Home : December 21 2013 Computer News : Sony VAIO Tap 11 Ultrabook review: Sleek and sexy, but far too slippery

Sony VAIO Tap 11 Ultrabook review: Sleek and sexy, but far too slippery

December 21, 2013

The rush is on to offer tablet PCs with ever stronger laptop alter egos, and Sony makes a splash with its new VAIO Tap 11. It’s a full Windows 8 tablet PC, impossibly thin and light, with a gorgeous screen and an even thinner keyboard cover at no additional charge. And, wait—is that a fourth-generation Intel Core i5-4210Y processor? Yes, and it comes with 4GB of DDR3/1600 memory and a 128GB SSD, too, conferring some serious Ultrabook cred to this 1.7-pound panel. The Tap 11 is almost as skinny as Apple’s iPad Air, and it makes Microsoft’s Surface Pro 2 look chunky. The VAIO Tap 11 is not the carefree experience one hopes for from a tablet. It’s surprisingly fiddly and awkward as an on-the-go PC. Now for a dose of reality. In spite of the Tap 11’s great looks and high-octane silicon, Sony made too many compromises in its pursuit of marketing superlatives: It’s the thinnest, lightest 2-in-1 Ultrabook you can buy. But it’s merely an okay tablet and, at best, it’s a short-term stand-in for a notebook. You can find much better choices at the Tap 11’s $1100 price level—notably the Surface Pro 2 ($999 for the 4GB RAM/128GB storage model plus $130 for its keyboard cover). The VAIO Tap 11 is sexy enough to earn a look at its high points first. As I’ve already mentioned, Sony managed to stuff an impressive amount of computing prowess into this small frame, which is similar in size to letter paper and only four-tenths of an inch thick. Its 11.6-inch screen, with its resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, looks great and is very responsive to the touch. It has an 8MP camera on the back and a 2MP webcam above the display.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2080806/sony-vaio-tap-11-ultrabook-review-sleek-and-sexy-but-far-too-slippery.html#tk.rss_reviews