Tablets and ultrabooks are proving popular devices at Computex, and Sony recently joined the release party with three new Haswell-powered VAIO notebooks. The VAIO Pro 11 and VAIO Pro 13 are thin and light laptops while the VAIO Duo 13 is the company's first Haswell-powered convertible tablet (slider style).
All three new mobile devices share Full HD 1920 x 1080 Bravia Triluminos touchscreen displays, ClearAudio+ sound, Haswell processors, and respectable battery life.
The VAIO Duo 13 is a 13" notebook that can be converted into a slate tablet by sliding the screen forward and having it lay on top of the keyboard. The keyboard is back-lit and sits above a tiny trackpad that is much wider than it is tall. Other features include a stylus, 8MP camera with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software called CamScanner, and a claimed 15 hour battery life according to Sony and as tested by MobileMark 2007.
Internal specifications match those of the VAIO Pro series, with a dual core 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD, and a beefy 6,320 mAh battery.
Aside from the small trackpad, this looks like a solid device that matches Intel's "It's a laptop when you need it; it's a tablet when you want it” mantra. At the very least, it looks like a worthy (and improved) successor to the company's existing VAIO Duo 11 convertible tablet.
The VAIO Duo 13 will be available for purchase in Carbon Black or Carbon White later this month for $1,399.
Sony has also announced two new thin-and-light ultraportable VAIO Pro notebooks. As the product names suggest, they are 11” and 13” ultrabooks.
The VAIO Pro 11 weighs in at an ultra-light 1.92 pounds (0.87kg) and offers up a 1920 x 1080 display, backlight keyboard, trackpad (again, rather tiny), and decent internals.
Specifically, the base model Pro 11 notebook is powered by an Intel 4th Generation Core i5-4200U (dual core at 1.6GHz) processor, 4GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD. For a bit more, you can upgrade to a Core i7-4500U and a 256GB SSD. The base model has an MSRP of $1,150.00 USD.
Sony's VAIO Pro 13 steps up to a larger 13” display (albeit still 1080p). The larger form factor is still only 2.33 pounds (1.06kg), however which is nice to see. The base model contains a Core i5-4200U processor, 4GB RAM, and a 128GB PCIe SSD. Users can upgrade to 8GB of RAM and a 512GB PCIe SSD, however. The MSRP for the base model is $1,250.00 USD.
For only $100 over the base VAIO Pro 11, you can get a larger screen and faster storage drive which is pretty good. Judging by the reviews, such as this one by The Verge, the Pro 13 is the one to get as the Pro 11 is almost too small with a hard-to-read screen and cramped keyboard. On the other hand, if you need portability however, it is hard to beat the Haswell-powered Pro 11.
Both the VAIO Pro 11 and VAIO Pro 13 will be available later this month for $1,150 and $1,250 respectively.
What do you think about Sony's new offerings? Any Duo 11 users out there wishing for a larger form factor?
Looks gorgeous and made of
Looks gorgeous and made of carbon fiber; but, of course, The Verge panned it because it isn’t a crApple air. Those folks’ subjectivity is sickening. I don’t get why companies bother to give them laptops to review. Love they disparaged the smaller one for having too high a res and being to difficult to read. Before pc guys finally started using high res panels, those guys always tore into them for not using high res panels. Now that they have a higher res than the air, they say the text is too small. Why do I torture myself and read their reviews? Because I am f…. up.
What I like about Sony is
What I like about Sony is that they often offer discreet graphics even in small form factors, so it’s disappointing to not see Nvidia optimus in the specs.
What I don’t like about Sony is that they integrate bloatware into drivers so that you can’t separate them. You suppose they’ve changed their ways on that too?
Yeah a new GT or GTX 700M
Yeah a new GT or GTX 700M card would have been nice, but it would have needed beefier cooling and would have weighed more. As is, I think Sony put more emphasis on battery life and portability than pure power.
One can only hope that some day the bloatware will end, but it is not likely to happen this notebook generation :).
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