Vaio Flip: the Yoga hinge comes to Sony

Anyone know when the Flip will be on the Sony US store?!?!?!?! At least any predictions????

 

Never mind. A Sony Representative said it will come out in the US at the end of November.

 

Wow that is disappointing to hear. I was really hoping it would come at the end of this month along with the Surface Pro. Coming out a month later I may just go ahead and get the surface pro

 

Wow -- I wonder if the supply situation for Haswell is being that bad....

 

It's more likely to be the general marketing cadence of Sony. We should all know by now they (and actually, most other makers bar Apple) blow their wad months in advance, leaving consumers to wait until they forget about what they were interested in in the first place...

 

PC Pro First Look of 14A: Sony VAIO Fit 14A multi-flip review: first-look - YouTube

Pink 14A:
1. ) 「VAIO Fit 14A」の変形機構（後ろから） - YouTube

2.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8uqgak40MA

3.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biww1gnwUAo

 

Another Pink preview: VAIO Fit A 3view

Vaio 15A keyboard testing/tapping: SONY Vaio Fit 15A

 

That's a lot of keyboard flex on the 15A.

 

It is but he's kind of pressing hard on every key, if you type like that I'm feeling sad for a keyboard :s.
If your write normaly there shouldnt be a keyboard flex like this.
I will test it when I get mine on 23th

 

I'm looking forward to hearing your review.

 

True, but if it flexes that much with that sort of test, I'm still afraid of noticeable keyboard flex during typing. I did a test similar to what he did on my Duo 11 and I didn't see any flex at all.

Regardless, congrats on the new machine and please post a full review when you get it!

 

Gahh...Sony frustrates me so much already.

I was reluctantly going to buy the 14" Flip. We all know it's no Z or even S but it seemed as if its the best you're going to get from Sony these days.

Now I check the UK store (im in the US) to see what the configurations are and I find out that they max out the 13" and 14" inch models with 1 slot at 8 gigs of RAM, and the 14" without dedicated Nvidia graphics.

Why is it so difficult for Sony to offer the same options across the board for all sizes - or at LEAST the 14" model?

I do a ton of video editing, photoshop, and pro tools music recording. Will I be ok with the Intel HD 4400 graphics + 8 gigs? Also, can anyone confirm if the Flip has WiDi/Intel Wireless Display?

Im tired of waiting for something like the Z or S. Im wondering if I should just go with this anyways. Thanks in advance

 

To add to my last post, looking at the Flip's configurations, is it true that the only difference between this and the Pro 13 is the flip screen?

I don't need to turn this into a tablet and I suspect that most who use the Flip likely wont either. If they are basically the same thing, I may not even wait for this disappointment.

 

I am surprised you are even looking at the flip? Its whole raison d'etre is the compromise for the tablet mode. There are better alternatives out there if you don't need the flip mode. I would disagree that most buying the flip are not looking at the tablet mode, or else a cheaper slimmer more powerful 13inch ultrabook from Sony/Samsung/etc would make much more sense!

 

Yeah - I'm surprised too. The whole reason this exists is so that you can turn it into a slate. I use it (the Duo I mean) in slate mode probably 50% of the time, and the same would be the case with any >10" convertible I would buy.

 

Aside from the Pro 13 configured with all its top specs. Find me a more powerful 13" or 14" ultrabook with touchscreen

 

Here you are:
Review Asus Zenbook Infinity UX301LA Ultrabook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

(Disclaimer: you didn't say anything about price)

 

Wow thank you for this! Thats a gorgeous machine and definitely spec'd out better than any Sony. Im just having trouble finding out where I can get it or if its been released.

As for Sony. I truly hope you read this thread. You just lost another long-time customer with the dumbing-down of your line of laptops. Hopefully in 2 years you'll realize the mistake and I can give you another chance. Either way... :hi2:

 

Agreed, what I was going to suggest. Or perhaps the new Gigabyte 'thin and light' Gaming' laptop will give you even more power in a slim config & lower price:

AnandTech | Gigabyte P34G First Impressions: A Thin and Light Gaming Notebook

 

Good luck with that boat anchor. If it's 1.8Kgs already you might as well go 2Kg and get a Retina Crapbook or an M3800 / something similar.

