Laptops from Sony are known to be the coolest looking laptops in the market. The VAIO Mini with its slim and sleek design can fit into your pocket as the TV ad suggests. Hence, it has gained the label of being a “Ultraportable Lifestyle PC” rather than an ordinary notebook. Even Apple is known to borrow some design concepts from VAIO. So we thought of having a go at it and understand is it all smoke or really a fire that burns. In this review you will find :
- Features ans Specs
- Dimension and Color
- Connectivity
- Input Device
- Display
- Battery Life
- Functionality
- Limitations
- Conclusion
Features ans Specs
VAIO is equipped with Intel Z520 Atom CPU with 1.3 GHz clock rate, 2 GB RAM and 60 GB Hard disk with 4200 rpm and a mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 Chip. The system comes loaded with VIsta. The CPU is quite economical and hard disk rotation speed seems to be quite below standard. Thanks to Instant On operating System Xross Media Bar, it is booted in minutes.
Dimension and Color
The case is perhaps one of the most interesting point of concern. The size is just bigger than an envelop measuring just 245X120X19.8 mm. The thickness of less than 2 cm makes it look really slim. It weighs only 638 gram giving it tough fight with even the lightest of netbooks available in the market.Sony has done an excellent work in miniaturizing the form factor.
The case depth of 12 cm makes it a perfect fit for sports coat pocket. The VAIO Mini can be easily carried around keeping it in your pocket without any problems. The case is an eye-catcher not only for its proportions but also for the optical styling in the high gloss polished finish.
The Model is available in four different colors which Sony calls Ebony Black, Ivory White, Volcano Red and Forest Green. You should take care of the high quality finish which is prone to fingerprints and it also needs to be protected against damage through a transport bag. You can feel a little annoyed at this.
The edges of the case are well and cleanly ground, the corners are cleanly rounded. The display is securely held in place with two small hinges. There is no unpleasant creaking noise when handling the case.
Connectivity
It only has the most necessary connections. Besides the power and WLAN switch, there is an SD Card socket as well as a separate port for a Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, suitable for high velocity data transfer, is found on the front.
On the right side there is place for an USB plug and a port replicator connection which is used to connect the included dongle. The dongle is used to extend the given ports by an additional LAN and VGA out connection.
The power socket, a further USB Port and an audio out connection for headphone connection is on the left side.
There is no connection on the back side as the whole back side is covered by the battery.
It has a Motion Eye WebCam on the upper right display corner with which video conferencing is possible.
It also has a Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and UMTS/HSDPA besides LAN and WLAN 8.2.11 b/g/n (Atheros AR928X Wireless Network Adapter). You can connect to internet from everywhere with 3G technology provided there is good signal and you have the contract with the service providers.
Input Devices
The keyboard though a little tiny because of VAIO’s small form factor, it is not very much unpleasant to get used to it. The keyboard does not have wrist rest and the touchpad. It has a pointstick instead. Unlike the other pointsticks this Alps StickPointer for Vaio is quite accurate and it also has a click button on it.
Display
The display resolution is very sharp with a maximum of 1600X768 pixels on the screen. But with small screen area everything looks tiny with on that high resolution. There is not much to complain about viewing angle stability.
Battery Life
It has a lithium ion battery with 2100 mAh which is able to run the system more than 4 hours with energy saving mode. Under load conditions it can run more than two hours. Expect a three hour run in normal load without power socket being needed to be connected to it.
VAIO Functionality
You can get a feeling Sony VAIO Mini will not be able to deliver more performance than a netbook considering its size limitation. But you are wrong if you think thatit is only capable of checking emails, browsing the web, creating a PowerPoint Presentation and typing a word document. Since it has a built-in 3G broadband, and a quick start Vista Operating system, it allows its users to instantly log online to share photos, listen to music, and do almost anything with speed. The keyboard may be tiny butit is very compact and there is a little more spacing in between them so that you can easily use your standard typing method without much of a discomfort.
VAIO Limitations/Cons
- Limited Port Selection
- Small Screen
- Tiny Keyboard
- High Price
Conclusion
No doubt VAIO mini is an impressive device with its elegant and stylish appearance. It is sure to attract many glances with its distinguished a little elongated design and compact form factor than other notebooks. But with a sky high price tag the system does not boost up much performance. VAIO is ideal for only those who don’t mind spending on an elegant, compact optic with a very good workmanship, and also are looking for a high resolution display in a 8 inch form factor.Sony News
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