The Vaio shuts down after 5:19 h of idle use. The VivoBook (4:20 h) turns off an hour earlier. Neither laptop can compete with the Aspire (7:35 h). The idle runtime is ascertained using Battery Eater's Reader's test with minimum brightness, enabled energy saving mode and disabled wireless modules. Sony's laptop lasts for 1:20 h in load. The VivoBook (1:29 h) has a slight lead and the Aspire (2:16 h) again clearly surpasses both. The load runtime is determined via Battery Eater's Classic test with maximum brightness, high-performance mode and enabled wireless modules.The Vaio finished the Wi-Fi test after 3:01 h. The VivoBook lasts for almost forty minutes longer (3:39 h). Again, the Aspire leaves both contenders behind with 6:17 h. Websites are opened automatically every 40 seconds in the Wi-Fi test, the energy saving profile is enabled and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The Vaio plays DVDs for 2:13 h. The VivoBook (1:44 h) doesn't even last for two hours and the Aspire manages a whole 3:55 hours. The DVD test is performed using enabled energy saving mode or a higher profile should the DVD not run smoothly, maximum screen brightness and disabled wireless modules.Sony VGP-BPS9/S ,The Aspire manages the longest runtimes because it has the highest battery capacity (54 Wh) and excels with the lowest idle power consumption. The batteries in the Vaio (41 Wh) and VivoBook (44 Wh) have a much lower capacity. Sony demands a steep price for its laptop at around 1000 Euros (~$1287). We would have expected better battery runtimes and a larger battery for this.Sony's latest coup follows current laptop trends in the way of a slim casing and Full HD touchscreen. That is accompanied by a gaming-suitable graphics core and a hard drive with a high memory capacity. Seen as a whole, Sony should have a good all-round laptop in its range. Our test report clarifies whether this is true.One distinctive feature of ultrabooks is their casing's maximum thickness of 21 mm. That not only makes the devices handy but also usually lets them look good. The slim casing seems to appeal to users because even conventional laptops are becoming increasingly thinner. The Vaio Fit SV-F15A1S2ES, which Sony provided us with, belongs to these devices. Our test review will reveal whether the computer has more to offer than just its good looks.Sony relies on a 22.5 mm slim, handy and fairly lightweight casing (2.3 kg) for its Vaio SVF15A1S2ES. Apart from the display's black frame, the casing's surfaces are all matte-silver. The laptop is also available in all-over black. Sony uses a mix of materials. The lid's back and wrist rest are made of metal. The other parts are comprised of plastic. The Aspire and VivoBook are based on a similar concept. Acer and Asus both rely on a mix of metal and plastic.The base unit's stability should be better in a 1000 Euros (~$1287) computer. Applying pressure on the casing's left and right causes it to yield a bit. The same is true for the area below the touchpad. The stiffness is also unsatisfactory. The base unit can be warped a bit too strongly and occasionally creaks. It is possible to twist the lid without much effort despite its metal back. Also, some areas on the back can be dented to such an extent that image distortions become visible. The hinges keep the lid securely in position. Opening the lid with one hand is not possible.Sony VGP-BPS18 .The lid also serves as one of the laptop's footrests. As soon as the opening angle reaches or surpasses 90 degrees, the lid makes contact with the surface and lifts the base unit's rear area. Sony attached two rubber feet on the lid's lower edge to protect it from scratching.The three laptops used for comparison all feature today's common interfaces. They come with at least one USB 3.0 port. The Aspire and Vaio do not sport a VGA out. Users who need such a port can fall back on an HDMI-to-VGA adapter (from 20 Euros, ~$25). Sony incorporates NFC technology (near field communication) in its Vaio. It enables wireless data sharing between two devices within a few centimeters. This technology is mainly known from cashless payments via a smartphone.Sony places all interfaces on the casing's left. Most ports are located in the rear area of this side. Only the memory card reader and Kensington lock slot are on the wrist rest's level. The Kensington lock's placement is unfavorable because the cable lock runs along the laptop's left and will be interfering.As for Wi-Fi, Sony installs a chip from Broadcom. It supports the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n standards. The chip also provides Bluetooth 4.0 besides Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi signal strength fluctuated greatly. At a distance of approx. 3 meters to the router, the Windows display often only indicated 2 to 3 bars. This dropped to just one bar when moving away from the router. We think that the weak signal is due to the Wi-Fi antennas' position. They are located on both sides of the wrist rest in the base unit. As soon as the hands were placed on both sides of the wrist rest, the Wi-Fi signal's strength decreased. The signal increased when the hands were removed.A RTL8168/8111 Gigabit Ethernet chip from Realtek can be used for cabled network connections. The integrated, 0.9 megapixel webcam shoots very blurry pictures with a resolution of up to 1280x720 pixels.Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q ,
