Sony copies Apple Macbook with shockingly derivative VAIO N10

Sony press release verbatim:

Design That Works: The VAIO N10-Series
A new addition to the VAIO range of notebooks brings together sharp design and affordable practicality

The VAIO N10-Series is for everyone who wants a practical, general purpose notebook for use at home or as a student. It represents excellent usability without frills, but – and this is key – it remains very much a VAIO at heart. One look at the clean, classic design makes that clear.

“We believe there are lots of people who want a portable which is strong on core features but does not compromise on design or quality,” says Jun Koyama, Director of IT for VAIO Operations Europe (VOE). “The N10-Series is here to provide them with exactly that.”

Essential Sony design values are matched by essential specifications. The range features Intel® Core™ Duo processors, hard disks ranging from 80GB to 100GB and either 1GB or 512MB of memory.

There are constants across the range, particularly where comfort and ease of use are concerned. The A4-footprint chassis is partnered with a highly legible 15.4-inch widescreen display operating at 1280 x 800 resolution. The result is an all-purpose, portable format with a generous on-screen workspace and an ergonomic keyboard. Power-efficient integrated graphics performance comes courtesy of the Intel® 945 GM motherboard chipset.

VAIO portables are noted for their superior displays, and the N10-Series is no exception. Sony X-black LCD™ screen enhancement greatly boosts the range of contrast, so blacks are really black and everything else is rendered in more natural and realistic tones. Colour also benefits, appearing richer and more vibrant – a long way from the basic standard of generic LCDs.

A double layer DVD±RW drive is fitted to all models, so very large amounts of information indeed (up to 8.5GB per double layer disc) can be archived for safe storage or easily shared with others. Students in particular may find this extremely useful.

High-speed 802.11a/b/g wireless networking is standard on all models, as is wired Ethernet (100Base-TX/10Base-T), so connectivity with home wireless or wired networks is built-in. All N10-Series notebooks also feature handy SD Card (Secure Digital) and Memory Stick™ slots (Memory Stick™ Duo and Memory Stick™ PRO Duo compatible), making use with digital cameras and many other digital devices a simple matter.

Source press release with links to larger images here.

MacDailyNews Take: First of all, yes, we did a genuine “Grade A” double-take when we first saw the press release images. Right down to the chiclet keyboard, no less! When companies do this, it really draws attention to their lack of original ideas and their inability to innovate. See Microsoft’s Windows Vista, for example: It’s Windows XP dressed up to fool the general public that it’s “just like Apple’s Mac OS X.” Now poor Sony with this OS-limited, can’t-run-Mac OS X-but-obviously-wishes-it-could, knock-off spawn of a MacBook Pro and a MacBook.

Buy this mess, put Vista on it and you, too, can have a retarded stepchild of Apple’s Mac platform.

Shouldn’t Apple, or at least Jon Ive, be getting royalties from Sony for the design? If they aren’t, then Apple’s lawyers should do something about this travesty.

MacDailyNews Reader “Dave” put it so eloquently and humorously in a comment we’ve grabbed from below and moved right up here: “Sony’s new line of laptops: MockBook and MockBook Pro.”

“Essential Sony design values!” It’d be funny if it wasn’t so sickening and sad. This is the move of some no-name Chinese company, not Sony! How the mighty have fallen.

116 Comments

  1. Sony is just a sore loser. They watched the iPod destroy what was left of the walkman. So now, they will just make people THINK they’re buying a Mac, but really getting a crappy “Vista Capable dee dee dee” machine.

  2. Man, what a rip-off.

    I think I saw another Sony laptop that had a camera built-in. I don’t ever recall seeing that with any computer until Apple started doing it.

    I shudder when I think how the Tech world would be if there were no Apple.

  3. From what I can see in the photos, it is still way thinker than a MacBook and probably way heavier. It’s not particularly sleek or attractive.

    Not to worry! Now that the whole Mac line has moved to Intel I’m sure that the new iterations of the laptops coming soon will completely change the landscape and they won’t look like this sad knockoff any more.

