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Sony's entry to the Ultrabook market was long overdue, and the Vaio T13 is certainly an encouraging debut. The price-point obviously means that some sacrifices have been made when it comes to hardware, and therefore performance, but the Sony Vaio T13 is a fantastic looking ultra-portable computer that is perfectly suited for somebody looking for a day-to-day media-friendly laptop.
We liked
The design of the Sony Vaio T13 is refreshing, to say the least. It may have substituted a slightly slimmer waistline in favour of a more robust, industrial and original design, but we're all for it.
The build quality is so sturdy and strong that we were never concerned when it came to carrying the Sony Vaio T13 around, even without a protective sleeve.
Although common across all Ultrabooks, we found that the Intel Rapid Start technology performed with particular aplomb on the Sony Vaio T13. While laptops are never going to compete with tablets for ease of use, it's certainly not a hassle to pick up and fire up the Sony Vaio T13 from sleep.
We disliked
Performance isn't great, with a Sandy Bridge CPU used in order to keep the cost down. You'll have no bother with the day-to-day basics, but try to push the Sony Vaio T13 beyond the likes of browsing, photo viewing or video watching and you'll come unstuck.
There's also a wealth of Sony bloatware that you'll need to get through before you get the Sony Vaio T13 running as smoothly as it can do and, even when you do, you may just find the 13.3-inch display a bit too reflective.
Final verdict
There are Ultrabooks out there that offer a slicker experience than the Sony Vaio T13 but, at £679/$769.99, it only really has two rivals: the Novatech nFinity 2367 Plus and the Acer Aspire S3.
And while it can't quite match that duo for speed and performance, its build and design blows them out of the water.
