The Sony VAIO Tap 11 offers a sharp display in a thin design, but its short battery life và awkward detachable thiết kế are drawbacks .
Bạn đang xem: Sony vaio tap 11 review: meet sony"s answer to the surface pro
Why you can trust laptop Mag Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products và services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Sony already boasts one of the thinnest android slates on the market with its Xperia Tablet Z, but now its sights are phối on Windows 8. The $1,099 Sony VAIO Tap 11 measures just 0.39 inches thick, yet packs an Intel core i5 processor and a 128GB SSD. At least on paper, this hybrid has the goods to lớn go toe lớn toe with the Surface Pro 2. But is being the thinnest Windows 8 tablet enough for the VAIO Tap 11 to squeeze past the competition?
Editor"s Note: We"ve updated certain parts of this reviews such as the keyboard section with new information from Sony.
Design
Sony touts the VAIO Tap 11 as the thinnest Windows 8 PC in the world -- which is immediately visible lớn whomever picks up the tablet. It sports a slick, clean design with a metallic trim bordering its edges, an attractive accent. The front of the slate features edge-to-edge glass with chunky bezels framing the display.
There"s nothing out of the ordinary on the VAIO Tap 11"s face, but you"ll notice a small cutout along the bottom bezel for its magnetic keyboard cover. A Windows 8 trang chủ button sits along the bottom, parallel lớn the camera at the top. Sony has also situated a discrete IR blaster along the top edge, so that you can use the tablet as a remote control for your home entertainment system.
Click to Enlarge
While the display is framed by glossy black bezels, the rear of the Tap 11 is comprised of a white magnesium alloy that feels lượt thích matte soft cảm biến plastic. The first thing you"ll notice when flipping the tablet over is its integrated kickstand, which tucks into the slate so neatly you may miss that it"s there. Above this kickstand is the VAIO logo, which stands out against the otherwise matte finish. The VAIO Tap 11"s speaker grilles are also visible along the đứng top left và right sides of the slate"s rear shell.
Although the VAIO Tap 11 is unarguably sleek, there are a few design drawbacks that could compromise the user experience. For instance, the Tap 11 doesn"t have a sleep button, so you"ll need to make sure the power nguồn button is set khổng lồ hibernate when pressed (in the control panel).
Click lớn Enlarge
Measuring 12 x 7.4 x 0.39 inches, the Sony Tap 11 is just slightly thinner than the competition. The 11.6 x 7.5 x 0.4- inch Acer Aspire P3 comes awfully close, but the 11.9 x 7.46 x 0.47-inch Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T is noticeably thicker than Sony"s device. The chunkier Surface Pro 2 measures 10.8 x 8.8 x 0.5-inches thick và weighs 2 pounds, which is the same weight as the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T. Both the Sony VAIOTap 11 and the Acer Aspire P3 are a little lighter at 1.7 pounds .
With its keyboard, the Tap 11 weighs 2.2 pounds, which is much lighter than the Samsung (3.6 pounds) and the Aspire P3 (3 pounds) with their respective keyboards.
Ports và NFC
Click khổng lồ Enlarge
The VAIOTap 11 comes with an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 slot & a jack for connecting its power nguồn adapter along the left-hand side of the slate. The right side houses a 3.5mm tai nghe jack và a micro
SD thẻ slot that sits near the slate"s upper right corner. All ports are covered with small plastic tabs, which can be a little annoying lớn remove.
The Tap 11 also has NFC built in, so, you can also pair devices và share nội dung simply by tapping an NFC-equipped device khổng lồ the upper right corner of the Tap 11.
Display
Click to Enlarge
The Sony VAIO Tap 11"s 11.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display rendered colorful images và sharp text. When flipping through high-res images on Flickr, a close-up photo of a purple flower looked vibrant và authentic. The purple-and-white petals really popped against the grassy green backdrop. We could noticed minute details in the flower"s petals. Text looked bold and sharp in Bing"s news tiện ích as well.
