Sony
VAIO Z Series
The
ultimate high-power ultraportable laptop
There
are few more high-end laptops than the Sony VAIO VPCZ21V9E (£2,699 inc. VAT)
and for the price we’d expect nothing less. It packs awesome power into a tiny
frame, but even though the performance and usability is staggering, we just
can’t justify the huge price tag.
The
laptop itself is supremely light at just 1.2kg. The 13-inch screen is vibrant
and clear, and there’s an anti-glare coating that makes it ideal for using in
direct sunlight. On the surface this is a fantastic ultraportable, but with a
price tag that eclipses both MacBooks and Ultrabooks, what do you actually get?
The
build quality is superb with the carbon fibre chassis feeling strong, whilst
keeping the weight incredibly light; and while there is some slight flex in the
lid and keyboard, it still feels robust. There isn’t a great deal of cushioning
on the keys, although there’s a fair amount of space between them, which we
really liked.
UltraportableA laptop that weighs 2kg or less and is designed to provide optimum mobility for frequent travel use. It is not to be confused with a netbook, however, as despite sharing similar dimensions and weight, it provides far greater performance and features than its low-powered siblings.
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Aesthetically
the VAIO is far from our favourite the plain black
look is overly corporate
and picks up fingerprints too easily
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Aesthetically
though, the Sony Z-Series is made to look corporate and, frankly, boring in
comparison to something like the HP Envy 17- The black surface picks up
fingerprints in seconds and the plain black lid looks more suited to the office
than the home.
Under
the hood there’s a top-of- the-range, second-generation Intel Core i7
processor, a member of the coveted Sandy Bridge family. These processors offer
the ability to handle 3D graphics on board, as well as limitless power,
throttling it back until when you need it, which means it won’t sap your
battery life while performing mundane tasks like checking email and surfing the
web. It offers four cores, and the overall performance is stunning. It
aced our tests, and anyone looking to edit high-definition video will find this
superb.
Docking
station
If
there’s one thing Ultrabooks and other ultraportables miss, it’s connectivity.
This is where the VAIO has a trick up its sleeve. It comes with an extra
docking station which houses a DVD drive (a Blu-ray option is available), an
AMD Radeon 6650M processor with 1GB of video memory, and a host of display
ports enabling you to connect up to four monitors.
The
docking station means the Z Series can instantly transform from one of the
lightest and most powerful ultraportables we’ve seen into a PC to match most
gaming machines. However, you can expect to pay another £350 for the docking
station and for that price you could just as easily buy a second laptop.
Battery
life is impressive, and our demanding test eked out 220 minutes. This is enough
to watch a Full HD movie away from the mains, and you should be looking at over
seven hours of normal use before needing to plug in.
To
get this kind of performance from something so small and light is phenomenal,
and the option to upgrade further via the docking station is a really nice
touch. However, for the first time there are now realistic alternatives in the
form of Ultrabooks and Apple’s revamped MacBook Air. Even though the Sony VAIO
is the closest laptop we’ve seen to a no-compromise between power and
portability, it seems unnecessary to spend this much when there are plenty of
alternatives.
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