The good: this is the laptop I'd been holding out for. It's fast enough and capable enough to run Adobe Photoshop with no problems or to allow me to manipulate a hugely complicated Excel spreadsheet filled with formulas without any noticeable lag. At the same time, it wakes up in less than 2 seconds, and the touchscreen when folded down into tablet position is great for taking notes on. The battery lasts far longer than most laptops, generally giving me 8-10 hours of work before running out. It's shockingly light.
The bad: while the hinge works great, I worry about its long-term sturdiness. The webcam light often stays on, which is creepy. The angle of the screen isn't adjustable, so although the brightness makes it readable from many angles, if you'd like a different angle than the default for ergonomic reasons you're just out of luck.
No buyers remorse on my part a week into having it, but I'd say that the primary audience is people who need high performance, long battery life, a touch screen, and light weight all wrapped up into one package that they're willing to pay a premium for.
UPDATED: It appears to be the case right now that there's no pressure sensitivity for the stylus in Photoshop. That might or might not be a dealbreaker for folks, and it might or might not eventually get fixed with a driver update.
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I own the Sony Vaio Duo 13 with i7-4650, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD and Windows 8 Pro. It is an impressive convertible ultrabook.Build:
The device feels very solid and has a premium feel.
The left and right edges of the screen bezel has a slight lip near the middle that catches your fingernail (it's not perfectly flush).
There are two hooks on the base that attaches to the bottom of the screen to keep it secured when the screen is up, but the hooks can sometimes miss and the screen needs to be realigned. If the Duo is on a 45-degree or more slant then the screen will become unhooked and hang loose.
This ultrabook does not have a lock hole.
Weight:
The Duo 13 is lightweight for a laptop but not light enough for one-handed use as a tablet.
Screen:
Beautiful IPS display.
The screen can be hard to view in direct sunlight.
The screen is great, although a 60-degree angle (like the MS Surface) instead of 45 would be better. The IPS display has decent viewing angles so I can live with that.
The sliding screen design allows the screen to be closer within reach than traditional laptops. I like this design over others where the screen is further at the edge of the base.
Having the screen on top and slide out has its benefits to be used as a tablet/slate without having the keyboard in the way. This was one of the main reasons why I chose the Duo over the Pro.
It would be nice if the screen can somehow flip out of the way if you didn't need it. All I need is the keyboard when connected to an external display and the blank screen is just in the way.
Other ultrabooks may have higher resolution screens but 1080p seems sufficient for this 13" screen. The screen magnification is set to 125% by default, which still allows a large workspace. Setting it to 100% gives you a very ample workspace but items can be too small.
The touch accuracy works as intended, but it can get tricky to pinpoint some buttons in desktop mode with your finger. This is where the pen comes in handy.
Note that this screen only has 5 touch points instead of 10, but I haven't found the use for that many touch points. Windows 8 doesn't allow you to drag multiple items with multiple fingers anyways.
I had the Duo custom built at Sony's online store and had them apply the screen protector at the factory. The screen protector does takes away some glare, glossiness, and color.
Note that output displays are limited to 1080p. I wish it could go higher for my higher resolution monitors.
It has a flat surface for use with Windows edge gestures.
Keyboard:
The keyboard could be larger with more key travel.
The keys are very well spaced and I can type at full speed. Most of my typing errors are from missing the right Shift key and pressing Up on accident.
My main gripe is that the right Shift key is too small. I find myself frequently pressing Up instead of Shift with my right pinky finger on accident.
The key travel is very shallow and takes some getting used to.
Trackpad:
It's small but does the job.
The trackpad does the job but I rarely use it. I cranked the sensitivity up so it is more usable.
It's easy to accidentally tap the touchpad while typing so care is needed while typing. Good thing Sony included a hot key to disable the trackpad (Fn + F1).
The left half left-clicks and the right will right-click.
Gestures work just fine with the Synaptics drivers and can be customized.
The pen does not work on the trackpad.
Pen:
The pen works as intended. It comes in handy for accurate pointing but I can live without it.
It feels nice and solid but could be more comfortable.
