what Sony VAIO should to get?

[968]

My other half wants a new laptop. There is a bewildering array of VAIOs but which one to get, preferably less than £1000.....?

[ThePassenger]

Does it have to be a Sony?

[munky]

Everyone I know that's bought a vaio has regretted it. Keys fall off or stop working, and the battery life deteriorates rapidly. One friend said that after 1 year the battery life was down to 20 mins. Avoid, IMO.

[jamieboy]

munky said:

Everyone I know that's bought a vaio has regretted it. Keys fall off or stop working, and the battery life deteriorates rapidly. One friend said that after 1 year the battery life was down to 20 mins. Avoid, IMO.

On the other hand, I bought a VAIO Z1-XSP in March 04 and used it pretty much every day for eighteen months travelling throughout the UK and Europe, and it never missed a beat. It still gets used a couple of times a week, and is still in perfect nick - nothing has broken, nothing has fallen off, nothing has worn out, and there's no indication that it's likely to.

[wolves_wanderer]

jamieboy said:

munky said:

Everyone I know that's bought a vaio has regretted it. Keys fall off or stop working, and the battery life deteriorates rapidly. One friend said that after 1 year the battery life was down to 20 mins. Avoid, IMO.

On the other hand, I bought a VAIO Z1-XSP in March 04 and used it pretty much every day for eighteen months travelling throughout the UK and Europe, and it never missed a beat. It still gets used a couple of times a week, and is still in perfect nick - nothing has broken, nothing has fallen off, nothing has worn out, and there's no indication that it's likely to.

Same here. I've had a vaio for a couple of years now with no problems and no major deterioration in battery life.

[timsta]

wolves_wanderer said:

jamieboy said:

munky said:

Everyone I know that's bought a vaio has regretted it. Keys fall off or stop working, and the battery life deteriorates rapidly. One friend said that after 1 year the battery life was down to 20 mins. Avoid, IMO.

On the other hand, I bought a VAIO Z1-XSP in March 04 and used it pretty much every day for eighteen months travelling throughout the UK and Europe, and it never missed a beat. It still gets used a couple of times a week, and is still in perfect nick - nothing has broken, nothing has fallen off, nothing has worn out, and there's no indication that it's likely to.

Same here. I've had a vaio for a couple of years now with no problems and no major deterioration in battery life.

I've had Dells, Toshibas, and VAIOs, and I'll only buy VAIOs now.

[ashes]

got the baby PCG-TR5MP and its a beauty. Trouble is all my customers want to steal it!

New versions are even smaller - highly recommended

[arfur]

I've got a FE21H and a FE31H ... both excellent ... and within your budget

[JonRB]

968 said:

My other half wants a new laptop. There is a bewildering array of VAIOs but which one to get, preferably less than £1000.....

That's like asking what car to buy without mentioning what you need (no point in suggesting a 2-seater if you have 6 kids and need a family car, for example)

Likewise for the laptop, what are your criteria? Size? Weight? Processing power? Battery life?

[968]

JonRB said:

968 said:

My other half wants a new laptop. There is a bewildering array of VAIOs but which one to get, preferably less than £1000.....

That's like asking what car to buy without mentioning what you need (no point in suggesting a 2-seater if you have 6 kids and need a family car, for example)

Likewise for the laptop, what are your criteria? Size? Weight? Processing power? Battery life?

Well it's not for me, but my other half would like something relatively small, portable, as powerful as the budget will limit, and good battery life, although that's not critical, as it will be used at home.

[munky]

sorry, old news but I was reading these and it reminded me of this thread!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6 - those battery recalls by various manufacturers due to some catching fire - all made by Sony.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology

Sony just seem to be having a lot of problems with their products at the moment

[Zod]

I have a three year old Vaio that has been problem-free since I bought it. Battery life remains good at thre hours+. I installed Vista on it this weekend and, but for the infuriating lakc of a sound card driver, it works perfectly.

[m12_nathan]

I had a battery issue with a vaio after about 18 months it'd last 15 mins max, IBM lenovo all the way for me now.

[JohnP]

I had a Vaio Z600 TEK for daily use for a few years, was well built and reliable except for the battery which like some posters above died very quickly.

I also had battery problems with a Sony MiniDV handicam ....