Sony’s Z series are aimed at the stylish businessman looking for a no compromise machine that serves a dual purpose — rock solid portability and strong multimedia capabilities. The Vaio VGNn-Z13GNn is a very compact notebook that has an understated black and steel-grey finish that attracts at first sight. The lid is one of the slimmest we’ve ever seen and this notebook is definitely the slimmest in this comparison. The lid has a nice positive snap shut action when it’s about an inch from being fully closed. The outer shell is made partly of carbon fiber which gives the Vaio Z the binary benefits of tremendous robustness and low overall weight. We felt that as good as that may sound, this Vaio should have been built even better and there was some flex noticeable around the optical drive tray area. Shockingly even the hinge has some ugly gaps; while these aren’t easy to spot and may not matter to most people being retentive is part of a reviewers’ job. The rear plastics are good quality but not as good as the materials we’ve seen on the Vaio TZ series. The screen is a very high resolution 1600 x 900 pixels and at a size of 13.3-inches it’s not the ideal proportions for someone looking to work with text. However, colors and contrast on the display are good, but this is a TN panel and you will have issues with wider viewing angles.

The keypad is typically Sony, with a kind of soft, mushy feedback. The layout is very good though, although the keys feel a little smaller than some other Vaio’s they are also a little higher than normal meaning that key travel is more. The gap between the keys on this keypad seems to be slightly more than the gaps on the segregated keypad that Apple uses. Whether or not this is good, is for you to decide but our overall opinion is positive and nobody had any ergonomic issues while using it and the all important control key is at the left corner, just as it should be – Lenovo should take a leaf out of Sony’s book here. The trackpad is better than the Lenovo series in terms of accuracy and the choice of coating is also good as it aids finger grip. The WiFi indicator light is on the front bezel and not at all visible unless you eye is at the same angle which rarely happens; the switch is located below it and is easy to operate.

At Rs. 124,900 we wish it were just a little sturdier; but given its other multifaceted talents we have very little to nitpick about. If you can afford to spend this much cash; this is the only notebook you need consider.

Sony’s Z series are aimed at the stylish businessman looking for a no compromise machine that serves a dual purpose — rock solid portability and strong multimedia capabilities. The...