Communication

We are not impressed by the short range (approx. ten meters) of the Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi adapter. Other laptops sport a maximum range of around 40 meters under similar test conditions (both inside and outside of the house). Actually, the Vaio Duo 13 is the first test device which falls short of our minimum stable connection range of 15 meters.

Even three meters away from the router (and with an unobstructed line of sight), only four out of five bars are shown. On the upper floor ten meters away, this goes down to just one bar - faring worse than any other laptop before it.

A fast mobile internet connection is almost a must in this price segment. Thus, Sony ships the Vaio Duo 13 with a Huawei-made 3G modem which comes with an improved positioning service (GNSS) while being connected internally via USB. A Vodafone Starter Pack SIM card is already pre-configured (seven days for free, with up to 1 GB of data volume), being installed in the SIM slot on the rear side of the display. For an extra fee of around $40, an LTE/4G variant (HSUPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS) can be had instead. In theory, this is capable of increasing download speeds fivefold and upload speeds tenfold (3G vs. 4G: 21 Mb/s / 5.76 Mb/s and 100 Mb/s / 50 Mb/s).

Security

All tools concerning the device are bundled in the Vaio Care center. Here, hardware settings can be changed (e.g. the backlighting can be activated at all times), the service center can be contacted, a condition test can be performed (checking the device for errors, availability of updates or security issues), the recovery tools as well as all premium business tools (optionally available for a fee) can be accessed. A great idea: There is a transfer support tool which helps the user to move his or her data and settings to a new Vaio device.

Our test device came with a trial version of McAfee Security. In the online shop, it is possible to buy one-, two- or three-year licenses for Internet Security or Total Protection (McAfee). The same holds true for Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Creation and Microsoft Office.

Accessories

The Duo 13 ships with a wireless router, but again, its range is modest. Three meters away, we measure five bars, a number which goes down to one or two when ten meters and another floor are in between. Outside of the house, 15 meters away, one bar is reached. According to Sony, the line-of-sight range of the router lies at ten meters while up to five devices can be connected to it.

These results are marginally better since the Vaio wireless router transmits at 100% of its peak power (with our Fritz!Box running at 50%). The router does not sport any external antennas, being connected to the power adapter. This is extremely handy as it doesn't need its own power cable and can never be forgotten.

The Duo 13 also ships with numerous manuals, a VGA dongle and capacitive digitizer pen (as well as a small pen holder which can be clipped to the right hand side of the chassis), an abundance of accessories which seems fitting given the price of the Duo 13.

Maintenance

All quiet on this front. There is neither a maintenance hatch on the bottom panel nor visible screws which might be loosened to open the base unit. The plastic panel around the ports on the rear could possibly be forced off without causing any damage, but we refrained from doing so in order to keep our test device in one piece.

Warranty

12 months of warranty when bought at reselling websites (for around $1400)? Not much for such a pricy device. Sony's online store offers two years of warranty, but optional upgrades such as 36 months for an extra fee of around $90 are also possible. This includes a pickup-and-return service (with a five-day return window) and immediate telephone support.