The top half of the pen where the clip meets already broke loose, as if the super glue no longer sticks.
It is not a Wacom pen so limited apps can use the sensitivity feature at the moment.
The clip holder snaps into place and is much better than having nothing to hold the pen. If it weren't for the clip holder then I would probably leave the pen at home.
The "ink well" holder is built in and slides out when needed, but I rarely use it.
Cameras:
Mediocre cameras on front and back.
The front camera is not adjusted to account for the 45-degree angle screen. If the screen is up then the camera will also be looking up 45-degrees.
Included is a FastAccess Facial Recognition app to log in, but it is pretty slow at recognizing faces.
Connectivity:
No wifi issues here. The wifi signal is stronger when the screen is propped up.
Bluetooth works as intended.
I haven't tried Intel Wireless Display but look forward to testing that out since it's built in.
Performance:
This ultrabook is no slouch!
The SSD allows for fast boot times as well as quick read/write times. It'll boot up in about 10 seconds and restart in about 20 seconds. It almost instantly wakes up when resuming from sleep.
The i7 CPU doesn't break a sweat when I push it.
The fan is not too loud (there's a setting in Vaio Control Center that allows you to adjust the fan noise and CPU performance).
The vent hasn't gotten hot, but the port side where the power plug can get warm when I'm charging it and running multiple USB displays off one port.
Battery life:
This was one of the main selling points for me. An advertised 10 hour battery life was unheard of until Haswell came out.
I can get about 4-5 hours using CPU intensive apps like Traktor to mix music at regular screen brightness and timeout settings. I can picture it lasting 6-8+ hours if I try to conserve power by lowering the screen brightness and shortening the display timeout/dimming settings. I have the display set to dim in 1 minute to 0% and it has helped with battery life.
The battery doesn't seem to drain when the laptop is in sleep mode so I just put it to sleep instead of shutting down.
It charges pretty quickly at about 1% per minute.
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Conclusion:
I like this convertible ultrabook very much and I can picture myself using it for years to come. I can recommend it to others.
It is overpriced but you get what you pay for (powerful CPU/GPU, good battery life, beautiful display, quick SSD [probably the most expensive part], solid and thin build). This is a premium ultrabook.
The battery life, screen, keyboard and weight could use some improvement to earn another star. If the battery could last 10 hours as advertised under normal use then that would be great. The screen would be better if it were adjustable or at a 60-degree angle. The keyboard is not the best but works for daily use. It could be lighter for one-handed use.
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This is a review of the stock version with 8gb RAM and 256gb HDD.My needs include grading and commenting on papers and exams for graduate school students. I wanted a convertible tablet with digital ink capabilities, that was larger than the typical 11.6 inch tablet. I needed something that could handle very large PDF files, so I could read and mark-up coursebooks in PDF form. Ideally, I would be able to replace my iPad and Macbook Air with one device.
Along the way, I tried the Asus Transformerbook TX300. It was too heavy, lacked the digital pen capability, and too slow in handling large pdf files. (It also had defective keyboard unit). I tried the Samsung ATIV 700t. The ATIV 700t had digital ink, but was as sluggish as the Transformerbook with large PDF files, and the screen was too small at 11.6 inches.
I thought a long time before going with this Sony -not sure I liked the slider form; concerned about the Wifi problems people seemed to have. But, I went with it, and find it to be extremely useable, and a great fit for my purposes.
The slider format, I've discovered, is far superior to the detachable tablet approach in the Transformerbook and the ATIV 700t. For marking papers in MS WORD, I can easily change from typed comments to handwritten comments, just by sliding from notebook to tablet. It's quick, and simple. Durability may be an issue, but I plan to get Square Trade or some other kind of extended protection.
The unit is light enough that I can and do take it with me to work on a daily basis, as I did with the iPad. It boots up very quickly. Easy to use it to get work done in the subway, or wherever.
I have not had any significant Wifi problems. It gets a signal (though weak) two floors below where the router is, and a strong signal on the floor where the router is. I had considered the version with ATT broadband, but decided I could use the mobile hotspot function of my phone. The Sony connected with that Wifi from my phone just fine as well.