  4. Interesting. Didn’t Apple poach several hardware engineers to help design the MacBook and MacBook Pro? I wonder if there was some kind of agreement between the two? In any case, Sony looks the worse for having such a derivative kind of product. Gee, if you were a PC guy, which one would you buy? THe one that runs only Windows and Linux, or the one that runs OS X in addition to the two?

  5. I think a slightly thicker design is a good idea. If it’s very slightly thicker than the MB, and that helps with cooling then that’s great.

    I often wish my MacBook Pro were a teensie bit thicker to help with cooling. MacBooks and MacBook Pros are awesome computers – too bad about the heat issues.

  6. What has happened to Sony? They used to be one of the top designers of electronics. Now they are lifting obvious designs from other manufacturers. Why didn’t they at least do something different from Apple gray/white? They could easily have given us a notebook in royal blue. Granted, it would have been somewhat similar to the original iBook but at least it would have been different.

  7. It’s actually not a bad product (aside from the OS limitation), niching right between a MacBook and the MBP. Card slot means a lot to people who think that (whether or not they actually do) their new machine is limited without one. It is clearly built to have features of both, cosmetically. But if it’s priced right, it’ll sell pretty well, I suspect – partly because the relatively clean lines and color have been made popular by Apple.

  8. This is basically a knock-off of a MacBook Pro & MacBook.

    However, I wish Apple would copy some features of Sony laptops, such as making the built in camera adjustable, like on the sony picture books.

    Adding memory card slots and built in high-speed celluar networking capbility like the VAIO’s.

    It would also be nice to have the fingerprint scanner like on the Lenovo’s thinkpads.

    Just a wish list.

  9. They should put a Sony logo on the Windows (command) key, give it a remote with FirstPosition media software and call it a SonyBook!

    What’s next Carport Musicians?

    Imitation is the sincerest form of we’ve run out of ideas so let’s copy that guy.

  10. I just love this quote. “We believe there are lots of people who want a portable which is strong on core features but does not compromise on design or quality,” says Jun Koyama, Director of IT for VAIO Operations Europe (VOE). “The N10-Series is here to provide them with exactly that.”

    Yea, an exact copy of Apple’s designed Macbook Pro. Yea you guys at Sony are really amazing. NOT!!!! The problem is it still runs Windows which means it is still only half as good as a Macbook Pro.

    I wonder what Apple’s Legal team will do with this fraud?

  11. Sony put built-in cameras in some of their laptops beginning way back in 1999. I have one of the mini-VAIOs with camera still running Windows 98. It’s about 3 lbs. It had Sony software for taking pictures but not anywhere near what you can do with PhotoBooth.

    My kids still use it to access the Web with a wireless card.

  12. I dunno I am typing on my PB right now and that doesn’t look anything like my PB. Anyway its whats under the hood that counts. They can attempt to look like apple as much as they want. They only look worse and worse by doing so. Now not only do they have a poor attempt at a rip off, but have to wait for Vista to run it haha what a joke.

  13. Memory card slots are a nice idea, IF you use the particular memory cards that the slots are designed for. What if you use CompactFlash or some other format? So, that means you’ve got to carry some sort of reader or card adaptor. When I get new gear or swap out the old, I just carry the appropriate cable. There’s no need to worry if my computer supports it, or NOT.

    Some people will NEVER use the slots, so why add the cost, added complexity, (AND in this case, it being Windows… driver issues), when you can buy a $10 (street) USB2 card reader that can double as a thumb drive.

    Scroll down and take a look:
    http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product_category&category=usb

  14. Sent to Sony PR —

    “Dear Sony,

    It seems that the days when Sony was a design leader are now history.

    For the N10 looks remarkably like a competitor’s product.

    A pity, as I have bought and used many Sony products in the past, but this time would be more inclined to go to the opposition, particularly as it can use Windows if absolutely necessary.”

    Doubtless any reply will be in BBC-speak to avoid the subject entirely.