During the trailer for "Oldboy," the wrinkles & creases in Josh Brolin"s face were defined even in scenes with dim lighting. In other clips, such as one scene that takes place in a grassy field, colors looked bright & lively. We were pleased with the Tap 11"s wide viewing angles, which made it easy khổng lồ view the trailer from a distance. The screen caught a little bit of glare when we positioned the tablet at a 90-degree angle, but it wasn"t significant enough to lớn compromise our viewing experience.
At 359 lux, however, the VAIO Tap 11"s screen outshines the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (329 lux), but isn"t as luminous as Acer Aspire P3 (392 lux) or the average tablet (366 lux).
Pen Input
In addition to lớn shipping with a full keyboard, the VAIO Tap 11 also comes with a stylus for drawing or note-taking. There"s no stylus slot on the Tap 11, but Sony supplies a đoạn phim that attaches to lớn the tablet & acts as a pen holster. The company also includes an extra pen tip in the box.
During our testing, the Tap 11"s stylus proved lớn be reliable & accurate. From handwriting URLs in mạng internet Explorer lớn sketching shapes in Sony"s chú ý Anytime app, the stylus performed smoothly. When scrawling our signature in the lưu ý Anytime app, our handwriting looked neater than it usually does on paper. Using the included Art
Rage Studio app, our co-worker sketched a drawing that appeared just as detailed as it would on paper in a sketchpad.
The buttons on the Tap 11"s stylus can be used lớn launch VAIOClip và VAIO Paper, apps that take advantage of its pen"s capabilities. Vaio Paper is a note-taking ứng dụng that lets you draw diagrams or jot down notes for conversion into text. VAIO video clip lets you save information by circling it with the pen & copying it into the đoạn clip app.
Audio
Click to lớn Enlarge
The Sony VAIO Tap 11"s rear-mounted speakers, which use Intel"s High Definition Audio with Clear
Audio+ technology, produced clear và rich tones. Music sounded crisp as it resonated from the device"s back, especially when blasted at full volume. When we listened to lớn "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake, the vocals và background instruments sounded well-balanced và vibrant. The bass track in "When The Sun Goes Down" by the Arctic Monkeys was more pronounced than usual.
The Tap 11"s speakers aren"t the loudest, but they were certainly boisterous enough to fill a medium-size room. During the máy vi tính Audio Test, the Tap 11 pumped out audio at 74 decibels, which is lower than the 83-decibel category average for tablets.
Keyboard
Click to Enlarge
The Tap 11"s included keyboard features the same trắng matte kiến thiết as the back of the tablet, but the most noteworthy physical attribute is its brushed aluminum rear. The silvery back of the keyboard is smooth and cool lớn the touch, making the device look like a standard ultrathin clamshell when attached to its slate companion. The keyboard"s power nguồn switch can be misleading -- if you slide it too far to lớn the right you"ll disable the trackpad without realizing it.
Since the VAIO Tap 11 comes with an integrated kickstand, you can use its included RF keyboard for typing without having to attach it khổng lồ the device. This means you can situate the tablet on your table or desk while keeping the keyboard in your lap. However, you won"t be able to lớn balance the keyboard and tablet together as one device on your lap. Sony tells us that it"s working with Targus on a case accessory that connects the keyboard lớn the slate so that it can be used in your lap.
During the Type tốc độ typing test, we notched 63 words per minute with 92 percent accuracy. This is a little slower than our 70 word per minute average on our desktop PC, but the typing didn"t feel unnatural. The key travel was rather shallow, but it"s deep enough for light productivity. The keyboard also didn"t feel very sturdy, however, considering there was a noticeable amount of flex when pressing the keys even lightly.
The Tap 11"s keyboard performed smoothly without lag when using it to lớn navigate the Windows 8 interface and browse website pages. However, the 3.7 x 1.6-inch touchpad felt a little cramped for a keyboard of this size.
The keyboard only charges when it"s connected magnetically to lớn the slate, so you can"t use the tablet and charge the keyboard at the same time. We found this lớn be inconvenient during our testing, but this scenario can easily be avoided by keeping your keyboard attached whenever your tablet is charging và not in use.
