The design of the computer is gorgeous. The rubberized bottom makes this design more compelling than the macbook Air. In general, the aluminum finish is top-notch and there is little I would change about it. The computer is streamlined and utilitarian. One thing that i would change however is the way in which the lid opens. Quite Frankly, it is difficult to open most of the time; the magnets used to secure the lid firmly closed are a tad to strong.
The screen is fantastic. The review by The Verge made it sound as if it had bad viewing angles and the actual screen quality was low. This is not the case and in fact it is significantly better in practice than both the air (in resolution too!) or even a macbook pro. I even find it to be slightly better than the Asus ux31/32 ips panels that are available.
The keyboard is okay, but not the best for sure. If you do not hit the keys are enough and touch type on the keyboard it will do the double key issue. However, for me at least it was quick to adjust on the keyboard without just pounding on it to gain the right amount of force to prevent this from happening in almost all scenarios.
The touch-pad is also just mediocre. Not the worst for sure, some HP's took that crown, but certainly not the best. The issue lies in the time it starts to move the cruiser. Multi-touch gestures and scrolling work great and are the best i have ever used on Windows but the actual pointing and tap-to-click are too slow to register. If Vizio can get the lag time down before the cruiser starts moving (which after it starts is just fine)then i could have recommended the track-pad.
Battery-life is better than I expected and I usually get about five hours normal use.
Heat is imperceptible in normal use and slightly warm with more demand. Fan noise unfortunately is not as great as i would have hoped/expected. The fan, while quiet even when ramped up, has a higher pitch to it. So while it is quiet, it is noticeable.
Performance is what you would expect, and while good it is not perfect. While I don't believe RAM is overly necessary over 4gb, I do like to disable page-file/swap and I run out of memory faster than I would have liked. While 4gb is what i expected, its not what I wanted. The Processor and graphics are also suitable for all but gaming needs and the SSD is the true muscle of the machine.
Overall i would highly recommend it for all but the keyboard and track-pad.
For the record i have the CT14-A0 and purchased from amazon for $600.
The Breakdown
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Design
8
-
Keyboard
6
-
Touchpad
5
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Display
9
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Performance
8
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Heat / noise
8
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Battery life
7
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Software
9
Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
