Official Sony Vaio Fit multi-flip PC Owners' Thread

Thanks, but I tried this, that's the "battery off" button I mentioned.

 

That sounds right! I have upgraded to Win 8.1 and I'm using IE also on desktop...maybe this is the actual battery life of the flip 13A with win8.1..I'm disappointed

 

So I tried the new wintab driver to make pressure sensitivity work in Photoshop. And sure enough it did! However, i still find that photoshop is unworkable with touch...
First of all the interface is not designed for it. And most annoying, when trying to pan my canvas to any direction using my finger, it just jumps to some random position outside the canvas... So I cannot work zoomed in on my canvas, without it jumping all over the place when I try moving it. This is very disappointing... How could such a basic function not work properly? It doesn't even have to do with the n-trig pen, it's just a regular touchscreen function...
If photoshop does not fix these kind of issues soon, I guess they will loose a fair amount of market share to Manga studio, which functions superior to Ps when it comes to touch.
I guess I'll be switching to Manga Studio for the most part. Ps is only usefull for it's amazing amount of filters and other editing options. But for creating it has become inferior for me in combination with the Flip. Too bad though... I would have loved a program that could do both the creating and editing at a superior level.

 

BTW, does anyone have experience with screen protectors for the Flip 15? Not that I'm concerned about damaging the screen, but I was used to a matte screen on my previous laptop and the shiny one on the flip is starting to annoy me a little...
So I would want a matte screen protector. But obviously it should be able to withstand the force applied with the digitizer. I know from experience with my galaxy note (phone) that not every screen protector holds up very well when it comes to this...
So does anyone have any recommendations?

 

Thanks for the review, WimadS :thumbsup:

Not an artist myself, but others in the family are. Let's give some credit to Sony for delivering on the promise of PS compatibility ; they've done it sooner than I expected. Some will buy the Flip/Duo over Wacom equipped tablets now just because of PS support.

Just to add on the subject of Manga Studio, for those interested and not aware of this : Manga Studio is a program sold by Smith Micro and is only available on DVD (cannot be downloaded). This is a problem for ultrabook/tablet owners who don't care for disks. Here's the twist : you can download the program, but under it's original name "Clip Studio Paint". The program is Japanese, from CELSYS,Inc. CELSYS partnered up with Smith Micro a while back because they wanted an English version of Clip Studio Paint and decided to contract out instead of doing it themselves, and they agreed to label it Manga Studio. They are identical. Now Smith Micro would love to be able to offer a downloadable Manga Studio 5, but CELSYS aren't allowing it for some unknown reason. To make things even more complicated, CELSYS are now offering Clip Studio Paint in English for download. Some are speculating that Smith Micro wanted a bigger slice of the pie...
I have also read that Clip Studio Paint does get some free updates while Manga Studio doesn't.
There are different versions of the program : Manga Studio 5 and Manga Studio 5 EX, while Clip Studio Paint comes in Pro and EX. "EX" is much more expensive because of its multi-page management abilities.

 

Ahhh sorry, at least i know what that is for now

 

Not yet but Sony have some available for the Sony Tap so fingers crossed it wont be too long!

 

I have 15 with everything and I'm getting about the same... I'm also sensitive to brightness so mine is always relatively low anyway.

I have noticed that 50% of my RAM is always in use? I have 8GB and to have no programs open etc and have this much ram in use concerns me slightly... i think it is a windows 8/8.1 thing as strangely after moving from Windows 7 to Win 8 on my desktop I felt my PC significantly slowed and thus upgraded from 4 to 8. Although this means that anyone who opted for the 4GB model is really going to take the hit which could account for the complaints regarding sluggish machines...

I opted for the HDD instead of SSD as i believe the prices are going to drop a fair bit this year and my hard drive is constantly making noise as if its constantly reading and writing, again I think it is a windows issue but this could have an effect on battery life also.

