The Sony Vaio YA is a very compact notebook with an affordable price tag.

The Vaio YA is like the ultra-high-end Z series in terms of looks and weight (1.46KG), without the extreme top-of-the-line specifications. Like everything Sony, it also has an brain-numbing product name: YPCYA15FGB.

It's a little smaller than the Z, at 11.6" -- about the smallest we'd recommend going for real productivity. However, the screen resolution is still good -- 1366x768px.

Inside, there's a dual-core Intel Core i3 processor -- one of Intel's lower-end processors, but still faster than any of the previous generation of Core 2 Duo processors, so a reasonably speedy chip nonetheless.

It only has a 320GB hard drive, which is on the small side by current standards, but still ample for a medium-sized library of music, movies, TV shows and photos.

There's an HDMI output for connection to hotel TVs, as well as a VGA port for meeting-room projectors -- something the Vaio Z doesn't have. There's a webcam for Skype video chats as well as an SD camera memory card slot.

Sony says the battery is good for four hours' use. What it hasn't announced yet -- and we can't check, since the Vaio YA isn't quite on sale yet -- is the thickness of the machine.

Online: not on Sony's website at the time of publication -- due for release within the next two weeks.

Price: $1099