Sony VAIO VGN-SZ491N/X 13.3" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz Processor, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD RW Drive, Vista Business) | List Price: $2,800.00
Discount Price: $1,649.00
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Brand: Sony
Binding: Personal Computers
Release Date: 2007-01-30
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features: - Sleekly designed, lightweight notebook with 13.3-inch screen, 3.75-pound black carbon fiber case, and Cingular WWAN
- 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 processor 200 GB hard drive, 2 GB installed RAM (max), multi-format/dual-layer DVD drive (8x DVD+/-R)
- Connectivity: 2 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 VGA, tri-mode wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth, multi-format memory card reader, 1 ethernet port, 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone input, port replicator connector
- Hybrid Graphics System lets toggle between NVidia GeForce Go 7400 (up to 335 MB shared) and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (224 MB shared)
- Pre-installed with Windows Vista Business
Amazingly light, powerful and beautiful too! [Posted on 2007-06-03]
I looked at virtually every manufacturer and model before selecting this model to be my next notebook. First off, this notebook is extremely light. At about 3.7lbs i don't think you can beat this for a full powered, full sized notebook. it also has a very top notch processor with a ton of power and ram to perform all your computing needs. i am totally impressed by the beauty of the screen graphics as well. the screen is so bright that i don't even use the highest setting because otherwise i think i'd need sunglasses to see!! The lcd is razor-thin indeed. i'd be worried i'd break it, except i did go to sonystyle and buy an accidental damage extended warranty just for some peace of mind. the "premium" carbon fiber that shows the fibers in the case is very elegant. certainly, there is a model with all the power of this one but without this purely aesthetic feature and you may prefer it for the savings. i just couldn't resist myself though. amazon's price beats everyone else's that i saw--including from sony itself. i added an extra power adaptor for more versatility.Kensington 33197 120 Watt AC/DC Power Adapter for Notebook Computers, Cell Phone, DVD Players, PDAs
one thing to note: if you are mainly interested in the power-saving graphics mode, you may want to check it out in a store first just to see if you would be happy with that mode. this isn't a big deal to me, so it doesn't matter, but i wouldn't be happy using that mode more than occasionally.
The computer that sold me on the swith to Mac [Posted on 2007-10-28]
A friend of mine told me he switched to Macs a few years ago because he was tired of rebuilding his Windows machines every time he turned them on. After 24 hours with this system, that's not much of an exaggeration.
Don't buy this $2,500 Sony unless you're prepared for continuing frustration and slooooooower than a turtle performance. After 24 hours with this system I'd have done better with a brick. I gave up.
Vista Business is frustratingly slow, it takes forever to boot - in fact, it takes forever to do just about anything.
If you don't install all of the Vista updates immediately upon initially turning this Sony notebook on, you'll end up on phone support with Sony with a "invalid activation key" error, which basically meant everything I had installed was lost and I had to start over.
Sony support was very helpful in resolving this "well-known Vista issue," but if it is so "well known," then why didn't Sony fix it before they shipped out this overpriced piece of junk?
I tried reinstalling some of my Windows XP programs and found them not compatible with Vista. No problem, use System Restore, right? Wrong. System restore gave a message that said it couldn't restore - typical Microsoft, no explanation or suggestions. An internet search suggested restoring from safe mode. That didn't work either.
Don't order it and if you do, don't open it unless you want to get stuck for a 15% restocking fee. I knew this going in. I don't blame Amazon, they handled the return with their typically good customer service (I'll let you know if the credit doesn't show up in a timely way). I do blame Sony for shipping them out without the critical patches installed. Mostly I blame Microsoft for introducing another not-ready-for-primetime, bloated operating system. Goodbye Microsoft. I'll convert my desktops to Macs too over the next couple years too and never look back.
Even the re-stocking fee is worth it to get rid of this overpriced junk. I got a top-of-the-line MacBook with their latest (just released) operating system (and a REAL battery life of over 4 hours) for $850 less. Even after repurchasing software, I'll still be several hundred dollars ahead.
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