The bad: The AMD graphics switching remains tied to the clunky physical switch, and without the extra slice, battery life is basically OK.
The bottom line: Sony knocks out another stylish system with the actual 15-inch Vaio SE, with some extra appeal for business users.
Review:
If Sony knows how you can do something well, it's creating slick-looking laptops. Recent examples include the very high-end 13-inch Vaio Z and also the more modest Vaio E series, which still manages to have plenty of flair regardless of the midrange price. The latest addition is the new Vaio SE, which happens to be restricted to a single 15. 5-inch version. At $999, the Vaio ZE is playing in pretty crowded territory, and we'd put it in exactly the same league as the Dell XPS 15z or the HP Envy 14--all upscale midsize laptops that mix high style with high end.
To help the Vaio SE stand out, Sony adds a few essential extras. First, like the Vaio Z, the SE supports an optional piece battery. This $150 add-on is a thin external battery pack that covers the whole bottom surface of the laptop. It adds bulk and weight, but it's a much nicer design than having a huge extended battery that sticks from the back of the system like a kickstand.
The Vaio SE also incorporate a TPM (trusted platform module) chip and Symantec's VIP authentication technology--the former especially is really a must-have for IT departments. It's not something casual consumers will have to be worried about, but it makes the Vaio SE much easier to integrate into a company environment.
At 1 inch thick and a bit over 4 lbs (not counting the AC adapter or slice battery), it's the latest inside a recent move toward very thin and light midsize laptops, such as the Dell XPS 15z (or even the brand new Inspiron 14z). While it certainly makes these machines easier to carry close to, it's still too big for a daily commute. For regular travel, you will want a laptop 13 inches or smaller.
Sony has been doing the island-style computer keyboard, with its flat-topped, widely spaced keys, as long as anyone, and it's since become an industry standard. The individual keys are large and simple to hit, but shallow and little on the clacky side. The chassis is wide enough to also easily fit in a full-size number pad, and the important keys (Shift, Enter, Ctrl, and so on. ) avoid any unnecessary shrinkage. The space bar, however, could be lengthier, and we frequently found ourselves missing it while touch typing.
The large touch pad has a pleasing matte surface as well as two large separate mouse buttons. Our long-standing gripe with Sony touch pads is within the software defaults. Scroll zones for vertical and horizontal scrolling are set too wide automatically, and we had to go into the control panel to resize all of them.
The 15. 5-inch display has a native resolution of 1, 920x1, 080 pixels, which we sometimes call full HD (as it's just like for Blu-ray, HDTV, etc. ). Vaio laptops always have excellent screen high quality, and this is no exception. Images and videos were clear and vibrant, and off-axis viewing was above average. Even though the screen has the glossy coating, it felt like a muted version of laptop screen high gloss, and we had very few problems with glare and reflected lights.
Like almost all Sony laptops, special space had to be carved out for a Storage Stick slot, in addition to the normal SD card reader. That space comes in a premium as well, as all the ports and connections are crowded across the right edge, with the exception of a lone headphone jack tucked away in the very back of the left side edge.
One nice extra is Intel's Cellular Display technology, which can send the video output of the system to some nearby big-screen TV. This requires a sold-separately receiver box, which usually runs around $99 and connects for an external display via HDMI. The results aren't lag-free enough for gaming, however it's fine for video playback.
For a sub-$1, 000 midsize laptop, Intel's Core i5 CPU is what you'd be prepared to find, represented in this case by the 2. 4GHz Intel Core i5 2430M. Nevertheless, we've seen the faster Core i7 chips start to filter down to reduce priced systems as well. But for everyday computing, such as Web browsing, media playback, and even heavier tasks such as photo and video modifying, the Vaio SE has more than enough power to handle most workloads without any slowdown or stuttering, although a Core i7 15-inch MacBook Pro was faster in all of our benchmark tests (but also more expensive).
The system Sony uses seems anachronistic in comparison. A physical switch above the keyboard is labeled 'Speed' at one end and 'Stamina in the other. If you're not sure exactly what that means, we don't fault you. Speed means the GPU is turned on, and Stamina means the GPU is switched off for longer battery life (or stamina). Unlike some older versions of this particular switching technology, a reboot is not required, but the screen does flash several times. Most people will forget about the switch and just leave it in a single position or the other full-time. Asking people to choose between Speed and Stamina makes it sound like you'll always be missing something. Perhaps the two sides of the switch should have been tagged "Tastes Great" and "Less Filling. "
With the GPU turned on, the machine ran Street Fighter IV at full 1, 920x1, 080-pixel resolution at nineteen. 8 frames per second. Dial the resolution down to something less challenging, and you're likely to get a playable experience in most current COMPUTER games.
