I know I sound like a broken record, but Sony has done it again – created a super chic and cute pink laptop that one simply can’t resist, in spite of the hefty price tag. We’ve seen crocodile pink from them before but I like the looks of this new one even better.

The Crocodile P (which was released in Japan earlier this year) is part of the limited edition signature holiday lineup which includes several different models, such as the blingy gold X and the really nice-looking arabesque EA which comes in black or gold.

But my favorite is (of course) the little bright pink faux crocodile P (it also comes in black) which looks like a stylish clutch and only measures 9.6x 0.78×4.72″.

It is not customizable, but comes with some really nice features (like a solid state hard drive). However, as I mentioned above, it’s not cheap. Here is what $999.99 gets you:

This system sells for $329.99 + $20 for pink = $349.99

Processor: Intel Atom Z540 (1.87GHz, 512KB L2)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home, 32-bit
Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
RAM: 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 (533MHz)
Hard drive: 128GB SATA Solid State
Battery: Standard capacity Li-Ion
Screen: 8″ LED (1600 x 768)
Size: 9.6x 0.78×4.72″
Weight: 1.3 lbs (with standard battery)

Other features include:
- Built-in camera and microphone with face-tracking
- 2 USB ports
- Built in gyroscope (i.e. the laptop “knows” in which direction it should display the screen based on how you’re holding it)

Among the tiniest of pink mini laptop computers, the Crocodile P does have some nice features, but in my opinion, the size and fabulous looks are its best assets. It’s a great choice for those who want to be able to throw their laptop in their shoulder bag or purse and forget that it’s there until they need it. The solid state hard drive means it can handle being bounced around in the bag while you’re walking, and when out of the bag, it is a stylish and functional fashion accessory.

Sony has done it again – created a super cute, limited edition pink laptop. I know I’ve kvetched about the difficulty finding pink laptops on Sony’s site, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy their good looks.

The Signature collection for spring consists mostly of pretty restrained colors: silver, rain white, carbon fiber and metal mosaic, so the pink really stands out.

Sony calls the color Brilliant Pink; I would describe it as a nice, metallic, soft pink with a pretty white/light pink leaf pattern. But it’s not just looks – it has some nice features as well: built-in camera, assist button, bluetooth technology, and 256MB of dedicated video RAM.

The laptop is available in both a “ready to ship” and customizable version.

Note: in the upgrade options for the customizable version, I have listed the top choices for each option – there are others, less expensive upgrades available too.

Processor: Intel Core i3-330M, 2.13GHz, 3MB cache
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 310M GPU
LCD Panel: 14-inch backlit LED
RAM: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM at 1066MHz
Hard Drive: 500GB, 5400rpm SATA
Battery: Standard capacity

Processor: Intel Core i3-330M, 2.13GHz
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 310M GPU
LCD Panel: 14-inch backlit LED
RAM: 2GB (2GBx1) DDR3-SDRAM at 1066MHz
Hard Drive: 320GB, 5400rpm
Battery: Standard capacity

Upgrade Options (Top Choices)
Processor: Intel Core i5-540M, 2.53GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.06GHz (+$150)
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit (+$50)
RAM: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM at 1066MHz (+$320.00)
Hard Drive: 500GB, 5400rpm (+$20) or 320GB, 7200rpm (+$20)
Battery: Large capacity (+$100)

If you added all these top choices, your laptop would have a price tag of $1,479. If you customize it to be exactly as the ready to ship version, you end up with the exact same price tag: $879. Which makes sense, I just wanted to double check it out of curiosity.

Don’t miss their latest limited edition pink laptop: The VAIO Crocodile P

Remember when a computer took up an entire room at the office? Even if you don’t, I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures. Both desktops and laptops certainly have come a long way in just a few decades, and still seem to be shrinking every year (for even smaller laptops, check out our “Mini Laptop Computers” post).

