Just what is Sony up to with its VAIO line? First we saw what looks like a netbook in an FCC filing that, based on its product number, should be a VAIO device. Then Sony began teasing us with a page put up on its New Zealand website, counting down to a reveal that it claims will make you "change the way you look at laptops. Forever.", quite the hyperbolic statement. The date the countdown targets, January 9th, is shortly after 2009's Consumer Electronics Show begins, a prime location to premiere a new tech product. Within a day of being first spotted, Sony pulled the page from its site, now redirecting visitors to its front page.

The consensus amongst bloggers seems to be that the "big" reveal is just a tiny, thin VAIO netbook with a very wide screen. Other suggestions include speculation that the device's display technology will be its standout feature, either an active-matrix OLED or something using electronic ink. Although neither seems quite as game-changing as the countdown page implied, either would certainly be a notable upgrade from available laptops. Did the web gurus at Sony's New Zealand site just jump the gun on making the announcement and starting the countdown clock without clearance from their higher-ups? If it was a mistake, was the page even counting down to the correct date? We'll keep alert on the ninth in any case, and hopefully put an end to this mystery.

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