Sony is finally making its MacBook Air contenders available for purchase. The company has released its much-anticipated VAIO Z series. The ultra-portable laptop packs high performance features, wireless hotspot functionality and quick boot with dual solid state drives – all into a sleek 0.66-inch, 2.5-pound aluminum and carbon fiber chassis.

“This new Z laptop builds on the attitude that an ultra-portable can also pack high performance into a slim profile,” said Mike Lucas, senior vice president of Networked Technology and Services Division at Sony Electronics.

“The Z Series is ideal for performance demanding road warriors who need excellent battery life.”

The Z Series incorporates the Power Media Doc system, which delivers the power of an AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics card with 1GB VRAM, slot loading optical drive, three USB ports, HDMI and VGA ports. When paired with the supplied dock, the Z Series transforms into the ultimate workstation and can even support up to four full HD displays.

Sony has also brought its prowess in developing HD televisions to the Z Series’ LED backlit displays, available in1920x1080 and 1600x900 resolution levels. The display’s 16:9 aspect ratio is ideal for viewing Blu-ray Disc movies with the accompanying Power Media Doc system. The display also features anti-glare coating and deep, rich colors for more true-to-life images, and less light reflection.

With new built-in Intel Wireless Display Technology, the Z Series can send movies, videos and photos stored on its drives or home network to a television in full 1080p HD and 5.1 surround sound.

Sony’s VAIO Z Series comes equipped with the latest select Windows 7 operating systems. The laptops will retail for about $2,000.

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