  15. While it certainly does look like the MacBook design, there’s something about it that reminds me more of the early TiBook designs. Maybe it’s the external hinge look on the back? Anyways it’s either extremely arrogant or or sincerely flattering! I’m not sure which.

  16. I followed the link to Sony’s press images to see where the optical drive was. IT USES A TRAY!!! HAHAHA! What crap. The funniest part was the tagline at the top of the page:

    like.no.other

    HAHAHAHA!!! If I didn’t laugh at it, I’d be furious at the nerve of copying a design and then trying to take credit for it. I think that Apple should get an injunction against Sony on the same grounds as the “Trade Dress” suit they won against eMachines when their iMac knock-off came out years ago. The funniest thing about THAT was eMachines thinking they won a future battle since the injunction expired after 2 years. Of course, Apple had re-invented the iMac by then and any attempt to use the old design would have been just sad and pathetic. Sony: take note – eMachines doesn’t exist any more.

  17. Sony you can put all the bolt on flares and gull wings you like on your Macbookalike.
    Turn that ignition on and you still have the same cheap and trashy 70’s VW kit car underneath you started out with. Some folks just don’t get it. The whole Mac Experience (hardware and software) is where it’s at. Try cloning them Apples.

  18. MacBill,

    you’re right to put them on your shitlist; I’m following suit.

    But it’s sad, isn’t it. I remember buying the first Sony Walkman in the the early eighties – a revolutionary device! For the first time you could hear stereo music on the move. Sony won our love and admiration then. But now it’s looking more and more like it’s time to get a divorce.

    Sony has – a bit like me – grown old and ugly.

  19. @Moe:

    Maybe they did, but the MacBook isn’t that much different from the iBook, then they have copied the iBook and in a late phase they’ve copied the MacBook keyboard.

    MacBook is slight more polished and I think it is more beautiful than the iBook.

    This Sony Vaio looks CHEAP!

    MW: half, they can’t even get half Apple style after copying.

  20. I know liberal thinking when I see it; it is characterized by hyper-attention to unimportant details, followed by claiming that this suggests something different and/or a secret alliance. Case in point: Sony manufacturers a disk drive for the original 128k Mac; thus, Sony and Apple have had a deep working relationship for many years that allows them to clone the look and feel of Apple’s machines.

    That’s so typical and yet so sad does anything more need to be said? Let me guess — you’re a fan of the dirty sock-Mossad 9-11 conspiracy theory too, right? *bonk!*

  21. OK, up to now only Apple has used a case shaped and colored (coloured, in the quoted press release – they trying to be British?) like that. I happen to be using an older G4 iBook vaguely resembling that right now.
    The screen resembles the one on the smaller MacBook Pro, as does the CPU. Neither of these features is unique to Macs.
    Sony uses a tray-loading, rather than a slot-loading, optical drive – a huge plus for people who like the 3.5″ CDs – like me. Sony also includes a PCMCIA slot – which some folk see as a ‘must-have’. And two buttons! – when will Apple get a clue?
    I had to look twice to be sure the pictures were not reversed images … the OD is on the left and the ports on the right. This is a Good Thing for people who regularly use a ‘portable mouse’ – they have short cords – but less convenient for folk who use the OD a lot. And I counted those ports – two. Both USB. My low-rent iBook has a third – and it isn’t USB!

    You guys have your shorts all twisted up over a vague physical resemblance. Do you get this twisty over Paris Hilton trying to out-Madonna Madonna? Or Madonna trying to out-Marilyn Marilyn? Or Jayne? Or Mae? If you aren’t going to be picky about overtly sexual blonds, why get twisty about this? People start to wonder about guys who get hotter about their computers than they do about women.
    Not that I’m saying you’re strange, just that you really need to Get A Life! … OK?
    ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

  22. That Sony looks nothing LIKE the Macbook. IF you go minimalist and white, there’s only so many options.

    Everything is going white these days. Apple started this trend, but that doesn’t mean it owns the freakin’ colour.

