71-90K Sony Pro 13 Vs Macbook Air 13

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toxicdrift

toxicdrift

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been using apple since a while now, ive used two 13 pro's 11'air, hackintosh's.. never had much issues, i sold my air sometime back and ive been using two windows machines, and found my windows love back hahaha.. so i started doing some search and i found out the PRO 13, cuz i really hated the macbook resolution and hoped this yr they would change it to atleast 1600x900 or a FULLHD .. cuz i watch alot of movies so the extra screen estate + res would surely benefit... i use my laptop fairly basic.. alot of music downloads, movies, surf, youtube etc.. which i can probably do with a lowend machine aswell. but i want something light.. and not too bulky.. was thinking about the macbook pro 13 (like the fact that it has a more power/upgradeable) aswell but im sure 3 months down the line it will upgrade to the haswell cpu's so makes sense to buy a haswell laptop right now.. i definitely want the latest tech.. .. im wondering weather right now is a good time to buy a laptop.. and weather i should really make the windows switch.. or should i stick with mac.. is there any other options that im missing.. ??
 
Both are good choices in their own right, it's going to come down to personal preference. The first thing you will notice is that Vaio Pro is much lighter. It is really night and day. The Vaio Pro has a far superior display. Much better contrast ratio, much wider colour gamut and better accuracy, much wider viewing angles, not to mention higher resolution. It has a more durable build, slightly faster CPU and SSD, more configuration options (the big deal being 8GB RAM). Finally, the real biggie - touchscreen. Macbook Air has much better battery life and touchpad, slightly faster GPU. Do note however that Vaio Pro has a sheet battery option and even with that it is lighter than Air, and battery life would be in the 15 hour range. Pricing is pretty similar for the similarly specced option.

Those are the objective variables. Coming to the subjective personal preferences - the big ones is the construction. Technically, Vaio Pro wins here, but carbon fibre brings an inherent flex which gives the perception that Air with its aluminium would be more durable. So it is really personal preference, but I would choose carbon fibre any day. Vaio Pro keyboard has slightly better response and click, while Macbook Air has slightly deeper travel. My personal choice would be Macbook Air but it is very close. Then of course is the eternal OS X vs Windows which is again your choice. OS X users would say stick with OS X, Windows users will say stick with Windows, ultimately you have to decide based on your usage. One thing I will point out though is that Windows 8 with touchscreen is a fabulous, game-changing experience for a lot of usage scenario, and 8.1 makes it better still. Once you go touch, there's no going back. I think ultimately it comes down to a simple thing - if you use OS X get a Macbook Air, if you use Windows get Vaio Pro.

Personally, I would wait for devices like Ativ Book 9 Plus or Zenbook Infinity. Those appear to be superior, cutting edge options than either of the above. Or Haswell Macbook Pro with Retina Display 13 if you want OS X.

PS: The other Haswell ultrabook shipping in the US now is Acer S7, which could be a great choice too. Some variants are said to ship with a 2560x1440 display, but no idea when it releases in India. Then there's also the Vaio Duo 13, which is a convertible slider. I think these are all the Haswell ultrabooks as of now?
 
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Brilliant put by @Sub

The only advice i can add is that the mb air would give you a bit of longevity as opposed to the pro.

Hope you make the right decision.
 
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IMO give Vaio Pro pass now and wait till sept end to jump into the purchase. The screen looks washed out, the colors are not that good and viewing angles i didnt like.
I was on the ultrabook hunt last weekend and gave the pro a pass. And also bit expensive. Yea, i used all the laptops in person in the end at best buy..HH Greggs..Tiger direct..Brandsmart USA etc.

I got the Acer Aspire S7. Not the Haswell models though. Though can live with the ~1.5 hr less battery life(Getting 3.5 Hrs as of now) and better touchpad(I am a die hard mouse user). And dont know when I will be coming back to US, so thought will get that. Wanted the Air though... But not so comfortable with the whole windows to mac switch. btw Haswell S7 not yet started shipping in US. August end or sept. :(. I leave by Aug 10th. If by then it releases.. I may return this and get that one... If NO PRICE CHANGE. Else no. :)

I wanted the best screen possible. That was my top criteria.
 
thanks Subs, very well put and informative, im also lookin at the zenbook infinity, seems the best amongst the haswell lot thats coming later this yr. Too many options ... but i wonder if India will see them even later, maybe early 2014 :( i guess its a bad time to pick a laptop with all the brands making the shift to haswell..

vantheman, lol i hope i make the right choice too, so far its leaning towards the Air.

Jeri, thanks for the post, the S7 comes feature packed with that case + all the accesories, but its also the most expensive locally, its one of the best lookin laptops for sure! Too bad about the washed out colours on the Pro 13, screen was supposed to be one of the best amoungst the 1080 models according to some reviewers. but yea, im using the xperia z so i know the washed out ur talking about lol.. will try n look into the current gen s7

thanks for all the opinions and options... if the rest dont mind, please post a laptop u would go for right now OR (this yr) and why, i know its silly. lol but i think it will help me decide, :banghead:
 
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jeri - are you sure you're looking at the Vaio Pro's screen, and not of last year's S13? I have the S13, with the 1600x900 TN panel - crappy screen if viewed off axis. I checked out a friend's brand new Vaio Pro 13, and found the screen to be brilliant.
 
