Some shoppers will want a faster full voltage Intel processor and an in built DVD drive. The Sony VAIO S Series 13 provides just that, plus the choice to add powerful distinct graphics and an extra capacity sheet battery. Sony VAIO S Series 13 sports a two point five GHz Core i5 processor, six GB of RAM and a six hundred and forty GB disk drive. While this three point eight pounds machine doesn’t have an SSD like Ultra books.
The Sony VAIO S Series 13 sports a full flat design that appears same to Sony’s T13 Ultra book. I like the clean lines and the silkiness of the slot loading DVD drive on the left. Our review unit came in white with a silver keyboard, but you could as well get this notebook in black, gold, pink and silver.
Overall, this Sony VAIO S Series 13 has a nice modern vibe, but the brushed aluminum finishing on the Dell Inspiron 14z and all aluminum Lenovo Idea Pad U310 have a hardy feel. On the other hand, finger marks on the lid and deck were nearly impossible to discern.
The Sony VAIO S Series 13 measures 13.1*8.9*1 inches and weighs three point eight pounds. The VAIO T13 Ultra book is thinner and lighter at 12.7*8.9*0.7 inches and three point four pounds. The thirteen inches Mac Book Pro, by comparison, weighs a powerful four point five pounds and measures 0.95 inches thick.
The keys on the Sony VAIO S Series 13′s island style, backlit keyboard provides a comfortable amount of tactile feedback. While the keyboard is affected with a fair amount of flex, this proved more esthetically bothering than troublesome I still gained a rate of sixty eight words per minute with a one percent error rate on the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, slightly above our average speed.
Unluckily, the backlighting leaves much to be desired. Although it is simple to distinguish individual keys when using the Sony VAIO S Series 13 in a dark room, light bleeds from the beneath the keys, making the backlighting appear oversaturated when seen at any angle other than straight down.
Gratefully, this Sony VAIO S Series 13′s broad 4.7*2.5 inch Synaptic click pad proved to be exact and reliable. The pointer glides smoothly from one end of the display to the other, and quickly responded to clicks even when I used two fingers to navigate and chosen items on the screen.
Although the 1366*768 pixel resolution is standard fare for a thirteen inch laptop, the Sony VAIO S Series 13 is plenty bright. The notebook showed 267 lux on our light meter, beating the average ultraportable by more than thirty lux and measuring far above the dim Inspiron 14z and VAIO T13 163 lux. Only the Idea Pad U310 neared the Sony VAIO S Series 13 in terms of brightness, measuring 238 lux.
Unluckily, colors came out less vibrant on the Sony VAIO S Series 13 than on other thirteen inch displays. When looking at the trailer of a movie. Supported by Dolby Home Theater v4 technology, the Sony VAIO S Series 13′s speakers pumped out enough sound to fill a small room. Still, at maximum volume, music sounded harsh and ragged.
