Small Powerful Sexy

By Vidit Bhargava (Memphis, USA)

This review is from: Sony VAIO VGN-SR410J/B

This is my second laptop, upgraded from a Toshiba Satellite. Sony has done a lot of good and bad things with it. It is intended both for home and office. A powerful performer with a small size. As with other Sony VAIO laptop products, it is a beauty.

PROs:

1. Speed - The laptop I have an Intel Core2Duo P8600, which is extremely rapid and coupled with ATI graphics card (128MB video card in my laptop) it works perfectly fine. The RAM in this can be a DDR3 (it is upgraded with DDR2-800 standard).
2. Screen - 1280x800 LED backlit LCD. The screen is brilliant and vivid, very good colors and extremely bright (I think the brightness levels of 6 to 4 in the rule) and it is very good for watching movies.
3. Keyboard - The Full-Size-VAIO-style (or MacBook chiclet-style) keyboard is great to type. Well distributed buttons with small errors while typing. You know, if you start with him.
4. Touchpad - OK. This is no Macbook with Multi-Touch, but it has a nice matte texture, large touchpad. It is very responsive and comfortable.
5. Switch-Mode - This is a new feature, Sony has brought up. It allows up to three custom settings for 5 buttons. For example, you can create a setting for private use and give you 5 applications which can be easily accessed with only 5 buttons above the keyboard. You can also use different wallpaper for each setting. Quite a handy feature.
6. Integrated webcam and microphone - These are pretty standard on laptops these days, but the picture quality and sound quality from the microphone is good.
7. Styling - The new Vaio design (tube-styling or whatever they call it) is amazing, and it looks pretty good. Overall, the laptop looks sexy.
8. Construction - The laptop is pretty robust and has a solid feel.
9. Cooling - This machine has sufficient ventilation openings and in the right places. I can hardly hear the fan even when I playing on this (yes, play me and they run fine). The soil barely heats up and you can continue with this on your lap for long hours.
10. WiFi and Bluetooth - Well, this standard come with WiFi-N and Bluetooth. I think Sony SmartWi application in handy (do not know why people complain about it). I can install Bluetooth on off directly from the sidebar window, simply and easily.
11. Battery Life - Well, do not know if its really high, but there are about 3-3.5 hours of battery life under normal use, WiFi, Bluetooth with LCD and brightness from third

CONS:

1. Sony bloatware - Well, a general problem with the Vaio laptops desktops - Sony's pre-installed software. I think some of them practically while some of them are junk and only place away.
2. Speakers - The sound from the speakers is acceptable but not loud. Come on, this is only a 13 "laptop ... you will not make it in to a boombox.
3. have had USB ports - it only has 2 USB ports, might at least 3.
4. No HDMI output - Well, I think the new systems have a better video card and HDMI output. My machine is a model SR190 and one of the earliest. The subsequent SR290 and SR390 (numbered and similar models) have a better graphics and HDMI output, 2 USB ports, but still.
5. LAN port and modem port cover - I do not know what Sony was thinking when they came out of this cheap idea, a flimsy, plastic cover on these ports. It would have been better if they were open. The plastic cover drives once in a while with the slightest touch. Quite annoying.

PS: I am running Windows 7 RC dual-booted Vista on this laptop and it works absolutely fine. The "Switch Mode" keys did not work as Sony still no drivers for Win7 out. Believe me, Vista runs fine on this.