LAS VEGAS—Sony announced a new 11-inch member of its VAIO Flip family of convertible laptops, which have a unique pivoting hinge that swings the screen from notebook to tablet mode. The Flip family has received relatively positive reviews, while Sony’s 11-inch VAIO Tap 11 hybrid has been largely panned.
Unlike the VAIO Tap 11, whose keyboard detaches from its 11-inch display to transform into a tablet, the Flip design keeps the two pieces attached. Flip the screen backward to close it down over the backlit keyboard, and you have a tablet. The main criticism of the VAIO Tap 11 has been that the magnets that hold the keyboard to the display aren’t strong enough to keep the two from slipping apart while carried.
The Sony VAIO Flip 11 in tablet mode.
The base-level VAIO Flip 11 is powered by Intel’s Pentium quad-core processor and will be shipped with the pressure-sensitive VAIO Active Pen. The 2.82 pound convertible will be available in black, silver, or pink aluminum. It will be priced at $799; that’s considerably less than the larger VAIO Flip 13, which is priced at $1249.
Sony also announced plans to add an integrated 802.11ac adapter to its VAIO Pro 11 and 13, its VAIO Tap 11, and its VAIO Tap 21 portable all-in-one PCs with its spring refresh.