Sony Laptops

Hi,

I am thinking of getting myself a new notebook and have been spending the
past few days dipping in and out of the various website and stores trying to
find the best price to performance combination.

I have been leaning towards a Sony (K13 specifically) lately. On paper it
does seem to have the right specs for the buck (~$1300). I have also seen a
few postings in this newsgroup over the course of the last couple of years
which spoke quite negatively about the reliability of the Sony machines and
were specifically derogatory about the support and the service. I realize
that some of these postings were quite a while back and that things do
change quite rapidly in the electronics world.

I would appreciate it very much if anybody out there can post some more
recent experiences with their Sony laptops or had anything to say to a
prospective buyer like me.

Thanks in advance,
Krishna.

I pretty mucht think that the opinion about Sony has not changed in this
newsgroup (have been following for quite a while now) ...

Krishna N wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I am thinking of getting myself a new notebook and have been spending the
> past few days dipping in and out of the various website and stores trying to
> find the best price to performance combination.
>
> I have been leaning towards a Sony (K13 specifically) lately. On paper it
> does seem to have the right specs for the buck (~$1300). I have also seen a
> few postings in this newsgroup over the course of the last couple of years
> which spoke quite negatively about the reliability of the Sony machines and
> were specifically derogatory about the support and the service. I realize
> that some of these postings were quite a while back and that things do
> change quite rapidly in the electronics world.
>
> I would appreciate it very much if anybody out there can post some more
> recent experiences with their Sony laptops or had anything to say to a
> prospective buyer like me.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Krishna.
>
>

I think Sony reliability and service is un-even. I have had two Sonys
and both have been very reliable laptops. And very good features and
performance for the price. (PCG-F420 and PCG-GRT150) But service has
been iffy. PCG-F420 had an LCD problem, Sony said send it to a service
center and if you want to spend the money we will work on it. Pretty
poor advice. PCG-GRT150 hardware volume control buttons quit working.
Sony advice to re-install the hot key utility was right on target.

I bought both of my Sonys at U-Bid. They are factory refurbished with
full factory warranty equal to a new computer. But the price is much
less than new.

Regards, hawk

Krishna N wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am thinking of getting myself a new notebook and have been spending the
> past few days dipping in and out of the various website and stores trying to
> find the best price to performance combination.
>
> I have been leaning towards a Sony (K13 specifically) lately. On paper it
> does seem to have the right specs for the buck (~$1300). I have also seen a
> few postings in this newsgroup over the course of the last couple of years
> which spoke quite negatively about the reliability of the Sony machines and
> were specifically derogatory about the support and the service. I realize
> that some of these postings were quite a while back and that things do
> change quite rapidly in the electronics world.
>
> I would appreciate it very much if anybody out there can post some more
> recent experiences with their Sony laptops or had anything to say to a
> prospective buyer like me.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Krishna.
>
>

This is the silence before the storm....

I think there are a few questions (!) about their service, but the laptops
are pretty good.

Duncan.


"Krishna N" <> wrote in message
news:c76kqb$bvgo$...
> Hi,
>
> I am thinking of getting myself a new notebook and have been spending the
> past few days dipping in and out of the various website and stores trying
to
> find the best price to performance combination.
>
> I have been leaning towards a Sony (K13 specifically) lately. On paper it
> does seem to have the right specs for the buck (~$1300). I have also seen
a
> few postings in this newsgroup over the course of the last couple of years
> which spoke quite negatively about the reliability of the Sony machines
and
> were specifically derogatory about the support and the service. I realize
> that some of these postings were quite a while back and that things do
> change quite rapidly in the electronics world.
>
> I would appreciate it very much if anybody out there can post some more
> recent experiences with their Sony laptops or had anything to say to a
> prospective buyer like me.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Krishna.
>
>

Duncan James Murray wrote:

> This is the silence before the storm....
>
> I think there are a few questions (!) about their service, but the laptops
> are pretty good.
>
> Duncan.
>
>
> "Krishna N" <> wrote in message
> news:c76kqb$bvgo$...
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I am thinking of getting myself a new notebook and have been spending the
>>past few days dipping in and out of the various website and stores trying
>
> to
>
>>find the best price to performance combination.
>>
>>I have been leaning towards a Sony (K13 specifically) lately. On paper it
>>does seem to have the right specs for the buck (~$1300). I have also seen
>
> a
>
>>few postings in this newsgroup over the course of the last couple of years
>>which spoke quite negatively about the reliability of the Sony machines
>
> and
>
>>were specifically derogatory about the support and the service. I realize
>>that some of these postings were quite a while back and that things do
>>change quite rapidly in the electronics world.
>>
>>I would appreciate it very much if anybody out there can post some more
>>recent experiences with their Sony laptops or had anything to say to a
>>prospective buyer like me.
>>
>>Thanks in advance,
>>Krishna.
>>
>>
>
>
>
For what it is worth, I very recently compared all the laptops displayed
at a Circuit City store and I have to say, the only one which really had
a quality display was a Sony. Sorry I did not note the model. I would
therefore suggest that anybody considering the purchase of a laptop
should carefully, if possible side by side, the quality of displays.b
The clarity of the traditional icon and their names was very telling.

Remember, the specs do not tell the whole story.

