pro 3, but comes withWindows 10 Pro and is available as aMicrosoft Signature PC. It has anIntel Core i7 processor, anIntel Iris Pro Graphics 5200, a 2nd generationPCIe SSD with PCIe Gen.3 compatibility (up to 1 TB) orSATA/M.2 for the 256 GB model, and up to 16 GB of memory.
In February 2016, VAIO announced the VAIO Phone Biz—a premium built mid-rangeWindows 10 Mobile device. This was VAIO's first Windows smartphone. In March 2017, VAIO announced VAIO Phone A, which had the look of the VAIO Phone Biz, but runs theAndroid operating system instead.
Over the years, the Sony VAIO lineup has been responsible for many 'firsts' in desktops and laptops, as well as for setting trends for what would now be considered standard equipment.[citation needed]
The Sony VAIO C1 PictureBook subnotebook, first released in 1998, was among the first to feature a built in web-cam,[38] at 0.27 megapixels, and could swivel around to capture photos on both sides.
The Sony VAIO X505 laptop, released in 2004, popularized thechiclet keyboard in laptops.[39]
Some Sony VAIO models come with Sony's proprietaryXBRITE (known as ClearBright in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region) displays. The first model to introduce this feature was the Vaio TR series, which was also the first consumer product to utilize such technology. It is a combination of smooth screen, anti-reflection (AR) coating and high-efficiency lens sheet. Sony claims that the smooth finish provides a sharper screen display, the AR coating prevents external light from scattering when it hits the screen, and the high-efficiency lens sheet provides 1.5 times the brightness improvement over traditional LCD designs. Battery life is also extended through reduced usage of the LCDbacklight. The technology was pioneered by Sony engineer Masaaki Nakagawa, who is in charge of the Vaio TR development.[40]
The TX series, introduced in September 2005, was the first notebook to implement a LED back-lit screen, which provides lower power consumption and greater color reproduction. This technology has since been widely adopted by many other notebook manufacturers. The TX series was also the first to use a 16:9 aspect ratio screen with 1366x768 resolution. The successor to the TX series was the TZ series in May 2007. This new design featured an optional 32 or 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD) for rapid boot-up times, quicker application launches and greater durability. If selected, a 250 GB Hard Drive could also have been included in place of the built-in CD/DVD drive to provide room for additional storage. For security, this model included a biometric fingerprint sensor andTrusted Platform Module. The TZ offered a built-in highly miniaturized Motion Eye camera built into the LCD panel for video conferencing. Additional features included the XBRITE LCD, integrated Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) technology and Bluetooth technology.
The SZ series was the first to use switchable graphics[41] – the motherboard contained an Intel GMCH (Graphics Memory Controller Hub) featuring its own in-built graphics controller (complete memory hub controller and graphics accelerator on the one die) and a separate NVIDIA graphics accelerator chipset directly interfaced with the GMCH. The GMCH could reduce power consumption and extend battery, life whereas the NVIDIA chipset provided greater graphics processing power. A mechanical switch toggled between the graphics options but required that the user preselect the mode to use before the motherboard could initialize. The Z series, which replaced the SZ series, can change graphics modes "on the fly" on Windows Vista, and does not require a restart of the system. This feature has subsequently been used by other manufacturers, including Apple,[42] Asus and Alienware.
The AR Series was the first to incorporate aBlu-ray Discburner,[43] at the height of theBlu-Ray vs. HD-DVD format war. This series was designed to be the epitome ofhigh-definition products including a1080p capableWUXGA (1920 × 1200 pixels) screen,HDMI output and the aforementioned Blu-ray burner. The AR series also includes an illuminated logo below the screen. Blu-ray/HDMI capable models have been the subject of intense promotion since mid-2007, selling with a variety of bundled Blu-ray Discs. The AR series was subsequently replaced by the AW series, and in 2011, replaced by the F Series, which incorporates all of these features in a 16.4" 16:9 display.
The chime heard when aVAIO computer is booted are theDTMF notes corresponding toV-A-I-O (8-2-4-6) dialed on a telephone keypad.[44]
Sony has been criticized for loading its VAIO laptops with bloatware, or ineffective and unrequested software that supposedly allows the user to immediately use the laptop for multimedia purposes. This includes trial versions ofAdobe Premiere Elements &Adobe Photoshop Elements with VAIO Media Gate and XMB. Sony later offered a "Fresh start" option in some regions with several of their business models. With this option, the computer is shipped only with a basic Windows operating system and very little trial software already installed.[citation needed]
The default webcam software in Vaio notebooks isArcSoft WebCam Companion. It offers a set of special effects called Magic-i visual effects, through which users can enhance the images and videos taken through the webcam. It also features a face detection feature. Certain other Sony proprietary software such as Click to Disc Editor, VAIO Music Box, VAIO Movie Story, VAIO Media Plus are also included with recent models. Those shipped with ATI Radeon video cards feature the Catalyst Control Centre, which enables control of brightness, contrast, resolution etc., and also enables connection to an external display the best laptop.[citation needed]
Early Sony VAIO models included recovery media in the form of CDs and/or DVDs.
Beginning in mid-2005, a hidden partition on thehard drive, accessible atboot via theBIOS or within Windows via a utility was used instead. Pressing [F10] at the Vaio logo during boot-up will cause the notebook to boot from the recovery partition; where the user has the choice of either running hardware diagnostics without affecting the installed system, or restoring (re-imaging) the hard drive to factory condition – an option that destroys all user installed applications and data). The first time a new VAIO PC is started up, users are prompted to create their own recovery media.[45] This physical media would be required in case ofhard disk failure and/or replacement. In cases where the system comes with Windows 7 64-bit pre-installed, the provided recovery media restores the system to Windows 7 32- or 64-bit.
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