110% sure it was the Vaio Pro 13. Dunno perhaps I looked at Acer Aspire R7, S7, HP touch smart 17(Although viewing angles sucked.) and then went to that one. So perhaps my eye was used to the color and viewing angles of that and i found that one to be bad comparing to those.

The closes I can say it felt like the Mac Air. If Mac Air screen is brilliant for you then you will be happy with Vaio.

If by any chance i will go to best buy again, will click few pics. but chances are low. but still I may go.
 
TechHead said:
jeri - are you sure you're looking at the Vaio Pro's screen, and not of last year's S13? I have the S13, with the 1600x900 TN panel - crappy screen if viewed off axis. I checked out a friend's brand new Vaio Pro 13, and found the screen to be brilliant.
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Yes, I suspect the same. The Vaio Pro 13 has a superb screen. It is an IPS panel so it has 178 degree viewing angles by definition. Must be a misunderstanding somewhere.
 
You can post the pics of the screen of your Vaio Pro 13 and I can post the s7. I am not holding s7 as the paramount but it does have a good display comparing to that, only the Retina Macs I found to be more better.And then you dont have to suspect I guess???
 
m-jeri said:
You can post the pics of the screen of your Vaio Pro 13 and I can post the s7. I am not holding s7 as the paramount but it does have a good display comparing to that, only the Retina Macs I found to be more better.And then you dont have to suspect I guess???
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You can't judge display quality off a picture! I don't personally own a Vaio Pro anyway. Nevertheless, you can check out an analysis of the Vaio Pro 13's display here: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Sony-Vaio-Pro-13.htm. The old S7 has a great display too, no doubt, and the 2560x1440 Haswell S7 would be even better. But Vaio Pro has a top notch IPS panel too. Of course, I won't be surprised if the Ativ Book 9 Plus' 3200x1800 PLS panel blows everything away in a month or two's time.
 
Hmm thought you had the laptop with you. Anyways i saw the display in person and wasn't happy.
 
I spent half an hour using the laptop at the sony showroom.
The trackpad was unresponsive several times but its a touchscreen laptop right? so i tried using the touch screen and while the response was great, the screen was too wobbly for frequent use as its thin and light.
Compared to mba, the screen looks better, but its not gr8 and even at maximum brightness it appeared dimmer than other laptops.

The lightness has to be experienced first hand. Its incredibly light but that's the same thing which also makes it appear fragile.

The thin body comes at a cost though. You can feel the bottom become warm after only 10 min of playing a HD video.

After a month of research, I was very close to buying the 13" Vaio Pro as that is the only haswell ultrabook available in India at the moment but its not just for me.

If you need a a)Full HD b)Touchscreen c)4th Gen Processor d)lightest in the world ultrabook, then sony vaio pro is your only option.

If you can wait, which I have decided to do, then you will have a few more options by Diwali season.

P.S. I am more likely to buy a 13" rMBP if it refreshes in October. If you have a touchpad like mac's then who needs a touch screen.
 
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A lot of people are experiencing Wi-fi and bluetooth issues with the Pro 13. Head over to the Owner's Lounge at Notebookreview forums and see for yourself.
First gen products are bound to have problems. Even the Haswell chipset itself suffers from a USB 3 bug which will be taken care of in the C2 chips.
If someone has to buy a laptop right now I would suggest to stick with tried and tested 3rd Gen Core CPUs or wait for bugs with Haswell to be ironed out.
 
thanks for all the feedback guys, appreciate it. i know about the air wifi issues aswell. plus the screen flickering, .. they just removed a firmware /software update for the wifi i think.. or a tweak.. hopefully it fixes the issues, about the laptops getting hot.. i think almost all laptops get hot. ive used the air aswell. depending on what ur viewing and how ur pushing the laptop.. it does get heated aswell. Sony is the only option for haswell right now and honestly id like to view a bit more, or save more $$ till the sep/oct refresh of haswell based laptops comes in.... ive been using my sisters old dell studio from 09, lol i think i will keep bribing her till i find what i want, really need to go n try the sony and the new air out, if only the rains would stop!! i get restless when i have some cash saved up, the force is too strong with the upgraditis bug! i must resist! :mad:
 
No offense, but m-jeri I am pretty sure you did NOT see a Vaio PRO 13. The Pro 13 screen is superior to the Acer Aspire S7 screen in EVERY area. It has excellent viewing angles, more than double the contrast ratio, far deeper blacks and is also brighter at the same time with much more punchy colors thanks to Triluminos technology.

Numbers don't lie. See here

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-S7-391-Ultrabook.83561.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Sony-Vaio-Duo-13-SVD1321M2E-Convertible-Ultrabook.97628.0.html

Pro 13 and Duo 13 have the same screen so the same impressions/number apply for Pro 13 too.
 
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Might not be related but i have a sony vaio S15 laptop (FHD screen and all) and i hate its trackpad, not great at all. I use mouse instead.
 
I don't see how the web reviews are going to convince anyone when I saw the 2 laptops in person and used it? And Its my opinion!!. I don't have to agree with anyone else now do i?.

Numbers do lie. A lot.

Have you ever thought that perhaps "I" didn't like it? Is this is technical forum or Agree-with-me-damn-it-forum?

Zoheb.. Sorry to post in this thread man. Please ignore my view's and take a judgement call.
 
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