At the Berlin IFA 2013 conference, Sony announced a whole host of new laptops and tablets, including the VAIO Tap 11 series, designed to take on the Microsoft Surface Pro. As a recap, the VAIO Tap 11 is an 11-inch Windows 8 tablet with dual speakers with a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display and is configurable with up to a 512GB SSD drive and Intel Haswell Core i7 Processor. While at the conference we learned everything could about what the tablet could offer, Sony was mum on its release date and price tag. Now thank to Sony, we can report on the series release date and price.

According to Sony, the VAIO Tap 11 will hit Germany come October in two base configurations. Starting at 799 €, the VAIO Tap 11 will come with with 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD Intel Pentium 3560Y Processor (1.2GHz). Those are looking to pay 1199 € will instead be treated to a Intel Core i5-4210Y Prozessor (1.5 GHz) and LTE, a first for Windows 8 tablets. One caveat worth noting is that it’s believed that the series will only offer a 5 hour battery, a far cry from the over 10 you can get from an iPad.

Switching gears a bit, we’ve learned a bit more about the Sony VAIO Flip 13 and Flip 15, the hybrid Ultrabook/tablet series. Like the Tap 11, the VAIO Flip comes with a standard 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display, and numerous Haswell processor options though the 15-inch model will offer a 2,880 x 1,620 resolution display. Seeing how a keyboard and trackpad come standard in this series, the 13-inch model starts off at 999 € with a Intel Core i3-4005U Processor (1.7 GHz), 128GB SSD, and 4GB RAM. Interesting enough, those wanting the 15-inch model will be charged no premium with the larger edition costing 799 €. However, notice the spec difference with the VAIO Flip 15 giving you an Intel Pentium Processor 3556U (1.7 GHz) and a 500GB (5400 RPM hybrid) hard drive. Things like Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC are standard on both machines.

Those wanting a bit more power from either model will be happy to know that if you’re willing to spend 1499 €, Sony will be happy to give you quite a bit more. Starting with the VAIO Flip 13, the extra 500 € will bump you to an Intel Core i7-4500U Processor (1.8 GHz), 256GB SSD, and 8GB RAM. Those eyeing the VAIO Flip 15 will see their internals change to an Intel Core i7-4500U Processor (1.8 GHz), Intel® HD Graphics 4400+ NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M with 2 GB VRAM, 1TB (5400 RPM hybrid with 16GB SSD), and 12GB RAM. And yes, you did read that right, a 1TB drive.

No word yet on availability of the series and pricing outside of Europe those with both series set to launch this year, we expect to hear more from Sony sooner rather than later.

Discuss:

Is the VAIO Tap 11 or VAIO Flip series priced appropriately?