Sony VAIO SVT21217CXB Pro Reviews

The Sony VAIO Tap 21 (SVT21217CXB) is a vast improvement over last year's pioneering portable all-in-one desktop. It has a lot more going for it, but there's still not quite enough to call it our first Editors' Choice for this nascent category.

Unless you need longer battery life or more ports (in which case you should probably opt for a traditional laptop), there's not much to dislike about Sony's VAIO Tap 21. It's the best semi-portable tablet/all-in-one PC combo we've tested yet, with an excellent screen and audio, more than enough performance to handle most PC tasks, and it's comfortable to use as a huge tablet, as well. We'd like it even better if Sony had included a carrying handle and added a bigger battery, but those aren't fatal omissions, at least for us.And while Sony sometimes charges a premium for its stylish products, that doesn't seem to be the case with the VAIO Tap 21. The entry-level model, as we said, is $999, but Lenovo's similar Flex 20 starts at $899 with a lesser Core i3 processor, a lower-resolution (1,600x900) screen, and no solid-state drive cache. Dell's XPS 18, meanwhile, also starts at $899, but sports a smaller screen and an older Pentium CPU. We think the Tap 21 offers a much better mix of features that's well worth the asking price.