 

Yeah mine automatically uses 50% of RAM without anything open. I believe Windows 8 automatically pre-reserves a big chunk of RAM so it's ready to go for your most frequently used programs, no matter how much RAM you have. I know Mavericks / Mac OSX does this. EDIT: Checking again, my RAM at baseline is only around 20%. I must have gotten my computers mixed up. It sounds like you have a lot of background processes due to a lot of preinstalled bloatware?

 

Yikes !! That's a lot of RAM usage. The 14A here has only 4 Gigs and I don't recall seeing anything higher than 30s at idle (edit : maybe 40s), and this with W8 and later 8.1
Maybe "Fresh Start" has a lot to do with that... so that would mean some bloatware using up way too much memory for nothing. It would be interesting to investigate. Maybe some of that stuff should be disabled from startup, at least for those running low on available RAM.

 

A little late for another edit on my above post, so here's a question for you guys with high RAM numbers : do you have dedicated graphics ? I don't, and perhaps there is shared RAM with these nVidia cards ?

 

yes I've just compared with desktop which is using 18% doing nothing... probably Sony's crappy software.

 

Yes I do, that's a valid point. But right now I'm not using the dedicated graphics (on battery mode) and they also have the standard intel graphics as I have the option to select which one to use so surely when not using dedicated I should have full RAM usage? Plus surely Sony should state that the dedicated RAM is part of your actual RAM? I figured it was part of the graphics chip.

As a side note, I've just gently banged the laptop into the wall whilst showing the other half the ram usage which as caused some of the metal to bend in slightly, I hoped the aluminum was a bit stronger than that.... There are no words for how annoyed I am right now.

 

Excuse me if this seems off topic, but I don't think it is too far.
My question is how do you think the Tap 11 with an i74610Y would perform against a Duo 13 with an i74650U? Obviously, the Duo will be better, but by how much relatively speaking? Actually, I am considering the new Fit 11a Flip which I expect will be configurable with the 4610Y. I really just want a refreshed Duo 11 like the current Duo 13, but it looks like Sony isn't going to make one. If the Flip 11a is too crippled in the CPU/GPU area regarding performance or battery, I will get the updated Duo 13 in April. BTW, I'm mostly multitasking, doing productivity (3 Word, PowerPoint, 3 Excel, and Outlook) while browsing (4-5 tabs w/ 1 YouTube) - minimal gaming. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Thanks, I'm doing that now, but I'd prefer to run it at a lower resolution, as not all apps support DPI scaling that windows does. So some things still come up tiny.

 

Agree... I have a 15A, 2880x1620, 16GB, NVidia 2GB. On idle, it just uses around 1750MB of RAM. It's a Win8.1 clean install - so no Sony apps on Metro. Also, I turned off all apps with live tiles. So looking at task manager, the only memory hog I have is Kaspersky.

 

Hi what is your battery life like with the 15a and the hires screen and 16gb

 

Thanks for your input. I guess i will just have to wait until I purchase an SSD before I do a clean install as I am a bit weary of these hybrid drives...

 

Hey guys, earlier about a month ago I posted about a clicking noise on a brand new Sony Vaio Flip and since no one seemed to have it I returned the computer and got a new one, same model same specs same everything. This one is also making the same noises, and it's also making a really loud beep noise, just once like every 5 minutes.... Does anyone else have this problem?
All these noises coming from my laptop are concerning me

 

I made a typo before, my config only has 12GB RAM (the max available for Canada). Also, brightness level is at 30%.

Battery life so far is between 5 to 6 hours on light load - web browsing and RDP/VPN to clients with probably about 30-45 mins of YouTube videos. That's not running it down though. Lowest I've driven it down is when I had around 30 mins (7%) left on battery as reported by BatteryBar. 7% is the default Reserve battery level for the Balanced power plan.

 

Hi, I recently got a flip 14 and I am having it exchanged for similar reasons. I initially called support because I was having trouble with the fan running high and they tried to help me with remote assistance. I also mentioned that I kept hearing (not too loud) beeps at random intervals (not nearly as much as you) because I thought it could be the fan hitting something. They told me that the fan was faulty and would need replacement (or exchange since it's <1 month).

