Sony Vaio Flip

An impressively versatile machine if you’re looking for a Windows 8 tablet and computer

At first go, what you see is a laptop which is thin and built with clean lines. Though it has its webcam at the bottom of the machine, and the volume control button at the back (for a reason), this Sony Vaio laptop feels solid and looks great.

You boot the machine and its vivid screen is filled with Windows 8 icons. Switch the ‘Release’ button and now the ‘Flip’ comes into action. You can fold the screen in half and make this a tablet, or you can turn back the whole screen for the person in front of you to see what’s on the screen while you handle the keyboard.

The Flip is good to use as a tablet, though it feels heavier. In its tablet mode, you can pick up the machine and use the rear camera to take pictures. There is an HDMI output connector, an SD card slot, a couple of USB ports and a USB port in the power adapter, just in case you wish to charge a phone or another device.

A couple of downsides include the rear camera that, being at the bottom, is of no use in laptop mode. The volume control is another problem area; in laptop mode, the volume button is at the back of the screen, and pressing the button left reduces the volume and pressing it right increases volume. However, when you turn the machine into a tablet, the orientation of the machine changes, but the button is hardwired and you often end up increasing the volume when you want to decrease it.

The Flip handles most of what you throw at it, thanks to its core i5 processor and 4 gigabytes of RAM. Though Sony claims a 7.5-hour battery life, I could only get 3 to 5 hours. Sony has not compromised on the keyboard spacing or on the material used. Overall, a great machine if you are looking at a Windows 8 tablet and computer. For others who are looking for just a laptop, this machine may seem a little too pricey.

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