    It doesn’t even look like it’s the same shade.

    And anyway, Apple INCLUDE A FRACKIN’ SD READER!!!!

  23. I don’t think it looks like a MacBook at all. Seriously. Put them side by side. There are of course some design cues picked up by Sony but alomost every manufacturer takes a little from somewhere. Nobody’s successfully tried to copy my Aluminum yet either!

  24. Mr DLMeyer…
    “And two buttons! – when will Apple get a clue?” They did! And they innovated right over the heads of all the lame PC designs to give the world the “two finger right clickable touch pad!” ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />

  25. From the looks of it, the monitor is white and the rest is grey. A minor variation from Apple that makes the whole system look ugly. They ruined the design that they stole. If one wants to steal something, they could at least do it a bit of justice.

  26. SMacSteve, Yeah … that and the “Mighty Mouse”. Neither is at all intuitive, each requires more dexterity than a lot of users can manage regularly, and each is proof that Apple recognizes that people WANT two-button-mouse functionality. And yet Apple is adamant that they will not offer a two-button option.

    The Mighty Mouse is a two-button mouse ‘under the hood’ – you can’t prove it from the outside. From the outside it resembles all the one-button models that went before. Why? Somebody … won’t say who … is being ornery. Contrary. Egotistical. Rigidly, neurotically, defending a questionable decision made two decades ago – when 640K of RAM WAS enough.

  27. SONY has now gone down the Microsoft route of trying to beat the competition.

    Just copy!

    Apple should sue their ass off.

    All this says to me is that SONY HAS NO TALENT OR CREATIVITY IN THE COMPANY and that they have just turned into a version of DELL.

    For gods sake, create something fucking new OR if you cant compete with Apple sell your business and give up.

    I wounder how many more Apple customers are going to get when people buy the Macbook thinking its a Sony Vio.

    HEHE – copy the competition Sony, and lose individuality or product with your competior and lose business.

  28. DL… Who said anything about the Mighty Mouse? I’m aware of the controversies of the “one button vs. two botton” in Apple history, but I think it comes down to something Apple knows all to much about. Design and simplicity of it’s designs, which is why Apple has won more design awards for it’s products than ANY computer company.

    And, by the way… the Mighty Mouse IS a two button mouse, like it or not. Now get over it and move on with your life!

  29. Just a correction re: keyboard. .the keyboard on this sony laptop, actually is their standard laptop keyboard on earlier models (I needed to get a windows machine before the macbook came out i March this year – and it had exactly the same keyboard).

  30. Apple needs to check there overseas parts inventory and if the count is off by even one send in the troops [read Legal department!

    Sony has lost it once and for all!

    Maybe it’s time for a e-mail write-in strategy!

    Want-to-be’s are so not cool!

  31. The VAIO laptops have been using the “chicklet” style keyboards for at least as long as Apple’s used them. I think the best quality of the Sony laptops are the screens, and that’s probably what’ll set them apart from everyone else, including Apple. As for the rest of the design, I never thought the macbooks were that attractive, so it’s kinda sad to see Sony blatantly copying.

  32. mike & jadisone, the sony model you are referring to is the vaio pcg-c1x picturebook. i had one. the camera also recorded quicktime movies and could swivel from inboard and outboard view. ran win98. was quite advanced for its time. with a firmware pcmica card could even play dvd’s on an off board player. not much more than 1/2 the size of today’s macbook and fit nicely on the food tray in ecomony class. used it to take notes at conferences and drop pics into the document in realtime. usb and firewire. not too shabby for 1999. i think sony and apple have an implicit rule that they will not sue each other.

    as for the memory card slots, i like just connecting the camera (sony dsc s-85 & a100) to the laptop (pb g4 1.33ghz) via usb anyway. one less thing to carry around and lose.

  33. You know whats funny, wheres the slot loading drive? Why is it apple is the only one to realize that the slot loading drive on a laptop is essential? I mean, laptop means “tight spot” and having to deal with a flimsy tray?

