Windows 8 laplets (a laptop with a touchscreen that sits face up when closed, effectively turning the laptop into a tablet) are the new ultrabooks, and after the arrival of the Lenovo Yoga 11, more of these are hitting stores. The latest is the Sony Vaio Duo 11, an 11” laplet that’s both light and sturdy.

(+) It’s pretty light, weighing only 1.3kg
(+) Lots of ports: VGA, HDMI, two USB readers and SD card reader
(+) The magnesium body feels solid, as does the mechanism to slide the screen
(+) The gorilla anti-scratch screen is well made
 Backlit keyboard
(+) The 11” full HD LED screen, 1,920 x 1,080 pixels is clear and vibrant
(+) With Core i5 CPU 1.7GHz, 4GB RAM, a 128GB SSD and integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, it’s a pretty speedy laplet
(+) The digitizer stylus pen is pressure sensitive, giving you more control—quite accurate, it feels like a proper pen

(-) Even when folded it feels chunky; it could be thinner
(-) The keyboard is too small
(-) The screen won’t tilt when used as a laptop
(-) There’s no trackpad, only a tiny track ball which could be more accurate
(-) The touch screen input isn’t always responsive
(-) No stylus storage
(-) With an 11” screen, buttons on websites are too small to effectively touch
(-) The two speakers are located at the bottom, so sound is muffled

Verdict: With its specs, the Sony Vaio Duo 11 is a pretty smooth laplet to play around with. The clarity of the screen and the sturdiness are impressive. Still, with an impractical keyboard design, a thick body and a touch screen that could be more responsive, it isn’t very practical. And at its price, save up a little more and you’ll be able to get a Macbook Air and an iPad Mini. We recommend you wait a bit longer for this new segment to truly mature. Nutthachai Bunluthangthum
Specs: Intel Core i5-3317U (1.70 GHz, 3 MB L3 Cache, up to 2.60 GHz
Mobile Intel HM77 Graphic Card Intel HD Graphics 4000
11.6” (1920x11080) Full HD LED
4GB memory, 128GB SSD
B44,900

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