Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Sony VAIO Tap 20" Intel i3-3217U 1.8GHz All-in-One PC

THE BAD:
The Vaio software bundled is a nuisance when you first start setting things up, especially Vaio Update, it doesn't even work really. It was unable to install any updates through the application, though luckily you can click each update individually and download them from the Sony Website, unless the updater gives you a link which doesn't exist, which did happen to me. SO yeah, that is pretty useless. Sound was originally an issue too. For no apparent reason, the computer's sound would just stop working. I'm still not sure what was causing it but it has been alright since installing updates. On that note it has 3 different sound profiles (ClearAudio, Dolby , and something else) all of which sound pretty bad, even in its best sounding position which is completely upright on a table. If you want to use this somewhere besides the desktop, don't expect great sound. I found this to be a particular shame because my Sony TV has great sound. The resolution on this thing does suck, I think that's a common thread through reviews of this product. I used this machine at Best Buy about a month before pulling the trigger on Amazon. I guess I forgot it didn't look that great. Not to discredit the resolution completely, when in the Windows 8 Start screen, once called Metro, the resolution looks ok, but in desktop mode, pretty much any wallpaper you try to use will look fuzzy. Let's see, what else... about the i3... this tap 20 isn't my primary computer so I didn't feel the need to shill out for the faster processor. To anyone reading this, I think it would have been worth it to get the i5. It's not that its a slow machine, but it's by no means fast either, only adequate. I did go ahead and up it to 8GB of RAM. It may have helped some. A solid state drive in the future may also decrease some of the load times. Ok, I think that's enough railing on it, now the good parts.

THE GOOD:
Having used the Microsoft Surface Pro, Lenovo's 27" all in one, and one of ASUS's touch screen laptops. I would say that Sony's offering is my favorite in terms of form factor. Having a 20" touchscreen is in a word, magnificent. Also, the stand allows you to use the PC at any desired angle, a feat more difficult to achieve on other products. The "throw" ability available in Sony's media apps is pretty cool. Obviously you can achieve similar functionality in other ways, but all-in-all, they made it easy enough for anyone to do it, which is cool. The power/sleep button is appreciated. Due in part of course to Windows 8, you can put this machine to "sleep" with the power button and have it resume in just a second or two. There's also an "Assist" button up there, which is sort of like a panic button when you need help. Not very useful to myself but a parent or grandparent, maybe. Oh, the battery! Being able to pick this thing up and use it wherever is fun. It's not as heavy as some of the other apparently wimpy reviewers would lead you to believe. It'll rest pretty comfortably on your lap if you'd like, but again, you'll probably muffle the speaker. On the subject of the battery, I found it to be better than expected. I get about 4 hours of use typically, browsing and Netflix usually. The touchscreen is very responsive and works well. Specifically I was surprised that some Win8 all-in-ones won't detect swipes in from the bezel. This one does so just fine, but the Lenovo I tried did not. It required you to touch a line space between the desktop and bezel. Could get used to it I suppose but I appreciate the Sony's way better.

Conclusion:
I feel like sum total, this PC outs itself as an experiment by Sony, testing the waters you might say. There's some really cool aspects here, and also some blatant problem areas. Probably best to wait for revision two, if there ever is one. I'm admittedly a serial early adopter, and I may have been a bit burned by this one. Having had it for the past week now, if I could go back in time, I personally wouldn't have bought it. At least not for the price I paid. If you can score one of these somewhere for $650ish, maybe it'd be worth it. I've contemplated sending it back honestly, but it looks so cool in our home that I'll probably just keep it and upgrade it to SSD.

Sony, if you would let me trade this one in when v2 comes out, I think then, I'd be a happy camper!

Hope this helps your decision reader!

12 people found this helpful

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The River

This computer is a great PC. I love it

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

This computer is a great PC. I love it. The best PC I ever have, but it takes time to work on the updating of the window and the VAIO software

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Lawrence Soto

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

GREAT PRODUCT FAST SHIPPING

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Smartphone crazy

I'm selling my ipad...

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2013

The best way to upgrade a laptop or pc is to
1. swap HDD to SSD
2. add more memory
3. uninstall up bloatware

I did just that for this i3 giant tablet, with a 240GB Toshiba SSD, 16GB 12800 Sodimm (8GB is not max as it says on the user's guide, with 64bit OS, you can install larger memory and recognized by the windows 8), and removed apps that I don't use. I am able to boot from the VAIO logo to Windows 8 metro desktop in 12 second, and if some count booting time from after the BIOS loads, it is only 7 seconds. A the apps open instantly, and the video playback is very good (it automatically uses the extra memory as shared memory).

The touch screen is crisp and responsive, reviews say it is not high res. (1600x900), but I couldn't find anything different on the screen compared to my other 1920x1080 display, even if in "tablet" range.

Sound wise, if the apps came with the OS, or downloaded from MS apps store, they sounded just fine. I found some of the apps that I had for the xp or win7, like slingplayer, comes out a bit like mono, but that app is 5 years old.

Keyboard is good with adequate feedback, mouse is laser and long range, I could use it on uneven surface.

Camera need some improvement. Very dark in dimmed light or background is bright.

Multi-touch screen itself is excellent, I could do without the mouse and navigate with ease, any swipe or click is accurate..

Battery life varies with what you do. I had 4-5 apps running at the same time most of the time, and it lasts about 2.5 hours, this is also attributed to the SSD drive probably.

Wireless is single band, with it is dual for I have a very good dual band router; but it uses intel centrino wireless adapter, which is better than average performer. Bluetooth works well.

There are 2 USB 3.0 ports, I use it to charge and sync ipad and cellphone, so don't have any complaint.

This VAIO will be an ipad replacement for me, once I could find some of my favorites ipad apps ported for win8. Granted, it is heavy to move around, but it is convenient to have windows apps and media streaming, book reader, email checking all at your finger tip everywhere inside the home (for now), it has become my only go to device.

Just remember, if you want to make using this PC a great experience, upgrade with more memory, and/or to SSD, or get the i7 (I still think SSD makes the most difference), and get to learn win8 as a touch-base OS.

13 people found this helpful

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Fluff n Stuff

Still a good work horse for its age

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018

I bought this computer used a few months ago and have been pretty impressed with it considering it’s 6 year old tech. I replaced the hard drive and upgraded the ram, but it came with an i5 and decent video card. I only use it for occasional work-related tasks that I needed a permanently placed desktop for (so it could interface with other equipment and perform tasks remotely while I’m out).
I sometimes use it to surf the web and check email or do video conferencing and it works well for all of those things. The screen resolution isn’t what you’d get today with OLED, but it’s still pretty good for my needs.
The touch screen works great, I don’t even have a mouse for it, and the ability to adjust the angle or lay it flat has been handy. I don’t care much for the included keyboard, but that’s easy and cheap enough to change out.
Since I replaced the HDD and subsequently the OS, I can’t speak to any functionality on that end, but will say that for someone with no better than middle-of-the-road computer skills, it was easy to change out and upgrade the ram. There is a really thin back access panel (mostly just to make it look pretty) that I cracked when I popped it off, and I’ve had trouble finding a matching replacement. I’m not too concerned about it though.
In all, a pretty well built all-in-one by Sony. To be fair, it’s really more of a desktop than anything else. You can move around with it, but it’s not light and the battery isn’t great when it’s not plugged in.

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