Sony VGP-BPS18 battery replacement
The Vaio shuts down after 5:19 h of idle use. The VivoBook (4:20 h) turns off an hour earlier. Neither laptop can compete with the Aspire (7:35 h). The idle runtime is ascertained using Battery Eater's Reader's test with minimum brightness, enabled energy saving mode and disabled wireless modules. Sony's laptop lasts for 1:20 h in load. The VivoBook (1:29 h) has a slight lead and the Aspire (2:16 h) again clearly surpasses both. The load runtime is determined via Battery Eater's Classic test with maximum brightness, high-performance mode and enabled wireless modules.The Vaio finished the Wi-Fi test after 3:01 h. The VivoBook lasts for almost forty minutes longer (3:39 h). Again, the Aspire leaves both contenders behind with 6:17 h. Websites are opened automatically every 40 seconds in the Wi-Fi test, the energy saving profile is enabled and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The Vaio plays DVDs for 2:13 h. The VivoBook (1:44 h) doesn't even last for two hours and the Aspire manages a whole 3:55 hours. The DVD test is performed using enabled energy saving mode or a higher profile should the DVD not run smoothly, maximum screen brightness and disabled wireless modules.Sony VGP-BPS9/S ,The Aspire manages the longest runtimes because it has the highest battery capacity (54 Wh) and excels with the lowest idle power consumption. The batteries in the Vaio (41 Wh) and VivoBook (44 Wh) have a much lower capacity. Sony demands a steep price for its laptop at around 1000 Euros (~$1287). We would have expected better battery runtimes and a larger battery for this.Sony's latest coup follows current laptop trends in the way of a slim casing and Full HD touchscreen. That is accompanied by a gaming-suitable graphics core and a hard drive with a high memory capacity. Seen as a whole, Sony should have a good all-round laptop in its range. Our test report clarifies whether this is true.One distinctive feature of ultrabooks is their casing's maximum thickness of 21 mm. That not only makes the devices handy but also usually lets them look good. The slim casing seems to appeal to users because even conventional laptops are becoming increasingly thinner. The Vaio Fit SV-F15A1S2ES, which Sony provided us with, belongs to these devices. Our test review will reveal whether the computer has more to offer than just its good looks.Sony relies on a 22.5 mm slim, handy and fairly lightweight casing (2.3 kg) for its Vaio SVF15A1S2ES. Apart from the display's black frame, the casing's surfaces are all matte-silver. The laptop is also available in all-over black. Sony uses a mix of materials. The lid's back and wrist rest are made of metal. The other parts are comprised of plastic. The Aspire and VivoBook are based on a similar concept. Acer and Asus both rely on a mix of metal and plastic.The base unit's stability should be better in a 1000 Euros (~$1287) computer. Applying pressure on the casing's left and right causes it to yield a bit. The same is true for the area below the touchpad. The stiffness is also unsatisfactory. The base unit can be warped a bit too strongly and occasionally creaks. It is possible to twist the lid without much effort despite its metal back. Also, some areas on the back can be dented to such an extent that image distortions become visible. The hinges keep the lid securely in position. Opening the lid with one hand is not possible.Sony VGP-BPS18 .The lid also serves as one of the laptop's footrests. As soon as the opening angle reaches or surpasses 90 degrees, the lid makes contact with the surface and lifts the base unit's rear area. Sony attached two rubber feet on the lid's lower edge to protect it from scratching.The three laptops used for comparison all feature today's common interfaces. They come with at least one USB 3.0 port. The Aspire and Vaio do not sport a VGA out. Users who need such a port can fall back on an HDMI-to-VGA adapter (from 20 Euros, ~$25). Sony incorporates NFC technology (near field communication) in its Vaio. It enables wireless data sharing between two devices within a few centimeters. This technology is mainly known from cashless payments via a smartphone.Sony places all interfaces on the casing's left. Most ports are located in the rear area of this side. Only the memory card reader and Kensington lock slot are on the wrist rest's level. The Kensington lock's placement is unfavorable because the cable lock runs along the laptop's left and will be interfering.As for Wi-Fi, Sony installs a chip from Broadcom. It supports the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n standards. The chip also provides Bluetooth 4.0 besides Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi signal strength fluctuated greatly. At a distance of approx. 3 meters to the router, the Windows display often only indicated 2 to 3 bars. This dropped to just one bar when moving away from the router. We think that the weak signal is due to the Wi-Fi antennas' position. They are located on both sides of the wrist rest in the base unit. As soon as the hands were placed on both sides of the wrist rest, the Wi-Fi signal's strength decreased. The signal increased when the hands were removed.A RTL8168/8111 Gigabit Ethernet chip from Realtek can be used for cabled network connections. The integrated, 0.9 megapixel webcam shoots very blurry pictures with a resolution of up to 1280x720 pixels.Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q ,