  34. It’s much prettier than any other PC out there. I would consider buying it if I had to be married to XP. However, I’m suprised that the opted to leave out the video camera, which Sony is in many of their higher end VAIO laptops.

  35. Oh no,

    Sony’s copied everything,

    From the rectangular form factor.

    To the idea of having a keyboard,

    And a touchpad,

    then that idea of placing a screen on a hinged piece above the keyboard.

    And using an Intel processor (Cheeky Sony ciopying Apple)

    And putting a hard drive in the unit.

    And some memory.

    And a DVD Drive.

    And wireless

    And an SD slot.

    And USB ports.

    And Ethernet.

    Did I just describe just about every modern Intel laptop on the planet?

    Get over it guys, The MacBook is just an Intel PC clone now. Not surprising that you find other PCs in the market which look similar and have similar specs.

    ” it really draws attention to their lack of original ideas and their inability to innovate”

    Just remember it was Apple who FINALLY got on board selling systems based on the the industry standard Intel platform. Clearly Apple innovation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

    Many of the “Innovations” Apple has introduced over the years were actually designed by Sony anyway.

  36. “One question, Can you run OSX on it ? Apple will still be the better option simply because you’re getting 2 computers for the price of one.”

    No with Apple you still only get one computer. Can your wife (or significant other) boot your MacBook under Windows, take it away and use it while you simultaneously reboot it under Mac OS X, take it away, and use it yourself? NO, You just get the ability to dual boot an OS almost nobody cares about on ONE computer.

    “Why is it apple is the only one to realize that the slot loading drive on a laptop is essential?”

    because everybody else in the world seems to get on fine without it. Perhaps you don’t know what the word “Essential” means.

  37. to “What?”

    While many may understand it’s a hard life being Sony’s bitch these days, the post does not say that Sony copied the technical specifications of the white MacBook, but rather it’s copied the look and feel of the hardware to create the “MockBook”…

  38. “it’s copied the look and feel of the hardware to create the “MockBook”…”

    yep by building a rectangular box, with a keyboard, with a trackpad in front of it, with a hinged bit on the back of it with a screen in it, and making it out of plastic, and coloring it white…

    Those “look” and “feel” elements don’t really belong to Apple. It just looks in terms of overall “look” and “feel” like any other notebook to me, but then so does a MacBook. You can probably find as many similarities as differences between the Apple and the Sony.

  39. You obviosly dont have the eye for well designed things, so you cannot see the diffs which are very important to some of us…Thats all…All laptops has very similar configurations today, but only Apple runs Mac OSX and looks very slick…And only Apple has so many design awards for their products…Thats it…I hope you understand now…

  40. “, so you cannot see the diffs which are very important to some of us…”

    I’m happy for you. choice is great.

    “runs Mac OSX and looks very slick…”

    The comments seem premised on the physical look of the systems, and that Sony has duplicated the tech specs of the hardware.

    “I hope you understand now…”

    What I don’t understand is people getting so upset when it’s made clear that the difference between Apple and other products is purely a matter of cosmetics. These days the stuff inside the box is standard. While there’s sure a lot of ugly laptops out there, Apple doesn’t have a monopoly on designing stylish ones.

  41. It doesn’t have a “chiclet keyboard”. It’s got a completely different hinge-mechanism. It’s neither white nor black. As long as you don’t say Apple didn’t invent white keyboards or glaring displays, i can’t see more similarities to a macbook than to any other notebook, but hey – people stealing from Apple seems to be THE self fulfilling prophecy.

  42. Sony has used a “real” chiclet keyboard in its laptops before the macbook came out. Look up Sony VAIO X505, I’m pretty sure it has a chiclet keyboard. To say that Sony copied off Apple, at least in terms of the keyboard, would be inaccurate.

    Also, Sony was the first major manufacturer (as far as I can remember) to integrate cameras into its laptops (ie. Sony Picturebook). I’m pretty sure that while these PC manufacturers have copied some ideas made popularized by Apple, Apple has done some copying of its own.

