Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Legacy Archives

Sony’s new T14 and T15 VAIO Ultrabooks are living large with bigger touchscreens

Add as a preferred source on Google
sony-vaio-t15_dt
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out our review of the Sony VAIO T14 Touch ultrabook.

Ultrabooks are ultra slim, ultra lightweight, and known for their easy portability. As a result, most of them feature screens in the 11- to 13-inch range. Sony’s decided that it’s time for a change. At CES this year, the company announced two new Ultrabooks sporting 14- and 15.5-inch screens, the VAIO T series 14 and the VAIO T series 15. At that time, we heard they’d be available in the spring, but it looks like these VAIOs are early. Both Ultrabooks are available to order now. 

Recommended Videos

Starting at $950, The VAIO T series 15 features a full 1920 x 1080 HD touchscreen for both excellent Netflix viewing and a solid Windows 8 touch experience. The VAIO T series 14 features a lower 1366 x 768 resolution, and the 14-inch display is available with or without a touchscreen. The T series 14 starts at $900. Both starting configurations come with a Core i5 processor. Of course, they can be upgraded to i7 processors for those willing to shell out the dough. 

Both Ultrabooks are available with a dual drive option that pairs a fast solid-state drive with a larger traditional hard drive. The 24GB SSD handles the operating system, and the traditional hard drive holds photos, videos, music, documents and other programs. But, if speed is super important to you, you’ll want to upgrade from a regular hard drive to a larger SSD. Sony has 512GB and 1TB sizes available as options on the T series. 

Sony is marketing these big screen Ultrabooks to students and professionals, which may help explain why both models come equipped with a CD/DVD drive. Once a standard part of every computer, the drives are becoming more of a rarity as laptops grow thinner. The laptops also include up to 8GB of RAM, a webcam, USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, and an SD card reader. Both are available worldwide starting today.

Meghan McDonough
Former Contributor
Meghan J. McDonough is a Chicago-based purveyor of consumer technology and music. She previously wrote for LAPTOP Magazine…
Topics
These are the compact printers I’d actually recommend for back-to-school
From dorm room paperwork to instant selfie prints, there's a tiny printer for every need.
Computer Hardware, Electronics, Hardware

Everything is digital until the one professor who still wants a printed essay, or the lease you need to sign in ink, or the photo you want to stick on your dorm room’s wall. That's usually the exact moment you remember you don't own a printer anymore, and the nearest one is a library machine with a line out the door.

I looked at four compact printers that solve that problem without taking over your desk and breaking the bank. Two are built for documents, one is a proper all-in-one for actual home office work, and one has nothing to do with homework and everything to do with turning your camera roll into something you can hold.

Read more
Shopping for back-to-school? These are the webcam lights I’d actually turn on before a Zoom call
From a budget clip light to a proper desk setup, there's a webcam light here for every price.
Head, Person, Face

Between online classes, group project calls, and the occasional job interview over Zoom, your webcam will be doing a lot more heavy lifting in school than it ever did at home. The problem is that most laptop cameras are bad in low light, and a single overhead bulb or a window behind you turns every call into a game of "wait, can you see me okay?"

A good webcam light fixes that faster than moving your whole desk around. I picked five, starting with the most affordable and working up to the one that's genuinely overkill for a Zoom call but still worth knowing about.

Read more
Google Chrome could soon let you translate pages right inside Reading Mode
However, not everyone's seeing it yet, even on Canary.
Google Chrome

Chrome's Reading Mode just got a new button tucked inside its settings menu. Google is quietly testing a translate option for the feature on Chrome Canary, the browser's experimental testing channel where new ideas show up long before they're ready for everyday use.

What does this new translate button actually do?

Read more