The lightest 10-inch 2-in-1 comes in at just 772 grams (1.7 pounds) including the keyboard. There’s a high-brightness 2K resolution screen, the latest 8-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, it’s waterproof, can run Office, has disk encryption, and should last you all day long. It’s the Sony Xperia Z4 tablet, running Android. I looked at it while I was at MWC and I’m looking at it again now because the first set of reviews are very positive and the prices seem good. It sounds like the dream ultra-mobile PC.
Sony have announced a new Vaio Fit 11A Flip PC with the same convertible screen as on other Flip models. (We reviewed the 14-inch model here. ) There’s a great set of specs and a good price, if you’re prepared to take a small hit on the processor features.
On first glance at IFA in September [article + video] I wasn’t overly impressed with the Sony Vaio Fit 13A Flip (let’s just call it the Sony Vaio Flip 13 shall we?) The wedge shape felt quite thick in tablet mode and the finish didn’t feel like quality. I’ve got a second chance to look at this 2-in-1 now though and it feels much, much better than the first time around. If you’re looking at the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus or even the ASUS Zenbook UX301, this is one convertible that should be on your ‘research this’ list.
Three of the hottest convertibles around at the moment are all available with full Core i5 processors. They’re netbook size and weight but offer laptop-class processing with 5+hrs of battery life. I’ve analysed the Sony Vaio Tap 11, Microsoft Surface Pro and Dell Venue 11 Pro and written an article over at Ultrabooknews that highlights the prices and specification differences. Of course if you’re interested in lower-cost and good-enough processing power you can get the Dell Venue 11 Pro in a Baytrail version which is thinner and lighter that its bigger brother. It goes head-to-head with the ASUS Transformer T100 which is doing well in the sales charts. All are available to order at Amazon.com right now. Latest prices shown below.
I’ve got a Sony Vaio Pro 13 here thanks to Intel. It’s the lightest touch-enabled 13.3-inch Ultrabook there is and at 1KG / 2.2 pounds it beats all of the the 2-in-1 options. This isn’t a cheap subnotebook but it’s got enough power to be a desktop PC for most people.
If there’s one device in the market that messes with my head it’s the Sony Vaio Tap 11. It’s a 11.6-inch tablet built on an Ultrabook platform so I write about it at Ultrabooknews. It’s also a 780gm Windows tablet running core so therefore an Ultra Mobile PC! Argh!
Pricing for the Tap 11 makes the issue even harder because it starts at a tempting 799 Euros.
The key thing here is that the Vaio Tap 11 is lighter which helps in a lot of consumer tablet scenarios. I’ve had the 760 gram 11.6-inch Samsung ATIV 500T for a while so I know it’s a comfortable tablet in sofa-mode. In addition the 11.6-inch screen will aid productivity.
Sorry for the two-site switch everybody!
Our UMPCPortal forum is alive again! I’m slowly promoting and linking-in. Feel free to head over and start a discussion. It’s Tapatalk enabled too so you can access it easily, and ad-free, on your mobile devices.
Ultrabooks with Intel’s new Haswell processors are here! We’ve had the Sony Vaio Duo 13 on hand and are ready to give you the full review. Is this one worth your hard earned cash? We try to answer that question inside.