Review: VAIO’s Z Flip ultrabook shows little learned

swoissooine · Data inscrierii: 10/Sep/2015 Mesaje: 4

It’s been a long journey for the VAIO brand: sold off from Sony in 2014 to investment firm Japan Industrial Partners, the deal saw all of its then-new products disappear. The computer brand was on standby for a while, and only within the last year has been launching new laptops — the VAIO Z Flip is one such laptop.

But to be fair, despite new management, it doesn’t seem like much of the formula has changed for the better, if at all.

Price as Reviewed: $1,999 at VAIO

Basics

13.3-inch WQHD (2,560 x 1440) touchscreen
Intel Core i7-6567U Processor (4MB Cache, up to 3.60GHz)
Intel Iris Graphics 550
8GB LPDDR3 1866 MHz RAM
256GB PCIe SSD
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
WiFi/Bluetooth 4.1/TPM 2.0
Headphone, HDMI-out, two USB 3.0 ports (one with charging), and SD card slot
Measures 12.76”(W) x 0.59-0.66”(H) x 8.48”(D)
Backlit keyboard
“Digitizer stylus” (it’s a pen)
Weighs 2.96 lbs

Experience

L1030074

So, here’s what you have to know about the VAIO Z Flip that makes it “special” — the screen can be flipped off a hinge mounted to the middle of the screen, and then laid flat, on top of the keyboard.

The point of it all is to have a laptop which also doubles as a convertible tablet.

A simple release switch disengages the lock to make this happen. The point of it all is to have a laptop which also doubles as a convertible tablet.

There aren’t any keys exposed, which is a good thing, but the nature of this stil means the top-end of the laptop is heavy, and that the hinge offers so much resistance, that to cope with it you can’t open it with just one finger. Instead, use one hand to hold the base, and the other to open the lid — it’s silly.
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To close the tablet mode, you need to exert a force against the hinge, using the body of the laptop, or awkwardly pulling it up, then pushing back. It’s not intuitive and has to be learned, Ultimately, there’s a lack of finesse here despite the creative engineering.

Oh, and the Vaio Z Flip comes with a stylus