Sony Vaio X Review

Sony’s latest Vaio X is one ultraportable I could not imagine to be doable at this time. But here you go — the thinnest and lightest among the ultraportables in the market. Check out my full review below.

Before anything else, check out our short unboxing video over at YouTube:

Such a huge box for a small device.

The Sony Vaio X has a black matte finish all over so that solves the fingerprint-magnet problem often encountered with glossy finishes. There are 2 USB ports, a VGA port and a slightly hidden Ethernet port on the sides as well as a 1.3MP webcam at the top of the display screen.

Super Thin. At only 0.55″ all around, it beat sthe “light as a feather” Macbook Air which is still at 0.76″. If not for that VGA port that’s protruding at the side, they could have gone thinner.

The 11.1 inch display screen is also matte so no problems with glare when used outdoors or against bright lights. The display si still bright and crisp at a maximum resolution of 1366×768 pixels.

Super Light. As light as 655 grams (1.44 lbs) which is almost half the weight of most netbooks in the market. The Sony Vaio P pocket PC is like just half the size of the Vaio X but has the same weight at 635 grams (1.4 lbs). We very rarely see ultaportables and netbooks under 2lbs.

Super Sturdy. The body is made of carbon fibre and not just ordinary hard plastic so you don’t have to worry about breaking it in half inside your laptop bag while on a rugged trip. I’ve actually dropped the unit a couple feet high and not even a sign of a bump or scratch although I wouldn’t dare try banging it against a cement wall.

Usually, features like “small and light” comes with “slow or sluggish” but not the Vaio X. It’s powered by the fastest Intel Atom processor in the market today. Running at 2.0GHz, there’s no other ultraportable or netbook I know of that can match that clock speed.

But yes, Intel’s Atom still inherits that marketing stigma that it’s only for internet surfing and Word processing. My gut feel is that the Intel GMA 500 graphics chip has got more to do with how it performs rather than the  processor. I will be doing a separate performance comparison of the CPUs later at the PCLabs. I’m also interested to pit the CULVs with the Atom Z550.

If there’s one thing that I found a little short is the size of the individual keys. Over-all, the chiclet-style keyboard is good and keys are well-spaced. However, the size of the keys are a bit smaller that usual which makes touch-typing a bit awkward at times. You’d get used to it in time.

As for battery life, the 2.0GHz model can last up to 5 hours on a full charge with WiFi on. Already pretty impressive for its size and weight but Sony says they also have an extended battery that can last the unit up to 16 hours (now that’s something I’m really curious). The hibernate feature is also impressive — it can turn back on from hibernate mode in under 5 seconds. That has probably got to do with the SDD drive and the pre-installed Windows 7 operating system.

The Vaio X comes in two models — the 1.86GHz Atom Z540 with 64GB SSD drive and the faster 2.0GHz Atom Z550 with 128GB SSD drive. They don’t come cheap too — Php69,999USD 1,193INR 101,121EUR 1,136CNY 8,687 and Php92,999USD 1,585INR 134,346EUR 1,509CNY 11,541, respectively. Sony already has the netbook category covered with the Vaio W so the Vaio X is more targeted to a higher end of the market.