While video quality (what video we could play) turned out well, audio was something of a mixed bag. I discovered that the sound quality varies depending on the surface the system sits on. If it's on a hard desktop, the sound quality is better than if you plop it down on a tabletop covered by a tablecloth. Even in the best case, the sound quality is limited by the speaker size; the unit produces little audible bass content, though Dolby Home Theater v4 spreads out the sound stage a bit without adversely affecting audio quality. If you plan on using the Tap 20 to watch a lot of movies, or as a music playback device, external speakers would be a good idea.

The Tap 20 is an unusual product. It's relatively underpowered as a desktop system, but its strong suit is as a shared family PC, with the ability to be moved easily around the home. And its potential as a shared gaming device is impressive. Unfortunately, it isn't as strong on the productivity side, and the lack of MPEG-2 playback--more a Windows 8 problem than Sony's--makes it an imperfect entertainment system.

In many ways, the Tap 20 showcases both the good and the bad of Windows 8. Its seamless integration with the Windows 8 user interface shows off Microsoft's new operating system at its best, but the lack of capabilities that users have come to expect, such as MPEG-2 playback, is oddly jarring. When you use this machine with Windows 8 native apps, it excels, but the uninspired keyboard and mouse make desktop use more of a chore than it needs to be. The Tap 20 is undeniably cool, but some of the details need to be fleshed out. Still, at about $880, it's not all that expensive, particularly if you consider that it's both a small all-in-one and a really big tablet.