Touch the Future Now at Staples
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"Nice to look at - the rest is disappointing"
Pros: Style, Color Choices, Lightweight
Cons: Poor battery life, sluggish, high-pitched noise when not plugged in, abysmal customer support
Summary: I am actually reviewing the VGN-C290, but posting here because I purchased a C-series based on this review, and the 290 does not have a separate review yet.
I received my new green C290 about a month ago - after booting up, it struck me as a little slow for a 2ghz machine with 2gb RAM, but I wrote it off as being a Windows Vista issue (only scored a 3.0 out of 5.0 on Vista's performance scale). I had been using it plugged in for about 2 weeks, when I finally took it portable running on battery power it began emitting a high-pitched noise that varied from mildly annoying to headache-inducing in pitch. The noise appeared to be coming from around the battery, and I noticed the battery never seemed to charge past 85%, so I called tech support imagining the battery must be the issue (especially given recent Sony history).
At first, tech support ran me through some fruitless exercises of starting, restarting, removing the battery, going into safe-mode, etc. No effect. The agent gave up and suggested I contact Sony Style (where I purchased). On calling Sony Style, I ended up back with tech support where I got another agent who determined it was probably a battery issue and offered to send out a new one, but suggested sending the computer in to make sure nothing else was wrong. Problem is, I only had 2 weeks until I left the country on an extended trip - so I was worried I wouldn't get back in time... he assured me it should be possible and said they'd send a fedex box immediately to ship it in for service. A week later, no box. Called back, was on hold for over an hour waiting to speak to a "Sr. Tech" - when I finally got through, I was told that this noise was "within normal operating parameters" for the computer and there was nothing they could do.
After 3-4 hours dealing with tech. support, and many more getting a headache from the noise being emitted, I am trying to return the computer to SonyStyle.
Mine may be a corner case, but since they claim this is within normal operating parameters, I highly suggest staying away from the VAIO C-series altogether. Clearly their performance bar is not high enough, at least on this model.
- 2 replies to this review
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I am experiencing the same issue as johnvs1. (I regret not seeing your review sooner, but there is not Sony Vaio VGN-C290 review on CNET at this time)
From a functional standpoint, the computer runs OK. However, the noise described by johnv1 came apparent once I took the computer off of the AC adapter and onto battery power.
When using the computer (on battery) for non-wifi purposes (ie. MS Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, etc.) the computer was flawless. Unfortunately, once I turned on the wifi and opened the web browser (both IE 7 and Firefox 2.0), the motherboard started to emit a high pitched whining sound.
The sound appears to emanate from the rear of the computer, either side of the battery slot, just below the LCD screen. The sound varies from non-existent to a relatively irritating level of noise. This is totally unacceptable, as I use my laptop for meetings, which often take place in a conference room where the participants are miked at their seats into a public address system. (You can imagine how irritating this could be to other people in the room)
I have gone through all of the hoops with the Sony Customer Support call center. After several calls, I was finally authorized to return the unit to their repair center in San Diego for inspection.
Originally, before I sent the computer to the repair center in an overnight FedEx box sent to me by Sony, the intention was to "swap out" the motherboard for a new one.
To my dismay, after the computer was inspected by the repair center, I was informed that the noise was "a characteristic of this model (VGN-C290)" and would be considered "within acceptable performance standards".
The computer was returned to me from the service center, and I am now stuck with having to go through a return and exchange through Sony Style. Apparently, the technical support staff is not authorized to do a return and exchange, which has further delayed resolution of the noise problem.
Having owned many Sony products over the years, this experience is very disappointing. If Sony knows of this technical flaw in the motherboard, they should come up with a fix, rather than trying to pass off the noise issue as "acceptable". -
I am experiencing the same issue as johnvs1. (I regret not seeing your review sooner, but there is not Sony Vaio VGN-C290 review on CNET at this time)
From a functional standpoint, the computer runs OK, however, the noise described by johnv1 came apparent once I took the computer off of the AC adapter and onto battery power.
When using the computer (on battery) for non-wifi purposes (ie. MS Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, etc.) the computer was flawless. Unfortunately, once I turned on the wifi and opened the web browser (both IE 7 and Firefox 2.0), the motherboard started to emit a high pitched whining sound.
The sound appears to emanate from the rear of the computer, either side of the battery slot, just below the LCD screen. The sound varies from non-existent to a relatively irritating level of noise. This is totally unacceptable, as I use my laptop for meetings, which often take place in a conference room where the participants are miked at their seats into a public address system. (You can imagine how irritating this could be to other people in the room)
I have gone through all of the hoops with the Sony Customer Support call center. After several calls, I was finally authorized to return the unit to their repair center in San Diego for inspection.
Originally, before I sent the computer to the repair center in an overnight FedEx box sent to me by Sony, the intention was to "swap out" the motherboard for a new one.
However, after the computer was inspected by the repair center, I was informed that the noise was "a characteristic of this model (VGN-C290)" and would be considered "within acceptable performance standards".
The computer was returned and I am now stuck with having to go through a return and exchange through Sony Style. Apparently, the technical support staff is not authorized to do a return and exchange, which has further delayed resolution of the noise problem.
Having owned many Sony products over the years, this experience is very disappointing. If Sony knows of this technical flaw in the motherboard, they should come up with a fix, rather than trying to pass off the noise issue as "acceptable".