There are other people here that are also hearing beeps and no one seems to know what causes it. I don't think those people have run into any problems long term, but it's still annoying. What model do you have?

P.S. Could the clicking noise just be the hard drive? This is possible if you didn't get the SSD option and all HDD are going to make soft clicking noises. Look at the orange light at the bottom of your flip. Does it come on whenever you hear the clicking noises?

If so, it's just a normal hard drive sound.

 

Hi all. I have a custom built Flip 15 and after numerous factory resets have returned it to Sony (Canada) after 20 days. I am unhappy with the screen bleeds, touch pad/screen unresponsiveness, fan noise and tiny display setting (which I cannot resolve) plus system instability and slowness and Windows 8.1 incompatibilities as I have had WiFi failures .. Now, I basically want a refund. However, I am told by Sony, they cannot authorise a refund until it faults are verified.

I should add that I originally ordered a Vaio Fit on 1st of October and had to cancel the order because they lied about it being dispatched when it hadnt even gone into production, this was over 2 weeks later. So after cancelling this ordeal ordered a Flip 15 fully maxed specifications with a free goodwill laptop sleeve. Ordered on the 23rd October delivered 4 weeks late on the 18th Decembe. And after two factory resets because of WiFi failures and Windows 8.1 incompatibilities of my machine am slightly worried they will return the machine back to me with now solid resolution.

Can anyone help me with what my rights are amd how I can fight this??

Thanks in advance

 

This is simply to share some experience I've had on my (second) 13A in the past couple of weeks.
So today I've been using it as heavily as I ever would for 3 hours (simultaneous highspeed downloading through WiFi, MS Office, numerous Chrome tabs, messing with settings, screen brightness on maximum) and my battery's down to 40%, which in my opinion is quite nice. I could have also played some music, etc. I was just too focused on work.
The other thing I noticed was a drop in download speed to about 60kB/s, so I rebooted and that solved the problem. I would measure max speeds on the flip, but our net connection is quite shaky (not to mention the weird stuff our router does...), so there wouldn't really be any point. But normally it's more than 60kBps, so that was definitely a glitch.
Loving this second machine so far, the fan is a soft whisper under all these conditions, the metal does not flex under normal use, and except for the one dead pixel I can hardly point out the screen has no issues.
Touch works for me almost perfectly, once a day it wakes up a little slowly, but after a double tap it's back to normal.
If I was going to nitpick, I could b*tch around about the Ctrl key being half a millimeter lower than the rest, or the keyboard lights coming on a little patchy. There's also a tiny click somewhere in the hinge when I close the flip in laptop mode, but I haven't actually seen anything irregular that could cause that.
I'm really trying to be especially picky, because I like to have new stuff and would be OK with returning this machine for a refund and get the newest version. If I find anything, that's what's gonna happen. But so far I've seem to have gotten lucky, my unit is working all right.
(Resolution is still not constant in settings and desktop Chrome -- which i rarely use any more --, as if Win8.1 couldn't decide if I was running it on a top notch hybrid or my 7 year old boxy Fujitsu... But I don't know how much this is the flip's fault. And it doesn't bother me that much.)

 

Hey, yeah I have Clip Studio Paint, but the name Manga Studio is much more well known, and since they're identical I use the manga name (also much more hits on google when you need some help )
I have to correct you on the versions: EX is cheaper (37 euro's) and Pro is the expensive one. I tried the trials, and both are almost identical. If you want to use it for it's original purpose (making manga) then the multi page stuff is a requirement of course. But for most people EX will suffice, it is in no way an inferior program to PRO (in my opinion)
Didn't know about the updates though, good to know!

 

The battery life with more memory makes very little difference when you're working with the machine. I have 16GB and ran a sleep-usage test (very informal) when I had just 4GB and when I upgraded to 16GB. If you just let the machine sleep, though, you'll be burning through battery faster with the larger memory - about twice as fast as if you have 4GB. I lost about 1% battery per hour with 16GB (that's a VERY rough number - it's been a month since I tested). What I've done is set the machine to hibernate after 5 hours, and I- unlike my old, old acer, it seems that this machine will hibernate even if it is in sleep mode. I also set the power button to hibernate, so if I know I won't be coming back to work on it that day I can save the juice. Note that with 16GB it takes almost as long to wake from hibernation (~12 seconds) even with a SSD installed, compared to a much faster time (5? 6? sec) with 4GB. Sleep to wake time isn't affected.