We classify a small laptop as one with a screen size between 12 – 14″ and a weight of less than 6 lbs. How else does a small laptop differ from a mini laptop? Well, they have larger hard drives, more memory, internal CD/DVD drives, often dual channel processors, sometimes discreet graphics cards, and they are almost always customizable. The price can therefore vary quite a bit. On our list, the least expensive choice is Dell’s Inspiron 14 at $449 (base configuration) whereas Sony’s VAIO SR with all the top options added will cost you $3,079.

Below are the pink small laptop computers currently on the market:

Asus Eee 1008P
Dell Inspiron 14 (“Promise Pink”)
Dell Studio 14z (“Promise Pink” – click for full specs)
Dell Inspiron 14R
MSI PR200 (“Pink”)
MSI PR210 (“Pink”)
Sony VAIO SR (“Sunset Pink”)
Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P (Textured “Luxe Pink”)

Since all except the MSIs are customizable, the specs are quite lenghty, so we are just going to list the best and worst for each category. Each come with the Windows Vista Home operating system, and they all offer (except MSI of course) OS upgrade options.

Best – Base configuration
Dell Studio 14z (3GB2 Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz)

Best – Upgraded
Sony VAIO SR (8GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 4GBx2))

Worst
MSI PR200 and MSI PR210 (2GB DDR2 x 1 (533/667MHz)

Best – Base configuration
A tie between Dell Studio 14z and Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P, both with a 250GB3 SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

Best – Upgraded
Dell Studio 14z (500GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) with Free Fall Sensor)

If you prefer a solid state drive, the Sony VAIO SR is the winner with a 256GB Solid State Drive as an upgrade option.

Worst
MSI PR200 and MSI PR210 (120GB SATA)

Best – Base configuration
Dell Inspiron 14
Dell Studio 14z
Sony VAIO SR
Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P
all come with Intel® Pentium™ Dual Core T4200 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)

Best – Upgraded
Sony VAIO SR (Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9800 (2.93GHz)

Worst
MSI PR200 and MSI PR210 (Intel Centrino 2.0GHz 667 MHz, 2MB cache and AMD Turion®64 X2, TL50, 2.0 GHz, 667MHz, 2MB respectively)

Best – Base configuration
A tie between Dell Studio 14z and Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P, both with 6-cell Li-Ions

Best – Upgraded
Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P (High Capacity 12-cell Li-Ion)

Worst
Hart to tell, since Sony only defines their batteries as “Standard” and “Large”. However, if we go by cells, Dell Inspiron 14 and the two MSIs “win” this category with 4 cell Li-Ions.

No best and worst here, just the facts:
MSI PR200 – 12″
MSI PR210 – 12″
Sony VAIO SR – 13.3″
Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P – 13.3″
Dell Inspiron 14 – 14″
Dell Studio 14z – 14″

Lightest
Sony VAIO SR (4.14 lbs)

Heaviest
Dell Inspiron 14 (4.96 lbs)

Smallest
Dell Studio 14z (13.23×9.02×0.79)

Largest
Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P (12.5×9.08×1.16)

On a side note, the sizes given for the two MSIs have such a wide range that they could have placed as smallest, but the variations are so big that I feel more comfortable giving the Studio 14z that award.

In conclusion:
If you’re looking a small and light laptop, the Studio 14z is a great choice: smallest of them all (in spite of having a 14″ screen) and pretty light as well (4.3 lbs).

If you want the best graphics card, the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2925P is the way to go. True, the base configuration comes with a mainstream Intel GMA 4500M, but you have the option to upgrade to an ATI Mobility Radeon H4570 with 512MB DDR3 (discrete).

As far as looks go, it’s all a matter of taste of course, but I think the Toshiba wins here too. The textured surface adds something a little extra, and I also happen to really like that particular shade of pink.

Sony’s designs rarely disappoint. Their laptops are almost always sleek and stylish, and their new limited edition crocodile pink VAIO CS from their Signature Collection is certainly no exception. With it’s classic pink faux croc exterior (with gold trim) and shiny pink interior, it really stands out, and I can’t help but like its looks. But what’s beneath that chic surface? We’ve taken a look and outlined the essentials below.

