A Review of the Sony Vaio E Series SVE11113FXW

A Review of the Sony Vaio E Series SVE11113FXW


Once upon a time, 11-inch laptops were the computer-of-choice for on-the-go gadget consumers.
However, with the aesthetic trend leaning towards bigger-but-slimmer nowadays, 11-inchers may well
be seeing a downturn in terms of market preference.
That said, a few of these ultraportable laptops are still being manufactured, with Sony releasing one just
recently. The Sony Vaio E Series SVE11113FXW recognizes its demographic, though. While it can't run
the latest graphics-heavy video games, it really doesn't need to. It merely offers a small, serviceable, and
cheap alternative to the more technically-attractive bigger laptops. And it's not like Sony laptop parts
are readily available to upgrade this Vaio's existing laptop components. The fact of the matter is, Sony's
latest 11-incher is just there to satisfy a (now) niche market; and the laptop's price reflects that.
Coming in at just $449, the Vaio E Series SVE11113FXW (how about we just call it the 11-inch Vaio E
from now on, eh?) is equipped with a 1.2 GHz AMD E2-1800 processor, a 4 GB 1333 Mhz DDR3 RAM
stick, a 5 GB5400 rpm hard drive, and an AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics card. It has Windows 7 Home
Premium 64-bit Edition pre-installed; and as stated earlier, it has an 11-inch screen measured diagonally.
All these laptop parts may sound like advanced technobabble to the uninitiated, but in reality, these
specs are mid-range at best. That said, the laptop doesn't aspire to be anything more than a functionally
basic portable computer.
Sony Vaio laptops have always been known to sport first-rate keyboards, and the 11-inch Vaio E is no
exception, especially considering the price. The keyboard is the flat-topped island style popularized by
Sony long before it was widespread. It has a sturdy feel, and doesn't buckle under furious typing. Of
course, the keys are smaller than usual considering that this is an 11-incher after all, but Sony made sure
to make important function keys like Tab, Enter, and Backspace big enough for quick, handy use.

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As for the touchpad, it feels kind of small, even for an 11-incher. Furthermore, it seems to be stretched
horizontally, looking like a wide-ratio display screen. Because of this, scrolling vertically feels harder than
it's supposed to. Still, two-finger scrolling is as responsive as is expected of Vaio touchpads, giving a
good compromise to the touchpad's lack of horizontal space. Mileage, though, may vary from user to
user.
The screen supports up to 1366 x 768 of pixel resolution, which in my opinion is best suited for a screen
this size. It also has excellent off-axis viewing from the side, although skewed vertical viewing still gives
display contrast extremes.
Also, par for the course for Sony products; the company has seen fit to include proprietary programs
pre-installed with the laptop. With the 11-inch Vaio E, you get PlayMemories, a photo and video
manager program; Media Gallery, which, um, also manages photos and videos, along with music files;
and the Vaio Gate, a quick-launch tab which points you to prevalent menus and other apps.
The Sony 11-inch Vaio E may be in a class of laptops which isn't as popular as it had been just a few
years ago, but there's no denying that pound-for-pound, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Original Post: http://www.information-online.com/node/545937

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