Price range: $929.00 - $1,219.99.......

Sony has long looked down its nose at the netbook craze, dismissing it as ‘a race to the bottom’ while busying itself with its slim, premium Vaios.But it couldn’t ignore the huge popularity of the small-screened web warriors forever – hence the arrival of the P-series.Mini powerhouse.While the 8in beauty looks like a netbook, Sony has stuck to its principles and made a high-end laptop that it legitimately claims is more of an ultra-portable. Whatever you call it, the P Series is incredibly powerful for its size.

Powered by an Intel Atom Z530 Processor, it comes with Windows Vista Business, 2GB RAM and a 128GB flash drive, which goes some way to explaining the (gulp) £850 price tag.

Stunning screen

The screen should also be a cut above its rivals, with Sony cramming in 1600x768 pixels into the widescreen display, and covering it with an X-Black sheen that should help negate bright sunlight.It’s also packed with the gold standard of connectivity – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 7.2Mbps built-in HSDPA, making it more than a rival for the similarly blessed LG X110.

Fast starter

We’re big fans of Sony’s ‘XrossMediaBar’ (XMB) menu system from the PS3 and Bravia range, so it’s great to see it appear in the P-Series’ ‘quick-start’ feature.But as beautifully crafted and well-specced as it is, will the P-Series be worth the cost of almost three Asus Eee PC 901s? We’ll let you know in a full review soon, but in the meantime check out our CES live blog for more info and our Netbooks Top 10 to check out the competition.