Sony Vaio X11 review

The Atom Z540 processor runs at 1.86GHz, which slightly faster than the typical 1.6GHz Atom N270 netbook processor. There's also 2GB of RAM, so there's a bit more space for applications to run in. In our benchmarks we didn't see a huge difference, as once again, the Atom's poor multi-tasking performance dragged the score down. In our image-editing test the X11 scored a more reasonable 23, though. Office and internet applications will run well, as long as you don't have more than a couple open at a time. Editing large photos or video will be tiresome though, and the integrated Intel graphics chipset can't handle any serious 3D gaming.

To save space, Sony has fitted a solid-state disk (SSD) drive, but this only provides 128GB of storage. SSDs are very power efficient, which helps contribute to the X11's impressive battery life, lasting for seven hours and 10 minutes in our tests. Another power-saver is the LED-backlit screen, which produced amazingly vibrant colours, but suffered from restricted vertical viewing angles. It has a glare-reducing finish that cuts down on reflections. Turn over the X11 and you can see that the slender battery takes up almost half the space on the underside of the case.

The X11 is well equipped for communications. As well as the Gigabit LAN port, there's support for the fast Draft-N wireless connections. You also get a built-in 3G broadband modem, so you get an internet connection on the go, with the SIM card slotting in beneath the battery. The X11 doesn't come with a contract so you'll have to arrange your own. The best current offer is a £15 rolling monthly contract from 3, with 5GB of data per month.

There's no doubt the X11 has its flaws – principally, the poorly placed space bar and the tiny touchpad – but at 780g it's still an incredible feat of engineering and a netbook that we would be proud to own. However, price is a big issue and you could buy three Samsung N140 netbooks for this price and still have change for a couple of year's mobile broadband fees – making the X11 seriously overpriced despite its charms.