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Battery Life
Our SV-Z1311Z9EX is equipped with a VGP-BPS27/X 45Wh battery, which allows up to 7 hours battery runtime according to manufacturer. A bigger battery that can increase the battery runtime up to 14 hours, according to manufacturer, can be purchased in the online-shop.
Our ascertained maximum battery run time, tested with the Battery Eater Readers Test with minimum brightness, energy-saving profile and turned off Wi-Fi modules, is nearly 6 hours. This is noticeably underneath the manufacturer’s information we read off the configurable model. However, this information could apply for the equipment with Core i5 CPU.
The Classic Test of the Battery Eater Tools records a minimum runtime of 2.75 hours with maximum brightness, high-performance profile and turned on Wi-Fi modules. The practical oriented WLAN test with the energy-saving profile and a brightness of 150 cd/m² simulates 3.25 hours of web surfing with our standard script.
Case
For the elegant and timeless black casing Sony uses carbon fiber and aluminum. Since the materials are so light, the laptop weighs less than 1.2 kg. Fortunately, the matte surfaces are less sensitive to dust than high-gloss surfaces and feel fantastic. Fingerprints are only easily visible on the shiny touchpad buttons, which have a little bit of a sticky haptic.
While there is nothing wrong with the processing, the stability could be better. The casing creaks no matter if it is being held on one corner of the main unit or the screen. The area above the fan unit gives in considerably under pressure and the torsional stiffness of the screen case ought to be better as well. The weight reduction definitely comes at the expense of stability.
The hinges at the underside of the main unit do a good job. When opened the display lid pushes itself underneath the main unit and raises it at an opening angle of more than 90 degrees, which slightly tilts the keyboard. (SONY VGP-BPS27/B batteries)
Connectivity
In comparison to the predecessor, there have only been slight changes to the interface equipment. Unlike other slim subnotebooks, HDMI and VGA are available on the Notebook and useable without any adapters. The RJ-45-Port (LAN) is located behind a flap on the left side edge. The front edge not only accommodates a SD-card slot but also a Memory Stick PRO-HG compatible slot with Sony´s MagicGate function.
Unlike the predecessor, the notebook has two USB-3.0 interfaces now. The rear interface is simultaneously the plug for the provided Power Media Dock. The Media Dock offers a Blu-Ray burner and an AMD Radeon HD 7670M as external video card. Furthermore, the manufacturer expands the interface by two more USB-ports (1x USB-2.0, 1x USB-3.0), RJ-45 (LAN), HDMI and VGA. The VGA-signal is good via the docking station as well as when connected directly.
The array of the interfaces on the notebook works for left- as well as right-handers because Sony has consequently placed its ports towards the rear on both sides.
Communication
The communication equipment is excellent. Ethernet-connections can be done via Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit) in gigabit speed. Due to Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 (abgn), internet surfing with standard-n via Wi-Fi Hotspot is possible. A broadband modem, which supports LTE, is also on board. The accompanying SIM-card slot is on the underside. Unlike the predecessor, the laptop has Bluetooth 4.0 + HS now. (SONY VGP-BPSC27 batteries)
Keyboard
The chiclet keyboard with standard layout offers background light. It can be configured in the Vaio Control Center when and if the background light is turned on. The three additional keys are typical for Vaio. “Assist” starts Vaio Care, “Web” the standard web browser. The functionality of “Vaio” can be configured. The keys itself have a short stroke distance and an imprecise pressure point. However the keyboard works relatively quietly.
Touchpad
The touchpad supports multi-touch gestures. The sensitive surface has a slightly rough comb texture with good gliding traits. The surface of the according keys is shiny and rather sticky. Their stroke distance is also short and the pressure point not very sharp. For that they also function quietly.
Display
Like the predecessor, the 13.1-inch screen offers a 1920x1080 pixel Full-HD resolution and therefore has a format of 16:9. The resolution is exceptionally fine for a 13 inch screen. Fortunately the surface is very free of reflections.
Sadly, the brightness of the screen has dropped further in comparison to the predecessor. While the VPC-Z23N9E/B still reached 241 cd/m² on average and its predecessor SONY VPC-Z21Q9E/B even scored above 284 cd/m², the new model not even reached 200 cd/m². By identification, the monitors of the Z23 and the Z13 are identical though. Maybe Sony has changed something on the display controller. Thanks to the low black level of 0.32 cd/m², the screen achieves an exceptional contrast ratio of 609:1.
Subjectively, the colors seem crisp and fresh and the writings sharp. Due to the high resolution, the screen offers a lot of overview.
But how about the color display? Same as the VPC-Z23N9E-B, the screen of our test model achieves a great coverage of the color space. sRGB as well as AdobeRGB are almost fully covered. A high coverage of the color space is especially important for professional graphics and photo editor. That way the SV-Z1311Z9EX would be suitable for them as second laptop, provided they do not prefer a laptop with a significantly bigger screen for their graphics, anyway.
The surface of the screen can be called free of reflections. Depending on the perspective and incidence of light, diffuse reflections can be observed in the everyday use. The contours, however, are blurry, which causes them to be a little bit annoying. As mentioned above, the screen is less bright than the one of the SONY VPC-Z23N9E-B. The wish for more brightness arises especially when using the laptop outside in direct sunlight.
In spite of its high price, our test candidate offers only a viewing angle stability that is typical for notebooks. While the stable operating range in horizontal direction can be considered generous, image manipulations can be observed in the vertical direction when being only slightly from the ideal vertical angle of view. When viewing from below the image darkens quickly. At rather flat angles the colors also invert. When viewing from above the picture seems outshined.
Speakers
Sadly, no improvements can be observed in comparison to the predecessor. The sound of both stereo loudspeakers is disappointing and the maximum volume is low. The test of the 3.5mm headphones socket was flawless.
Verdict
Light, high-quality materials, extensive communication equipment, broad band modem included, Full-HD resolution, and sheer unbelievable specifications: A Quad-Core processor, 8 GB main memory and even two SSDs in the RAID-0 system in a small 13 inch casing sounds quite amazing. Owing to the mass memory solution, the device achieves excellent values in the hard drive tests and good values in usage performance. Sadly, we also had to experience that the Quad-Core CPU of the Ivy-Bridge generation in our device stays permanently underclocked even in the high-performance profile.
Another point of criticism is that the screen is less bright than the predecessor’s one. Nevertheless, the high-resolution Full-HD display excels with its wide color space and good contrast. (ASUS A42-K56 Battery)
The Power Media Dock is also part of the scope of delivery, which not only expands the offer of interfaces and adds a Blu-Ray burner but also improves the graphics performance with the external Radeon HD 7670M. However, the video card cannot fully keep up with other HD 7670M systems.
The overall design of Sony is, despite its weaknesses, quite appealing and should interest business clients, also because of its integrated safety features. Due to its weight and size, it can be transported quite easily and the Power Media Dock is a welcome supplement.
However it is uncertain, if the mentioned underclocking of the processor only appears in this test model, is series specific, or even was intended to improve the battery runtime and lower emissions. We will try to get our hands on another test device for control measurements. The evaluation stays reserved until clearance.
More info: laptop-batteries.com.au , laptop-battery.org.uk , battery-store.eu
