Sony VAIO VPC-Z21M9E review

Despite its diminutive dimensions, the Z21M9E was still great to use for everyday tasks. In order to stop the keyboard tray from pressing into the display when the laptop is closed, Sony has used slim keys with extra short travel times. They feel slightly strange to type on at first, as there isn’t a great deal of tactile feedback, but each key was springy enough that we soon adjusted to them. Understandably there’s not enough room for a separate number pad, but the QWERTY keyboard is full-size and with an automatic backlight that activates in low-light conditions. Although it only makes a minor difference, the hinged lid creates a slight angle that makes typing slightly more comfortable than if the keyboard tray was flat to the desk.

The compact touchpad was too small to span the entire desktop in one swipe at its default sensitivity, and we didn’t like the lack of physical buttons, but it felt responsive and always recognised two-finger presses as right clicks.

It’s a shame that our one serious criticism of the Z21M9E comes down to price; the base model can hardly be considered cheap at £1,500, but this doesn’t even include the optional media dock. The total bill will be in excess of £2,000 if you buy the laptop and dock together, but this is just for the DVD version; a Blu-ray-equipped dock will add another £100.

There’s little doubt that the Z series is our new object of desire, with its great performance, stunning screen and superb battery life. However, its external graphics card doesn’t turn it into a true mobile gaming machine, and that makes it even harder to justify the astronomical price.