Sometimes there is nothing like a shiny new PC to bring a family together—and this was the case for my family a few weeks ago when I brought the Sony VAIO Tap 20 to my parents’ house. My sister asked inquisitively “what’s that?” when she saw it sitting in the trunk of my car. I told her that it was half tablet, half all-in-one and the coolest new PC from Sony.
The Sony VAIO Tap 20 is an amazingly unique PC because it is the only All-In-One that doubles as a gigantic tablet. You can unplug it from the wall, pick it up and move it easily to any room in the house, and better yet, it has a three hour battery life, so you don’t have to pick a spot to work or play near an outlet. It seamlessly went from the kitchen to the downstairs living room in my house many times a day. The fact that a PC with a 20 inch screen is now very portable is so cool.
When I set it up in the kitchen my mom, dad, and sister began hovering to see how this PC worked. My mom was instantly impressed with the clean design and the fact that there is one single cord needed for power—she doesn’t like when there is a mess of wires and cables everywhere. Needless to say that the sleek and minimalist exterior of the Tap 20 totally appealed to her.
I was able to capture my dad’s attention when I showed him how the innovative hinge design allows the Tap 20 to be propped upright like an easel or laid flat. He was busy for quite some time surfing the Seattle Times website from the kitchen counter with Internet Explorer 10.
Internet Explorer 10 provides a great web browsing experience. IE10 is built for touch and allows you to have a full screen website without any navigation bars to get in your way. For example, now you can zoom in and out and go backwards and forwards all with your fingers.
But perhaps my favorite moment with the Tap 20 was when my 13 and 15 year old cousins arrived for dinner and made a beeline for the Tap 20 which had been relocated to the coffee table in the downstairs living room. Within seconds they were sitting side-by-side on the couch with the Tap 20 on their lap. Willie (the 13 year old) kept saying “this is awesome” as he was checking out the different Windows 8 games and apps on the Start screen.
This was their first hands on experience with a Windows 8 PC, and what always impresses me about kids and technology is their fearless ability to just start figuring it out. They loved the way that they could flip through all of the open apps, and how the Start screen could be customized in so many colors and patterns. But I think all of the fun Windows 8 games were their favorite part of playing with the Tap 20.
Puzzle Touch was the game that grabbed their attention for quite some time. It was great because they could take turns and play the game together. Puzzle Touch is cool because you can import or take a picture and then turn it in to a puzzle that you have to solve. The Tap 20’s beautiful 20 inch screen allowed them to easily watch and be entertained when the other one was playing—a featured that my aunt loved.
I think it was a unanimous consensus at my house that the Tap 20 has a lot to offer everybody in the family. From gathering around it with my mom and my sister to Skype with my aunt and uncle in Michigan, to casually browsing the web, to gaming on a beautiful screen, the Sony VAIO Tap 20 does it all. And with Windows 8, every member in the family can have their own unique log in. This is great because my mom doesn’t want a motorcycle as her picture password, and my dad doesn’t want a picture of my boyfriend and me as his background. With Windows 8, everybody can have their settings, their stuff, and their apps tied to their Microsoft Account, not the PC.
If you think the Sony VAIO Tap 20 would be a perfect addition to your family as well, then go to Sony’s website to check it out for yourself, even LL COOL J gives it a thumbs up in this video from the CES show in Vegas! It has a few different standard configurations, and Sony even offers the ability to customize it to fully meet your needs. Right now, Sony is even offering free shipping, so you should act fast!