Review : Sony Vaio Fit 13A – Ultra-thin, High Performance Hybrid!

Sony has always been the king of the ultrabook series of laptops. Their latest affair with the ultrabook series comes dubbed as the Vaio Fit 13A – the tinniest member of the convertible laptop series.

Design and Build

After almost a month of usage, we really appreciated the craftmanship of Sony’s that led to designing this handsome machine. The build is top notch, the overall conversion / flip mechanism is solid and doesn’t make us worried about the longevity of this hybrid.

The overall build is extremely premium looking and feeling with those sleek edges and the brushed metal finish that makes it a total stunner. Easily something that can challenge the most premium ultrabooks ever.

On the sides we have USB 3.0 ports on the right with a SDXC card reader and a power button. On the back we have a volume toggle that falls in place when in tablet mode. The speaker grills are placed properly to not muffle sound. The HDMI port is on the left with a headphone jack.

Features

The Sony Vaio Fit 13a is designed so that you get noticed, this would lead you to think that it might not be high on features if it’s got the looks, but that is not the case.

The keyboard is backlit and the feel and overall tactile feedback is awesome. One of the best features of Sony’s new Flip series is that all the models come with a Full HD Triluminos display. It’s very sharp and vibrant and very pleasing to look at. What is neat however, is the presence of a scratch resistant coating because it may be also used as a tablet.

Touch response is fantastic and multi-touch works like charming, while gaming or just typing on-screen – everything is managed equally well. On the inside, the Vaio Fit 13a is powered by a Intel Core i5-4200U, running at 1.6GHz. There is 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Intel HD 5000 graphics and a blazing fast 128GB SSD that we love.

At just 1.3KGs, the Vaio Fit 13A is ultraportable to thrown around in a bag or to be carried directly.

 

In Tablet mode, the Vaio Fit 13A is surprisingly comfortable. One can grip it well since it’s not that slippery. Apps that come pre-installed are : VAIO Care, Norton Online Backup and a bunch of Modern UI apps like ArcSoft Camera, SocialLife, VAIO Clip, VAIO Paper and a trial of Office 365.

Performance

Performance on the Vaio Fit 13a is very good if not overwhelming, the lower clock speed helps in improving the battery life. We could get around 8 hours with web browsing and a bit of Youtube.

Windows 8 breezes through the laptop with the ultra-fast SSD, everything is so quick that you would never go back to your notebook.

Audio quality through the speakers is crisp and clear and the software suite included can easily engage ClearPhase technology to make things better in a noisy environment.

Final Verdict

Sony has managed to craft an ultrabook that anyone will be proud of owning and with it’s flip trick, it is also worth showing off. It is an equal breeze to use due to it’s elegant design and metal chassis. Performance is decent as well and the tablet mode works surprisingly well without making us realize the pain of holding a full featured laptop in one hand.

At a price of 99,990 INR you have a plenty of other options, but none that can make you feel as rewarding as the Sony Vaio Fit 13A.