Sony VAIO T Series SVT13125CXS 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver)

Sony VAIO T Series SVT13125CXS 13.3-Inch UltrabookI received my laptop just a few days ago, and boy, does it change the way I work with laptops! Having a touchscreen makes it easier to use Windows 8 and Windows 8's UI makes you want to constantly reach out and touch the screen.

This is an early review, so all I'll say is that the laptop is very nicely built. It feels like it'll endure a lot and it has almost no flex when I lifted it with just one edge and the screen opened. Some laptops feel like they're going to "spill over" when you lift them like this, but not the Sony Vaio T13. There are a few sharp corners in the front corners, but they're not sharp enough to cause cuts or anything. I, as a matter of fact, like the corners. The aluminium build is very solid.

The sound is much better than I expected for a laptop of this size and weight! It's good enough to be close to the quality of sound on m 13" Macbook Pro. The MBP has slightly better range and maybe depth, but it does cost a whole lot more than this beauty here!

The only disappointment is the screen. Although a pretty decent screen for the cost, you do wonder how much of a difference an IPS panel or at least something better with slightly wider viewing angles would have made. This is the only sore point in my opinion.

Overall, I'd say I'm very happy with the purchase. The delivery handled by DataVision was prompt and quick. It was delivered well within time and in good condition!

I purchased the Sony SVT13126CXS in December 2012, along with a very similar Samsung NP540U3C-A01UB Windows 8 touchscreen ultrabook. I first applied all available software updates from the vendors and from Microsoft, and then connected them wirelessly to an elevated ASUS RT-AC66U router and installed the Intel Anti-Theft technology software (see my review at Amazon if interested). For the purposes of this review I will compare the Sony to the Samsung, since these machines are quite different from the Windows 7 PCs that I have in the same environment.

Regarding the utility of Windows 8 and touchscreens, using this system feels like a cross between using a Windows computer and a smartphone. Using the touchscreen lets you do some fun things with multi-touch gestures, but the price to be paid is that content creators (i.e. users of Desktop legacy software) have to do a few extra keystrokes or touches to start their tasks. Since all new Windows laptops ship with Windows 8, I thought it best to pay a little extra and get a touchscreen ultrabook. Certainly the light weight and 5 hour battery life are a big improvement over my old Dell E6510 laptop. However the Dell achieves twice the wireless N throughput (90 Mbit/second at 45 foot range through 4 walls) of either the Sony or the Samsung.

The Sony is about 0.3 inches wider and longer than the Samsung, and looks bigger, due to its angular outer edges. It has been criticized for its noisy fan (lack of a power management system cooling policy setting), although I haven't found that to be a problem. Both systems fit in a Case Logic 13 inch ultrabook case. The Sony's Windows 8 Experience Index Score (top to bottom) is 6.9/7.3/4.8/6.3/5.9. Compared to the Samsung, the strong points of the Sony are: (1) Wireless connection never drops unexpectedly, (2) Sony software and touchpad driver never stops working or glitches, and do not keep prompting you to install software you may not want or need, (3) The Windows 8 Experience Index memory score is 7.3, vs. 5.9 on the Samsung, and the same-priced Sony ships with 6GB instead of 4GB RAM on the Samsung, and (4) The Sony AC power connector is large and should not be accidentally damaged.

It looks like the Samsung may have 1 hour longer battery life than the Sony, because its memory runs slower and its fan runs less often. The Samsung also has more comprehensive advanced processor power management settings than the Sony does (e.g. a System cooling policy).

The bottom line for me is that the Sony has very good performance, software, reliability, and polished features so I recommend it at this price point.

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Not sure why my previous review is gone, but I want to say I am very happy with my purchase!

It is extremely light (~3.5 lbs) and fast.

Battery lasts ~4.5 hours under normal use (internet, etc.)

The multi-touch touchpad is really pragmatic and comfortable once you get used to it.

You may want to buy a keyboard cover from Sony for about $20. It's a bit expensive but worth it.

Screen is bright but not perfect (compared to retina screens in some other computers and devices).. resolution is a bit lacking.

Sony's rapid wake function lets computer go to sleep without draining battery and wakes it up within 4 seconds! it's awesome.

Speakers are not superb but excellent for a small device!

I used to own a 15.6 laptop so I was hesitant about buying a 13.3 inch laptop, but I've had no problem!

Great computer for portability, and extremely stylish.

Considering it's Sony, I am sure I can live with this baby for years.

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Certainly the main attraction of this model is getting the touchscreen, a critical feature for taking advantage of Windows 8, and making this computer's price attractive. The touchscreen worked fine out of the box, and for about 20 hours of use after that, but then starting working irregularly, and often not at all. I can't use most of the touch features of Windows 8 now. Even worse, the touchpad also stopped working, apparently for different reasons. I've spent hours on the phone with Sony Vaio support, and while they were eventually able to solve the touchpad problem (for now, at least, though occasionally it still freezes), they are clueless about the touchscreen, and have wasted a lot of my time having me restoring and reloading software and drivers, all to no avail. They've finally told me I should send the machine to them. My last experience with a Vaio suggests that what will happen is that they will wipe out the disk, reload the original software, and send the machine back to me, so it can fail again. I think this is the machine that will finally drag me into the Mac world.

Windows 8 with a (working) touchscreen on an ultrabook is a pretty good combination, by the way. My main complaint would be that the new tablet-like apps designed to take advantage of the touchscreen seem more geared to a phone or small tablet--they tend to be somewhat stripped down in terms of functionality, presumably to be able to limit the screen to a few easy-to-press buttons, which is useful on a small screen but an unnecessary trade-off on a 13-inch notebook.

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Generally, it's not a bad laptop, at least at this price. However, I think we could expect more than it is as there are many good ultrabooks in the market nowadays. My principal dissatisfactions towards to this laptop are: 1. The screen fades in colors, not SONY style at all; 2. the cooling fan generates huge noise once the laptop is turned on. You can hear it all the time as the computer is running, it's even worse when the tasks are heavy. Cannot imagine this is from SONY.

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