For the longest time, Apple's pro line of laptops (including the latest MacBook Pro) has dominated the photography landscape. This trend, however, is changing in significant ways lately as the PC market tries to attract imaging professionals with faster, fully-loaded notebook computers.

Last month we looked at the Lenovo Thinkpad W700 portable workstation, which includes a built-in Wacom digitizer, an integrated color-calibration system and a gorgeous, 17-inch screen. While we liked that model quite a bit, it isn't exactly the sleekest or most attractive laptop out there right now. (The MacBook Pro still wins the beauty contest, hands down.)

Sony has gone a long way to give photo-centric PC notebooks a makeover with its attractive new VAIO AW series of laptops. And while these new VAIOs don't include built-in Wacom tablets or color calibrators, they do have incredible 18.4-inch screens that are ideal for reviewing and editing images and video. Using Sony's XBRITE-FullHD technology, which employs a 3 LED backlighting system with separate red, green and blue LEDs to produce Adobe RGB color, VAIO AW laptops boast a resolution of 1920 x 1080 in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Other helpful features include a built-in CompactFlash slot, Adobe Lightroom pre-installed, an HDMI port and a Blu-ray optical drive, all of which might make MacBook Pro fans want to take a second look.

Cost: $1,600 (base price)
Further information:
www.sonystyle.com