The Asus is not too bad, but 1.4Kg is on the overweight side these days for a notebook with no convertible skillz. Mind you, since it sticks to the Crapbook Air template, I guess that's not a surprise.

 

Well I am looking forward to getting my order as I believe I have ordered myself a pretty fast and portable machine that I can use to work, watch movies, make notes and design my software on any location I want..

Got me the black 13' i7 with 8GB/256GB. Should arrive somewhere around the 22/23 of october.. I ordered the first day it came online in the Netherlands..
Will post a review..

About the key flex shown in some of the vids.. I can imagine that there is some light flex but I will never hammer that hard on any configuration... and if you see the man type faster and without too much force you could see that the flex is gone.. I think it is not something I am worried about..

 

Earlier this morning, a search for: 13A
on Sony US site turned up info on models :

SVF13N13CXS - NOT available for order -
but detailed specs show summary:
VAIO FIT 13A Flip PC - i5 8 GB RAM 128 GB SSD - Silver

However, this afternoon the sites for these two models are not available.
VAIO Fit 13A Flip PC Sony Store - Sony US

Also: Black color model - SVF13N13CXB

Hope i7 model will show up soon for order in USA.

 

Waiting for the Vaio Flip 11 inches model, and more about its specs. Do some of you have any news? Also about when it will come to the US and Europe?

 

About the key flex, it is possible that they simply "stretched" the chassis of 13' to design 15' model -- this can lead to increased flex with 15' model (which was the case with S). It is likely that 13' models will have much less flex. It still is disappointing, though. Anyway, good luck with your new laptop!

 

Vaio Japan has some new 'Life with VAIO' videos up demonstrating the multi-flip, like this one: Life with VAIO

VAIOJAPAN - YouTube

 

Seems like you might be right...the 13A definitely has much less flex, if any:
SONY Vaio Fit 13A

 

Was about to pre-order the 13" Flip when noticed battery capacity is rated at 35.325 Wh on Sony UK site.

• The 13" Flip is rated 35.325 Wh
• The 14" and 15" Flip are both rated 47.55 Wh.

• The Vaio Pro 13" is rated 35.55 Wh
• The Duo Pro 13" is rated 47.4 Wh

Any suggestions as to how long the 13" Flip is likely to last with a 35.325 Wh capacity?

I'm guessing 5 to 6 hours, more like the 13" Vaio Pro rather than the 13" Duo Pro?

 

Sounds bad, would like it if it lasts about 8h :/

 

I agree, I was hoping for portability in a 13" model, 5/6 hours not really great for all day use.

The 14" is rated 47.55 Wh but I'm guessing will suffer in terms of portability with mechanical parts, HD rather than SSD etc..

 

So I decided to register to be able to post in this thread. I'm really interested in the design of the multi-flip and especially the 14A due to a bit bigger screen and well the price.
Seeing how the 14A will have a battery similar to that of the Duo 13 sounds promising. Anyone who own the Duo 13 can give some hint regarding the batterylife on their usage? In some reviews it seems to rival the Air 2013 and sometimes with even better results.
What concern me is the weight which doesn't show up anywhere on Sony's website and no word on the pci-e ssd which only appear recently for Vaio Pro in Europe compared to day-1 configurable in USA. It would be bummer ordering one now and then find out the day you receive it that PCI-E option became available.

 

If I'm remember correctly, the weight was about 1,25kg.

Duo 13 has about 8-10h in normal office use.
Ah why cant they put a bigger battery in the 13A :/

 

Probably because it'll be 1.35Kg

 

14A with 256 SSD could be the way to go for better battery life. It's showing as an option on the UK site just not currently in stock or available for pre-order yet.

A few of the guys here have pre-ordered the 13A so we should get some real-world battery reviews in the next few weeks, and if not happy I think there's a 30day return policy as part of Sony's T&Cs or 7 days UK distance selling regulations to return the item.

Edit: Looks like Sony's 30 days return policy is strictly unopened and unused items.. ||||| ridiculous

 

Vaio Fit 13A unboxing:
VAIO Fit 13A - Unbox - YouTube

13A First Impressions:
VAIO Fit 13A - First Impression - YouTube

 

well, i doesnt seem to look good in person. any word on the pcie ssd ?

