Sony Vaio TT slim'n'light laptop
Small form-factor, hefty price tag
Review Sony has been pitching small, slim laptops at executives for years now, packing in as much functionality into as compact a chassis as it can and charging a premium for it. Why mess with a successful formula? So the new Vaio TT doesn't.
There's clearly a market for this kind of machine, as the success of previous Sony thin'n'lights, Toshiba's Portégé R500 and Apple's MacBook Air shows. Credit crunch notwithstanding, there are still plenty of well-heeled executives willing pay extra for a laptop that doesn't weigh them down and looks the business.
Sony's Vaio TT: looks the business
But the TT brings something more: the promise of phenomenal battery life, up to nine hours of mains-free runtime. OK, so that's not up there with the 19 hours Dell claims its Latitude E6400 can run for, but that's with a clip-on secondary battery pack. Dell says the E6400 will do ten hours otherwise, so given that the TT's rather smaller than the 14in E6400, it's clearly in the same league.
Design-wise, the TT is well ahead of the other machine - and of other notebooks in its thin'n'light class, particularly Toshiba's silver-painted plastic R500. The TT's exterior is kitted out in matte black, giving it a more business-like air than shiny, piano black laptops possess. Yet the sides of the machine sport chrome-like panels that alleviate what might otherwise be that overly pragmatic look that ThinkPads have.
The TT's design hinges about the back end - literally as well as figuratively - which is like a tube running the length of the machine and provides readily grippable contours that come in handy when you're carrying the machine. So light is the TT - just 1.3kg - that you will want to carry it rather that shove it in a backpack or briefcase.
The display is a petite 11.1in, and that determines the overall size of the machine: an eminently portable 199.8 x 279 x 23.5mm. Unlike smaller netbooks, it's still good to use without feeling you've compromised on the keyboard or the screen. Opening up the TT reveals the 1366 x 768 display and Sony's standard 'lozenge' keyboard.
Compact and easy to carry
The key array is a good 20mm narrower than the deck on the MacBook Air, but no less typist friendly for that. The keys don't have the Air's solid foundation, but there's not too much flex. Unless you're a very fast typist indeed, it's perfectly usable.
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COMMENTS
Muggins is as Muggins does..
A Laptop is a Laptop IS a Laptop!!!
I should know I trade hardware day in and out and I can assure you all there's no special technology here that couldnt be achieved by many laptops with similar spec
Looks good, but you can buy x3pcs of DELL inspiron or similar with this functionality (better functionality)!!
What a complete rip-off.
If you buy this other than for the need of the battery life...then your middle name is MUGGINS... and you should drop out of school if your in it or go back if your out of it...
"But it looks very pretty" get over it.. it will collect dust and marks in 3 months!!
Move along folks.. theres nothing to see here...
I won't buy a Vaio again
I bought a Vaio a couple of years ago and in two years I had to replace the CD drive twice and the motherboard once. I also bought a PS2 and had to replace it because the disk drive died. My experience with Sony products does not suggest that they are worth any premium at all.
I would far rather have a new MacBook Pro and would not cost two grand.
As one of my friends would say "Two grand? They're 'aving a larff".
It's a keeper!
I've got one of these little puppies and I have to say I'm very impressed with it. I normally change laptops at least once a year as I just like new toys so I've had a few to compare it with and this is far and above the best laptop I've ever owned.
The fact is that yes, whilst its a bit pricey, it's well and truly worth it. When my clients see it, they're impressed with it too. The battery life and general speed is a breath of fresh air, its actually a usable machine for all my mobile tasks. As Mark mentioned, The first thing I did when buying was to format the drive and clear the installed crud and start a fresh, so theres a few hours of my life I can never get back - Sony, you really need to listen to your customers who don't want yours or your friends crapware! (I have the technet direct subs, so the OS purchase is a mute point nowadays)
For the churlish posters who think I'm an idiot for buying, you really need to get a life. My purchase choice was driven by me evaluatiing my needs, finding a machine that met them and then buying it - can't really see how that makes me an idiot. Money isn't always a factor in a purchase descision. I'll certainly get my moneys worth out of this machine though and so that makes it a bargain for me!
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