Jerry Wayne Odom Jr.

Purchased a Sony Vaio Notebook

Time For A New Computer

As I type this I'm trying to adjust my new Sony Vaio FE series notebook computer that I just purchased from Best Buy for $1500. I have been using a Compaq Presario 1700T that I purchased in 2002 for $1000 more than I paid for this computer even though this one is roughly 10 times faster. Amazing how fast these things improve and lose value. So far I have to say that this machine is worth what I paid for it and is sure to pay for itself in the amount of productivity time I saved.

Why did I decide on the Sony Vaio line of notebooks?

For a couple of reasons. When I started doing the research on exactly what line of notebooks I wanted to buy the choices were endless. I had no idea what computer was best for me being that I'm a software developer who uses programs such as Microsoft Visual Studio, Macromedia Fireworks, movie editing software, GUI rapid development software and several other applications I'm sure I'm forgetting at the moment. So first off I started a thread for suggestions on a notebook at webmasterworld and then I stumbled across NotebookReview.com where I found reviews that included many of the suggestions put forward so far. The sony line of products were thought to be expensive but well worth the money so I headed down to CompUSA and took a look at was available.

From the moment I saw the Sony Vaio FE notebook I knew this thing was for me. It has a large screen, comfortable keyboard, a ton of computing horsepower with a Centrino Duo Processor a 1.66Ghz, 100GB of storage, 1GB of memory and a ton of other bells and whistles. The tag line of this laptop, "work and play go hand-in-hand" seemed to describe me perfectly and I was rather pleased that I liked it better than its more expensive brother the Sony Vaio SZ. The SZ's are designed more for the traveling businessman and less for the developer in that they're quite small.
Sony Vaio Cases and Software

They material of the casing was complained about a bit on notebook review websites but I must say that I find it very attractive. I understand the concern that you might break it because it feels so different from previous notebooks I've used. It looks so good you'd think you'd break it but I've pressed on it and find it more firm that my old computer which held up to quite a beating over 3 years. People also complain about the amount of unnecessary software from vendors such as AOL, Norton, etc, etc and its warranted. Other experienced users and I don't care for these giant corporate partners but to a new user they're probably handy. I only wish software packages were available other than force feeding everyone such as is.

But what about the extra costs?

Many people complain that the Vaio's cost more than other computers and they're correct. Sony does cost a bit more but its worth it. Everything about their machines is good and they get top ratings. You're paying for peace of mind and a solid product. You might be able to save $200 on a similar product but it simply won't be as cool as this machine. Also if you look around you can find a deal at a vendor such as BestBuy or Circuit City. My computer was marked down $150 in this weeks sale and I think I purchased it as cheap as possible at the time.

Well I'm sure I'll revise this review but I wanted to put out there how I feel about this little machine so far. After typing this article and installing all my favorite software at lightning speeds I'm pretty thrilled with it. It has everything I want in a computer without extra wires, cards or upgrades and hopefully I'll get some years out of it!

Jerry Wayne Odom Jr. 3/17/2006 Update 3/19/2006 on my Sony Vaio Notebook

  • Well so far I love my machine still. I've re-installed the software on my Compaq notebook for my girlfriend to use it and the quality of the Sony screen has spoiled me in days. I know now how the Macintosh lovers feel about their high quality notebook screens.
  • A piece of software called DISCover on the laptop was so much a pain when I was trying to use my CD Rom that I removed it. I couldn't run down exactly what this software was supposed to do but it was a pain.
  • For gods sake why is AOL still bundled in every PC on the market? I had to remove them by hand from my start menu because the uninstall wasn't enough.
  • This computer has already saved me 3 hours in sure speed of installing my Visual Studio, Macromedia, Apple and other Video Editing software.
Jerry W. odom Jr.