Sony Vaio - Thoughts Please
Discussion
Hi there folks.
My son is off to Uni in october so obviously will be inheriting my current laptop ( as this is the perfect excuse to go and get a new one ! )
I've used Toshibas for years, but saw this Sony recently and I like the look and features ( model FE21H ).
Anybody got any recent horror stories about Sony ( not the batteries! ).
Cheers
My son is off to Uni in october so obviously will be inheriting my current laptop ( as this is the perfect excuse to go and get a new one ! )
I've used Toshibas for years, but saw this Sony recently and I like the look and features ( model FE21H ).
Anybody got any recent horror stories about Sony ( not the batteries! ).
Cheers
J1mmyD said:
I have a viao, and I have to say I have been unhappy with it from day one.
Mainly issues with the battery life and overheating.
I reported the problems within a week of purchasing it both to the vendor and the manufacturer. It's been back to the vendor twice - they say nothing's wrong with it. I contacted Sony a few months ago when it seemed the hard drive had expired only to be told that after reformatting I'd have to purchase all the software again (as disks were not supplied with the original purchase - something else I complained about).
After going through all the issues with a sony advisor, they said that they would have supplied a replacement had I notified them of the faults earlier. I explained I had done that but I was told there was no record of any complaint. Because of that, there was nothing they could do.
I'm sure there are other manufacturers out there that are just as obtuse, but I can assure you I will not buy another sony product of any description.
Mainly issues with the battery life and overheating.
I reported the problems within a week of purchasing it both to the vendor and the manufacturer. It's been back to the vendor twice - they say nothing's wrong with it. I contacted Sony a few months ago when it seemed the hard drive had expired only to be told that after reformatting I'd have to purchase all the software again (as disks were not supplied with the original purchase - something else I complained about).
After going through all the issues with a sony advisor, they said that they would have supplied a replacement had I notified them of the faults earlier. I explained I had done that but I was told there was no record of any complaint. Because of that, there was nothing they could do.
I'm sure there are other manufacturers out there that are just as obtuse, but I can assure you I will not buy another sony product of any description.
from www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=95&t=298774&p=1
look at dell, they have very good aftersale service and their machines are built well too. Personally I think the sonys look nice but tend to be on the pricy side considering their performance, nice machines though.
N08646 Inspiron 6400
£941.50
Includes VAT & Shipping
^faster processor, 20Gb bigger HD and 1 year collect and return warranty thingy.
£1,188.25 with 3 year warranty and insurance (theft and accident) << worth having.
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellst
£941.50
Includes VAT & Shipping
^faster processor, 20Gb bigger HD and 1 year collect and return warranty thingy.
£1,188.25 with 3 year warranty and insurance (theft and accident) << worth having.
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellst
I'd say that Sony can be a good buy if you shop around. Although they do tend to give themselves a bit of the brand name price boost.
Very pretty and stylish looking, and their customer service is by 3rd party accounts rather good (friend where I used to work had one of the rubber feet fall off, they sent him a new pack no questions, no charge).
Having said that, I'm currently very impressed with Dell. My XPS died on Sunday, rang them up and engineer arrived today to swap the graphics card out (3yr next business day). As with anything get the best warranty package you can as it's better to be waiting a day or two for the guy to arrive than a few weeks whilst it's shipped to a service center.
Very pretty and stylish looking, and their customer service is by 3rd party accounts rather good (friend where I used to work had one of the rubber feet fall off, they sent him a new pack no questions, no charge).
Having said that, I'm currently very impressed with Dell. My XPS died on Sunday, rang them up and engineer arrived today to swap the graphics card out (3yr next business day). As with anything get the best warranty package you can as it's better to be waiting a day or two for the guy to arrive than a few weeks whilst it's shipped to a service center.
My dad's feet fell off his dell, had some within a few days.
My XPS lapy power unit as faulty... next day had engineer at my house he replaced it. and...
Funny, mine went the same way - but again fixed next day.
I got my laptop from Dell's outlet on eBay (ebay name: dellfactoryoutlet), where they shift cosmetically damaged stuff at a fair saving - well worth a look... should be able to do really well on that budget and have the warranty.
CH
from www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=300287&f=95&h=0
My XPS lapy power unit as faulty... next day had engineer at my house he replaced it. and...
dr bob said:
bez_uk said:
I have XPS M1710 and they replaced the systemboard the day after I rang with a problem with the powerunit.
Funny, mine went the same way - but again fixed next day.
I got my laptop from Dell's outlet on eBay (ebay name: dellfactoryoutlet), where they shift cosmetically damaged stuff at a fair saving - well worth a look... should be able to do really well on that budget and have the warranty.