--
John Doue

I have had quite a bit of experience with Sony
laptops. More than half a dozen have seen use
in my hands and those of my 3 kids. Here's a
summary of our experience with VAIOs.

Sony bundles a lot of 3rd party software with
their laptops. This is good value if you can
use it.

Performance is average or slightly below. Sony
seem clearly more interested in adding gadgets
and features rather than pursuing performance.

Their laptops always ship with absolutely the
slowest cheapest disk drives (4200rpm 2MB cache
Toshibas). We've had to replace all of them for
decent performance.

Sony's LCD screens are disappointing. They are
not as bright or detailed as IBM, Panasonic,
Sharp or Fujitsu. They are about par with
Dell and Toshiba. Battery life is so-so.

The smaller models (up to 12") have been quite
reliable. The larger ones tend to break down
more often, especially the LCD screens. The
larger models (GRX, GRT) also overheat quite
frequently.

Sony support is OK for obvious to diagnose
hardware problems that lend themselves to
fixing by replacing major components, e.g.
screens or CD-ROM drives. Turnaround on
warranty service is very slow (6-8 weeks).

Complex problems, such as not meeting the
specs, or intermittent failures that may be
difficult to reproduce consistently, appear
to be beyond the ability or interest of
Sony's support technicians.

Software support is all but non-existent.
Keep in mind that Sony is primarily a
consumer electronics manufacturer, not
a computer company.

Sony warranties suck. The basic warranty
is good for one year only, and requires
registration (otherwise it is in force
for only 90 days). If you decide to buy
a Sony, make sure to get an extended
warranty as well. The bottom line is
that the VAIO's are not a good value
for money. Their prices are a little
higher in the low end to a lot higher
in the high end than those of similar
products from other brands. One pays a
fine for the Sony brand and logo.

I wouldn't buy another Sony for my own
needs, and I would not have bought any
except for the fact that my kids would
not be seen wearing any other brand.

My rule of thumb these days is to buy
only IBM, Fujitsu or Panasonic.



dk


"Duncan James Murray" <> wrote in message
news:c7985e$hur$...
> This is the silence before the storm....
>
> I think there are a few questions (!) about their service, but the laptops
> are pretty good.
>
> Duncan.
>
>
> "Krishna N" <> wrote in message
> news:c76kqb$bvgo$...
> > Hi,
> >
> > I am thinking of getting myself a new notebook and have been spending
the
> > past few days dipping in and out of the various website and stores
trying
> to
> > find the best price to performance combination.
> >
> > I have been leaning towards a Sony (K13 specifically) lately. On paper
it
> > does seem to have the right specs for the buck (~$1300). I have also
seen
> a
> > few postings in this newsgroup over the course of the last couple of
years
> > which spoke quite negatively about the reliability of the Sony machines
> and
> > were specifically derogatory about the support and the service. I
realize
> > that some of these postings were quite a while back and that things do
> > change quite rapidly in the electronics world.
> >
> > I would appreciate it very much if anybody out there can post some more
> > recent experiences with their Sony laptops or had anything to say to a
> > prospective buyer like me.
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Krishna.
> >
> >
>
>

John Doue wrote:
>
> For what it is worth, I very recently compared all the laptops displayed
> at a Circuit City store and I have to say, the only one which really had
> a quality display was a Sony. Sorry I did not note the model. I would
> therefore suggest that anybody considering the purchase of a laptop
> should carefully, if possible side by side, the quality of displays.b
> The clarity of the traditional icon and their names was very telling.

When you purchase something like a car, do you consider reliability
and service-after-the-sale?

Larry

Duncan James Murray wrote:
>
> This is the silence before the storm....
>
> I think there are a few questions (!) about their service, but the laptops
> are pretty good.

The word is "denial."

"Yeah, I know their support sucks, but I'll never need it."

Larry

Lawrence Glasser wrote:

> John Doue wrote:
>
>>For what it is worth, I very recently compared all the laptops displayed
>>at a Circuit City store and I have to say, the only one which really had
>>a quality display was a Sony. Sorry I did not note the model. I would
>>therefore suggest that anybody considering the purchase of a laptop
>>should carefully, if possible side by side, the quality of displays.b
>>The clarity of the traditional icon and their names was very telling.
>
>
> When you purchase something like a car, do you consider reliability
> and service-after-the-sale?
>
> Larry

Larry,

I certainly would. Did I say something that led you to think I would not?

--
John Doue

John Doue wrote:
>
> Lawrence Glasser wrote:
>
> > John Doue wrote:
> >
> >>For what it is worth, I very recently compared all the laptops displayed
> >>at a Circuit City store and I have to say, the only one which really had
> >>a quality display was a Sony. Sorry I did not note the model. I would
> >>therefore suggest that anybody considering the purchase of a laptop
> >>should carefully, if possible side by side, the quality of displays.b
> >>The clarity of the traditional icon and their names was very telling.
> >
> >
> > When you purchase something like a car, do you consider reliability
> > and service-after-the-sale?
> >
> > Larry
>
> Larry,
>
> I certainly would. Did I say something that led you to think I would not?

I guess I took your post as stressing looks over all else. Looking back, I
can see where you might have been saying "In addition to everything else
(including service-after-the-sale), the way a display looks is crucial in
making a decision to by a certain system."

Yes?

Larry