I have had over the past year in hands a lot of netbooks, these small computers with generally 8 to 11 inches screens, running on Windows XP in best case) but even though these are getting lighter and more powerful, I had never been fully convinced by the resolution of their screen (a very poor 1024×600 usually) which limited myself quickly into my productivity.

Yes, I actually need a lot of space on my desktop as I work with dozen of windows opened at same time: Word, Excel, Email, Browsers, Photoshop.

So, even though I have seen an evolution over these laptops in such a short lapse of time, none fitted prefectly my needs both in terms of comfort, efficiency and mobility.

Then, last saturday, I stumbled upon a new computer I was not expecting, the brand new Sony Vaio X11 (referenced as Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1BAI 11,1″ TFT on Internet) and my first reaction beyond surprise!

Take a look at the pictures yourself, from the first glimpse you can see it is a masterpiece product: thinnest laptop (the MacBook Air appears to be so big in comparison), lightest also (700gr only!) and still packed with interesting features:
- 11 inches 1376×1040 LED screen
- CPU: Atom Z440 at 1.86Ghz
- 128 GB SSD that is really fast!
- 2 GB of RAM
- up to 8 hours autonomy (proved to be 4 hours minimum after a few days of testing)
- 700 gr
- very thin: less than 1cm height and the screen is maybe 0,3 cm of height!
- builtin 3G/HSDPA (3G+) slot to put the SIM card and just be connected ANYWHERE!
- OS: Windows 7 Professional

So, where’s the catch? The catch is in the price of course: 1499 euros for this computer, that puts it out of the usual netbook range (300-400 euros) by far.

However, considering the product is by itself a technical miracle (yes, it is so thin that you wonder how they could put all these components inside it), I believe that this could be a real good investmen as it is a computer that you will use everyday, everywhere (thanks to the 3G+ connector) and can have all the time under the hand without feeling any extra weight onto your shoulders. In fact, once you have get used to a computer below 1kg in weight, it is very hard to switch back to something heavier, and believe me, with this one, you will never want any other laptop unless engineers come with another technical miracle of this kind! I am repeating myself hear, both MacBook Air and Dell Adamo are beaten by this little Sony Vaio X11!

Also, despite it’s so light and thin, it looks quite solid because it’s built with carbon-fiber. Of course I would not sit onto it and throw it to the ground (who would do that to his laptop anyway ^^), but in a bag, protected with a small soft case it will be safe from any damages!

The main reproach I would address to this Sony laptop is the CPU: Intel Atom are OK and the Atom Z440 at 1.86 Ghz is performing quite well on most of the tasks, however it is not as powerful as a Core 2 Duo or a Low Voltage Centrino 2. But don’t worry, the computer isn’t lagging and you can have at least Word + several browser tabs + email client + antivirus running before filling a little delay when you switch in-between applications. So, the CPU could have been better, but I guess that is was chosen to increase the battery length.

So to summarize my review of the Sony Vaio X11:

Advantages:
+ ultra light, you won’t feel it in hand or on your shoulder once in the bag
+ 8 hours autonomy
+ 3G+ slot
+ good overall performance thanks to the fast SSD drive
+ Windows 7 Pro

Drawbacks:
- the price of course: 1499 euros!
- Atom Z440 cpu instead of a Core 2 Duo low voltage model

If you’re the happy (or not so happy) owner of a Sony Vaio X11 or had the chance to try one, feel free to share your thoughts on the product in the comments to my post!