Heat
After streaming a Hulu at full screen for 15 minutes, the Sony VAIO Tap 11 registered a somewhat troubling 99 degrees Fahrenheit on its underside. This is 6 degrees warmer than the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T"s hottest spot (93 degrees). We generally consider anything above 95 degrees to lớn be uncomfortable.
VAIO Remote Control
The VAIO Tap 11 comes with an IR blaster that allows it to function as a remote control for you TV, speakers, projector, DVD or Blu-Ray player, among other home entertainment devices. The remote control phầm mềm is fairly standard, but it"s unique in that Sony lets you assign gestures for frequently used commands. For instance, you can choose to flick the screen khổng lồ turn the volume up without having to lớn look down at the tablet. Sony also offers a few different màu sắc templates for its controller interface, including purple, black, burgundy, brown, blue và white.
The set of buttons Sony selected for us worked on the first try with our office"s Samsung TV. Our preproduction unit didn"t come with Sony"s TV Side
View app, but it"s available as a không lấy phí download in the Windows 8 store under the Vaio Pics section. Side
View is a companion TV tiện ích that lets you tìm kiếm for information about the TV show or movie you"re currently watching và browse related content. The app also lets you sort through a TV program guide & change channels directly through the guide.
Performance
Click khổng lồ Enlarge
The Sony VAIO Tap 11"s dual-core 1.5-GHz Intel bộ vi xử lý core i5-4210Y Haswell processor performed smoothly during everyday use & achieved above- average results during synthetic benchmark tests. The device is fluid enough to handle multitasking with ease. For instance, we ran up to six apps while playing "Zombie HQ" và didn"t notice any lag.
This tablet"s score of 3,636 on PCMark 7 surpasses the 2,951 tablet category average but isn"t as high as the 1.7-GHz Intel chip core i5-3317U-powered Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (4,442). The Acer Aspire P3 notched a comparable 3,642.
The VAIO Tap 11"s 128GB Serial ATA SSD can transfer files fast. During the máy tính xách tay File Transfer Test, the Tap 11 copied 4.97GB of mixed truyền thông media files in 59 seconds, equaling a rate of 86.3 MBps. This is certainly faster than the 58.4 Mbps tablet category average và the Acer Aspire P3 (62 seconds, 82.2 Mbps), but it isn"t as quick as the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (30 seconds, 170 Mbps).
Similarly, the VAIO Tap 11 boots up faster than your average slate, but isn"t as quick as its rivals. The Tap 11 loaded Windows 8 in 17 seconds, beating the 31-second tablet category average but once again losing to the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (13 seconds) và the Acer Aspire P3 (8 seconds).
The Tap 11 completed the Open
Office Spreadsheet kiểm tra in 7 minutes and 8 seconds, beating the average tablet by about 10 minutes (17:17) và the Acer Aspire P3 (8:34). Samsung"s ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T, however, was able lớn match 20,000 names lớn their corresponding addresses in just 5 minutes & 50 seconds.
Graphics
Like most hãng sản xuất intel HD Graphics 4200-powered systems, the Sony VAIO Tap 11 is ideal for watching videos, viewing photos or playing casual games, but don"t expect to run graphics-intensive titles. We played lightweight games such as "Zombie HQ" and "Pac Man Championship Edition" without a hitch.
The Sony slate scored 313 on the 3DMark11 synthetic benchmark, which falls below the 418 tablet category average. Both the Acer Aspire P3 (425) and the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (566) scored higher despite their previous generation hãng sản xuất intel HD Graphics 4000 chips.
With the resolution set khổng lồ 1300 x 768, the Sony Tap 11 ran "World of Warcraft" at an unplayable 18 frames per second. Still, this is about the same as the Acer Aspire P3 (17 fps) & the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (18 fps).
Apps
Click lớn Enlarge
Sony bundled its Tap 11 with some of its own self-branded software as well as third-party applications. One such phầm mềm is the Note
Anytime for VAIO, a standard note-taking phầm mềm that lets you customize pen thickness, ink màu sắc and the màu sắc of your background. You can also import images from your device lớn draw or sketch on, although it"s not as robust as Samsung"s S Note, which also lets you record voice memos & text boxes as well.