Battery life is great. It's reassuring not to have to worry about the computer losing its charge before I lose interest in doing more work.
I've seen that many observers are questioning whether this Sony has any real market. From my perspective, this Vaio Duo 13 has a great design and set of features for students and teachers.
Of course, some things could be better. The key travel is too shallow. As is true with almost all Windows machines these days, the aspect ratio is not right for reading in portrait mode (something that students and faculty would likely want to do). Windows programs for marking up PDF files are far more cumbersome than is Goodreader for the iPad -hopefully someone can create a program like Goodreader for Windows 8. (This is not a Sony problem, but something that a person switching from iPad to this might want to consider).
But, again, having a real computer, with real computing power, with a sufficiently large screen, in such a light form, with all my Office and PDF programs, able to handle multiple programs simultaneously without getting bogged down, easily convertible from notebook to tablet, and with the active digitizer -it's really a great package.
Honest reviews on Sony VAIO Duo SVD13215PXB 13.3-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen
I looking for great laptop and good for tablet. This machine is amazing fast and great responsive in many ways. It can be one of my favorite gadget if it does not have serious Wifi connection problem. I use Apple Time capsule (old version) as my router to internet. Normally, I use my computer, tablet far from it around 15-20 feet, nothing go wrong. All my machine work and run internet extremely fast and never have disconnected problem.My new Sony Duo 13 is show only 2 bars for Wifi connection (all other devices show 5 full bars) but on top of that they running all download super slow and disconnected from my router occasionally. I have to move my Duo very close to my router, the result is super fast as 10 times as 15 feet away. I try to update all the driver and patch of window 8 by lay it down next to each other.
The result is the same. I have to returned it to AMAZON. sorry.
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I was intrigued by the Duo 11 but hesitated due to its difficult to use smallish keyboard and short battery life. Thanks to Intel Haswell and Sony's updates, I finally get the perfect hybrid laptop I've been waiting for. Beautiful and light weight, fast, 1080p multi-touch IPS screen, long battery life, decent keyboard and a pressure-sensitive stylus.Agree with the first review, Amazon need to correct the HDD spec, it is a 256GB SSD. The top end model with the 512GB SSD cost 2700. Anyway, I've used it for a few days and here's my initial impression.
Pro:
Beautifully designed and thin, form factor is quite an eye catcher
Surprisingly light, feels like holding an 11" notebook instead of a 13" one
Boot up is incredibly fast, takes only a few second like a game console
Performance is very snappy, the i7 is plenty fast for most computing use
Quiet and cool under light use, have not tested heavy loads yet
Beautiful 1080p IPS screen. 1080p is about prefect for 13"
Usable back-lit keyboard
Real touch pad instead of some weird pointing device, though a little small
Very good battery life for such a fast notebook, approaching that of a tablet
NFC. May not be useful but good to know it's included
Pressure sensitive digitizer and supported art software included
Con:
Screen angle not adjustable
Screen is quite glossy but expected just like in most tablets
Hinge does not seem very sturdy so be more careful with it
Only the screen bezel is white. I wish the entire body is white
Keyboard keys lacks travel compare to normal notebook
Does not have a slot to keep the stylus in
Not Wacom digitizer so third party support may be lacking
Non-removeable batteries
No RAM slot
A little pricey
Overall I am very pleased with this hybrid notebook and my wife loves it. I really wanted the Duo 11 when it came out but my wife did not like it. Glad I hold out for the Haswell update. The Duo 13 is better than the Duo 11 in every aspect. The larger screen is more useful for 1080p, the larger keyboard is more practical, and it is amazing that Sony was able to keep its weight almost the same as the Duo 11. And thanks to Haswell, battery life about doubles. It is more expensive, but in this world you usually get what you pay for. I would give it 4.5 stars, but since there's no half star, I give it a 5.
Other thoughts: this is my first Windows 8 experience. I took an evening to learn it and it was pretty nice. After a while the touch experience feel quite natural. Only thing I miss is the Start menu, glad that 8.1 is almost here and will bring the Start menu back. On the other hand I can understand users on a desktop with a non-touch screen would complain about the start screen.
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