Overall battery life is generally about 5 hours. I can burn through the battery in a bit over 3 hours if I set the machine to always on and max the brightness. You can stretch it a bit with low brightness, but I doubt you'll see a *usable*, active time of greater than 6 hours. Of course, it wakes so quickly, there's no need to have long timeouts on the sleep function if you don't have it password protected on wake.

 

Yeah *Manga Studio* is definitely the better name

It's possible they've switched version suffixes since you've purchased yours, but now the "EX" is the top-end muti-page version for sure : CLIP STUDIO PAINT | CLIP STUDIO.NET
Same for Manga Studio : Buy Manga Studio Software

As you've said, Clip Studio Paint Pro and the non EX Manga Studio 5 are full featured versions, without the multi-page stuff for creating comic books. Other than that, they have the same tools and options. Prices are not surprisingly similar, too.

Not sure what the Clip Studio updates are, really, but I did read about them in a few different threads here and there. Since I don,t have the program installed, I can't verify if it has an internal updater utility or if one needs to check the support site and do updates manually, if any. Oh well

 

You're right... somehow I remembered them the other way around

 

It's a self destruct button.

Same here, not an artist per say, far from it. But do dabble once in a while. (I'm trying to get over my childhood Etch a Sketch disasters.)

Interesting info about Manga Studio and Clip Studio Paint. I didn't know that. good to know. :thumbsup:

I should go back and update my Amazon review of the Flip, can't believe that 4 months has past since getting it. Its the first machine that has actually gotten me to modify my usual behavior with devices.

For example.
Aside from the Fan issue that only happened 3 times to me, I already know that if it happens again, I just need to hit/tap the bottom of the laptop to make it stop.

I still have this so called "mouse cursor disappearing from screen except at the edges issue at boot up".
If I turn on the Flip with power connector, external USB hub (with mouse, hard drive, etc) I've noticed that the mouse cursor will only appear at the edges of the screen. But, if I start the Flip without anything attached to it, the mouse cursor is fine. So that's what I've been doing now. Whether at work or home, when I turn on the Flip, I do not attach anything to it not even the power cord. After Windows comes on, I then attache the external devices and power and everything is fine.

TS

 

BIOS UPDATE

Went on the Sony updates page for my 14A this morning and noticed a new bios update: "R0240DD". Installed w/o issue. Decided to run my Vaio update app and it came up with a Bios update: "R0230DD". Anyone know what's going on? Checked my registry and "R0240DD" installed just fine.

 

Hi there Scrannel

Thanks for the news ! I'll have to rip the Flip out of my daughter's hands tonight and do the update

Yeah I had that happen here with the previous BIOS update ; what happens is the Update utility needs to be updated now too, or else it will keep offering you the *old* BIOS because it sees that version as current and yours (the new one) as alien lol. Just check on the Sony site if the new Update utility is out, because the tool you have now simply cannot see updates for itself, if that makes any sense, heheh.

 

I ordered my multi-flip on 8 Jan, with an expected delivery date as late as 28 Jan. Ouch! My config is as follows:

8 GB 1600 MT/s DDR3L-SDRAM
256 GB SATA Flash SSD
No Ethernet Wi-Fi & VGA dongle
Intel® Core™ i5-4200U 1.6 GHz
Black
Windows 8 Pro

Very happy with the spec. 512 GB SSD would have been nice, but it was another £200, which was outrageous. Likewise the i7 processor didn't really justify the extra £140.

My concern is the inevitable crapware which will come pre-installed. I hate crapware, and I'm not a fan of uninstalling it, as it leaves a load of junk in the registry and on the hard disk, eating space and slowing your machine down. Does anyone have any thoughts on the pre-installed junk? I assume it'll have a load of VAIO system-tray applications that sit there eating memory and CPU?

