Sony has taken the wraps off its latest VAIO P series notebook today, or I should perhaps say netbook. Weighing in at a mere 636 grams, this is said to be the world's lightest 8-inch notebook released to date.

The ultra-wide LCD runs at a resolution of up to 1600x768 and the power behind it is based around Intel's Menlow platform in which Sony has opted for a slower 1.33GHz Atom to further assist in overall efficiency. They have, however chosen to equip the notebook with 2GB of RAM and the choice of a 60GB mechanical HDD or 128GB SSD.

Battery life is said to be in the ballpark of 4 hrs with the standard battery, whilst an option for a larger battery can keep it running for up to 8 hours. Other features of the VAIO P series include HSDPA, 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth connectivity options, Memory Stick Pro, MMC and SD card expansion slots, two USB 2.0 ports (one on each side), headphone jack, display and ethernet ports and webcam with mic.

Pricing for the P-series VAIOs begins at a hefty $899USD; you can read more details on it within the PR here folks.

LAS VEGAS (CES Booth #14200), Jan. 7, 2009 - Sony today took the wraps off the world's lightest 8-inch notebook- the new VAIO® P Series Lifestyle PC.

About the size of a business envelope and roughly as thin as a cell phone, the VAIO Lifestyle PC weighs just 1.4 pounds and is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket or handbag while integrating full-PC features.

The model incorporates a high-resolution, 1600 x 768, LED backlit 8-inch ultra-wide display (diagonal), making it easy to view everything from entire spreadsheets to full web pages- no side-to-side scrolling necessary. It also incorporates Sony's XBRITE-ECO™ LCD technology, producing images in brilliant detail for razor-sharp viewing on-the-go.