CH
from www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=300287&f=95&h=0
Vaios are fragile, but beautifully designed and feature-rich. You pay a bit extra for the Sony brand name but the service is good. And if you have sony peripherals, then the memory stick reader that is built in is handy. No need to take a bunch of readers and cables when going on holiday.
Everything is thin and feels easily breakable, but if you look after it, it lasts and lasts. And when it finally goes, you can make it into a fantastic electronic picture frame (because it is so nice and thin)!
Everything is thin and feels easily breakable, but if you look after it, it lasts and lasts. And when it finally goes, you can make it into a fantastic electronic picture frame (because it is so nice and thin)!
orgasmicliving!! said:
Vaios are fragile, but beautifully designed and feature-rich.
Disagree I'm affraid. They look fragile... but are very well engineered.
My sister-in-law had an old PIII-800 Vaio that just would not die, it'd been sat on, wee'd on by the cat, a child had tossed it around the room and the cockroach like thing wouldn't die! It was 3rd hand when she got it as well
Having seen a few of the modern units I'd still say they're well engineered and wouldn't treat them any differently to the other laptop brands on the market.
Cheers for the comments folks. I have been looking at Dell as well and there are a few that look good. The thing with the Sony is the weight and features. Camera and BT builtin and 2.8 Kg ... My current Tosh is a Mobile Pentium 1.7 and weighs in at 3.3 kg. The Dells are also around this weight and lack the options.
I've found a few places that the Sony can be had for 760+vat ( so 760 to me ! ) which looks good value. I think I'll go down to the sony shop in Reading at the weekend and have a feel and prod
...
Cheers
I've found a few places that the Sony can be had for 760+vat ( so 760 to me ! ) which looks good value. I think I'll go down to the sony shop in Reading at the weekend and have a feel and prod
... Cheers
thepassenger said:
orgasmicliving!! said:
Vaios are fragile, but beautifully designed and feature-rich.
Disagree I'm affraid. They look fragile... but are very well engineered.
My sister-in-law had an old PIII-800 Vaio that just would not die, it'd been sat on, wee'd on by the cat, a child had tossed it around the room and the cockroach like thing wouldn't die! It was 3rd hand when she got it as well
Having seen a few of the modern units I'd still say they're well engineered and wouldn't treat them any differently to the other laptop brands on the market.
Zod said:
Mine is two and a half years old and is anything but fragile. It's been around the world with me and never given me a problem. It's a TR1MP.
I've had a Z1XSP for about two and a half years. Used it daily for about the first two of those all over the country, and it's never failed, nothing has cracked, nothing has fallen off, and nothing to suggest it won't still be working in another two years. Mind you, I could have bought a Dell and replaced it with a newer and faster one (twice) for the same money...This model FE21H is Dual Core 1.66, 1Gb, 100Gb, Xblack, wifi, bt, DVDrw, cam etc etc ... I can get it for 765 ex vat, and that looks attractive against Dell. Tosh seem to have lost the way at the moment ... they are pushing the more 'desktop' laptops, and mine travels rather a lot so a weight saving is a bonus ( to my shoulder ! )
as I said, gonna go an prod and push one around at the weekend but not buying for another couple of weeks ... Never know .. might get 50£ off it in that time
as I said, gonna go an prod and push one around at the weekend but not buying for another couple of weeks ... Never know .. might get 50£ off it in that time
We have a GRT796HP which is a few years old now. I bought it as a luggable developer-spec machine, so it has a true P4 2.88MHz, 512Mb RAM and 17" TFT screen. Unfortunately it also has a 4kg weight, a brick-like PSU that weights about half as much again and a really crappy battery life (1 hr or less).
Last year the screen went down so it can only run on an external screen so my wife uses it as her desktop these days. But apart from that we've had no problems with it and it has been very reliable.
Last year the screen went down so it can only run on an external screen so my wife uses it as her desktop these days. But apart from that we've had no problems with it and it has been very reliable.
See my post earlier this month: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=95&t=296251
Also, do look at the links posted in that post.
I have got it working again by following advice on that site however my experience of Sony support is such that I'd say if you're out of warranty, you're out of luck. Although they do have online support, their first reply to my problem took over a week and then it was only to ask whether I'd turned it off and an again.
Don't want to bitch because I do think they look great and have great features but when I buy in the future I'll give other things more consideration.
Also, do look at the links posted in that post.
I have got it working again by following advice on that site however my experience of Sony support is such that I'd say if you're out of warranty, you're out of luck. Although they do have online support, their first reply to my problem took over a week and then it was only to ask whether I'd turned it off and an again.
Don't want to bitch because I do think they look great and have great features but when I buy in the future I'll give other things more consideration.
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