If 2010 was the year of the 3DTV, perhaps 2011 is the year of the 3D laptop. Despite not receiving nearly the same level of hype as stereoscopic televisions, we've seen more 3D-enabled laptops this year than ever. The latest is Sony's 16-inch F-series Vaio laptop. Our $1,899 review unit is called the Vaio F215FX, but if you go to the Sony Style site, the closest current model number is the Vaio F21AFX, which is identical save for a slightly different processor (Intel Core i7-2730QM vs. Intel Core i7-2630QM).
Sony Vaio VPC-F215FX/BI
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
As with most Vaio systems, it's slick, attractive, and well-built. It's also almost obscenely heavy for reasons we can't quite fathom; other 3D laptops manage to weigh the same as their non-3D counterparts.
Sony's take on 3D for laptops is unique. The system uses Nvidia's 3D Vision platform, which is the gold standard of laptop 3D (and honestly, beats most 3DTVs), but instead of using Nvidia's active shutter glasses, Sony includes a custom pair, which works on both this laptop as well as Sony's line of 3DTVs. It's a nice touch if you happen to own both, but it also highlights the consumer-interest-killing fragmentation in stereoscopic 3D.
The Vaio F215FX is still on the expensive side, even for a quad-core laptop. You're paying both the usual Sony Vaio premium, as well as the 3D hardware premium. If you're eager to get into laptop 3D, but want to spend less, there are 3D systems out there for around $1,000, but you'll end up with something that doesn't look or feel nearly as nice, and likely with a lower screen resolution and lower-end components.