Sony VAIO VPC-YB3V1E Pro Reviews

We have to say that the Sony Vaio VPC-YB3V1E/S is a fairly affordable subnotebook. Its configuration and price of EUR 479 (~$630 USD) aims at the entry-level sector. The manufacturing is good and it also looks elegant. The components have been chosen well for the targeted application field. The latest AMD Fusion platform is clearly superior to that of Intel's Atom range - particularly in terms of graphics performance. Sony does everything right up to here. Our overall rating is nevertheless only satisfactory. The 32bit Windows and weak 11.6 inch screen are our primary gripes. The screen provides a high resolution but it fails tremendously in brightness, contrast and color reproduction. Thus, the Vaio has to be disqualified for outdoor use, which is made even worse by its extremely reflective display. A laptop of this size and weight class is really predestined for mobile and outdoor use. Battery life is only average. Despite the dark screen, the Sony Vaio VPC-YB3V1E/S is relatively power hungry and drains the battery too quickly in our opinion. Consequently, we cannot give this device a solid recommendation.

A high resolution screen and fantastic keyboard, but performance and battery life are underwhelming