Back in February, Sony sold its Vaio brand and associated operations to a private investment fund called Japan Industrial Partners. Today, JIP relaunched Vaio as a separate company and introduced two new laptops with it. Sadly, it doesn't appear that the new products will be sold outside of Japan.

The new Vaio Corporation is a small company, with only 240 employees. In a statement on its website (Japanese PDF), the company promises to "inherit the Vaio DNA," which apparently means producing products that embody "productivity, creativity, and ease of use." I'm probably missing something, though. Google Translate is only so much help.

The new Vaio Pro.

With its relaunch, the company is offering two new notebooks, the Vaio Pro and Vaio Fit. As their names imply, these systems are targeted at the business and consumer markets, respectively. The Vaio Pro is an ultra-thin laptop with a carbon-fiber chassis and IPS display, while the Vaio Fit appears to be a standard consumer machine. Given the exclusively Japanese website and press materials, it seems unlikely that we'll see these in North America anytime soon.