Ultraportable Shootout: Sony VAIO Pro 13
Vs MacBook Air 2013
Sony's
'world's lightest 13-inch ultrabook' battles it out against the 2013 MacBook
Air 2013
For the longest time, my
recommendation for an ultra-portable laptop has been the MacBook Air — it's
lightweight, fast and extremely capable, and the latest 2013 Airs with Intel's
Haswell processors deliver all day battery life to boot! Sony's determined to
change my mind though, with the VAIO Pro 13. I pit Sony's claimed "world's
lightest 13-inch ultrabook" against the 2013 MacBook Air 2013 to see if it
has what it takes to be the king of the ultraportable hill.
Design: If something could make the petite Air look overweight, the Pro 13 is it. At a shade over a kilo, this fully functional laptop weighs roughly similar to an iPad with a good case! Yet, its carbon fiber body flexes a lot more than I'm comfortable with. That said, Sony's carbon fiber design is tried and tested and is not fragile by any measure, but the Air's aluminum design feels a lot more durable and reassuring. I'm not a big fan of the sharp edges of the Pro 13 either, but these quibbles aside, it's incredible how light the Pro 13 is.
Winner: VAIO Pro 13
Display: There's a clear winner here, and it's the VAIO. For roughly the same price as the Air, you get a bright and sharp full HD 1,920 by 1,080 pixel touch screen that is downright gorgeous. The Air's 1440 x 900 pixel resolution looks dated in comparison - with the Pro 13, photographers and video folks, not to forget movie buffs, don't have to pick either an ultraportable or a pixel-rich display anymore.
Winner: VAIO Pro 13
Keyboard and Trackpad: The VAIO compares well with the Air in the keyboard department, and it's down to a matter of personal choice - they're both that good. The trackpad on the Pro 13 is a bit of a letdown, it's stiff and is sometimes (though rarely) unresponsive, especially with the gestures for Windows 8. Then again, there is that touchscreen… so the quirks are somewhat forgiven.
Winner: MacBook Air
Performance: Hard to call, since the two laptops use different operating systems, but the bottomline is this - the Pro 13 ships with faster CPUs but the less quick Intel HD 4400 graphics capabilities, while the Air packs in slower GHz CPUs with a faster Intel HD 5000 graphics ship, which helps keep power consumption and heat down. Both are very good machines for most daily activities, but won't run your 3D games smoothly at high frame rates and settings. Of course, if you absolutely must have a Windows machine, then the Pro 13 is the only way to go.
Verdict: Tie
Battery Life: Intel's new Haswell CPUs have brought better battery life above all other gains, and while the Pro 13 manages to last about 6 hours, the Air clocks in at 12 hours with moderate use! Sony does let you buy an optional bigger battery which gives you extra juice for a bit of additional weight, but I'd bet most folks would gladly take twice the battery life for the little extra weight the Air adds.
Verdict: MacBook Air
Conclusion: All in all, at a roughly similar pricing, the Pro 13 is an incredible effort by Sony that is let down only by an iffy trackpad and average battery life. Highly recommended if you're on the lookout for a Windows ultraportable.
Sony Vaio Pro 13
Rating: 8/10
Price: Rs 74,990 for the 4th-gen Core i5 1.60 GHz/4GB RAM/128GB SSD version
URL: http://bit.ly/1bT5IeG
Design: If something could make the petite Air look overweight, the Pro 13 is it. At a shade over a kilo, this fully functional laptop weighs roughly similar to an iPad with a good case! Yet, its carbon fiber body flexes a lot more than I'm comfortable with. That said, Sony's carbon fiber design is tried and tested and is not fragile by any measure, but the Air's aluminum design feels a lot more durable and reassuring. I'm not a big fan of the sharp edges of the Pro 13 either, but these quibbles aside, it's incredible how light the Pro 13 is.
Winner: VAIO Pro 13
Display: There's a clear winner here, and it's the VAIO. For roughly the same price as the Air, you get a bright and sharp full HD 1,920 by 1,080 pixel touch screen that is downright gorgeous. The Air's 1440 x 900 pixel resolution looks dated in comparison - with the Pro 13, photographers and video folks, not to forget movie buffs, don't have to pick either an ultraportable or a pixel-rich display anymore.
Winner: VAIO Pro 13
Keyboard and Trackpad: The VAIO compares well with the Air in the keyboard department, and it's down to a matter of personal choice - they're both that good. The trackpad on the Pro 13 is a bit of a letdown, it's stiff and is sometimes (though rarely) unresponsive, especially with the gestures for Windows 8. Then again, there is that touchscreen… so the quirks are somewhat forgiven.
Winner: MacBook Air
Performance: Hard to call, since the two laptops use different operating systems, but the bottomline is this - the Pro 13 ships with faster CPUs but the less quick Intel HD 4400 graphics capabilities, while the Air packs in slower GHz CPUs with a faster Intel HD 5000 graphics ship, which helps keep power consumption and heat down. Both are very good machines for most daily activities, but won't run your 3D games smoothly at high frame rates and settings. Of course, if you absolutely must have a Windows machine, then the Pro 13 is the only way to go.
Verdict: Tie
Battery Life: Intel's new Haswell CPUs have brought better battery life above all other gains, and while the Pro 13 manages to last about 6 hours, the Air clocks in at 12 hours with moderate use! Sony does let you buy an optional bigger battery which gives you extra juice for a bit of additional weight, but I'd bet most folks would gladly take twice the battery life for the little extra weight the Air adds.
Verdict: MacBook Air
Conclusion: All in all, at a roughly similar pricing, the Pro 13 is an incredible effort by Sony that is let down only by an iffy trackpad and average battery life. Highly recommended if you're on the lookout for a Windows ultraportable.
Sony Vaio Pro 13
Rating: 8/10
Price: Rs 74,990 for the 4th-gen Core i5 1.60 GHz/4GB RAM/128GB SSD version
URL: http://bit.ly/1bT5IeG
|
The
Posh Effect
|
|
Micromax
has done a good job of establishing itself as a strong player in the
value-oriented phones market. With the new Canvas 4, Micromax have built on
the successful platform that was the Canvas HD and spruced the offering up
with better quality plastics and a nice aluminum strip around the device - a
pleasant diversion from the all-plastic devices one sees everywhere. The
screen isn't a full-HD resolution display, but it is plenty sharp and bright.
In an attempt to differentiate the phone, Micromax has added some gesture based features, such as 'blow on the screen to unlock' and a video player that pauses the video if you look away from the phone, not to mention a ton of other software tweaks that are rather reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy series. And like the Galaxy series, I've found that while they work as advertised, they end up being no more than gimmicks that youd turn off once the novelty wears off. With the Canvas 4, while the only serious downer is an average camera, the phone doesn't seem to merit the price, and you can get a better deal if you look at the competition. Rating: 7/10 Price: Rs 17,999 URL: http://bit.ly/15jpb2Y |
Tushar
Kanwar - See more at:
http://www.businessworld.in/news/science-and-technology/gadgets/ultraportable-shootout-sony-vaio-pro-13-vs-macbook-air-2013/1033453/page-1.html#sthash.SJaUwYJu.dpuf
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