Here are the specs for the $749.99 (+$30 for pink) basic configuration:

• Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system
• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T4200 processor
• 14.1″ display (with built-in webcam)
• 160GB 5400RPM hard drive
• 2GB DDR2 (1BGx2) memory
• WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth
• Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• Standard capacity battery (lasting up to 6 hours)
• CD/DVD playback/burning internal disc drive

The optional upgrades available are:

• Windows Vista Business 64-bit with XP Pro downgrade disc ($50)
• 2.80GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9600 ($250)
• 400GB 5400RPM hard drive ($50)
• 8GB DDR2 (4GBx2) memory ($320)
• Blu-ray Disc playback/burning disc drive ($180)
• Large capacity battery (lasting up to 9 hours) ($100)

If you went with all the top choices for this system, you would end up with a price tag of $1,729.99.

There aren’t a whole lot of extra features. The one that stands out are the glowing lights underneath the laptop, which change intensity and colors depending on what you’re doing on the laptop.

This midsize notebook measures 13.2 x 9.6 x 1.14-1.57″, weighs 5.7 lbs, and according to Sony, they only made 400 in this design, so if you want one, you better act fast.

For current deals on Sony (and other) pink laptops, check out my “Deals, Extras and Offers on Pink Laptops” post.

Also, don’t forget to check out Sony’s Signature Limited Edition pink laptop and their newest VAIO P pink crocodile laptop.

Are you thinking of getting a new pink laptop this fall? If so, the timing is great. There are several new products on the market (read our overview of Dell’s Studio 14z and keep checking back for reviews of other laptops – they’re in the works), and special deals abound (Dell, Sony and Toshiba offer the most generous ones).

To save you all some time, we’ve put together a list (in alphabetical order) of of who’s offering what (as of today, August 14, 2009):

Aspire One @ B&H, Target, Sam’s Club
Free shipping

ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005HA @ Newegg, Buydig & B&H
Free shipping

ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1008HA @ Newegg
$3 rebate
Free shipping

ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1008HA @ Buydig & B&H
Free shipping

ASUS Disney Netpal @ Toys-R-Us
Free speaker set

ASUS Disney Netpal @ Amazon
50% off select magazine subscriptions

Mini 10
$248 rebate
Free shipping

Mini 10v
$123 rebate
Free shipping

Studio 14z
$140-$165 rebate
Free upgrade to Windows 7

Studio 15
$148 rebate
Free shipping
Free battery upgrade
Free HD display upgrade
Free upgrade to Windows 7

Studio 17
$25-$50 rebate
Free shipping
Free battery upgrade
Free HD display upgrade
Free upgrade to Windows 7

Inspiron 14
$133-139 rebate
Free shipping
Free battery upgrade
Free HD display upgrade
Free upgrade to Windows 7
Free Microsoft Office Home & Student or Wasabi Photo Printer

Inspiron 15
$50-$75 rebate
Free shipping
Free battery upgrade
Free HD display upgrade
Free upgrade to Windows 7

Mini 110-1037NR XP Edition, swirl pink chic
$40 rebate
$40 rebate on a DeskJet 4940 with purchase of computer
Free HP DeskJet D1560 or D4360 with purchase of computer

IdeaPad S10-2
$90 rebate
Free shipping

MSI Microstar WindBook U100-427US @ J&R
$10 rebate
Free shipping

MSI Microstar WindBook U100-427US @ PC Connection
Free shipping

NC10-11GP @ Newegg, Buy.com, J&R, PC Connection & Buydig
Free shipping

VAIO CS Series
$50 – $100 rebate on processor upgrades
$10 – $100 rebate on memory upgrades
$10 – $30 rebate on hard drive upgrades
$55 – $150 rebate on Microsoft Office
100 free song downloads
Free choice of certain colors (Cosmopolitan Pink is free)
Free engraving
Free shipping

VAIO SR Series
$50 – $100 rebate on processor upgrades
$10 – $100 rebate on memory upgrades
$10 – $100 rebate on hard drive upgrades
$55 – $150 rebate on Microsoft Office
100 free song downloads
Free choice of color
Free engraving
Free shipping

