That aluminum area aside, the Pro does a good job masking fingerprints, though we were dismayed to find it's not immune to scratches. On the black model, at least, it's also where it picks up the most grease stains, but then again, that's where we tended to hold the machine. The one exception to all this carbon fiber is the brushed-aluminum palm rest, which also happens to be where the machine is at its creakiest. Sony mainly attributes that lightness to the materials used, which include carbon fiber on both the lid and chassis, with black and silver as your two color options. In the case of the 11-inch model, the small footprint makes it especially easy to pack inside a bag with other items, though the larger Pro 13 surely makes for a low-maintenance companion as well. True to its name, the Pro would be perfect for business travel, where every extra pound amounts to more hassle. Not only is it easy to grip in one hand and shuttle from room to room, but I also barely registered a difference when I stuffed it in my backpack along with my regular 13-inch laptop. You can imagine what a convenience that is on a day-to-day basis. Sort of like playing a game of tug of war with a child. Even after Sony's product team told me the exact weight, I still didn't immediately appreciate how little it was when I unboxed my review unit, I heaved it out of the packaging the way I would a 3.5-pound Ultrabook, only to realize gravity wasn't working against my hands. Regardless of whether that's true (and we believe it is), the Pro feels utterly insubstantial, but in a good way. At 1.92 pounds, Sony claims it's the world's lightest touchscreen Ultrabook - in the 11-inch category or otherwise. You can't talk about its hardware at all, actually, until you acknowledge how impossibly light this thing is. But that's just the thing: you can't really appreciate the Pro's design until you pick it up. After all, it's got many of the same visual touches as past models, including a chiclet keyboard, a chrome hinge, a big metal VAIO logo and a glowing green power button, located on the upper-right corner of the keyboard deck. If you were to examine the Pro through a glass case, it would seem like just another VAIO, except cut down to size. You can't talk about its hardware at all, actually, until you acknowledge how light this thing is. You can't appreciate the Pro's design until you pick it up. Join us after the break to see if this is the Z replacement you've been waiting for.%Gallery-189832% #WEAVEIT PRO REVIEW FULL#As it happens, we've been testing the smaller Pro 11 for almost two weeks, so although Sony just announced these machines to the public, we already have a full suite of impressions, benchmarks and hands-on photos ready to go. #WEAVEIT PRO REVIEW 1080P#Both pack fresh Haswell processors, with 1080p screens, NFC and backlit keyboards all standard. (It takes after the business-friendly S series, too.) Starting at $1,150 and available in 11- and 13-inch sizes, these machines use carbon fiber to achieve an even lighter design (under two pounds for the 11-inch model). But there is the new Pro line, and it more or less picks up where the Z left off. #WEAVEIT PRO REVIEW SERIES#In a sense, the Z is still dead: to this day, there is no Z series in Sony's lineup. #WEAVEIT PRO REVIEW UPGRADE#There was a clear hole in Sony's lineup, and diehards were left disappointed, with no clear upgrade path once it came time to retire the ol' Z. Then it was discontinued, only to be replaced by mid-range models with lesser specs. It was the sort of laptop for which techies happily spent $2,000 - and they were ready to plunk down even more money when a new version came out. For years, it was Sony's flagship ultraportable, with a featherweight design, top-of-the-line specs and a delicious carbon fiber weave. To a specific product, though? And a laptop, of all things? That's fairly rare. If you've ever read the comments section here at Engadget, you know it's possible to develop a fanatical attachment to a brand. Intel: Haswell will boost battery life by 50 percent.Sony's VAIO Pro Ultrabooks weigh as little as 1.92 pounds, start at $1,150.
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