Opinions and prices on Sony laptops? Possibly others

[scotth_uk]

Hi All,

Due to new work opportunity, I need to get a laptop in the next few weeks. Whilst buying a cheapo IBM R40e would probably do the job, I am inclined to go nuts (my usualy method of purchase) and get a real rip-snorter. Current PC may become a media unit under the TV.

I used to be a Dell addict, although I am hearing too many horry stories at the moment about the Inspirons. Got some cheap prices on 1 year old HP's, too. Using an IBM T22 at the moment, and it's a great reliable machine that really takes a beating (only the DVD drive has failed).

Main desire is pushing me towards these Sony models:

S Series (VGN-S2XP/VGN-S2VP/VGN-S2HP)
A Series (VGN-A217M/VGN-A215Z)

Anyone got any good Sony connections for decent pricing, or any experience with these or similar models?

 

[C240Sport97]

I have the VGN-S1XP (the predeccessor to VGN-S2XP), and it's fantastic. The screen is fabulous. It's light, and the battery life is really quite good.

I got mine from Tottenham Court Road .. not cheap at £1780

 

[scotth_uk]

WoW! Great unit, I've read nothing but good about that unit. That's why I am quite interested in the S2 range... Just not sure which one to get my hands on.

Pricing so far is:

S2XP £1594 (@officeonline)
S2VP £1828 (@digiuk)
S2HP £1351 (@ebuyer)

 

[swl]

John Lewis has the Sony Vaio Laptop, VGN-S2XP priced at £1,799.00 but it comes with 2 years warranty. It's worth checking if JL will price match if you are interested in this model.

 

[Sp!ke]

Sony's are nicely designed laptops ... the look and feel is superb, even more so than the Macs IMO> I have one . cough Sony bribed me with it for a review cough cough but thats another story.

But and its a big but... support is useless. Driver updates are few and far between and spares are just a nightmare as models change virtually on a weekly basis with very few components interchangeable between models.

Not to mention, if your Sony breaks, you have back to base warranty with up to a six week turnaround mean while, no laptop. With Dell's warranty, its next day worldwide on site (they'll even turn up at your hotel when on holiday with the parts to fix it.)

Sony's are also mega expensive on the whole. Put it this way, you could buy two new Dell Inspirons and still come out saving over the Sony.

If it were my money...

 

[fuzzer]

Ive got a sony with a 16 inch screen , its about 2 years old and falling apart . which is annoying after spending 2k on it.

IF i was you at the moment , pc world have a 500 quid sharp notebook that weighs 0.98kg and is a perfect design for a laptop..

light and portable.... and at 500 notes , if you drop it or loose it .. who cares

 

[scotth_uk]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Another mate has access to new machines, but end of model stuff which is well priced. For about £1000 I can get some decent stuff.

New bosses bought the new Sony X505's and quite like them, but £2k is a lot of money.

 

[scotth_uk]

Few reservations about the Sharp machine - I still have a Sharp Actius which is a piece of absolute rubbish for service/support/drivers. Luckily I know enough Japanese to get the files from the defunct Japanese site. It's a great design, but painful in every way.

Check this statement out on Sharp's UK website:

FAQs


Q How do I obtain after-sales support or service on the Notebook I purchased in the UK?


A Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd ceased selling notebooks in 2002. However there are a number of Sharp notebooks sold since then by Dixons Stores Group. These include the PCGP10, PCGP1415/6, PCFS1417, PCFS2518, PCMV1214, PCUM1110 and PCMM1110.
Although these products have the Sharp brand name on them, they were not distributed or supported by this office.

To explain, for commercial reasons Dixons Stores Group( PC World ) have bypassed this office and commissioned several models of notebook to be produced to their specific design, quality and price requirements from a Sharp factory in China. In doing so they have taken over the responsibility this office would normally accept in terms of after sales support both in and outside guarantee .This means that they set the terms of the guarantee, source and set the price of spare parts and accessories, manage any upgrade requirements and of course provide a repair service both in outside guarantee.

Dixons Stores Group fully accept their responsibilities and have asked us to refer any customers who require either pre-sales or after-sales advice to them . The contact details they have provided are as follows:

For pre-sales enquiries please contact :

www.pcworld.co.uk or telephone 0800 056 5732

For all after-sales ,operational or technical support enquiries, please contact :

0870 901 3000 or [email protected]

If your notebook was not purchased from Dixons/PC World and you require service, please contact Sharpserv on 0870 738 0000.

 

[GregE240]

Scott, nobody else has mentioned the T word so I'm going to say it.

Toshiba.

In my experience, the best bar none. The laptops are built like brick outhouses, and I've never had one let me down. I've had colleagues with Vaio laptops who've had support problems from Sony, but Tosh are my favourite. I still miss my old 9000, it was beautiful. Light years better than the Compaq EVO I have now, and I used to rate Compaq.

To be fair, I've not had any trouble with the latest Thinkpads either.

Greg

 

[scotth_uk]

I love Thinkpads for reliability and sturdiness. I have a T22 at present for work which has had all sorts of abuse and it still works perfectly. Unfortunately the well specced current models are rather expensive. :-(

I managed to spill a full cup of coffee into the T22 once, and it got into the CPU fan and started spraying out the side! Simply took it apart and dried it. Never missed a beat.

