The netbook has all but put paid to the need for an expensive ultraportable if you need laptop to take everywhere, but few models are that much to look at. ASUS certainly made an impression with its S101 and Seashell Eee PCs, but Sony created the biggest splash with its featherweight VAIO P Series. Sadly, that netbook was simply too small to be used properly, so now it’s trying again with something of more sensible proportions. The VAIO X Series’ 11.1in screen and wide keyboard are much more in keeping with the acceptable ergonomics of the best netbooks, but by combining them with the same razor-thin profile as the P Series, Sony has created a netbook that’s only a fraction thicker than the iPhone 3GS.
As with the P Series, Sony isn’t calling the VAIO X Series a netbook, though — it’s a 'notebook'. This is in clear contradiction to its core specification (of which more in a moment), but it’s easy to see the reason for such mislabeling. After all, no one in their right mind would pay £1,299 for a something with the same specification as an Eee PC, but that’s the asking price for the Sony VAIO VPCX11S1E/B model we reviewed.
The VAIO X Series, however, is cut from a different cloth to any netbook we’ve ever reviewed. That still doesn’t excuse the sky-high price, it does make it easier to accept this netbook, er, notebook, as more state-of-the-art portable PC than mere mainstream fare.
With the lid closed, the VAIO X Series measures an incredible 13.9mm at its thickest point — most ultra-thin ultraportables only get away with quoting similar measurements by cleverly tapering their case. Combined with a weight of just 780g, this makes the VAIO X Series more portable than some laptop batteries.
The VAIO X Series is made from carbon fibre and while it feels surprisingly sturdy something so slim, it’s easy to bend the whole case by gripping both sides and twisting — not that this would ever crop up in day-to-day use…. For some reason, the underside is finished in dark brown rather than same black as everything else, and two foldout feet lift the back end up for a more comfortable typing angle.
So slim a case means that Sony has had to skimp on ports, but it’s still a surprise to see a full-size VGA socket shoehorned into one side of the X Series. Ethernet sits alongside and there are two USB ports and a headphone socket on the opposite edge, but other than the front-mounted Memory Stick and SD Card slot, that’s your lot.
The lid is just as bendy as the rest of the X Series case, but you’d probably need to poke a finger right through it before you could exert enough pressure on the outside to affect the screen. It sits on two stiff, wobble-free hinges and folds back almost flat, making for very comfortable lap-top use.
The P Series’ 1600 x 768 resolution was far too high for its 8in screen, but Sony has seen sense for the VAIO X Series and opted for an 11.1in, 1366 x 768 display. Some may still find everything on-screen a bit too small to see, but that’s easily remedied with Windows 7’s display settings and we much prefer this high resolution to the more usual 1024 x 600.
At 278mm, the X Series is a 30mm or so wider than the P Series, but Sony has opted to keep the same small ‘Scrabble tile’ keys on the keyboard and simply space them further apart. The keys are comfortable and have adequate travel, but touch-typing on so cramped a layout takes some practice. More room means you get a trackpad rather than a TrackPoint joystick, but while it works perfectly well, it’s a pity that Sony didn’t fit a larger one — there’s more than enough room on the wrist-rest.
We described the VAIO X Series as a ‘netbook’ early in this review and with an Intel Atom Z540 processor and integrated Intel graphics, it performs about as well as every other netbook we’ve reviewed. 2GB of RAM and a 128Gb SSD help keep Windows running smoothly, but even though the 1.86GHz processor supports Hyper-Threading, the X Series is no more suited to multi-tasking than an Eee PC that costs a quarter of the price.
Disappointingly, the X Series’ battery life is good rather than great and a heavy use time of almost four hours is bettered by many much cheaper netbooks. Sony does offer a 20-hour VGP-BPX19 battery that clips to the base, but this adds to the size and weight — defeating the whole point of spending so much on so slim a laptop in the first place.
