VAIO A12 (Core i7-8500Y, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, FHD) Convertible Review

[Redaktion]

VAIO, the former PC division of Sony, is back to disrupt the market, or at least attempt to do so. One of its comeback devices is the VAIO A12, a 12.5-inch convertible that may have a tough time justifying its lofty price. Read on to find out how the A12 performs in our tests and whether it can trouble other 12.5-inch 2-in-1s like the Surface Pro.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/VAIO-A12-Core-i7-8500Y-16-GB-RAM-512-GB-SSD-FHD-Convertible-Review.419811.0.html

[S.Yu]

How does somebody manage to make a convertible pliable, with thick bezels, narrow gamut, small battery and squishy keys, yet heavy and so expensive?

I checked out their site and about half the page was dedicated to the stand design, and indeed it has the benefits of keeping the screen erect without a separate stand which would be unwieldy to use on the lap, and that the keyboard would stay active even detached unlike any Surface keyboard(in the latter case you need a separate stand for the tablet).

Also there's a battery in the keyboard that should allow 7 more hours screen time. 23.4Wh does sound too small to be true and it is, if you only found 23.4Wh then the keyboard battery may need manual activation (?) or there was some glitch in your unit preventing the tablet from accessing the keyboard's battery.

Another selling point is the selection of ports which despite the abysmal SD performance is still far above average for this class. The Surface Pro's barebones port selection is one of my main complaints for it. The Wacom interface included is sure to be more expensive to implement than N-trig, but I doubt the benefits given this screen performance. The PM981 also reasonably inflates the price as VAIO seems to think the fastest SSD is crucial for user experience.

The tablet alone also weighs "603-622g" leaving the whole package at "1.209-1.223kg" according to the manufacturer and I would guess that you somehow got the wrong numbers. It's not very light but it's average for this class. They couldn't lie about this, not at this scale.

Still I don't see this selling to anybody other than some corporate users with some very specific needs and too much cash burning holes in their pockets. The overall design is old-school and may appeal better to Japanese users like the Panasonic Toughbooks though.

It'll probably be on clearance for 50% off in a few months time. It's certainly worth that much, IMO.

[t4n0n]

82%?! What does it take for you to give a score under 80%?

I mean, seriously, VGA and USB 2.0 on a $2500+ laptop in 2019? Is Vaio even manufacturing new laptops, or did it decide to dig out and try to sell its landfill from 2004?

[Lou]

This thing is vaio expensive and vaio uncompetitive.

[S.Yu]

82%?! What does it take for you to give a score under 80%?

I mean, seriously, VGA and USB 2.0 on a $2500+ laptop in 2019? Is Vaio even manufacturing new laptops, or did it decide to dig out and try to sell its landfill from 2004?

The inclusion of VGA doesn't detract from the usability of the HDMI, unless you try to use both simultaneously as noted by the review. Despite what you may think VGA is often the only option in many parts of the world, at least in most of China (which also retains most of the world's active WinXP installs), and apparently in Japan. As for the USB2.0 ports, there are two of them, and it also comes with a 3.0 A port as well as a C port, whereas the Surface Pro contains ONE 3.0 A port and that's it. I would hardly call 3 extra USB ports an issue.

I'm not saying this device is priced competitively, not at all, but inclusion of VGA and extra USB are not places to nitpick, it essentially saves you from dangling an external dock around, anywhere around the world, which is obviously the point. The Surface Dock weighs more than a pound, doesn't include the keyboard, and still lacks a C port. The whole package will far exceed the weight of this tablet and the keyboard.

[RL]

2800 Euros for this??  Preposterous.  Who in the right mind would pay that much for this?? 

[sticky]

Review some Samsung laptops, the 5 new Notebook 9 series.
Supposedly all models come with 500-nit screen, TB3 and large battery.

N9 Pen 15 is perhaps the most unique, being only 2 in 1 ultrabook with MX150 graphics as well as Wacom EMR, great for graphics and visual arts.

They may not be as widely available, nevertheless worth taking a look at considering how much they've improved in 2019.