The Apple MacBook Air (the Ultrabook that isn’t an Ultrabook at all) kicked off the newest laptop bandwagon and the likes of the Asus ZenBook UX31, the HP Envy 14 Spectre and the Acer Aspire S3 have since wowed us with their combinations of impressive spec sheets and skinny chassis.
But there was one notable absentee on the major manufacturer list. Until now that is, as Sony has unveiled its Ultrabook debut - the affordable Sony Vaio T13.
Design
It’s one of the most refreshing Ultrabook models that we’ve seen to date with silver scheme made up of a mix of aluminium and magnesium alloy for the main chassis, with the lid consisting of a suave brushed aluminium.
It looks and feels industrial and rugged, and far from precious. You’ll feel confident slipping the Vaio T13 into your bag, safe in the knowledge that it should have no trouble with the odd knock or two.
It’s not the slimmest or lightest Ultrabook in town though, measuring 323 x 226 x 17.8mm and weighing 1.6kg.
Display
We did find the semi-glossy display a bit reflective though, and the viewing angles aren’t great either. Colours did seem vibrant, however, and there was no noticeable ghosting when watching HD content.
Features
While there’s obviously been no compromise in the style stakes to keep this particular Sony Vaio T13 configuration below £700, the hardware setup does have some shortcomings.
Most notably is the lack of a third generation Ivy Bridge processor. You can opt for Intel’s latest CPU inside the T13 - but that decision comes at a cost. The Intel Core i5-3317U chip will cost you £100 extra; an i7-3517U one is £140 more.
Powering our review model was a 1.4GHz Sandy Bridge i3-2367M dual-core processor with Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics and 4GB of RAM.
This configuration makes this sub-£700 machine more than capable of carrying out your day-to-day tasks such as web browsing, document editing and basic picture editing. It’s also more than capable of playing back HD media with no distinct stutter or lag.
There are plenty of port options on board, including a couple of USB ports (one of which is a faster USB 3.0 version), a VGA port, a HDMI port, an Ethernet port and a 3.5mm jack for your headphones or speakers.
There’s also a multi-card and wireless connectivity with 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The built-in webcam is a 1.3MP powered by “Exmor for PC” one that delivered on its promise of sharper details, higher contrast and rich colours.
Performance
The Ultrabook club is made up of Sandy Bridge machines at present, so it’s easy to make a comparison between this T13 version and its rivals.
Unfortunately, the Vaio Ultrabook doesn’t quite measure up in raw performance statistics, even compared to some of the cheaper slimline laptops such as the Acer Aspire S3 and the Novatech nFinity N367 Plus.
That’s not to say that the T13 is a laborious affair though - far from it. As mentioned, it had no worries playing back HD video, viewing photo slideshows is extremely slick, and carrying out everyday tasks won’t trouble it at all – even with multiple programs opened at one time.
Boot up times are also fast, especially from sleep, thanks to the dual SSD and HDD setup. Our model was equipped with a 32GB SSD, allowing the Intel Smart Response Technology and Sony's Rapid Wake to kick into action, meaning almost instantaneous wake times.
When it comes to the controls, unfortunately, there is no backlit keyboard, but the keys are comfortable to use and the trackpad is compact, not overly sensitive and uses integrated buttons, which we’re fans of.
Sound quality is particularly strong for an Ultrabook as a result of the xLOUD and Clear Phase technology on board.
Battery Life
Battery life is not the greatest that we’ve seen on an Ultrabook with the Sony Vaio T13 managing 212 minutes of survival during our stress test.
This involves looping HD video with all the settings turned up to the max, so you can expect a longer cycle when not pushing it so hard.
Saying that, even with what we’d call ‘normal’ usage we still didn’t get near the 7 hours that Sony states the machine should have.
Verdict
Overall, the Sony Vaio T13 is a mixed bag. On the one-hand it is a beautiful piece of technology with an attractive price-point, while on the other it has limited power and disappoints on a few levels.
The response time from sleep is great and for everyday usage you probably won’t notice the lack of power, or encounter any major performance issues.
In fact, if all you’re looking for is a slimline machine to take out and about with you, to keep up with your social networks, listen to some music or catch up with the BBC iPlayer then the Sony Vaio T13 could be perfect.
However, try and push it any harder and you’re likely to come unstuck. And the battery life isn’t quite what we’d expect.
But, and it’s a big but because the Ultrabook line is all about style, the Sony Vaio T13 is easily the best looking of what is already an attractive bunch and you certainly won’t feel like you’re pulling a MacBook substitute out of your bag when you’re out and about.
Most notably is the lack of a third generation Ivy Bridge processor. You can opt for Intel’s latest CPU inside the T13 - but that decision comes at a cost. The Intel Core i5-3317U chip will cost you £100 extra; an i7-3517U one is £140 more.