I've got a slightly different view of the Toshiba's to some, but will not rule them out. I've never experienced any joy using one. They've all failed on me, and have been incredibly slow for their clock speed compared to others.

 

[Will]

Silly question, but how long are you intending to keep your new machine for?

For me, personally, I prefer to buy a moderate-spec machine (with the majority of latest features) and then upgrade around once a year.

This has a number of benefits for me, including a few facts:

Most laptop batteries will only last around a year

After a year of average use, most laptops are becoming "tired". Admittedly, good quality machines show less wear and tear than others, but there is still that risk factor of things going wrong!

If you buy a new laptop once a year, it will always be under the manufacturer's warranty! This also does away with the need to pay for extended warranties etc! You will also get the latest version of whatever operating system is flavour of the year bundled in free!

This years £1500 laptop will probably be better specced, and cost around a grand in 12 months time. This year's £1000 machine will probably sell on ebay for £750 in 12 months time. Therefore you can run a reasonably up-to-date model for around £250 a year, including warranty.

I really liked the look of Sony laptops, but can't help think that you are paying for the name. As fuzzer has mentioned, they don't seem to be any better built than the competition, which for the healthy premium, you would expect!

I recently replaced my old laptop, and after a short while studying prices/specs/brands etc, decided on a Toshiba that was on a 'special offer'.

It is probably nowhere near the spec that you are after, but it seemed like a good spec for the money (P4 2.8, 512MB DDR RAM, 40GB HD, DVD-RW, ATI RADEON/15" TFT etc etc)

It cost me £760 (inc 5% discount) from 'PC World' (who I used to loath for their commercial pricing!)

This was a couple of months ago, and I have been informed that a few more were cleared out (brand new) from Currys for less than £600 recently. Ok, there are undoubtedly better machines out there, but I have no need for one better than this (I haven't even used the DVD recorder yet!).

It is already 2 months old, so another 10 months to go and it will be time to buy another new one! Who's guessing what special features that cost ££££s at the moment will be standard in a few months? For me this time, the DVD recorder was this years 'standard' freebie (I will play with it soon!)

Just a little personal experience!

Cheers,

Will

 

[C240Sport97]

When comparing build quality, screen quality, ergonomics, design, looks and "key pressing feel", the VAIO is much better than Toshiba, IBM, Dell etc. To me, it's in a class above.

I have no idea how sturdy the internals are, and I use my laptop at home only, and don't really move around outside the house with it (but it is excellent with wireless broadband around the house), so it doesn't suffer any real abuse.

I love my VAIO. It makes computing a pleasure.

The one thing that irritates me is that it does not have an infrared port -- it has bluetooth, which I detest and is a huge pain to use.

I really liked the look of Sony laptops, but can't help think that you are paying for the name. As fuzzer has mentioned, they don't seem to be any better built than the competition, which for the healthy premium, you would expect!

 

[scotth_uk]

Can get my hands on a HP NX7000 (one model before current NX7010) with the following specifications:

nx7000 P-M 1.5GHz 15.4 WSXGA+ 40GB 512MB DVD/CD-RW 802.11b Bluetooth XP

Less than £800. Decent battery life, widescreen, good reviews all over the web, etc. May have to shelve the desktop replacement idea and just save money.

 

[Will]

Can get my hands on a HP NX7000 (one model before current NX7010) with the following specifications:

nx7000 P-M 1.5GHz 15.4 WSXGA+ 40GB 512MB DVD/CD-RW 802.11b Bluetooth XP

Less than £800. Decent battery life, widescreen, good reviews all over the web, etc. May have to shelve the desktop replacement idea and just save money.

Sounds like a decent machine at a sensible price!

With the money you have saved, you can upgrade more often!

After all, HP have been around for years. Should be pretty neat.

And if you are likely to spill coffee over it, £800 sounds more sensible than £1600!

Just IMHO of course!

Cheers,

Will

 

[scotth_uk]

Will,

You'll be pleased to know that your advice has entered my head and stayed there. I have ordered that machine for £795 and should have it withink a week or so. Has some non obvious options such as SD card reader which will be very useful to me.

Can always splurge on a Sony in 3 months time.

Hopefully won't spill coffee on the new toy.

 

[Will]

Will,

You'll be pleased to know that your advice has entered my head and stayed there. I have ordered that machine for £795 and should have it withink a week or so. Has some non obvious options such as SD card reader which will be very useful to me.

Can always splurge on a Sony in 3 months time.

Hopefully won't spill coffee on the new toy.

Good choice, and if you do decide to upgrade in 3 months time, you will probably get the majority of your cash back!

You will probably also have more of an idea of what you want out of a laptop by then anyway!

Enjoy the new toy!

Cheers,

Will

 

[scotth_uk]

Didn't quite go as planned - ended up with a HP NX7010 (PG588ET) with loads of goodies for £925 in stead. Widescreen SXGA+ was too good to pass on. Also has DVD burner.