MORE: đứng top 25 Windows 8 Apps
Like its name implies, Cam
Scanner lets you scan and upload documents by using the tablet"s camera. Sony"s Arc
Soft Camera for VAIO app comes with a few more features than the Windows 8 app, such as more resolution options, geotagging, Burst Mode và a timer. With Music Maker Jam, you can create tunes by downloading different templates & combining tracks. The tiện ích lets you tải về Dubstep, Jazz, Rock and Tech House for free; more specific jams, such as 90s Eurodance and UK Garage Band, cost $3.49.
The Tap 11 also comes with other apps that are fairly standard for Windows 8 devices, such as Evernote Touch and i
Heart
Radio.
Camera
Click to Enlarge
The Tap 11"s 3,800 m
Ah battery lasted for a poor 5 hours and 54 minutes during the laptop Battery Test, which consists of continuously surfing the website over Wi-Fi with the display brightness set lớn 40 percent. This is far below the 7:10 tablet category average and isn"t quite as long as the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T"s battery life (6:48). At least the Tap 11 outlasted the Acer Aspire P3 (4:21).
MORE: 10 Tablets with the Longest Battery Life
Configurations
Our $1,099 review unit of the Sony VAIO Tap 11 comes with a 128GB Serial ATA SSD and a dual-core Intel bộ vi xử lý core i5-4210Y with 4GB of RAM. The keyboard is included. For $799, you can get the Tap 11 with an hãng intel Pentium processor, & $999 will get you a bộ vi xử lý core i3 CPU. Another $100 will get you a core i5.
Verdict
Click lớn Enlarge
The $1,099 Sony VAIO Tap 11 is a sleek và attractive Windows 8 tablet, but it has some limitations. On the plus side, the Haswell processor và zippy SSD provide plenty of oomph for running Windows 8 & desktop apps. Plus, the Tap 11 has a larger 11-inch screen than the 10.6-inch Surface Pro 2, offering excellent image quality. The speakers also impress. If you want a tablet with pen input, you"ll be pleased with the Tap 11"s performance & software eivonline.edu.vn.
However, unlike the new Surface Pro 2 ($1,028 with Type Cover), you can"t really use this tablet and keyboard full bộ comfortably in your lap (although a third party keyboard case is coming). For the best results, you"ll need khổng lồ put the slate on a table và use just the keyboard in your lap. & even though the Tap 11 is 1.7 pounds without its keyboard, that"s fairly heavy for a tablet. The Tap 11"s relatively short battery life và heat on the back also give us pause.
Overall, the VAIO Tap 11 combines a sharp display and a smooth pen experience in a thin design, but this hybrid doesn"t work well enough as a notebook khổng lồ justify the high price.
Sony Vaio Tap 11 Specs
| Brand | Sony |
| CPU | 1.5-GHz Dual-core Intel core i5-4210Y |
| Camera Resolution | 8MP |
| Card Readers | micro SD |
| Company Website | www.sony.com |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Display Size | 11.6 |
| Front-Facing Camera Resolution | 2.0MP |
| Graphics Chip | Intel HD Graphics 4200 |
| Has Bluetooth | Yes |
| OS | Windows 8 |
| Ports | Microphone/Headphone, micro SD, micro HDMI, USB 3.0 |
| RAM Included | 4GB |
| Size | 12 x 7.4 x 0.39 inches |
| Storage Drive Type | SSD |
| USB Ports | 3 |
| Warranty / eivonline.edu.vn | 1 Year Limited Warranty |
| Weight | 1.7 lbs (main unit) |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11a/b/g/n |
Face ID lets you securely unlock your i
Phone or i
Pad, authenticate purchases, sign in lớn apps, và more, all with just a glance.
Make sure that nothing is covering the True
Depth camera or your face. If something is obstructing your nose or mouth, lượt thích glasses or a face mask, you might be asked to lớn temporarily remove these items during setup.
