Sony VAIO SVT13112FXS Pro Reviews

The Sony VAIO T13 delivers most of what you expect from an Ultrabook with some popular consumer features at a surprisingly affordable price.

New "Ivy Bridge" ultrabooks are arriving, and the Sony VAIO T13 (SVT13112FXS) is a nifty example. It's a fast, handsome ultrabook for the value price of $800.

Sony's first ultrabook, the Vaio T, doesn't fall far from the tree of other thin Sony laptops like the Vaio Z, but it's far more affordable: this is ultrabook-as-budget-laptop, not ultrabook as high-end computer.

As with other Sony notebooks we've tested, the bundled software is a real strength. You get the VAIO Care service and support tools, VAIO Easy Connect utility for help connecting to the Internet and sharing your wireless settings with another PC, and the VAIO Data Restore Tool. Another handy extra is the Sony Media Gallery utility for music playback and viewing videos and photos—including those in shared folders on other PCs on your network. (The program even includes a slick filter that lets you show only photos with faces or only those with smiles.). Also on the multimedia front is the company's Play Memories Home software, which delivers photo/video organizing and light editing abilities. You can also use that program to create photo/video discs and share your files privately or via YouTube. Sony also preloads the ArcSoft Webcam Suite, which includes the Webcam Companion applet for capturing stills and video and the Magic-i Visual Effects 2 program for adding effects to captured images.