Sony Vaio Y-series 11.6in review

It lasted six hours and 45 minutes in our light usage web browsing battery test.

The Vaio Y is heavier than most netbooks and some other ultraportable laptops at 1.44kg, but it's still very light and easy to carry around. The plastic chassis is a little creakier than we would like, but it feels sturdy enough. All of this would be for naught if the battery doesn't last for a long time on a single charge, but it lasted six hours and 45 minutes in our light usage web browsing battery test. This is good for such an inexpensive laptop and long enough to last a transatlantic flight.

If the Vaio Y looks familiar, it's because it's essentially a smaller version of the larger 13.3in Vaio Y series laptop which has now been discontinued. That model used ultra low voltage Intel processors and also had the benefit of an ExpressCard slot and a four-pin FireWire 400 port. This 11.6in version keeps the three USB2 ports, memory card slots, HDMI and VGA ports, Gigabit Ethernet connection and 320GB hard disk. Most people won't miss the FireWire port, but the ExpressCard slot would've been useful for adding a 3G modem since one isn't built in.