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SINGAPORE : Lately, many colleagues have been stopping by my desk to look at it. One even sold his Apple MacBook Air (MBA) to get it. Yes, I'm talking about the super-slim, super-light Sony Vaio X laptop.
The review set that landed on my desk is the entry-level black VPCX113KG/B (S$1,999) that comes with a 1.86GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD hard drive and Windows 7 Home Premium.
Two other models are available - the VPCX115LG/N (S$2,199), which comes in gold colour and is loaded with Windows 7 Professional; and the black VPCX118L/B (S$2,499), which features Windows 7 Professional, a 2GHz processor, a 128GB hard drive and an integrated 3G modem.
All three models sport a 1,366x768 resolution LED-backlit display and a slender 1.39cm profile. The body of the Vaio is made of carbon while the aluminium palm-rest has a groove (known as Rigid Arc) that runs along its edge and that of the 11.1-inch screen, giving it strength and structure.
Sony has managed to squeeze in two USB ports on the left side of the notebook and a VGA port and an Ethernet port on the right. There is still space in front for the Memory Stick and SD card slots.
The keyboard is a tad cramped. You will find yourself hitting the wrong keys as they are too small. The right "Shift" key is particularly annoying, as you tend to hit the "Enter" key instead. A bigger touchpad would be welcomed, especially when there is space to accommodate it.
While the Vaio X is no doubt an attention-grabber, I find that it doesn't command the same "wow" factor as the MBA in terms of looks. But the Vaio X is lighter, weighing only 655g with the supplied battery. The wafer-thin battery lasts around two-and-a-half hours on WiFi. You have the option to get the bigger VGP-BPX19 battery (S$429), which is supposed to last a staggering 16 hours.
With the power supply plugged in, it takes only 44.3 seconds to boot up Windows 7. On battery power, it takes 62 seconds. Shutdown is constant at around 26 seconds. And the laptop operates virtually without noise. On the benchmark Performance Test 7.0, it scores 171.3. Sony's other petite laptop, the P25, which has the same processor speed and amount of RAM, clocks only 113.3.
Nevertheless, the review set is not as zippy as I hope it would be. There's a lag when you toggle between applications, and you can see lines jerk at times when playing a 720p movie clip.
Overall, I find the Sony Vaio X to be the best netbook in the market in terms of looks, portability and performance. Too bad about the steep price.
- TODAY/il
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