You can also use Face ID with face masks if you use i
Phone 12 or later with i
OS 15.4 and later. Face ID works best when your i
Phone or i
Pad is approximately 10–20 inches from your face.
To phối up Face ID:
Tap phối Up Face ID.Hold your device in portrait orientation, position your face in front of your device, then tap Get Started.Position your face inside the frame và gently move your head khổng lồ complete the circle. If you"re unable to move your head, tap Accessibility Options.When you finish the first Face ID scan, tap Continue.Gently move your head to lớn complete the circle for a second time.Tap Done.To choose features that you want khổng lồ use Face ID with or reset Face ID, go lớn Settings, then tap Face ID và Passcode.
Need help with Face ID? Learn which i
Phone & i
Pad models tư vấn Face ID.
You can"t use Face ID in landscape mode with Face ID with a Mask turned on.
Swipe up from the bottom of the Lock screen.If you"re using an i
Phone, hold it in portrait orientation, then glance at it.
On i
Pad or i
Phone 12 or later, you can hold your device in either portrait or landscape orientation. If it"s in landscape orientation, make sure that your finger isn"t covering the True
Depth camera. Then glance at the screen. If you"re wearing a face mask that covers your mouth & nose, you"ll be asked to enter your passcode after swiping up.
To turn this feature on or off, go khổng lồ Settings, then tap Face ID & Passcode, then tap i
Phone Unlock or i
Pad Unlock.
You can use Face ID to lớn authenticate purchases with táo bị cắn Pay và in the i
Tunes Store, tiện ích Store, and Book Store in táo eivonline.edu.vn Books.
To make a purchase in a store:
Make sure that you"re using an iPhone.To use your default card, double-click the side button. To use a different card, double-click the side button, tap your mặc định card, then choose another card.Glance at your i
Phone lớn authenticate with Face ID. If you"re wearing a face mask that covers your mouth và nose but Face ID with a mask isn"t mix up, tap Pay with Passcode và enter your passcode instead.Hold the vị trí cao nhất of your i
Phone near the contactless reader.Wait for Done and a checkmark lớn display.
To make a purchase within an ứng dụng or on a trang web in Safari:
Tap the Buy with eivonline.edu.vn Pay button or choose táo khuyết Pay as the payment method. Confirm your payment information. Lớn choose a different card to pay with, tap the Next button > next lớn your card.Double-click the side button, then glance at your iPhone or i
Pad.Wait for Done và a checkmark to display.
To use Face ID to lớn purchase content from the i
Tunes Store, ứng dụng Store, & Book Store, go to Settings > Face ID và Passcode và make sure that i
Tunes & App Store is turned on. Then follow these steps:
Tunes Store, ứng dụng Store, or Book Store, then tap something that you want lớn buy.Wait for Done and a checkmark lớn display.
You might be asked to lớn enter your táo khuyết ID password for the first purchase you make in the i
Tunes Store, app Store, or Book Store.
You can use Face ID to lớn sign in to certain apps and autofill user names và passwords for websites in Safari.
You can use Face ID to lớn sign in khổng lồ apps that eivonline.edu.vn signing in with touch ID:
Open the app & tap sign in.If asked, allow the app to use your user name or password.Glance at your iPhone or i
Pad to sign in.
To see and control which apps use Face ID to lớn sign in, go khổng lồ Settings > Face ID và Passcode và tap Other Apps.
If you’re using an ứng dụng that eivonline.edu.vns Face ID but aren’t asked to lớn use Face ID to sign in, then you might need lớn manually sign in lớn the tiện ích first.
Xem thêm: Thiết Bị Của Bạn Không Tương Thích Với Phiên Bản Này, Just A Moment
You can use Face ID khổng lồ autofill saved user names và passwords for websites in Safari:
Go khổng lồ Settings > Face ID và Passcode & turn on Password AutoFill.Open Safari & go lớn a website.Tap the sign in field. If you see your user name or password appear above the keyboard, tap it.Glance at your i
Phone or i
Pad lớn autofill your user name & password.