Sony VAIO AR770ND - Core 2 Duo T9500 / 2.6 GHz - Centrino Duo - RAM 4 GB - HDD 200 GB + 200 GB - BD-RE - GF 8600M GT - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : Bluetooth, 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - Vista Business - 17" Widescreen TFT 1920 x 1200 ( WUXGA ) XBRITE - camera

Customer Reviews:

A Desktop Replacement, Powerful And Lean. [Posted on 2008-09-22]
Pros: Vista Business was not as scary as I had imagined ... easy to work with and my old programs and most hardware still work. The 1920 x 1280 screen resolution is amazing and the BluRay disc player/recorder doesn't slow it down at all.

Cons: The standard battery doesn't last but 45 - 60 mins. This is the only reason for not giving it a full 5 stars. For some, the size and weight might be an issue, though it is not for me.

Summary: Thankfully, this model does not come pre-loaded with a great deal of bloatware, though some trial versions of some standard Microsoft business programs are pre-loaded. I didn't find this particularly cumbersome. This is my first experience with any version of Vista and I'm okay with it. It's been stable and once I figured out where things were, there are a few changes, I can navigate quite easily. As mentioned earlier, the powerful processor means I don't have to wait on the computer to finish processing before I continue to work.

I've not found the keyboard to be either particularly great nor particularly difficult to work with. Maybe there are some ergonomic improvements to be made, but don't let that be a major factor in your purchase decision. The keys have a nice, solid feel to them.

I watched a recently released Blu-Ray movie without incident. No glitches, slowing down or any of the other anomalies reported by others watching Blu-Ray discs on laptops. With the WUXGA X-Brite display, I was able to makeout details in a brick wall in the wide shots. Pretty amazing, I thought.

The computer does generate a good amount of heat, both where your hands rest, underneath, and out the back vents.. Be sure to allow for good airflow during operation to prevent overheating. Working with it on your lap can get a little uncomfortable, so think of it as a "notebook computer", not a "laptop". I use a lap desk which works very well. I'm sure Amazon sells these.

I've done some Photoshop work, video editing and DVD authoring using high-end professional programs. Compared to my dual-core 2.0 GHz Sony Vaio desktop, the AR770ND renders faster. I've not done any timed tests, I just know it doesn't take as long for similar tasks, which it shouldn't. Not all notebooks perform like they should and this one does.

Aesthetically, the top and screen border are shiny piano black finish, which do show fingerprints. The rest of the computer is matte black. There are DVD player function buttons near the keyboard (play / stop / ff / skip / etc), volume, eject, and a couple of special function buttons which I assume are assignable. I haven't looked into that.

There is a high-quality webcam built in. I'm waiting to have time to try a web chat. I've turned on the camera and have been impressed with the images. There's a full-complement of inputs and outputs. Check the specs to see if the ones you want are included. I was most interested in HDMI for hooking up to an HDTV, Firewire (IEEE1394) and 3 USB ports.

I've waited more than a month to write this to give me time to use it for awhile, get several programs installed and get a feel for how well I'm going to like the AR770ND. Right now, I'm very comfortable with my purchase decision and have no remorse whatsoever.

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