Powering our review model was a 1.4GHz Sandy Bridge i3-2367M dual-core processor with Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics and 4GB of RAM.
This configuration makes this sub-£700 machine more than capable of carrying out your day-to-day tasks such as web browsing, document editing and basic picture editing. It’s also more than capable of playing back HD media with no distinct stutter or lag.
There are plenty of port options on board, including a couple of USB ports (one of which is a faster USB 3.0 version), a VGA port, a HDMI port, an Ethernet port and a 3.5mm jack for your headphones or speakers.
There’s also a multi-card and wireless connectivity with 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The built-in webcam is a 1.3MP powered by “Exmor for PC” one that delivered on its promise of sharper details, higher contrast and rich colours.
Performance
| PCMark Vantage | 3DMark06 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sony VAIO T13 (1.7GHz Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000) | 8,188 | 3,847 |
| MacBook Air (2012, 1.8GHz Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 4000) | 13,469 | 5,827 |
| ASUS Zenbook UX31 (1.7GHz Core i5-2557M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) | 10,508 | 4,209 |
| ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A (Ivy Bridge Core i7 processor, Intel HD Graphics 4000) | 10,333 | 4,550 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (1.8GHz Core i7-2677M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) | 9,939 | 3,651 |
| Samsung Series 9 (15-inch, 2012, 1.6GHz Core i5-2467M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) | 10,580 | 4,171 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad U310 (1.7GHz Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000) | 8,345 | 4,549 |
| HP Envy Sleekbook 6 (2.1GHz AMD A6-4455M, Radeon HD 7500G graphics) | 3,978 | 3,625 |
| MacBook Air (2011, 1.7GHz Core i5-2557M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) | 9,484 | 4,223 |
| Note: higher scores are better |
Unfortunately, the Vaio Ultrabook doesn’t quite measure up in raw performance statistics, even compared to some of the cheaper slimline laptops such as the Acer Aspire S3 and the Novatech nFinity N367 Plus.
That’s not to say that the T13 is a laborious affair though - far from it. As mentioned, it had no worries playing back HD video, viewing photo slideshows is extremely slick, and carrying out everyday tasks won’t trouble it at all – even with multiple programs opened at one time.
Boot up times are also fast, especially from sleep, thanks to the dual SSD and HDD setup. Our model was equipped with a 32GB SSD, allowing the Intel Smart Response Technology and Sony's Rapid Wake to kick into action, meaning almost instantaneous wake times.
When it comes to the controls, unfortunately, there is no backlit keyboard, but the keys are comfortable to use and the trackpad is compact, not overly sensitive and uses integrated buttons, which we’re fans of.
Sound quality is particularly strong for an Ultrabook as a result of the xLOUD and Clear Phase technology on board.
Battery Life
| Battery Life | |
|---|---|
| Sony VAIO T13 | 5:39 |
| Samsung Series 9 (15-inch, 2012) | 7:29 |
| Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2012) | 7:02 |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X230 | 7:19 |
| MacBook Air (13-inch, 2012) | 6:34 (OS X) / 4:28 (Windows) |
| HP Folio 13 | 6:08 |
| HP Envy Sleekbook 6 | 5:52 |
| Toshiba Portege Z835 | 5:49 |
| ASUS Zenbook UX31E (2011) | 5:41 |
| MacBook Air (13-inch, 2011) | 5:32 (Mac OS X) / 4:12 (Windows) |
| HP Envy 14 Spectre | 5:30 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad U300s | 5:08 |
| Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook (14-inch, 2012) | 5:06 |
| Dell XPS 13 | 4:58 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad U310 | 4:57 |
| Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2011) | 4:20 |
| ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A | 4:19 |
| Acer Aspire S3 | 4:11 |
This involves looping HD video with all the settings turned up to the max, so you can expect a longer cycle when not pushing it so hard.
Saying that, even with what we’d call ‘normal’ usage we still didn’t get near the 7 hours that Sony states the machine should have.
Verdict
Overall, the Sony Vaio T13 is a mixed bag. On the one-hand it is a beautiful piece of technology with an attractive price-point, while on the other it has limited power and disappoints on a few levels.
The response time from sleep is great and for everyday usage you probably won’t notice the lack of power, or encounter any major performance issues.
In fact, if all you’re looking for is a slimline machine to take out and about with you, to keep up with your social networks, listen to some music or catch up with the BBC iPlayer then the Sony Vaio T13 could be perfect.
However, try and push it any harder and you’re likely to come unstuck. And the battery life isn’t quite what we’d expect.
But, and it’s a big but because the Ultrabook line is all about style, the Sony Vaio T13 is easily the best looking of what is already an attractive bunch and you certainly won’t feel like you’re pulling a MacBook substitute out of your bag when you’re out and about.