As a frequent traveler (300,000 miles last year), I am always looking for ways to shave some pounds off the gear I am carrying, without sacrificing convenience or performance. That’s the reason why I recently switched from a MacBook Pro 13” (4.5 pounds) to a MacBook Air (3.0 pounds). But with the iPad (1.5 pounds) around the corner, I am starting to reconsider my options. Granted, the iPad cannot replace a laptop, but what about pairing it with a super lightweight netbook like the Sony VAIO X (1.6 pounds)? At just 3.1 pounds, the combination would only be 0.1 pounds heavier than a MacBook Air, would roughly cost the same amount of money, and would give me a lot more bang for the bucks. Let’s take a closer look…
First, let me state that most of the applications I am using are in the cloud, hence the operating system I run does not really matter. In fact, the only offline application I allowed myself to use following my pure Office 2.0 experiment is Apple’s iWork, mainly for Keynote. That being said, I rarely modify my presentations on the road, and the occasional use could be supported by the iPad. And if I need the convenience of a keyboard, I could always log to my Mac mini Server using LogMeIn or VNC.
Second, since most of my applications are online, I do not need a very fast computer. While the Sony VAIO X’s Intel Atom Z550 is nowhere near as fast as the MacBook Air’s Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, it won’t make much of a difference when using a simple Web browser (Chrome or Safari for JavaScript performance) with Gmail or Intalio|Cloud.
Third, I would certainly miss iDisk, but Intalio|Cloud’s next release will include the Nuxeo Document Management System, which I will use to store all my files, including over 10TB of movies. A copy of Intalio|Cloud is currently running on the Mac Pro workstation I use at work and serves the instance of Intalio|CRM I recently migrated to from Salesforce.com. Nuxeo will allow me to map folders from the Windows 7 filesystem to my online Document Management System, giving me a supercharged alternative to iDisk, with a lot more storage, plus versioning capabilities.
Fourth, after (or before) weight comes battery life, and the combination of a VAIO X and Apple iPad would give me over 13.5 hours of battery life with the VAIO‘s standard battery, and over 20 hours with the extended battery, compared to the MacBook Air meager 5 hours of advertised battery life (closer to 4 hours in reality).
Fifth, the VAIO X’s ports are something that I learned to miss with the MacBook Air, especially the standard VGA port (no need for a custom adapter), the second USB port (nice for recharging my phone and mobile WiFi router), and the SD Card port (extremely useful for moving movies between my Mac Pro workstation and my laptop).
Conclusion: I will buy a Sony VAIO X tomorrow and wait for my iPad…
(Cross-posted @ IT|Redux Feed Digest)
[...] as described earlier, I am planning to replace my MacBook Air with a Sony VAIO X complemented by an iPad. Same [...]
Thanks
Hard to choose between Vaio X and MacBook Air
You help me to choose the best
I have the Vaio X + iPad combination too. Thinking about replacing them with an 11inch macbook air. Thoughts?
Go for it, it’s a great computer!
I’m facing the tough decision between Vaio X and the new Air 11,6″.
I have a MacBook Pro for the serious stuff and I just need a light travel machine. Which one should I choose?
I do need to use Windows sometimes, though, so my 2nd question could be: does anyone know how the new small Air runs with it?
Any comments are welcome!
I’m going through the same controversy… Vaio X or Mac
I know overall the Mac will last me longer and performs better but with the Vaio at such a low cost I know i’ll be able to simply buy a better computer a few years down the line. Besides you can’t beat less than 2lbs..
wait…so the sony vaio x is better than the new macbook air? im in the same dilemma and i dont know which one to buy? and also how much is the sony vaio x series?