Price: $1640
Ratings: 2.5/5
First impressions
As we've witnessed of late, the biggest
tech giants are on a roll to create the perfect hybrid - laptop cum tablet -
whose main purpose is to make our life more convenient. Thus, enter - The Sony
Vaio Duo 11 - one of the first few pc-sliders to hit the market. I was awfully
excited to open it, like a child on a sugar rush of sorts. Would it really
hold up our expectations of being the ninja of hybrids? Let's find out.
The
Sony Vaio Duo 11 Notebook
Review
As you already know, the Vaio Duo 11, is a
convertible notebook, which means it functions as a laptop and a tablet, as
and when you'd like it. This transformation has been achieved by what Sony
calls the, "Smooth Surf Slider Design", a spring loaded sliding hinge
mechanism. All you have to do to change from tablet to laptop is lift the back
edge of the screen and it will automatically slide up into a laptop-like
position, giving way to its keyboard. What Sony may call smooth, isn't
necessarily so, because it feels awkward and flimsy, like it may just break in
your hands anytime, forcing you to be a little too cautious. Besides the screen
can't be adjusted whatsoever, so you're stuck with two positions at the most.
Now that I'm almost done obsessing with the build, we come to the screen. This
piece has a 11.6 inch screen with an astounding 1920 x 1080 resolution, along
with the Gorilla Glass which thankfully protects it from dust and scratches,
because when shut (i.e. in tablet mode) the screen feels too exposed. As far as
the touch is concerned, it works fine in the tablet mode but it becomes
unresponsive at times when used like a laptop. We go further down to the
keyboard where I was quite intrigued at the absence of a trackpad, which was
replaced by an optical mouse in between the letters. I am sure they did this to
take up less space, but it wasn't a well thought out decision. Also, this
keyboard leaves absolutely no place for any palmrest, which is again a (huge)
negative point for the Vaio Duo 11. The other features includes stuff present
in every other laptop - 2 USB 3.0 ports, card slot, Ethernet Port and your
regular 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. The Vaio's staggering boot time, (maybe 4
seconds tops?) is an amazing boost for your day-to-day activities. Two thumbs
up for that. As far as sound and video quality are concerned, it is better than
what most laptops have to offer - then again, what else would you expect with
its 1920x1080 resolution? Just when you start thinking, this piece just might
be okay, its short battery life makes you change your mind. After watching a
few videos for about 2.5 - 3 hours, I was prompted to connect the charger. So
much for uninterrupted hours of pure entertainment after a stressful day at
work!
Vaio
Duo 11 is a convertible notebook, which means it functions as a laptop and a
tablet, as and when you'd like it.
Verdict
Given the amazing hybrids coming up, this
Japanese Giant has to buck up as far as the Duo 11 is concerned. I am in favor
of the gorgeous resolution, Intel Core i5 Processor and the 128GB SSD. But, its
weak build was absolutely appalling, along with the tiny keyboard, problematic
touch and the short battery life. Sony may have hoped to create the ultimate
Windows 8 PC, but it's just an awkward combination between the two. It's good,
just not great and there is definitely a colossal room for improvement.
What
else would you expect with its 1920x1080 resolution?
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Specifications
·
11.6 inches Full HD TouchScreen
·
Intel Core i5 Process 1.7 Ghz
·
4 GB DDR3 RAM Windows 8 64-bit
·
128GB Flash Memory HDD
·
Intel HD Graphics 4000
·
1.3 Kgs
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