MacBook Air vs Sony Vaio TZ

Round 1: Performance

Clearly, the MacBook Air destroys the Vaio here, in all features other than RAM and hard drive space. It’s a bit odd that the Sony has a higher-capacity 1.8-inch hard drive, but perhaps that drive is thicker than what will fit in Apple’s design. Overall, the winner in this category isn’t surprising, given that it was one of the Air’s focus areas. It really is impressive, though, how much power Apple has packed into such a thin chassis. Winner: MacBook Air.

Round 2: Portability

So who wins this category? The Vaio is clearly the more portable laptop. Not only is it lighter, but it takes up much less space on a tray table, and could easily be opened and used even when the person in front of you reclines their seat. The battery is removable, meaning you don’t need to find a power outlet every five hours. Yes, the screen is a bit small, but that’s the tradeoff Sony chose to make to keep the size and weight down. Winner: Sony Vaio.

Round 3: Audio and Video

Basically, this is a tie…except the Vaio comes with two speakers, not one. In a pinch, you could use it to listen to a movie or music without resorting to headphones or external speakers. On the Air, however, the sound from the one speaker probably won’t be sufficient for such tasks. Winner: Sony Vaio.

Round 4: Data Input and Output

By using a thicker case, Sony was able to find room for a ton of stuff inside this machine. A dual-layer DVD burner, Gigabit Ethernet, built-in modem, and not just 802.11n but a Sprint Wireless Broadband card are all inside the case. By comparison, the MacBook Air only offers an optical drive, modem, and USB to Ethernet adapter as external, extra-cost options. In addition, there’s no broadband wireless option for the Air. Winner: Sony Vaio.

Round 5: Other Ports

The number of ports on the Sony is simply astounding—and a bit of overkill, honestly. But there’s no denying which machine has more flexibility here—the Sony has nine assorted ports on it, against just two on the Air. The Air does offer a better video out option, as it uses DVI versus the VGA of the Sony. Winner: Sony Vaio.

Round 6: Cost

No need for a table here. The Vaio lists at $2,499, versus a list of $1,799 for the MacBook Air. To be fair, though, you’d need to include the SuperDrive ($99), USB to Ethernet adapter ($29), and USB modem ($49). Throw in $20 for a USB hub, which you’ll need to use the modem and adapter at the same time, and you’re at something just over $2,000.

So is the extra $500 worth it for the Vaio over the Air? That’s where the question of tradeoffs comes back into the picture. If what you need is a full-featured but very small and very light portable, but you’re less concerned about performance and can handle the small screen, then the Vaio is probably well worth the extra $500. For that money, you get more hard drive space, less weight, a disc burner, wireless broadband, and tons of ports.

If, on the other hand, you value performance over size and features, then the MacBook Air is a bargain. It weighs nearly the same as the Sony, has a larger screen and keyboard, and offers a much nicer combination of processor, cache, and graphics card. There’s no clear “winner” in this category then, as the two machines are really aiming at different user types. If it were my money, however, I’d pick the Sony’s feature set, smaller size, and lower weight and fork out the extra $500. That is, I’d do that except for the issue of the final category that follows.