We recently had the opportunity to visit the SonyStyle store in Atlanta, Georgia to preview the champagne Sony VAIO X Series Notebook. Sony shocked everyone back at IFA 2009 with the introduction of the X series VAIO notebook, which is the direct successor to the TT series in the USA. It appeared super slim at the time and in its delicious teaser video courtesy of Sony Europe some people got extremely curious about its arrival. Sony revealed the full details on the new VAIO X series and has called it the world’s lightest notebook – 1.6 pounds with standard battery. To further whet our appetites, Sony Europe also revealed a series of videos behind the design of the VAIO X, which explore just about every detail of its design. I just had to know what this laptop was all about.
Aside from our nine minute hands on video (above), we also have some great pictures to share with you that really show off this gorgeous notebook. The quality and amount of pictures in this post is exhaustive, to say the least – click to enlarge. Sony Corporate Communications sweetened the deal by offering a A900 DSLR and HDR-XR520V HD camcorder for us to use during our experience in which we are sharing here with exclusively with you. There are also some comparison pictures farther down in the post, which are provided to help those understand how truly thin the X series is. Be sure to check out the VAIO X Series at SonyStyle stores on October 22nd, or at SonyStyle.com.
The build quality was very good for the VAIO X series – I’m not sure why people say the notebook is overly flexible and so forth. I tried to flex it and you’d have to be intentionally trying to bend it to really do so. Holding it with one hand was simple and it didn’t bend from holding it unevenly.
Here is a close-up of the Champagne Sony VAIO X Series keyboard:
A general overhead picture of the notebook open:
Left side of the VAIO X:
Right side of the VAIO X:
VAIO X front:
VAIO X rear:
The number of processes and general Task Manager view on a factory fresh VAIO X were high. As a technically savvy individual who can control a Windows installation down to every last service, I feel that 52 running processes is a bit much for a notebook. However, with a large amount of RAM and a SSD this may be a moot point. I just feel that Sony should have aimed for somewhere around 30-40. We also noticed some stuttering with HD video, but I was unable to honestly tell if that was because of shared WiFi connection we were using. I cannot make any conclusions at this point, but for most general activities this laptop will see it should be more than sufficient. Browsing the Internet was very fast. I’m sure it would handle Photoshop and other usual tasks quite easily. I feel that people who demand extreme performance out of an ultraportable laptop like this are missing the entire point of the device itself. To read more concrete words on the performance of the VAIO X, please read this incredible overview courtesy of Laptop Magazine.
The Windows Experience Index score that was already loaded on the machine:
Comparison photos of the VAIO X and the VAIO P:
Back to back – VAIO X (left), VAIO P (right):
Side by side – VAIO P (left), VAIO X (right):
Amusingly enough, the image on the VAIO P’s screen is a reflection from the television nearby showing off a LittleBigPlanet demo:
VAIO X compared to a Playstation 3 controller:
Thanks, Ana.
