Core i3 Vaio S-Series: Battery life?

I'm currently searching for a laptop for myself to take to University next semester. My current needs are something that is reasonably powerful, 13-14", less than 2kg and gets at least 4 hours battery life with the backlight at a usable level and WiFi on (not doing anything intensive, just taking notes and browsing the web, no gaming).

Basically, I want a MacBook without getting a MacBook, as buying a MacBook to put Windows on it just seems silly to me.

The Vaio S-Series is pretty damned close to what I want I believe, as it's on a par with the base-model MacBook in size, price, battery life and power.

VPCS123FG : S Series : VAIO Notebooks : Sony Australia

That is the model I am considering.

For those that have something similar (I know models differ across countries) [Core i3, Intel Integrated graphics], what sort of battery life do you get under normal circumstances?

I've tried searching, and according to reviews of the Core i5 model it gets rather decent battery life, but I'm unsure how that translates to the i3 model.

Thanks!

 

Well a i3 model should be no worse than an i5 model battery life wise.
The processors/chipset are both 35w combined.
The i3 doesn't though support Intel boost technology
In this test here the i3 processor faired the best power consumption wise.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-Core-i3-i5-i7-Processors-Arrandale.25085.0.html

 

hi, i've got an italian s11e7e, i3 330m and discrete nvidia graphics. currently, with some attention to backlight and wifi i can reach almost 3,5 - 4 hours of battery life. if you consider i'm running on a discrete graphic card, i think with the integrated intel you can achieve over the 4 hours you're looking for...

 

Thanks Rachel and fabk, that's the info I'm looking for!

fabk, any chance you could perhaps take some photos of the laptop for me? I can't seem to find any decent real-world shots of it, lol. Thanks

 

Average usage should return 3-4 hours (the screen on the S is poor for a Sony, just so you know...).