Sony Announced X Series

Sony teased the Vaio X at this year’s IFA conference in Berlin, which essentially functions as the European version of CES. With no spec sheet or press release to be found, all we know are the bare essentials from Sony’s press conference. Now, fast forward to just a few months later, and Sony has unveiled its latest netbook, the VAIO X. This time, the X looks set to razzle and dazzle with its super slim form factor, lightweight design and really expensive price. Of course, the magnesium alloy chassis and carbon fiber frame of the notebook doesn't come cheap by any standards, but it does give it a feel that's just perfect for the business users that this netbook is targeted at. How perfect you ask? We'll find out more over the next few pages but let's start with our usual exterior pictures and table of specifications first.

So how was Sony able to achieve such a thin and light netbook? The VAIO X’s chassis is made of a magnesium alloy, and the lid is built from carbon fiber. This material allows the screen to flex, which can be a bit unnerving, but Sony said that it’s designed to bend somewhat. Also, by using an Intel Atom Z-series processor, which uses less power (and creates less heat) than the N-series Atom chips in most netbooks, the company was able to make the netbook incredibly slim without requiring a fan. The lid of our review unit was matte black, as was the inside, with a bronze underside that felt slightly rough to the touch. Sony also offers the netbook with a Champagne Gold lid, but only for the model with a 128GB SSD (more on that later).

There are some inevitable niggles we need to address. The first is the cramped keyboard. Sony does its best, with the isolated keys giving greater margins for error when typing, but the tiny right Shift key takes a lot of getting used to, as do all the keys in the bottom-right area: the full stop and cursor keys are a particular challenge. We never looked forward to using this keyboard. The tiny touchpad is also an issue. It seems odd to include such a tiny touchpad when there's plentiful space below the keyboard, especially since Sony has included a scrolling area at the bottom and far right of it. At least it's responsive when you touch it in the right place, and coupled with the relatively small screen we found it usable when travelling.

Running on an Intel Atom Z550 (2.0GHz) processor, sporting 2GB DDR2 RAM, a Samsung 128GB SSD, and integrated Intel GMA 500 graphics, the VAIO X was slightly sluggish in our real world handling. Of course, everything turned out better once Aero was turned off, but this felt strange, seeing as how our previous experience with normal netbooks with Aero turned on in Windows 7 RC was lag free. Strangely, this isn't reflected in our performance benchmarking tests in the Windows 7 operating system as the scores do indicate a relatively faster performance compared to your average netbook. Perhaps this could be something related to the slower FSB between the processor and the chipset. Note that we would have loved to test the VAIO X using PCMark Vantage, but unfortunately, we were unable to get it running.
Packing a specially designed 4-cell battery, the Intel Atom powered notebook ought to do fine in our battery test, and given its lightweight form factor, it should score pretty high in our Portability Index test. The battery basically places the two battery cells at the side while the middle has a depression to accommodate the trackpad on the chassis. It's an innovative design for sure; instead of finding a spot to squeeze a battery into the chassis, Sony fits the battery around the VAIO X's design.

Sony’s VAIO X is so light and stylish, this product is practically in a class by itself. It sets a new standard for portability. Additionally, the built-in 3G and GPS ensures that users will be connected wherever they go. However, for an 11-inch system, we were disappointed in this machine’s small keyboard and touchpad. If you have the cash, the VAIO X’s industrial design will definitely turn heads, but you’ll sacrifice ergonomic comfort.