Sony gives the slider another shot with the VAIO Duo 13: coming June 9th for $1,400

Sony gives the slider another shot with the VAIO Duo 13: coming June 9th for $1,400

Thanks to the magic of leaked YouTube videos, we already knew Sony was working on another slider Ultrabook to replace the failed Duo 11. Now it's official: the company just formally announced the Duo 13, and if Sony's to be believed, it addresses many of the original's shortcomings. For starters, the new "Surf Slider" hinge is supposedly easier to open -- Sony even says it's possible to maneuver with one hand. If you look at those product shots below, you'll see it's also prettier to look at from behind (guess Sony heard us complaining about the exposed cabling on the Duo 11). What's interesting is that the Duo 13 has similar dimensions as its predecessor, and it only weighs a fraction more (2.93 pounds vs. 2.87). The trick was to shrink the bezels, and also to switch to a carbon fiber design, similar to what you'll find on the old Z series and the new Pro line. Oddly, though, while the dimensions haven't changed dramatically, Sony still made room for a less cramped-seeming keyboard, one that even includes a proper trackpad. That's right, folks, the optical tracking stick is gone. We have a feeling you won't miss it.

Some other design notes: the Duo 13 adds a place for stowing the digitizer pen, which the Duo 11 lacked. What's more, while the Duo always had a scratch-resistant 1080p IPS display, this one also makes use of Sony's Triluminos technology, originally used on the company's Bravia TVs. Additionally, it has the same X-Reality processing engine you'll already find on some Xperia smartphones. Rounding out the spec list, there's NFC, Haswell processors and optional AT&T LTE. The main camera, meanwhile, has been upgraded to an 8-megapixel shooter with an Exmor RS sensor; the front webcam now does 1080p video. As for battery life, it should last about 10 hours, thanks to Sony's Active Sleep technology. Look for it to arrive June 9th, in both black and white, with a starting price of $1,400. We've already given the Duo 13 the full review treatment; check that out here.

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Sony VAIO Duo 11 convertible Windows 8 tablet surfaces in leaked photos

Sony VAIO Duo 11 convertible tablet

We got a look at some hybrid PC concepts from Sony at CES way back in January, and it looks like we could soon be seeing one such device in actual product form. PocketNow has gotten a hold of the image above (and a few more) revealing a hereto unannounced VAIO Duo 11 convertible tablet / laptop. That's quite obviously a Windows 8 device -- likely not the RT version, as PocketNow points out due to the presence of a full-fledged Office -- but details are unfortunately light beyond that. As you can see, it also apparently includes a stylus, and that "11" in the name would seem to indicate an 11-inch screen -- putting it in line with the 10.6-inch display on Microsoft's own Surface. You can get a closer look at it at the source link below.

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Sony VAIO Duo 11 convertible Windows 8 tablet surfaces in leaked photos originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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