Sony VAIO GRT series

To measure maximum notebook application performance, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's SysMark 2002, an industry-standard benchmark. Using off-the-shelf applications, SysMark measures a desktop's performance using office-productivity applications (such as Microsoft Office and McAfee VirusScan) and Internet-content-creation applications (such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver).

Performance analysis written by CNET Labs assistant lab manager Eric Franklin.

System configurations:

Fujitsu LifeBook N series
Windows XP Home; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 8500 64MB; Hitachi DK23EA-60 60GB 4,200rpm

Sony VAIO PCG-GRT260G
Windows XP Home; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Nvidia GeForce FX Go 5600 64MB; IBM Travelstar 80GN 80GB 4,200rpm

Toshiba Satellite P25-S607
Windows XP Media Center Edition; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Nvidia GeForce FX Go 5200 64MB; Toshiba MK6022GAX 60GB 5,400rpmTo complete a full run of MobileMark 2002, an industry-standard benchmark, a laptop's battery must last at least 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the Sony VAIO GRT series did not meet this requirement, but it's important to note that this is not that unusual. Many of the largest desktop-replacement notebooks don't complete this battery test.

To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark 2002. MobileMark measures both application performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5.0).

Battery analysis written by CNET Labs assistant lab manager Eric Franklin.

System configurations:

Fujitsu LifeBook N series
Windows XP Home; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 8500 64MB; Hitachi DK23EA-60 60GB 4,200rpm

Sony VAIO PCG-GRT260G
Windows XP Home; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Nvidia GeForce FX Go 5600 64MB; IBM Travelstar 80GN 80GB 4,200rpm

Toshiba Satellite P25-S607
Windows XP Media Center Edition; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Nvidia GeForce FX Go 5200 64MB; Toshiba MK6022GAX 60GB 5,400rpmWhen you pay top dollar for a laptop, you want great service and support to go with it. Unfortunately, the Sony VAIO GRT series ships with a one-year warranty that includes return-to-depot service. To be fair, a one-year warranty is pretty much the industry standard for laptops, but we think you should get more for such an expensive piece of equipment. You can opt to extend the warranty to three years for another $200, a reasonable price. Toll-free, 24/7 telephone support lasts for the length of your warranty.

Sony does a better job with the VAIO GRT's manual, which includes an extensive section on the Giga Pocket technology (if your system includes it) and other audio and video features. The searchable knowledge base on Sony's support Web site provides you with a hodgepodge of answers to keyword searches--some useful, some not. We'd rather see user forums and the ability to engage in a real-time chat with a tech-support rep. On the other hand, Sony has an excellent set of online tutorials on a wide range of subjects, including how to set up and use the Giga Pocket software.

To find out more about how this product's warranty really stacks up and what you should look for in terms of service and support, take a look at CNET's hardware warranty explainer.

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