Sony intros VAIO T13 ultrabook, refreshes other series

Matthew DeCarlo

Posts: 5,271   +104
Staff

Although it's well-versed in developing thin-and-light machines, Sony has been slow to ship a machine under Intel's ultrabook branding. That's changed today with the company unveiling its new VAIO T series as part of a major refresh. The system, as you might expect, is touted as the ultimate travel companion, designed for students and professionals who demand snappy all-day performance in a sleek and stylish package.

sony

The 13.3-inch machine has an aluminum and magnesium chassis and packs a typical 1366x768 display, an Intel Core i5-3317U ultra-low voltage processor (1.7GHz to 2.6GHz with TurboBoost), Intel HD 4000 graphics, a 500GB hard drive with 32GB of MLC NAND flash storage, 4GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. A pricier model will carry a Core i7-3517U (1.9GHz to 3GHz) and a 256GB SSD.

Connectivity is fairly standard for what you'd expect on a business-oriented ultrabook with one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 port, HDMI and VGA ports, Ethernet and an SD card slot. The VAIO T13 doesn't have a backlit keyboard and it's a tad larger than some of the trimmer ultrabooks at 3.5lbs (1.58kg) and 0.71 inches (18mm) thick, but it also starts at an affordable $799, which makes its shortcomings relatively easy to overlook.

sony

Sony has also updated the VAIO E, S, Z and L series. If you're looking for a high-end ultrabook-like machine, the company brags that its Z series has "long exceeded" Intel's ultrabook specifications. To celebrate VAIO's 15 year anniversary, Sony has introduced an exclusive carbon fiber Z series that weighs only 2.6lbs, has a 1080p anti-reflective display, a quad-core Ivy Bridge CPU, and SSDs in RAID. Pricing starts at $1,600.

Permalink to story.

 
Larger, heavier, useless 1366x768 panel, small capacity mechanical hard drive, only 4Gb ram, Windows Home, tainted brand (Sony), and even the good specs ape the previous generation of Ultrabooks. No wonder Sony is headed down the toilet.
 
<p>Larger, heavier, useless 1366x768 panel, small capacity mechanical hard drive, only 4Gb ram, Windows Home, tainted brand (Sony), and even the good specs ape the previous generation of Ultrabooks. No wonder Sony is headed down the toilet.</p>

This T series looks good but agreed the 1366 panel is crap and for that reason alone I would never buy it. However I own a 2010 Vaio Z which has a 1600x900 panel and is awesome. So your complain it is only valid for the lower end models.
 
Back