Sony Vaio VPC-SA21GX/BI
Specifications
Pricecompare
Average of 4 scores (from 4 reviews)
Reviews for the Sony Vaio VPC-SA21GX/BI
Source: PC Authority Archive.org version
Given the flashes of brilliance elsewhere, it’s difficult to be too hard on Sony’s latest laptop. With the ability to configure your ideal model on Sony’s website, the VAIO S Series is capable of masquerading as anything from a basic business model to a Blu-ray-equipped wunderkind. Our review sample sits between the two, but regardless of what specification you choose, the VAIO S is a light, powerful, feature-packed laptop that will appeal to businesses and consumers alike.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 07/21/2011
Rating: Total score: 83% price: 83% performance: 83% features: 83% ergonomy: 83%
Source: Techreview Source Archive.org version
In terms of battery life, you can expect to get about 3.5 hours of life with the included battery while using the discrete graphics (about 5 hours without). If you want more life, you can purchase a "Slice" battery pack that will add about 2 hours onto each time.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 07/12/2011
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: CNet Archive.org version
Sony's Vaio laptops have long been considered the high-end benchmark for Windows laptops, at least in terms of their media-playing excellence, hardware design, and higher-than-average prices. Sony's revamped Vaio S series laptops have slimmed down, but still offer plenty of high-end features, creating an affordable alternative to the attractive-but-expensive Vaio Z.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/08/2011
Rating: Total score: 70% performance: 80% mobility: 70%
Foreign Reviews
Source: HardwareLuxx DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/30/2011
Rating: Total score: 60%
Comment
Series:
Sony Vaio’s VPC-SA series, which was introduced in Q2 2011, is the second addition to Sony’s S range thin-and-light notebook and the brother to the more popular business all-rounders SB series. The SA series was positioned at the middle-high price sector, between the high end Z series and the more affordable SB series. The SA series’ built quality and spec is at a higher level than the SB Series, which justifies its price, even though looks, form factor and weight are almost the same. The SA series comes with two choices of color: black and silver, though so many SA laptops on display come with black that some people didn’t even know there’s also a silver version.
At the time of its introduction, it’s one of the best subnotebooks on the market, beaten only by Sony’s high end Z Series with its thin and light size, powerful Sandy Bridge i5 or i7 CPU and dedicate middle class ATI 6630M graphic card, 1600x900 screen as well as optional blu-ray optical disk and a battery life of up to 14 hours. Other strength of the SA series includes fast SSD, matte display, docking port, TPM chips. Touch typist and office users would also love this laptop for the full size back-lit keyboard with good typing feedback. Its weaknesses include iits high noise and heat during load due to smaller case, somewhat short battery life without the $150 optional battery-slice compare to newer Ultrabook and most important of all, a narrow color spectrum, contrasts and weak viewing angles separate the SA series from premium-class notebook such as the Z series.
Even though Intel introduced many Ultrabook in 2012 as a direct competitor to Macbook Air series with focus on weight and battery life, not many of them can beat the SA series in their own game.
AMD Radeon HD 6630M: Successor of the slow clocked (low power) versions of the Mobility Radeon HD 5650 with more cores, UVD3 processor and Eyefinity+.
Non demanding games should be playable with these graphics cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
2410M:
Dual-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. The CPU is clocked at 2.3 GHz (Turbo Boost 2.6-2.9 GHz) and the GPU at 650 (1200 MHz Turbo).
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
13.30":
There are hardly any tablets in this display size range anymore. For subnotebooks, on the other hand, it is the standard format.
The advantage of subnotebooks is that the entire laptop can be small and therefore easily portable. The smaller display also has the advantage of requiring less power, which further improves battery life and thus mobility. The disadvantage is that reading texts is more strenuous on the eyes. High resolutions are more likely to be found in standard laptops.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Sony: Sony Corporation is one of the largest Japanese electronics companies. The company was founded in 1946 under a different name and initially produced rice stoves. The company launched the first transistor radio. In 1958, the company was renamed Sony. Sony is a combination of the Latin word sonus (sound) and the English word sonny (little boy). Today, its core business is consumer electronics. The company is engaged in the development, design, manufacture and sale of electronic equipment, instruments, devices, game consoles and software. Sony operates in the following segments: Gaming and Network Services, Music, Images, Home Entertainment and Sound, Imaging Products and Solutions, Mobile Communications, Semiconductors, Financial Services and Others.
70.75%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.