VAIO's new tiny laptop starts out at $1,199 in the US

VAIO's, SX12 is a tiny laptop the sports almost every port you could ever need. The laptop is now available in the US with a hefty starting price of $1,199. The low-end model has a a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The Vaio SX12

Prices go up all the way to $2,119 for a variant that has a Core i7 processor and a 1TB solid state drive for storage. All models have a 12 inch 1080p screen, three USB-A ports plus one of the new USB-C ports. There is also one HDMI ports, a full-size SD card slot, a headphone and mic port, and even an Ethernet port. It even retains a VGA port for older equipment. The Verge did not have an SX 12 to test but has reviewed the slightly larger SX14 which has many of the same features as the SX14

The VAIO SX14

The laptop is thin but sturdy as well as lightweight. It has a reasonable keyboard and display. The tilted keyboard is comfortable to type on. As with the SX 12 the SX14 has plenty of ports: "The VAIO SX14 is equipped with an SD card slot (standard size, thank you), a USB-A 3.1 port, two USB-A 3.0 ports, a USB-C 3.1 port (through which you can also charge the laptop, although not nearly as quickly as with its separate AC power port), an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, a VGA (yes, really!) port, and a headphone jack. You’d think that as a user, I would be grateful for all those separate ports, and I am. I would have been happier with fewer USB 3.0 ports and an additional USB-C port that supported Thunderbolt 3 connections, but it’s hard to complain with such an embarrassment of riches"

The Verge finds that the battery life of the VAIO was not good and was less than claimed in its test. The touchpad was also quite small. There was no touch-screen option on the units.

VAIO

VAIO was once owned by Sony and still has connections with it as described by Wikipedia: "VAIO Corporation (VAIO Baio Kabushiki Kaisha, standing for Visual Audio Intelligent Organizer) is a Japanese manufacturer headquartered in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture that makes personal computers and smartphones. VAIO was originally a brand of Sony, introduced in 1996. Sony sold its PC business to the investment firm Japan Industrial Partners in February 2014 as part of a restructuring effort to focus on mobile devices. Sony maintains a minority stake in the new, independent company, which currently sells computers in the United States, Japan and Brazil as well as an exclusive marketing agreement. Sony still holds the intellectual property rights for the VAIO brand and logo. Currently in the US, VAIO business products are sold by Trans Cosmos America, Inc."

Previously published in the Digital Journal