VAIO P Series
100 free song downloads

Mini NB205-N313P @ Amazon
50% off select magazine subscriptions
Free shipping

Mini NB205-N313P @ Newegg
Free shipping

Satellite U500-ST6321
$125.25 rebate
Free upgrade to Windows 7
Free choice of certain colors (Luxe Pink is free)
Free carrying case
Free Norton security for 1 year
Free 2GB flash drive
Free shipping

Qosmio X305 (All models)
Free upgrade to Windows 7
Free “Gears of War” Game
Free carrying case
Free Norton security for 1 year
Free 2GB flash drive
Free shipping

NB205- 313 Netbook @ Toys-R-Us
Free speaker set

Don’t get me wrong, I love Sony’s laptops – the designs are really slick and they always come with a bunch of extras – but I have to say I find their website quite tricky to navigate (to say the least) if you’re trying to find out what’s available in pink.

I recently spent the better part of an afternoon trying to figure out the easiest way to find and compare Sony’s pink notebook offerings, and this is what I found:

• If you go to their homepage and navigate to the lineup of laptops, the different models are displayed. When you click on each one, a little window pops up with a short list of specs and the available colors. Doing this tells us that only the SR and the CS are available in pink.

• However, if you click on the NS, that little window pops up, telling you that this model is available in Nightfall Blue, Granite Silver and Silk White. BUT, if you click on the “Shop Now” button in that window, and then on the “Buy Now” button in the next, what appears on the list if not a NS notebook in “Sunset Pink”. Hm.

• AND, if you instead of clicking on a specific model in the main window, click the “Help me choose” button and in the following window select Color – Pink, you are given 5 models to choose from. The day I did this, my list included a CR590EBP, the CS290JEP, NS235J/P, a TZ250N/P and a TZ350N/P.

Oddly, this list does not include the SR. It does include the CS and NS mentioned above, as well as 3 models from the outlet. But the only way you find out that they are from the outlet is if you click on one of them, and in the resulting product window look up top, right beneath the tabs of the website, for the page thread (it will say: Home>VAIO® Computers Outlet>Notebooks Outlet>VAIO® TZ Series Notebook PC). I could easily have missed that if I wasn’t looking for it, and what bothers me even more is that nowhere in this window does it state whether the laptop is just on sale or a refurbished model.

• If you instead head straight to the outlet for VAIO notebooks, you will find (at the moment) over 200 laptops in various colors, some on clearance, some refurbished. You can’t search on color here, so you have to scroll through the list. Interestingly, I found two clearance (i.e. NOT refurbished) models in pink here, which did not show up in any other search: a TZ340, and a CR190. However, the TZ350N/P from our list above did show up here in the outlet as well.

I also found several pink refurbished models at the outlet: SR290s, TZ2000, TZ340, CR290, CS110, but since they are not mentioned anywhere else, one has to assume that for refurbished models, you need to go straight to the outlet, which is perfectly reasonable.

• I also tried typing in “pink notebook” in the search window on the main notebook page, and got a list with the following models: SR390, CS290, NS235, CS110 (refurbished), TZ350 (on clearance).

• A search for “pink laptops” in the same window resulted in a list of: SR390, CS290, NS235, CS190, SR190, and SR165 (those last 3 are listed as “no longer available for purchase”).

• My search for “pink computers” brought up (as far as laptops): SR390, CS290, NS235, CS110 (refurbished), TZ350 (on clearance), CS190, SR190, and SR165 (“no longer available for purchase”), so that’s the same as the other two searches combined, but there was also an additional model that showed up here: the C290, which is available and as far as I can tell is neither refurbished or on clearance.

I am not trying to do any Sony-bashing here or suggest that they are being dishonest in any way. I think that it’s an oversight on their part and that their website needs a bit of double checking and tweaking.

What I did want to do was to bring it to your attention so that you don’t end up with a refurbished laptop unintentionally, or give up on your search for a particular pink Sony laptop before you’ve tried all possible ways to find one.