Laptop Thoughts: New Sony Vaio Is Notebook Power In Netbook (Almost) Size

"Sony's little mid-range Vaio just got a little more little. The Y series, launched back in January, is shrinking from 13.3 to 11.6 inches with the new VPCYA19FJ/B model, but still offers a perfectly respectable resolution of 1366 x 768."

The new Sony Vaio offers a complex sequence of letters and numbers for its model number and some decent specs for those that are ready to move up from the world of netbooks but do not want to compromise on the size. Unfortunately, this one has only been announced for Japanese release. Why do manufacturers limit where they release a product? Do they really think that the other markets would sell so poorly that it would not be worth the investment?