Sony Vaio T SVT11113FGS Review

Build quality and Ergonomics
The build quality of the Vaio T is top notch right from the chassis to small things such as keyboard keys and buttons. The lid feels sturdy thanks to the support provided by the aluminium sheet. The lid doesn’t wobble much when jerked or when you open and close it because the hinges are also very good.

The keyboard has very good tactile feel but the arrow keys are cramped in the corner

The SVT11113FGS is quite compact and the biggest challenge with such a form factor is to make it comfortable to use. Sony has kept the alphabet, number and essential keys such as Backspace Enter, Shift, Alt and Ctrl large. The function keys are relatively small and the arrow keys are tiny; it would be painful navigating spreadsheets and documents, especially for those with big fingers. However, the tactile feel of the keys is very good. The keys don’t travel much, but the feedback inspires a good level of confidence while typing. The amount of area provided for resting the palms is also good. Typing and using the touchpad are both quite comfortable.

Performance
In terms of pure performance, the Vaio T SVT11113FGS is almost at par with the Dell XPS 14, HP Envy 4 and Toshiba Satellite U840-X4310 which use the same combination of processor, memory and hard drive. The scores indicate the configuration is as capable as an entry-level desktop PC — very good considering you’re also getting a good battery life. It scored 2.38 points in Cinebench R11.5 and 3449 points in PCMark 11 (overall) benchmark tests. It lost a few points because the speakers weren’t up to the mark. The volume level was too low and to top this, the quality of sound was poor – we suggest using a portable USB-powered speaker, if you want to enjoy watching movies and listening to music. Battery Eater Pro reported 2 hours and 17 minutes in the intensive Classic Test that involves rendering a 3D image; it's very impressive. Under medium to light load, the battery should easily last between 4 and 7 hours. On the whole, the performance was very good.

Verdict and Price in India
Priced at Rs. 49,990, the Sony Vaio T SVT11113FGS is one of the most affordable Ultrabooks in the market. It’s stylish, super compact, feature loaded, well-built, and the battery life is excellent. It’s great bang for the buck, hands down!

Another variant of the Vaio T is SVT13113ENS that sports a 13.3-inch display, and has an Intel Core i3-2367M processor. The rest of the hardware is the same, but it comes with Windows 7 Home Basic instead of Home Premium. It’s priced at Rs. 45,990 due to the less powerful processor. That gives you a choice between the smaller and more powerful model, and the larger but less powerful one.