Sony Vaio VPC-YB3V1E review

We could type comfortably on the Chiclet-style keyboard: each key seems slightly smaller than full-size, but not small enough to affect our ability to type quickly and accurately. The compact touchpad beneath the keyboard tray is less impressive – it’s too small to span the desktop in a single movement at the default sensitivity. The buttons are placed very close to the edge, but at least produced audible clicks when pressed so we were always sure if our actions had registered.

Despite being slightly larger than the average netbook, the YB3V1E has only average connectivity. Three USB ports, HDMI and VGA outputs plus a multiformat card reader are all very useful, as is Bluetooth support, but you’ll need an external optical drive to read discs. The 500GB hard disk is generous though.

The v is difficult to recommend at this price. It’s only £50 less than the Lenovo ThinkPad X121e (review soon), which is much faster and has a longer battery life. In spite of its great keyboard and high resolution screen, it’s oddly positioned between cheaper netbooks and faster laptops.