    Make no mistake, I’m a Mac user and I love my Macbook, but I must give credit where credit is due.

  43. Been without my macbook for three weeks… I don’t care who copied who on the external design, if they can make a computer that won’t expereince RSS within 2 months of use then they’ve got my support

  44. What a shame that Sony has seen fit to copy the lousy design of the “I bought it since I want to look cool in Starbucks” MacBook. Big, ugly and heavy just like the Mac notebooks. Luckily they are still making great notebooks like the SZ/C series – Core 2 Duo, NVidia graphics, 2GB RAM, 3.7lb, <1″ thick, 13.3″ 16:10 screen. Pretty much EVERY Japanese manufacturer (Fujitsu, Panasonic, JVC) and some KOREAN manufacturers (LG in particular), make FAR cooler, smaller, lighter notebooks that the big, bloated, clones that roll out of Apple.

    Sony should really think twice about rushing to copy a company whose “huge accomplishment” was jumping from 5% marketshare to 12% market share in 5 years.

  45. I wonder if it comes with the (soon to be trademarked by Apple) MacBook Genuinous Random Shutdown (u konw, ’cause life is random) . . .

    Come on, guys! Altough Sony design isn’t original at last they don’t come with a half baked product to their customers.

    bought a CrashBook Black on june, random shutdowns appears 1 month later, logic board replaced, 3 weeks later the problem returns worse than ever . . . Now waiting in line for replacement parts to arrive one day if God . . . i mean . . . Steve Jobs care to produce them . . . Best shot? 1 month waiting . . .

    I hope this Vaio find its way to Brazil shores . . .

  46. Maybe you guys should take a quick look at where each of the new features spotlighted in Apple’s preview of the upcoming Leopard are from. I can go across the list of their “advanced” operating system, and easily point out that many of the “advances” are ripoffs of Microsoft software, like the Time Machine, the whole concept of Desktop Search, “Mail.” My favorite derivitive by far is still the Dashboard, which would be nothing if it wasn’t for the Konfabulator project first, which was, in fact, a drag-and-drop rip of the Microsoft Sidebar, first featured in an older Longhorn build.

    But who I am kidding, Apple does make some good software. A perfectly viable solution, depending on your computing needs. Too bad its fanbase is made up of 99% elitist prick fanboys.

  47. What the heck. Can Sony do anything right? If they call that a MacBook
    knock-off, they did an awful job! Its much larger and more ulgy then the MacBook, and it dosent even hold as much memory. The trackpad is TINY, and its poorly designed!

  48. This is totally retarded …Not soy copying but you mac freaks should recognize that every thing that is white/silver (i guess now black) is some how an apple knock off! … the Chicklet keyboard was there since sony T series atleast .. that is what 4 years ago? Cant you do better than this troll? This i am typing off a black macbook … it is this relentless crap that you guys dole out annoys any apple user (save for some retards) …

  49. BTW…only similarity is really the color.
    Keyboard does not look like the keyboard from macbook.
    Design: notice the vents on the side on the sony while they are hidden under the latch on apple.
    Camera: Sony had it first.
    Size: Sony has much thinner notebooks than this; smaller as well.
    Location of IO Ports: Apple has USB & AUDIO OUT/Mic on Left side towards the back on both macbook and macbook pro, while sony has it on the right and towards the front.
    Trackpad: Apples trackpad is more streamlined/you dont see the lines like you can see it in the sony.
    Lights: Apple does not have LED lights showing power/HD usage/Wi-Fi like this one is.
    Screen: Macbook & Macbook PRO are widescreen, this one isnt.
    DVD Drive- Macbook has it on the right, Pro has it on the front, Sony has it on the left.
    So WHAT EXACTLY IS THE SIMILARITY???

  50. That thing is as ugly as a Mac book. You have to admit, the MacBook is the blandest design ever….It looks like it was taken from the shape of a toilet tank. Now Sony stooped as so low to imitate it. Darn!!

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