 

Really?...looks the same as the press photos released when the product was announced.
Personally I am more keen on the black model..no new info on PCIe SSD, so far it looks like Japan only has the option.[Which was the same for the Pro 13 when it was relased, where Japan and USA got the PCIe ssd first after which Europe got the option for PCIe ssd]

 

VAIO Fit 13A - First Impression - YouTube
I can hear fan noise, at least i think the whining sound is fan noise. It's quite high pitched.

 

If you're right about this (and I fear that you are), this is a strong indication that the right people in Sony (whoever they are) have not read the myriad of posts in these forums about the serious fan noise problems (and other possible whining noise problem) of the VAIO Pro 11 and 13. Or: Sony's people/technical staff cannot do anything about it? Or still: They don't care.

It would just be too bad if these problems are repeated in the Fit Flip model...

All the alternatives mentioned above put the customer/user in an awkward position. Perhaps so bad a position that one seriously will consider not to buy their products. That would be very sad - and IMO: it would be an unwanted and unnecessary thing to happen.

 

Odd I can't hear it on the video. Will try again at home with some headphones on. Any point in the video I should pay particular attention to? Ta

 

ソニー VAIO Fit 13A/14A/15A、VAIO Tap 11/21ほか秋冬モデルを写真で解説 - Engadget Japanese

The 14A is 1,96kg according to this site

 

I couldn't hear it either, but I also didn't understand.. except for a few english words that were thrown around
Could be he mentioned it but I cannot understand it!!

 

I couldn't hear it either, can you provide a timestamp of where you heard it? The place where he unboxed it seemed like a selling floor in a store, presumably a electronic stores, and that does need cooling, maybe that was the fan noise?

 

It's definitely not the PC that makes that sound. It's part of the song playing in the background.

I'm sure about it because it has always the same intensity, even when the guy puts the fan near the camera, at 6:23.


For those who can't hear it: use headphones, at least 480p quality and look in the last three minutes of the video.

 

Great glad i'm not the only one unable to hear it! When I get my 13A will check and put a video up if it is loud/problematic etc

 

Thanks a lot! Please check and let us know. It would be very sad if fan noise is an issue with the Flips...

 

I hear it too. It right before the 6:00 minute mark. Pretty sure it's the fan, since the sound changes when he picks it up.

Seriously disappointed the guys at VAIO don't have the engineers to build a (near) silent system any more. It all started with the intel i3/i5/i7 series I think. My vaio VPCF11 was awfully loud from the start, but it also had this weird beeping of the sound card (well documented) and other problems like that (loose palmrest for example). With the wifi problems reported about the vaio Pro, I'm not too sure about the multi-flip. I've had vaio's ever since I moved from desktop to laptop, but it seems like they can't get the internals right like they used to. Or maybe their engineers are deaf?

 

Grab a pair of headphones. Might not be so prevalent for those insensitive to high pitched noises (ie. old people).
5:54, fan whining starts high pitched, and ascends.
6:14, noise changes when he flips it into tablet mode. Changes again when he brings it up to the camera.
6:23, noise is heard clearly.
6:34, high pitched noise comes back.

Those interested, I ran the video at 720p, through Sennheiser HD800's.

 

Questions that should be asked before fan noise confirmation:

- Is it in Silent mode?
- What kind of temps is the notebook running? (i.e. could background applications be causing the fan to spool up)

Practically any notebook will spool up its fans in high performance mode.

 

I hope with all my heart that I can disconfirm this fan noise next week.. :-( not too content and getting a bit worried..

I now have a macbook pro running windows and that is a heck of a noise on the fans., Regulary running above 100C and had several shutdowns at 115C. (but it is a 2009 one) and hoped to get rid of the noise..

 

Cheek wrote yesterday:

"I'm not too sure about the multi-flip. I've had vaio's ever since I moved from desktop to laptop, but it seems like they can't get the internals right like they used to. Or maybe their engineers are deaf?"


Top, accountable, people, engineers and others in Sony!!! Where are you!?! Are you capable of making a silent machine today - such as an MBA, another Haswell machine that almost always runs completely silent - ??? Or have you just LOST IT??? ARE YOU NO LONGER ABLE?!?!?

Then, if so, you should leave this field NOW, and should have done so a few years ago!