Sony Vaio - Thoughts?

[kcjaime]

I am looking into getting a new laptop in a very preliminary fashion. I currently have Dell Inspiron 600m, which has been great to me since I got it. However, it took a tumble about a year and a half into ownership, and the keys are noisy and the Enter key is now getting grumpy with me regularly. It still works well, and if I were to get a new one, we would likely either sell mine for a little $ or give it to a family member.

I am particularly interested in the Sony Vaios. I love Dell (unlike many!), but their selection isn't fabulous right now.

I have been reading reviews of the various models and even different brands, but the problem is that you can always find a good and a bad review for everything. I'm just looking for anyone's personal experience with the Sony Vaio. Much appreciated! :-)

The particular model I am eyeing is the S460. Looking for light and portable.

Thanks!

[alical04]

We have a Sony Vaio laptop and we love it!! I dont have the particular model that you are looking at so ours is heavier but it is out main computer so we dont tote it around. But we have had no problems with it and we have had it for a year now and have enjoyed it! We will probably go with a Sony again for our next computer but not a laptop as our main computer next time. Hope that this helps! :D

[BethElena]

my dh's parents have a sony vaio desktop. they have had it for AT LEAST 8 years, problem free. (of course it's slow as a turlte that old, but none the less...) We wanted to buy a Sony Vaio, but too much $$ right now :( Go for the Vaio!

[Jen309]

we have a Vaio desktop and laptop (the laptop was purchased for dh by his work, but we use it OFTEN, probably more than the desktop). I love them both. We've had the desktop for about 2 years and the laptop for one. He's had some problems with the DVD drive, but that's it. I LOVE the laptop screen. It is as clear as an HDTV and the model that he has I think is 17". It can get heavy, but it's got removable drives to help with that. I'd say the only downside is the price. It has proved to be very functional and easy to use.

[kcjaime]

Thanks for the quick responses! Glad to hear a couple of good reviews off the bat.

I must explain that I live in a multiple computer household. DH & I both have laptops and DH also has a desktop. I use mine mostly in the living room of our house, with the benefit of wireless internet. However, I want it to be light b/c I would like to be able to take it out and about for writing purposes.

It is a little scary that they are so expensive, though. However, I have looked around on the net and found cheaper prices. I think before I would buy I would go to Best Buy or somewhere and play with it a bit in person first.

[kcjaime]

Jen309 You mentioned the price...do you think they are worth it?

I have definitely heard that the image quality is fantastic on the Vaios. :)

[BethElena]

kcjaime - we just bought an emachines b/c it was considerably cheaper than the vaio. Boy, I SEE WHY! The keyboard doesn't work right, the CD drive skips, and it has already "shut down" spontaneously. If I had to do it over again, we would have paid the $1200 for the tower only vaio instead of the $1200 whole kitten caboodle emachine.

[kcjaime]

BethElena Sorry to hear about your computer troubles. That sucks!
:(

If I know I'm getting good quality, I will feel better about spending more.

Turns out a SonyStyle store opened up in Pentagon City. I think I will stop in there on the way home just to check out the Vaios in person and see if it feels like a good fit. Just another step in the check process! :)

[HisSpicy]

I have a Vaio and I love it! I don't remember the exact model number, but it's got a large screen and all the fancy stuff, but only weighs about 5 pounds! (Light enough for me to tote off to classes, big enough to watch movies with more than one person and store lots of stuff.) I sort of had a problem writing things to a cd, but it wasn't a problem with the computer itself, and the Tech. service was soo helpful in assesing what I needed to do, send me a link to a free upgrade for a certain component and what disks work best with my computer. I can not think of one thing I don't absolutly love about this computer, and fully expect it to last me several years. (I usually keep a laptop for 4-5 years, and previous ones haven't been as high quality either.) Hope this helps!

[kalogrias]

I have a Vaio and love it. I've had it for the past four years, and it's never quit, died, or acted weirdly. Sometimes it randomly turns on, but I think that's more a function of the power source in our building than the computer. It's got great color, awesome graphics, good memory space...highly recommended.

[lawyergirl25]

I've had my Vaio for 2 years and I love it! I bought it for law school - lugged it to school and the coffee shop every day and used it heavily - and it's the best computer I've ever had. It's a V505BX and I think I paid around $1400 on sale.

Four of my friends all bought the same model the year before me - V505AX - and they haven't had any real problems either. I like mine better than theirs because they have to connect to a docking station to use floppy disks or CDs, but I don't.

The only problem that I've noticed - and it's a problem that we could have avoided if we had been smarter or known about the problem - is that the power cords will warp quickly if you wrap them too tightly (which we all did because we packed our laptops up 6 times a day, whenever we switched classes or left the library). In the last 6 months, 3 of us have had to get new power cords because they started to fray and wouldn't work properly. Luckily we were all covered by warranties and didn't have to pay anything.

[EmilyBronte]

I have had my Vaio for a year and I LOVE it! My parents recently bought the laptop you are researching (I think) and they think it's the best computer they've ever had.