-
"FW270J vs MacBook Pro" on by Cooper33
Pros: -16:4 Screen is beautiful. Pretty fast. Quiet. 4 GB mem. 320 HDD. Priced well.
-Doesn't Get Hot. (unlike MacBook Pro)
-Keyboard is Amazing
-Overall design, based off a rolling wave for inspiration
-A lot of ports including HDMI & VGA
-BluRay!Cons: -Speakers are quite disappointing. (but sound is fine through headphones or stereo speakers)
-Sometimes wish headphone jack was on the side of the laptop rather than the front of the laptop
-Touch pad buttons are a little clacky/clicky.Summary: My review is going to go more in depth only on the topics pointed out in the pros and cons of my quick review. But before that, many people relate this Sony to the MacBook Pro, and so did I, which is why I had so much trouble trying to decide between the two. But now that I have bought this laptop, I don't know why I considered the MacBook Pro, and last year's version at that, a refurbished 2008 Edition, not the new thin models. But this Sony is much more in its own, and this is why:
SD slot and Memory Stick Duo slot make transfer of files from camera, phone, or PSP extremely easy and fast. Probably won't ever see an SD card slot on a Mac. (at least not for a long time) Never will you see a Memory Stick Duo because it's Sony proprietary format.
The 16:4 Widescreen is gorgeous, and with the BluRay player, movies look great on the laptop. I haven't yet connected this laptop to a HDTV though. Resolution is 1600x900 and Sony also makes an even higher resolution model, which would provide true 1080p.
-The laptop is priced very well. I bought this one new from BestBuy for 1000.
-The laptop doesn't get hot because the back of the laptop is raised from any surface that it might rest on. Therefore the back of the laptop is thicker than the front of the laptop.
-Point blank, you will not find any other laptop with a better keyboard. Since Sony spaced out the keys first, I would expect them to be the best at it. And on the FW they really proved it. Build quality, as with the whole product, feels superb, and the key press stroke is perfect. This keyboard is noticeably better than any Mac. The keyboard does take some acclamation.
-Design is sleek and simple. Mine is white, wish it was black, but for the price I couldn't argue. Design is straight to the point. Glowing power button is a nice touch and just plain sexy.
-This laptop can be your sole BluRay player. Macs will never have BR. So if you want to be left out of HD content future, buy that Mac. This Sony is your BR player with everything else. PS3 or this is the way to go. BR is the future. This particular version does not write BR Discs, but can read. It DOES read and write CD/DVDs.
-Has a microphone line in jack, and an outer microphone that records pretty well. Also has a 1.3 megapixel camera. Represents colors well.
-Touch pad is nice, buttons a little clicky. Touch pad could be bigger, but you don't want that because you would never hear the end of it from Apple fanboys.
-Speakers suck, at least for an entertainment laptop. But that's not what I bought this for. Dolby Digital Sound Room can add some nice effects such as surround and bass booster. You can actually notice the surround sound. Makes the speakers more bearable. Sounds great through headphones or stereo speakers.
I'm so glad I didnt waste $300-$600 more on a Mac Pro. Vista has been perfectly fine. I like it. Leopard is nice but not worth all the extra hassles of finding a Mac compatible version if you want to do a little more than write papers. Even writing papers and making powerpoints is a hassle because you can never transfer a clean version to a PC at work or school. Sometimes you don't want to convert every single thing that you make. Admitedly I wanted a Mac cuz of it's sexy factor which I would give a "10" to the Sony's "9" and also because of Garageband. Then I realized everything in iLife, there is a better version made for a PC, it just doesn't already come with the laptop. This Sony has so much more than a Mac, which I have highlighted, at $600 less. There is nothing the Mac has over this Sony. Nothing. Don't even bring up the no virus thing.
Updated on Jan 17, 2009 -
"Good Mid-Priced Media Laptop!" on by libradude88
Pros: Good value for price, Beautiful 16x9 display, Blu-Ray Player/HDMI, Decent Speakers, OK Battery Life
Cons: No Blu-Ray Burner, Only 720p display, USB port placement (all on right side), Graphics capabilities are lacking
Summary: I did a lot of research before ultimately purchasing this laptop. Like with any electronic device, you have to consider what you're going to be using it for before purchasing.
For me, I needed a laptop with an HDMI port and a blu-ray player so I could hook it up to my HDTV and watch it. I also wanted the fastest processor and biggest hard drive possible for my budget (around $1,000). In ALL of these areas, this laptop came out on top and was the best equipped/reviewed of any other make/brand. So if these are things that are important to you when buying a laptop, DEFINITELY consider this one! Watch for sales online or in stores though because I purchased this for $1,049 around Christmas.
