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Sony outs Japanese pricing for its Windows 8 VAIO line-up

by Alistair Lowe on 1 October 2012, 10:45

Tags: Sony (NYSE:SNE)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qabm3v

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We were able to report a month ago that Sony had plans to out a new tablet hybrid, the Duo 11, and now, we're able to provide further details and Japanese pricing on both this and Sony's new AIO, the Tap 20.

Sony VAIO Duo 11

Sony VAIO Duo 11

CPU Intel Core i7-3517U, i5-3317U or i5-3217U
Memory 4GB or 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz
Storage 128GB or 256GB SSD
Display 11.6" 1080p OptiContrast with capacitive touch
Camera Front and rear Full HD 2.07-megapixel Exmor for PC
Connectivity

WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + HS, USB 3.0 x 1, USB 3.0 with USB charge x1,

HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, VGA, NFC, Memory Stick Duo/ SD

Sensors GPS, Accelerometer, Gyro, Digital Compass
Weight 1.305KG
Dimensions 320 x 17.85 x 199 mm
Other Digitizer Pen

 

Sony VAIO Tap 20

Sony VAIO Tap 20

CPU Intel Core i7-3517U, i5-3317U or i5-3217U
Memory 4GB or 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz
Storage 750GB or 1TB 5400rpm
Display 20" 1,600 x 900 VAIO Display Plus with 10-point capacitive touch
Camera Front HD 1.31-megapixel Exmor for PC
Connectivity

WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + HS, USB 3.0 x 1, USB 3.0 with USB charge x1,

Gigabit Ethernet, VGA, NFC, Memory Stick Duo/ SD

Sensors GPS, Accelerometer, Gyro, Digital Compass
Weight 5.2KG
Dimensions

504 x 187 x 304 mm (minimum tilt angle)

504 x 312 x 45 mm (maximum tilt angle)

Other Built-in battery for moving around the house

Oddly enough, the VAIO Tap 20 doesn't feature a FullHD display or HDMI out, however we're quite impressed by the built-in battery as often there's a need to transport AIOs from room-to-room, requiring a painful shut-down and boot-up procedure. The 10-point multi-touch display and flat profile could allow for some collaborative working, though at 20" in size, the display is a little on the small side for this.

We remain in awe at the sleekness of the VAIO Duo 11 and its specifications, with specific note to the 1080p FullHD display, accurate digitizer pen and backlit keyboard. Likewise, Sony will be providing some handy software to make cutting and pasting with the pen, along with annotation of power-point presentations a breeze. Questionably, however, we wonder if the Duo 11 would have been better-off waiting for Intel's Haswell platform, which claims to offer superior, ARM tablet-like sleep and idle-active states, which could be the finishing touch the Duo 11 needs, especially once you've seen the price.

Sony's VAIO Tap 20 will be retailing from ¥140,000 (£1,115) and the Duo 11 from ¥150,000 (£1,200). Bearing in mind that these prices are for Core-i5 variants with the entry level options for hard disk capacity and memory, the line-up is shaping up to be a very expensive one indeed. The question we pose to our readers is, with all the premium features and what appears to be top-notch build quality, are Sony's latest VAIOs likely to be worth the attached price tag?



HEXUS Forums :: 13 Comments

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I feel they're too expensive…
typo ? is it 20“ or 10”….
at 5kg it will be 20in
No worse than their current VAIOs so no surprises here. Sony has always been a premium based on a loyal userbase who are willing to pay above the norm for the badge (Apple have thoroughly taken this crown!)
I can see Windows 8 being a huge flop for Microsoft if they don't start getting some competitive hardware coming out. There is nothing, absolutely nothing compelling about windows 8 on any platform at the moment.