 

O god.....

I was typing on vaio flip 15 last night while skyping...and the F key fell out, tried to put it back in, popped out again...inspected the key and found out the plastic behind the F key broke so it won't hold......jesus....this is getting annoying, yesterday was the first time I ever started actually "really" typing on this keyboard and it does that....my 5 year old dell took a year of typing before one of the keys fell out...this took one week...I even bought a keyboard cover for....

I am in London, Ontario now for university, no service centers here.....have to wait to go back to Toronto now...which is next week...and I asked if they could just send me a F key so I can just pop it in since repairs takes average 7-10 business days and they said no........so a key fell out, and they expect me to be without my laptop for 7-10 days, and being a student....that is a long time...just because a key fell out?

I didn't really take any issues to heart like the dead pixel that I complained about 1-2 weeks ago...but seriously...this is getting disappointing..I just hope nothing else goes wrong....

 

Yeah, I'm sure it does... thanks. I guess if I keep going on the web page and ignore the app, I'd be cool. Anyway, I'll check your suggestion out.

 

Found this info about the new BIOS:


This program will update BIOS to version R0240DD and will have the followings:

- DEVSLP (device sleep) signal is asserted after System resume from Standby Mode.
- Fix for capacitor and LED leakage issue
- Force turn off of Touchscreen power when System goes to Hibernate Mode.
- Update CPU Microcode

 

@Scrannel : just visited the Sony esupport page and entered my model # to check for updates. I see the BIOS update from Jan. 13, but they haven't updated their VAIO Update Software yet. Hopefully they will get that done soon. Just to expand on what I said before : their VAIO Update tool doesn't check in real time for updates, it only checks against its own internal list of versions and flags us if it sees a version we don't have yet. Would have been nice to include a utility that checks online, though I always prefer to check these things manually myself. The problem I have with this VAIO software is that it can easily confuse unsuspecting VAIO owners into thinking an update hasn't installed properly, because it will keep nagging until you have a version it considers up-to-date from its internal list. Not the best update system I've seen



==========

@mcopolo : sorry to hear about that, and yet another fragile component to keep an eye on for the rest of us. *Sigh*. Maybe just a defective key, but still.
I would suggest that you *buy* a USB keyboard, or Bluetooth, and choose a store where you can return within 10 days for a refund. Just return the keyboard before the 10 days are up

 

Thanks. Noticed it wasn't up on their page yet. Which is where I always go anyway.

 

Welcome to the forum, Witchfinder

From the specs you posted, I'll guess it's a 13A because of the "no ethernet" (14s and 15s have an ethernet jack). Nice specs
About the 512 SSD : actually, 200 pounds extra for the 512 isn't that bad, considering those M.2 type SSDs are pricey adn hard to find right now (the Flip 13 has this newer type of SSD, not the 14s and 15s). But anyway, 256 is still decent and you can complement it with an external drive if needed (128GB SD cards are *invisible*, though a little pricey). Or wait a bit for M.2 SSDs to come down in price a little and go for a 512GB.
You are correct about the i7 vs i5 ; not really worth the asking upgrade price.

Now about the crapware : you have ordered W8 Pro, but can you guys in the UK order with the "Fresh Start" option ? We can in North America but perhaps you can't... If you could, you would have seen it as an option immediately under Windows 8 Pro, because you need Pro to get the Fresh Start option. It is simply a low bloatware option, that is offered for free for those who choose W8 Pro (or 8.1 Pro). I have it and it is real nice ; I just had the MS Office trial, Java (not really bloatware) and a few VAIO utilities which are kinda useful. No antivirus, no Cyberlink suites or whatever Sony pushes. Bootup with the hybrid HDD was really quick, RAM usage is *normal* (I have only 4 Gigs installed).
If you don't have access to the Fresh Start option and don't want to mess with bloatware, then your only viable option would be to install Windows 8.1 Pro fresh. It's been done by a few members here, so there would be help available if you wanted to go down that road..

