PC World Australia (online)
02/02/11
Sony's 11.6in VAIO Y Series (VPCYB16KG) laptop is an ultraportable model based on AMD's Fusion E-350 APU (accelerated processing unit). This APU has two CPU cores, runs at 1.6GHz and it also has an integrated AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics processor. As far as small laptops go, it packs plenty of power under the hood and it's suitable not just for browsing the Web, but also for viewing and editing photos, and viewing HD video.
The 11.6in Sony VAIO Y Series (VPCYB16KG) is based on the AMD Fusion E-350 APU, which runs at 1.6GHz and has two cores. It's a stylish laptop with a light weight that's perfect for travellers and any users who require plenty of mobility.
Read our review of the Intel Core i3-based Sony VAIO Y Series (VPCYA15FGB).
At around 1.4kg, the VAIO Y Series is light and easy to cart to and from the office or the classroom and it also looks great. It's available in three colours, none of which are black or white. Instead, you can select from green, pink or silver. The keyboard on the VAIO Y Series has isolated keys that feel good to press and the touchpad is responsive and supports multi-touch gestures.
Around the edges of the VAIO Y Series you'll find the standard audio, USB and memory card features, but the stand-out feature for this small laptop is the inclusion of HDMI. You can easily sit the VAIO Y Series next to your big-screen TV and hook it up to watch streaming online videos, for example.
While we haven't yet performance tested the VAIO Y Series laptop, we expect it will be faster than the fastest netbook computer we've seen to date, Acer's Aspire One Happy, which uses a dual-core Intel Atom CPU. In the graphics department, we expect the VAIO Y Series to dominate. The Toshiba NB550D is the first of the AMD Fusion ultraportable laptops that we've seen, and it recorded a high score of 1882 in 3DMark06. As the Sony VAIO Y Series has a slightly more powerful graphics component (an AMD Radeon HD 6310 compared to an AMD Radeon HD 6250) and a faster CPU speed (1.6GHz compared to 1GHz), we expect it to score even higher in this benchmark.
The bottom line is, the Sony VAIO Y Series (VPCYA15FGB) looks to be a very solid little ultraportable laptop that will knock the socks off netbooks and other entry-level small laptops. While its price seems a little high, you have to remember that it runs Windows 7 Home Premium instead of Windows Starter. You are also getting something that looks and feels better than most of the other small laptops on the market. We look forward to giving a thorough review soon.
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1
Purchased the green model for my daugher to use in the UK for her gap year, what a mistake. It stopped working 3 1/2 weeks after purchase and still no luck with getting it repaired. It has an international warranty but Sony UK don't seem to want to know anything about it. Buy another brand!
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Conrad Helfrich
1
Just purchased a silver version and I'm in the process of transferring files from my MSI netbook. The Sony machine is beautiful and fast. And quality. A great machine.
ben
2
This is a great laptop, I disagree with the high price remark. It's well designed and got a heap of features that budget netbooks lack for only a few dollars less than this. As of March 2011, you won't find a better 11" windows notebook sold in Australia.