Without a doubt the biggest advantage of tablets over notebooks are their compact dimensions. That’s what makes the tablet market flourish nowadays. It is certainly more convenient to read from a tablet on your way to work than a pull out a bulky notebook machine.
Finally the MacBook Air has its serious rival – the 13inch Vaio ultrabook weighs only 2.9lbs
Well, except for the one you are about to see. It provides the ultrabook performance in tablet dimensions. This is Sony Vaio Pro 13.
Finally the MacBook Air has its serious rival. This 13inch Vaio ultrabook weighs only 2.9 pounds – battery piece included, and has an extremely thin profile of only 0.68 inches when closed. Its carbon-fiber housing is a representation of exquisite craftsmanship. Its design theme can be defined as minimalistic and edgy. The sides are boldly cut reminding a diamond treatment. Not only is it one really elegant and sleek-looking ultrabook but the surface easily repels fingerprints and dust.
The 13.3 inch LED display uses Sony’s Triluminous Display technology, used in many of their high class Tvs
There is a huge VAIO metallic logo in the middle of the lid and a silver bezel over the back periphery. The hinges are well hidden on the bottom. The reason for that is the special opening mechanism on the VAIO Pro 13. When the lid is open it pushes the base part up so that a comfortable typing angle is assumed. The overall build quality is great except for the fact that the inside keyboard panel sags in during typing.
The 13.3 inch LED-backlit touchscreen incorporates Sony’s Triluminous Display technology, used in many of their high class Tvs. The resolution of 1920×1080 pixels in addition to the IPS technology delivers great details, true-life colors and wide viewing angle from any side. However, we wish the LCD screen was a little bit brighter as it is hard to use it outdoors. The glossy front panel additionally ruins the viewing experience.
The core hardware component on the VAIO Pro 13 is the latest 4th generation dual core Intel Core i5 which works at 1.6GHz frequency
The core hardware component on the VAIO Pro 13 is the latest 4th generation dual core Intel Core i5 which works at 1.6GHz frequency. It is backed up by 4GB of DDR3 system memory (the maximum you can provide here is 8GB). The visuals are handled by an integrated Intel HD 4400 graphics processing unit. There is one more thing to add in order to end up with a standard ultrabook configuration – this is the SSD. This machine provides 128GB of solid state drive capacity.
Despite its extremely reduced dimensions, the island-style keyboard here provides standard-size keys with short stroke. The backlight on the keys is always welcome. The reduced size of the arrow keys is the thing we are definitely not fans of. The touchpad is centrally positioned below the keyboard. It is very sensitive and provides a wide surface area for multifinger gestures.
Although design is one of the things we mostly liked about this device, its hardware set is not to ignore.
The integrated battery unit provides around 10 hours on a moderate use
The periphery offers nothing short of what most ultrabooks provide in terms of connectivity. The VAIO Pro 13 comes with an HDMI port, 2 USB 3 ports, an SD card reader and a 3.5mm audio jack all placed on the right side.
4th generation Intel processors are designed to be power savers. The integrated battery unit here provides around 10 hours on a moderate use.
If you are looking for an ultrabook to carry around with you anywhere you go and of course you are ready to spend around $1 230 then you are good to go with Sony VAIO Pro 13.