@Scrannel : you bet

 

No update yet in UK or for my model anyway

 

@challis1991 : I'm sure the new BIOS will be available in the UK soon. I found it on Sony sites in Australia, Thailand, China and North America so far. I've also noticed that the Flip 13 is not on the lists for this new BIOS ; they have put up 14 and 15 models only.
I wouldn't rush this update especially if I were not officially covered by this new BIOS yet (meaning outside Australia, Thailand, China and North America).
Sony engineers are obviously under great pressure to resolve a host of issues with the Flips, so I'd choose caution over speedy updating as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure we'll get feedback very soon from those who update quickly.

 

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker - first time poster. I'm on the verge of purchasing a Sony Vaio Fit Flip from Canada. And I have a couple of questions and would like to confirm some things before deciding on either a 14A or a 15A:

For those who own the 15A with the Ultra Hi-Res 2880 x 1620 screen:
1) do you use it in that native resolution? If so, do you find the windows / icons way too small to touch with your finger? Or do you use the pen for this?
2) the typical battery usage on it seems to be ~6 hours. Do you find that is the case with this screen?

Also, to confirm:
1) Sounds like the fan noise and intermittent touch screen issue has been fixed with a BIOS update. Can anyone confirm? (14A and/or 15A)
2) Sounds like most, if not all of these problems occurred when people updated from Win8 to Win8.1. Can anyone confirm? (14A and/or 15A)
3) Sounds like the slow wi-fi issue is due to using Broadcom adapters instead of Intel, and the latest models have this fixed by shipping with intel. Can anyone confirm? (14A or 15A)

I'm on the fence to get the 15A or the 14A. There would be a $400 (+tax) difference between the two choices given the options I want and what's available on Sony.ca right now.

Anyone who could provide any insight would be much appreciated!

 

I have 14A and I love every bit of it. I came from Vaio S15 and I am glad I switched.
1) Fan noise is a lot quieter after the latest BIOs update. It is still there under heavy load but very bearable. 80% of the time, it is quiet for me. Touchscreen is better but sometimes it doesn't recognize. Not a big issue though.

2) I am running 8.1 and everything is smooth with no errors at all. Just remember to update everything including vaiocare before you update to 8.1. Very important to have a error free machine.

3) I have broadcom wifi card and out of the box, it is slow and disconnect up to the point I want to throw the laptop to the wall. Then I updated the driver and it has been solid. I have 6mbs slow dsl and speed I am getting is up to par with my desktop and other laptops/tablets around the house. No more issues of disconnecting either.

I had 15 inch and it is not very easy to carry around but 14 inch is perfect for me. YMMV though.

 

I have the 15A but I run the high res screen at 1080p because scaling is a huge problem with flash content and I can barely see PS elements 11 menus.
I can get up to about 5 hours use on average on battery if I'm careful.

I think that if you don't want the i7 or nvidia graphics then you're best off going for the 14A as it's more portable. The 15A is heavier than it looks, which I suspect is due to the touchscreen.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

Hi guys!

Over at the before Flip thread Mezzi posted a link to a review which stated that sony might have DEACTIVATED the Turbo on the Core i5 in the 13A.

Review Sony Vaio Fit 13A SV-F13N1L2E/S Convertible - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

Can anyone confirm that the Turbo works on the 13A (and 14A please ) with the Core i5 4200U?

To confirm you need the software CPU-Z (from CPU-Z CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting ) , start the the tool and then load a 720p video on youtube like this Power of Nature HD 720p - YouTube . Make sure youtube uses 720p by setting the quality manually to 720p in the youtube video. Now bring the window of the CPU-Z tool in front and check if the Core Speed goes beyond 1600 MHz (default speed of the i5, Turbo might be as high as 2600 MHz).

Thanks guys!

 

I also noticed another issue. It's relatively minor. My battery "time remaining" seems to be incorrect. However, the percentage is accurate. I've noticed that sometimes it will say something like:

90% remaining, 8hours (which is obviously incorrect), then back to
70% remaining, 3.5 hours (which is now correct), then as the % decreases:
50% remaining, 6 hours (which is incorrect again).