Here is how the "Windows Experience Index" tool on vista rates this computer:
Processor: 5.2
Memory (RAM): 5.9
Graphics: 4.1
Gaming Graphics: 3.8
Primary hard disk: 5.5
As you can see, this laptop excels in every area except graphics. If you're looking to do a lot of intense gaming, invest in a good graphics card. -
"VGNFW245 - Best Buy Black Friday Ed. vs. MacBook PRO" on by SopDogg
Pros: *Beautiful extra wide screen actual 16X9 ratio - Streaming HD content looks great
*Good Blu-ray player/Movies look great connected to HDTVs
*HDMI & VGA port, SD/Memory Card Slots
without having to pay extra for an adapter
*Great keyboardCons: *Bluetooth ready but needs a USB bluetooth adapter to use it.
*Not as sexy as the new MacBooks
*Processor Speed and Graphics card are not as good as the MacBooks
*Heavier than MacBook ProSummary: I was on the precipice of purchasing a Macbook Pro. I've never had a Mac and was thinking becoming a Mac. The MacBook Pro is damn sexy, the unibody design is sick, it was green, and plus it was what the cool people were doing. I wanted to be one of them. I had one in my hand and was ready to take the plunge, but I got cold feet. I was wary of the "Apple Tax", and could I really justify paying $2,000 - 2,500 for a laptop?
I couldn't do it.
Thus I looked long and hard for a laptop that had both functionality and visual appeal much like the MacBook. My search lead me to the Sony Vaio FW series. What drew me to the Vaio FW series was that it included an internal blu-ray player, HDMI & VGA port, large and stunning 16.4 inch screen with 1600x900 resolution, and an SD Card/Memory Stick slot which were inclusions not available anywhere on the MacBook Pros (I don't want to pay more for no stinkin' adapters!). What stuck out the most was the price...$900 which was amazing because the price tag is significantly less than the MacBook Pros. Albeit, a Con is that in my version of the FW, the graphics processor is not as good nor is the processor speed (2.0GHz vs. 2.4 or 2.53) of the MacBook. However, you know the old adage, you pay more, you get more or you get what you pay for. I could probably spend more to get the better processor or the graphics card to make it equivalent to the MacBook, but frankly I am fine with the power of the laptop and I have a PS3 to play games on, so why even bother? With the downturn of the economy, saving more money is better for me...and you.
I've been playing with my Vaio for about three weeks now and I am happy I purchased it. I'm not going to say this Laptop is a Mac killer but with all the additional features on this Vaio, it puzzles me that I even considered purchasing the MacBook (I guess I wanted to be a hipster). The look and style are very similar to the MacBooks and you can't go wrong with paying less than half for a similar (or even dissimilar depending on how you see it i.e. features, etc.) product. Overall, I can say this laptop fits my lifestyle a lot better than the MacBook Pro does and it has been a great purchase for me and my lady (she loves streaming Grey's Anatomy in HD). Maybe one day I can join the cool Apple Hipster crowd, but for now I'm still a PC. -
"Blue Ray ROM drive,fast wireless,wide, white,keyboard." on by pcladytech
Pros: I bought this laptop over others since it has the latest Centrino2, Core2 duo P8400 at 2.26Ghz processor with a fast 1066 Mhz front side bus. I wanted a fast laptop, Best price right now is at Best Buy for $1199.
Cons: Longer battery life would be great. 2.5 hours on standard battery and higher on the high capacity battery.
Summary: With a large 320G hard drive. Wide and bright 16."screen this system also makes a great desktop replacement. View 2 windows side by side easily! I normally like really very lightweight laptops, like my current Sony TX (very long batterylife) series, but this time I decided to buy a full sized one. This unit weighs only 6.4lbs. I have owned at least 4 other Sony laptops and several desktops with almost never having a problems with them. Sony has rock solid reliability, is a bit more expensive but you pay for what you get. The system comes with a blue ray rom drive(read only capability) with full CD/DVD RW drive which I thought was also a great feature since movies are now out in this format. There is also an HDMI interface (single cable connection for transmitting digital HD video content and multi channel audio) to connect it to your flat screen.
-
"Fantastic but big" on by SuPaGrAm
Pros: New version has 1080p
Best value on a blue-ray laptop out there
stunning displayCons: big, battery life could be better
Summary: Two corrections to the review by CNET:
1) It does now have 1080p, costs $150 extra though
2) Its 16.4 inches because thats the same height as a common 15.4 inch laptop but with a 16:9 aspect ratio
Love this laptop, great for using multiple windows, good processor and now has a decent graphics card, keyboard is excellent as well.
Tops my old MB in every way for the same price.
Write a Review
