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Techie Thursday: The Irresistible Sony VAIO Duo 13!

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Precious is definitely the right word to describe Sony’s newest additions to their Ultrabook family, the VAIO Pro Duo 13 and VAIO Pro 13. As one of the leading laptop vendors on the market, Sony has always been persistent in presenting their finest-built mobile computing units. I mean, wow: it was just a few months ago in Taipei that Intel launched Haswell, their fourth generation processor.  Fast forward a few months later to the present day where Sony has pushed not one, but two of their Haswell-powered Ultrabooks on the market. WOW! I will only review the Vaio Duo 13 though, because the Vaio Pro 13 deserves its own article :p

 


The previous Vaio Duo 11

 

My first impression when I saw the Vaio Duo 13 was “Whoa, major update!

As far as hardware appearances go, this second generation of VAIO Duo Ultrabooks has inherited the surf slider mechanism from its predecessor, but with the added improvement of a much more durable hinge. Seriously, any laptop with a non-clamshell mechanism leaves me worrying constantly. Not to say that I’m reckless or clumsy–I treat my laptops similar to the way I take care of pets!–but I was amazed at how sturdy the surf slider felt! Naturally, the first time I tried to slide it up to laptop mode, I was like “Oh God, please don’t fall apart...” But after quickly getting used to it, the sturdiness was undeniable. In fact, the surf slider on the VAIO Duo 13 is one of the most user-friendly mechanisms I’ve so far found in the Convertible Ultrabooks lineup.

The new Vaio Duo 13

Moving on to displays: Sony obviously knows best when it comes to displays, right? As the manufacturer of BRAVIA TV, it’s all logical for Sony to implement Bravia’s Triluminos technology into the VAIO Duo 13, creating a 13′ ultra bright and true-to-color display that you will enjoy. Sony also embedded the Sony Exmor RS for PC into their 8Mp rear camera and I think we all know who creates the best sensors too, right? 😉

Another feature premiering alongside this new family member is the touchpad. Yes, I still think having a touchpad is essential for navigation, no matter how thin or small a laptop is. I also found the Vaio Duo 13 keyboard to quite satisfactory. All the keys need for input is light pressure from the fingers, meaning I won’t have to start building muscles on my digits 😉

The Vaio Duo 13 comes with Windows 8 (64-bit), 4GB SDRAM, 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 with 128GB SSD, and Intel HD Graphics 4400. And what about battery life? Well, after learning that Intel had promised awesome battery life with their Haswell processor, the truth is this: it is excellent!! The Vaio Duo 13 lasts up to 10 hours thanks to Intel Haswell‘s power management mechanism. So dreams of leaving your charger at home have finally come true!

Honestly, I’m having hard time deciding which Ultrabook to buy for myself. I want a  bigger SSD and Intel Iris Pro GPU, but I will definitely save (read: sacrifice) money for a Haswell-powered Ultrabook for its battery efficiency and performance. So obviously the Vaio Duo 13 is already on my list! Yes, I know I’m demanding, am aware that I have three laptops sitting pretty at home already but…it’s like buying Louboutins for some women, I can never have enough! 😀

Price: ~IDR 15,000,000

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