Thumbs Up:

Incredibly thin, light and ultra-portable Netbook with 128GB solid-state drive and large battery life with the extended battery.

Thumbs Down:

The default battery life is very short. Sony Vaio X is an expensive Netbook with underpowered configuration and very slow performance.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

The Ultra-thin Netbook, Sony Vaio X, is powered by Intel Atom Z550 2.04GHz processor and Windows 7 Home Premium. The motherboard chipset is Intel US15W with 512K L2 cache memory. The storage controller is Serial ATA-150 and the data bus speed is 533MHz. The Vaio X has 2GB DDR2 533MHz SDRAM and Serial-ATA based 128GB Solid-State Drive.

The graphics card in Sony Vaio X is Intel GMA500. 11.1-inch wide-screen display is based on TFT active matrix and has a resolution of WXGA 1366×768 pixels. The display has a feature of LED-backlit. The Vaio X has wireless cellular modem and using Verizon Wireless as service provider. The sound card of the Vaio X supports High Definition Audio. In addition, the Vaio X has integrated camera.

For networking, Sony Vaio X has Ethernet jack and wireless LAN antenna. The supported Data link protocols are Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Ethernet and IEEE 802.11 g/b/n. The supported wireless standards are Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. The Vaio X supports RoHS and EPA Energy Star environmental standards.

Sony Vaio X Netbook has an expansion slot for card that supports both SD Memory card and Memory Stick Duo. The additional features are Bluetooth antenna, Cellular antenna and GPS. Interfaces of the Vaio X are 2×Hi-Speed USB – 4 pin USB Type A, 1×Microphone – Input – Mini-phone 3.5 mm, 1×Headphones – Output – Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm and 1×Network – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T – RJ-45. The software comes pre-installed are 60 days trial of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, 30 days trial of Norton Internet Security, Microsoft Streets & Strips, Microsoft Works 9SE and VAIO care.

The inbuilt lithium ion battery in Sony Vaio X has a life of 3 hours. Sony is also providing an extended battery that has a life of 9 hours. Sony is providing one year parts-and-labor warranty that includes one year on-site Technical Support with 24/7 Phone Support.

Razzle Dazzle:

Sony Vaio X is 0.6 inch tall, 10.9 inches wide and 7.3 inches deep. It is incredibly light, thin and ultra-portable Netbook. The Vaio X weighs around only 1.5 pounds (1.6 lbs) without extended battery and AC adapter. It has subtle matte finish on its body. The Netbook has carbon-fiber chassis and solid-state hard-drive. Its test model had gold color. A black color edition of Vaio X with small 64GB SSD is available for $200 less. The lid flexed very much under fingers while opening and closing it.

Inside Dope:

Manufacturers are launching lots of low-power consuming and low-cost Netbooks to attract the consumers; however, Sony is different. Its previous products have bordered the market’s edges by offering premium designs and luxury models at high price such as $499 for Sony Vaio W series.

Now, Sony has launched its latest Vaio X series that is powered by high-concept P series – Intel Atom Z550 2.0GHz. The processor is a bit faster than other Atom Netbooks. The Vaio X Netbook has 2GB RAM and Windows 7. This Vaio X is little faster than other Netbooks, which we have tested.

You will get a luxury status while using the Sony Vaio X in public areas. However, this luxury is quite expensive as the Vaio X costs around $1499. We cannot say that the performance and price tag of this Netbook will match your requirement and budget. However, the Vaio X will certainly have a place in the eyes of persons looking for a worthy conversation model. Sony named this X series as “Signature Collection”. It is so weightless that makes the people will surely say that it is a dummy build and not a computer.

Sony Vaio X has 11.6-inch LED wide-screen display, with 1366×768 pixels resolution. However, other 10-inch and 11-inch Netbook have 1280×800 displays. So, it is a plus point for Sony. The images are clear and bright. We appreciate Sony that the display screen is not glossy.

Sony Vaio X has standard keyboard layout of wide-spaced and flat-topped keys. However, the keys are small in size as compared to other 11-inch Netbooks. The right shift key is tiny and square touch pad is also small. There is a good amount of empty space for wrist rest. There are no media control or quick-launch buttons except one power button.

Sony Vaio X has inbuilt mobile broadband antenna, which uses Verizon as service provider. The Vaio X has a Memory Stick slot and a single audio jack for both headphone and mic. We are pleased to see an Ethernet jack on such an ultra-thin Netbook. A standard VGA jack sits near the Ethernet port and sticks out from the side of the Netbook. Instead of VGA jack, we would prefer Sony to include HDMI port for best fitting. The annual power consumption cost of the Vaio X is $2.05 that is very less as compared to other Netbooks.

Sony Vaio X has 2GB Ram, Windows 7 Home Premium, mobile broadband antenna and 128GB SSD drive, which are good features. However, the Vaio X bears an expensive price tag with Intel Atom processor like Netbooks of $600 range. Intel Atom Z550 2.0GHz in the Vaio X has faster clock speed than Atom N2710 1.6GHz and N280 1.66GHz. During test, the speed and performance was a bit better than Sony Vaio W Netbook.

Sony Vaio X is a better choice with ultra-thin shape, Windows 7 and 2GB RAM as compared to Netbook with 1GB RAM and Windows XP. However, if you are expecting fast performance from this expensive Netbook then you will be disappointed. The Vaio X is the best for only basic tasks such as sending email, chat and Web surfing. This Netbook is not made for doing better than this.

There is no space in ultra-thin chassis for better processor like dual-core Intel ULV as in Toshiba T135and Nvidia Ion Netbook GPU for HD video playback as in HP Mini 311. Therefore, it is important to know that you are paying for attractive design and not for fast performance while buying Sony Vaio X.

During test, the performance and multitasking capability of Sony Vaio X Netbook was slow as compared to Vaio W, HP Mini and Dell Inspiron Mini 10v.

Sony Vaio X has a battery life of 2 hours 23 minutes of continuous video playback.  The battery life is very low for a Netbook, which is especially designed for on-the-go purpose. Perhaps, Sony understands it and providing extended battery also. The battery life increases up to 9 hours and 49 minutes after using extended battery. That is the best battery life we have ever seen, but the plain extended battery is heavy and big like the Vaio X Netbook.

Sony is providing one-year labor-and-parts warranty with the Vaio X and three-year extended coverage is also available on extra $199. The company has published necessary software, drivers and utilities on its support website. A technical knowledge base and FAQs is also available online. The technical support is available 24/7 with a toll free number.

Nitty Gritty:

Sony’s bold experiment, Vaio X series is a high-end luxury Netbook that is very impressive, but the expensive price tag doesn’t deliver performance.

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