Blurring The Line Between Tablet and
Notebook.
Sony’s take on the convertible notebook is
the VAIO Duo 11; an 11-inch, full HD, touchscreen Ultrabook which does away
with the traditional clamshell notebook form factor, replacing it with a unique
‘Surf Slider’ mechanism.
The Duo 11 in its default form is an
11-inch tablet, but lifting a thin catch found at the rear of the device causes
a spring-loaded hinge and a pair of struts to slide the screen backwards and up
into position, revealing a keyboard. The mechanism is smooth and fast and, with
a bit of practice can be done with just one finger.
The
Duo 11 boasts a gorgeous full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution IPS touchscreen
display.
The Duo 11 boasts a gorgeous full HD 1920 x
1080 resolution IPS touchscreen display. Not only is the resolution fantastic,
it’s also very bright with superb viewing angles. While Sony hasn’t officially
announced anything, the display surface does appear to be made from Corning
Gorilla Glass, and as such, should be able to take quite a pounding.
One drawback to the Surf Slider design is
that the mechanism itself takes up a lot of space: roughly half of its base. As
such, there’s no space for a wrist rest and the keys on the Duo 11’s backlit
Chiclet-style keyboard are also a bit small. The track-pad has also been
replaced with an optical sensor, but it wasn’t very accurate and there was some
noticeable cursor jerkiness. To make up for the underwhelming keyboard and
optical sensor, Sony bundles every Duo 11 with its Digitizer Stylus.
Not
only is the resolution fantastic, it’s also very bright with superb viewing
angles.
The Digitizer Stylus is a new technology
developed for the Duo 11 in collaboration with stylus manufacturer N-Trig. The
stylus has been designed to mimic the feel of writing on paper with a pen or
pencil and comes with a choice of two switchable tips, for your preference of
either a hard (pen) or soft (pencil) feel. It can also be used for navigation
with buttons for right and left click.
The stylus works well, replacing the need
to ever use the Duo 11’s keyboard or optical sensor, although in what seems
like a major oversight there is no slot on the Duo 11 to store the stylus (a
replacement stylus will cost you $119).
The Duo 11 has very impressive connectivity
options, with just about every port you would want accounted for - business
users will definitely appreciate the VGA port. You’ll also find an assortment
of sensors usually only seen on tablets and smartphones, including an
accelerometer, a gyroscope and a digital compass. It even has NFC (Near Field
Communication) technology!
Performance-wise, the Duo 11 scored
reasonably well in all areas, with no glaring weaknesses. Battery life clocked
in at 3 hours exactly.
Performance-wise,
the Duo 11 scored reasonably well in all areas, with no glaring weaknesses.
Given its portable size, high-res display
and bundled stylus, the Duo 11 feels the most tablet-like out of all of the
convertible Ultrabooks currently available (and it certainly operates much
better in its tablet form). As such, we feel that it will be a great fi t for
anyone looking for a premium, all-purpose tablet with Ultrabook specifications,
and the ability to transform into a notebook when required.
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Specifications
§ Laptop
type: Netbook, Convertible tablet
§ Thickness:
0.7 inches
§ Weight:
2.87 pounds
§ Operating
system: Windows 8
§ Screen
size (diagonal): 11.6 inches
§ Touch
technology: Dual-Digitizer
§ CPU
brand: Intel
§ CPU
family: Ivy Bridge
§ Graphics
type: Integrated
§ Integrated
GPU model: HD Graphics 4000
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