By Gadget Man "Gadget Man" (California) -
This review is from: Sony VAIO Pro SVP1321DCXS 13.3-Inch Core i7 Touchscreen Ultrabook (Carbon Silver) (Personal Computers)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?)
I recently got this Sony Vaio ultrabook and thought in reviewing it I would compare some of is attributes to my Lenovo Yoga 13 since a lot of people will be weighing the plusses and minuses of these two notebooks when making their purchasing decision.
First, I found the Sony computer a joy to use, very responsive and easy to carry.
The Sony weighs 37.7 oz, while the Lenovo weighs in at 53.6 oz.
Although both computers have 13 inch screens (13.3 inches for the Sony), the footprint of the Sony notebook is actually smaller. It is about 1/2 inches smaller in width and length. (Keep in mind that I'm talking about the actual external dimensions of the notebook...not the screen size.).
My Sony has 128 GB Solid State Drive, while my Lenovo has 256 GB SSD. You can get the Sony with 256 GB as well if you choose. If you get the 128 GB keep in mind that you'll have 71.8 GB left over on the C drive when you get the computer. After you load Microsoft Office and do all the updates, you'll have about 66.9 GB free on C drive. But you have 2 USB 3.0 slots and an SD slot on the right side of the computer if you need additional hard disk space for photographs, videos and music.
I prefer the keyboard on the Lenovo, as I find the Sony has less feel, and is a bit slippery. But the Sony has a nice lighting if you are going to use it in a poorly lit area. Lenovo does not have a lit up keyboard.
The Windows Experience score on the Sony is 6.2, while the Lenovo is 4.8. But in real life, I didn't find any appreciable speed difference when using the computers. Both are able to reboot Windows 8 in about 20-24 seconds. The Sony had a 4 second edge in this regard.
Both screens have very nice color rendition and text depiction. The Sony screen is much more limited in how you view it. It tilts about 5 degrees back from straight up. That should work for most people, but I found it a bit limiting. My preference is if it could tilt a bit further back for more comfortable viewing. The Lenovo Yoga will flip over completely and operate as a tablet, or tilt in a manner where the screen is propped up and the keyboard faces down, or just simply tilt back to any viewing angle you wish. In this regard, the Lenovo is much more versatile...which is where it gets its "Yoga" name.
The touchscreen on both computers worked very well. But keep in mind that some people, including me have reported issues with the Lenovo touchscreen. I had two separate Lenovo Yogas. In one the touchscreen worked perfectly (I kept that one). The second had an erratic, sometimes nonfunctioning touch screen that made the computer unusable. Others have reported similar issues with the Lenovo Yoga.
The trackball is nicer on the Lenovo. It glides much more smoothly than the Sony, and has a better/larger area to click or right click the pad. The Sony trackpad functions decently enough. But it feels rougher.
I removed the Kaspersky internet security that comes with the Sony, because the updates are incredibly slow...watching a snail crawl across a football field would be faster. This is not a Sony issue, so don't let it detract you from the Sony at all. I noticed this issue with Kaspersky software I bought two years ago, and was hoping they remedied the problem. They haven't. Instead I use Windows Defender that comes with the computer.
A couple of issues with the Sony. The screen sometimes flickers or dims momentarily when you put your hand toward the screen in the center of the computer, or when you touch a link or menu choice. Not sure why this happens. You can certainly live with this, as it is quite momentary. But it is annoying.
Second issue is that some people have reported they find the fan to be noisy. Normally I don't hear it at all. But once in a while it sounds like the background sound of waves crashing at the beach. Not bad...not an issue for me. Maybe an issue for others.
I intend to make this a rolling review, adding more feedback the more I use the computer in the next few months.
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By Nicole Del Sesto (Northern Cal) -
This review is from: Sony VAIO Pro SVP1321DCXS 13.3-Inch Core i7 Touchscreen Ultrabook (Carbon Silver) (Personal Computers)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?)
There are a LOT of things to love about this laptop. The most immediate and obvious thing is the weight! This laptop is SO LIGHT.
Pros:
Super light
Great keyboard
Awesome trackpad
Nice monitor
3 USB's 2 in device, and one in AC adapter for charging of devices
Touchscreen is the only way to go with Windows 8
Cons:
PRICE
Heats up quickly, fan runs often
Hard drive
Even though there are more pros than cons, the cons are more important. This laptop is 105GB, it comes with 65GB available. So either this can't be your primary laptop or you need to add an external hard drive which adds both cost and weight.
The heating issue is really annoying. I've checked the settings, and called Sony to confirm all is as it should be. If you are watching a TV program or playing a game, after about 10 minutes the computer starts to heat up and the fan kicks in, and runs until you are done with that activity. And if it's literally on your lap, it's hot.
For the money, I just can't see choosing this as your only laptop. It's great for travel and light usage, but I don't believe much beyond that.
Edited to add: I don't use this laptop every day, and for some reason, every time I go to use it I have problems with the wireless, and I have to run the troubleshooter. It works fine once that's done, but it's a step I wish I didn't have to take every time.
By Chin Hsiao Hui "raptornomad" -
This review is from: Sony VAIO Pro SVP1321DCXS 13.3-Inch Core i7 Touchscreen Ultrabook (Carbon Silver) (Personal Computers)
Received the product a week ago, and it's still going strong. I previously had a Samsung series 9, and it had served me extremely well for the past year until it passed away due to some unknown reasons. With windows 8.1 coming out, I figured out rather than troubling me myself to try to repair my laptop, I might as well buy a touch screen, Haswell laptop. Boy, did it not disappoint. Even without the fixes from Windows 8.1, with the touch screen I have become ever more productive in this laptop. Sure, ignoring the touch screen is an option, but with the touch screen I can multitask so fast that I stopped doing productive work from my more powerful desktop. I'm not saying this product isn't powerful at all for multitasking and productive work since it packs a beefy i7-4500U and 8 GB of RAM. One interesting thing is that the RAM's clock is shown as 20,307 Mhz (just a peculiar discovery). After installing all the updates form Sony Vaio care (which I don't recommend to uninstall), all the old problems such as sketchy wifi and fans blaring are gone. Wireless is extremely stable, wide in range and fast and the fan only spins up when streaming 4K and 1080P videos. Sure, I wish the fan noise can be more subtle, but it is nothing one should be worried about in the classroom or library since it never even grunts a noise when I'm there. I do not game on this laptop but I figure y'all can find adequate reviews online. The screen is also an absolute joy to watch videos on, no matter streaming or through a DVD. The color gamut is about 22 percent larger than my series 9 and the blacks are way darker too. The keyboard is way better than my series 9 in terms of the feel though the touchpad is somehow lacking due to the fact that it isn't glass. Overall I am extremely happy with my purchase.
Btw, silver, though not as professional looking as black, gives it a premium feel with the keyboard backlight on.
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