Anyone have these issues with INACCURATE/INCORRECT battery remaining times but working percentages with their Vaio Flip? Mine is a custom 15A. It's quite annoying to see inconsistent times. Anyone have any recommendations or solutions?

 

Yes, my time remaining is often overestimated. The figure might be true if the computer is sitting completely idle and under no load.

 

Welcome to the forum, fellow Canuck bluntcoder

It would be hard for me to point you to one over the other because much of the decision comes down to personal preference(s). Some good answers have been posted already though.
I bought a 14A and love it, but it isn't my machine (daughter's) so I only got to play with it for a few weeks before X-Mas. The 14 is not a light machine, and the 15 is a little heavier ; if you use it in laptop mode mostly, then size/weight is less of a factor. In tablet mode, some 15 owners have said it is bulky and sometimes hurts their legs (somewhat sharp metal edges + weight) while others are simply delighted with the big size screen for a tablet. We have an iPad at home and I must say my older eyes really enjoy the screen real estate on the 14 compared to 10" for the iPad. 15 would be even better.
The super HD screen : again, mixed reviews because of scaling issues mostly, so up to personal preference really.
Both 14 and 15 models have similar internals where HDD (or SSD) + RAM can be upgraded with a little work to get the cover off safely.

$400 is quite a lot, so I'm guessing the Sony store does have limited options right now for one or both. Getting the right options would be nice, considering how much these things cost. I know how expensive some options are on the Canada store, like extra RAM (ridiculous) and SSDs, so that needs to be considered. I chose to buy the 14 with the cheapest HDD (500GB hybrid) and then upgraded to SSD myself ; very happy with that choice (paid $309 for a 480GB SSD on Black Friday).

Get a really good bag/sleeve because these machines are fragile. Two members here have reported damage from gentle banging (one was in a bag).

Perhaps we could help more if you posted the options you really want and what is available for each right now.

Edit to add : no problems with 8.1 here. Fan + Wi-Fi (Intel) are Ok after updates, though I haven't applied the latest BIOS yet (released 2 days ago). Not sure but I think North American Flips all get Intel Wi-Fi cards ; no biggie because the Broadcom bugs have been corrected I believe, though some in Europe have reported a problem with it (Broadcom card) not being fully compatible with some routers over there.
No difference between 14s and 15s where BIOS, fan noise and Wi-Fi are concerned.

HTH

 

Has anyone successfully installed Ubuntu 13.10 on the 14A? I am seeing video flickering every few seconds and then eventually horizontal bands of random colors overlaying the screen.

I have tried all kernel versions of 13.10 and the developer release of 14.04 with the same results.

I'm wondering if it could be a hardware defect, yet everything works fine in Windows Pro.

 

My TurboBoost is working fine. Tops out at 2594 MHz according to CPU-Z . Keep in mind you need to be in High Performance mode for it to kick in. In Balanced and Power Saving Mode it gets capped at 800 MHz or so.

 

Ok. Just got my customized 15" Flip. This thing is hideously QUIET & no dead pixels so Sony did something right at the factory. The only thing I can say is that the keys DO feel slightly loose, but hopefully Sony will make a skin I can put over the keys & that will help.

As far as upgrading to 8.1, from what I've seen, as long as I update everything else first, everything should be OK after I go to 8.1, correct?

And I just noticed that Mark mentioned above a new BIOS was issued a couple of days ago? What is the absolute newest BIOS that's out that I should have?

Thanks...

 

Thanks Mark for the suggestion, I will heading to my local mall today to see if I can pick up one, but most canadian electronic stores don't allow you to refund "open" items...lol.

On an other note though, Steven from the Sony Toronto Repair Center that I spoke to on the phone just now was real helpful.......he suggested me to bring my flip during early mornings or early afternoons when the technicians are there to see if they can replace the keyboard right away, or if they need to order the part, he suggested that they can directly ship my flip to my residence in London instead of my home address in Toronto. He just made my day. I suggest anyone who has a problem with their flips regarding repairs in the toronto area to talk to steven.