Sony Vaio F-Series VPC-F22M1E review

The backlit keyboard is full-size, including the keys on the numeric keypad, and was very comfortable to type on thanks to the raised wrist rest. The backlight turns on automatically when working in dim conditions thanks to an ambient light sensor, but there’s no shortcut key to turn it on and off. A smooth matt finish on the touchpad helped make mouse movement incredibly fluid. We disliked the single touchpad button, though: a noticeable dead spot in the centre made it occasionally frustrating to use.

Connectivity is average for a high-end laptop, with three USB ports, mini FireWire, a multi-format card reader and analogue audio inputs and outputs. Two of the USB ports support the faster USB3 standard, which will help speed up file transfers if you have compatible hardware.

Considering this is a laptop designed for multimedia, we were slightly disappointed with the average-sounding speakers. Although volume was reasonable and mid-range notes were clear, bass was missing and treble sounded slightly tinny. If you’re going to use the Blu-ray optical drive to watch movies, you’ll want to plug in a pair of headphones or better speakers.

We criticised the first version of the F-series for combining a Full HD 3D screen with a mid-range graphics card that couldn’t hope to produce solid frame rates when playing games; in this 2D model, however, it makes much more sense. We still aren’t enamoured with the chunky styling, but performance and usability are both excellent. However, with similarly equipped laptops from other manufacturers available for the slightly less, the F22M1E is only worth buying if you can find it cheaper.