Sony VAIO R505 SuperSlim Pro Notebook (1-GHz Pentium III, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive)
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(5 out of 5)SONY Vaio R505DL
I absolutely love this machine. People are going to say that you probably could get a better machine for the same price, but if it's thin and light that you want, this is the computer to get. Naturally, you're going to sacrifice some things like a larger screen, faster processor, etc for the portability, and yes, it's a little pricey... But it's not pretending to be a desktop replacement, it's perfect if you're looking for something that won't break your back when you're traveling back and forth. Compared to other ultra-lights out there, the Sony definitely has more bang for the buck. Sometimes I have to check my bag to make sure the computer is still there - I'm used to lugging my old Dell around. I use it for law school and it suits my needs fine - the combo DVD/CDRW is a nice addition, and the sound and graphics are of course SONY's forte. Plus - you can't really see them in the description, but the laptop itself has all the network connections, so you don't need to take the docking station with you if you want to hop on the internet. The only flaw in this machine is the shallow keyboard, which is not a full size keyboard so they've also moved certain keys around, so you have to get used to typing on it. Other than that, this is a great machine for the price, and I've received dozens of compliments on its cool and sleek design. Perhaps not the most quantitative reason to get this machine, but it's an added bonus.
(5 out of 5)Sony VIAO is everything I wanted
Last week I bought my first laptop. I used amazon.com's product comparison's and consumer reports online to evaluate quality of service,cost and service. My journey took me from IBM's Thinkpads to Toshiba's Satellite's, to Compaq. But after I found this VIAO, my journey ended. I really love it's unique design and it's portability.
This is what I really like about the machine.
1.I like the ability to undock the laptop which reduces the weight to 4.7 lbs! I was so relieved to learn that I can dock/undock the machine while it's running.
2.I like the size. For me I think 12" screen is plenty. I simply don't like the laptops with large screen. As a result this laptop is highly portable.
3.I like the Jog Dial. If you do a lot of browsing like I do I like to be able to easly scroll up and down the page with the jog dial. I have this feature on my mouse and am addicted to it. Sony was the only laptop that I saw that had this feature.
4.I like that there are 3 USB ports. I bought a USB mouse, and have two more ports that I can use.
5.I like that the CD has DVD and RW capabilities.
6.I like the design. The machine looks sleek, especially when undocked. The Toshiba Satellites were highly rated, but they looked cheap. Some of the buttons looked like they would easily break off.
Surprises.
I have to admit I wasn't aware that the R505 comes with the i.Link(IEEE 1394) but I'm very please to know it's there.
I'm also comming to appreciate Micorsoft XP. It has some improvements for tracking many opened applications, and has reorganized the Start menu.
Dislikes.
There are a few minor items that were disconcerting.
1.Sony has Support program to assist in troubleshooting. This program has crashed everytime I boot and I need to uninstall the application. This could be a fluke, but I don't miss what I've never used.
2.The keyboard is small. I knew this when I bought the laptop. I'm finding that the only difficulty is getting used to the right hand 'shift' key. I wish it was a little larger. There is no 'Home' or 'End' key also, the Function key has to be used in conjuntion with the arrow keys to simulate the HOme or End keys.
In conclusion I'm very pleased with my choice the Sony VIAO R505 and look forward to years of computing pleasure.
Justin
(5 out of 5)Excellent laptop...
This is the fourth laptop I own after two Compaqs and a Gericom - a high quality German brand. I have also come in contact with quite a few more brands of which if you take apart IBM (high quality products but too expensive for what they offer), the Sony beats them all by far. I own the R505DL(1GHz, 30GB, DVD/CDRW, 256MB) and have been using it for a bit more than 2 months now. This model is discontinued but the EL series is available with an extra 1.13GHz on the speed (goes up to 1.2GHz for better equipped models) and a faster DVD/CDRW.
The laptop is not flawless but it is the closest to that I have seen. What you might not like...
1. The processor at 1GHz or even 1.2GHz for the newer models sounds little and by todays standards it is but if you are not planning to play any of the latest graphics intensive games and the like it is fine. It is fine with new games like Warcraft 3 or a bit older ones like RedAlert 2 or even racing games. And of course surfing the net listening to music ripping CDs working on Excel and Word and all the rest it is more than great.
2. The memory won't go above 384MB and in this model you will have to "throw away" your 128MB and add a 256MB one in order to get that high.
3. As everybody else has said the right "Shift" key is small but with time you will get used to it.
4. You need to remove all the connections in order to attach or remove the docking station.
5. No tilt to the design. Especially with the dock on, the laptop is high on the desk and completely flat so it is a bit uncomfortable to type.
6. The speakers are week although an external pair or a pair of nice earphones connected to the laptop gives very nice sound.
7. Given the size of the laptop the power supply is big.
8. No SVideo port
9. One of the 4 USBs is covered when you attach the docking station.
10. No dedicated CDRW software - you can write to CDs and RWs with the XP copying engine - a bit slow and not powerfull at all, and can make music CDs or MP3 CDs from SonicStage but you might still miss a dedicate CDRW suite.
Now what I (and hopefully you will) adore about the laptop.
1. Absolutely gorgeous to look at especially with the dock not attached (you will be asked a lot about it and you will turn a lot of heads when you take it out)
2. As portable and light as they come.
3. The screen is excellent no matter how bright the sunlight you can see clearly and nicely on it.
4. The "crash proof laptop" award. In more than two months this laptop has NEVER crashed, locked or freezed on me and I do have tones of tones of extra programs installed and several windows running the same time. My compaqs were crashing constantly even the latest compaq that was equipped with WinXP as the sony does. Awesome! thit is one reliable machine. Now that I am writting on it it is the 5th day in the row that it has stayed on without shut down or restarted.
5. The feel of the keyboard is excellent sturdy and soft.
6. Even without the dock you got all the ports you need - ethernet, modem, PCMCIA, line out and mic, VGA, 2 USB, firewire or ilink or whatever you want to call it and a memory stick slot - very very handy for transfering files, (more expensive models come with WiFi or bluetooth too).
7. With the dock you get the DVD/CDRW, a parallel and serial, an extra 2 USB (but it covers one USB on the laptop), and the floppy disk, so nothing essential is missing maybe IrDA but i always hated it cause it was very unreliable if you need wireless communication get a model with Bluetooth or WIFI or buy a pcmcia that gives this kind of capability.
8. If you have time and feel like it you can make the Jog Dial a handy tool. It also incorporates an alarm function that is able to wake the laptop form stand by or hibernation on set times and days - really nice automatically.
9. Very quiet or at least much more quiet from the compaqs I owned the toshiba's I have heard and the HPs
10. The keyboard simply does not get hot. On my last compaq the keys were getting hot enough to feel unpleasant typing on it.
11. Battery life is long. 4 1/2 hours if the brightness is at the lowest the dock is off and you are doing light work. In full brightness it should see you through a 2 - 2 1/2 hours movie or a bit more of 3 hours of light work
12. Given the size and the specification is fast.
13. Loads of apps that you might never use but if you want them they are there - the very nice one is the Adobe Photoshop Elements - a cut down version of Photoshop which for personal use and given it comes for free it is more than what I could have asked for.
All in all this is an near perfect laptop that combines reasonable speed, excellent portability and killer looks in a full featured package and all that with a price that is at least right on spot if not on the low side. Congratulations to Sony for such a product. I love it...
(2 out of 5)Too loud and too weak
I had my r505 for just about four months now and am very disapointed, its so called 'shell' is very nice looking but is only a cheap plastic, and is sratched very easy. Also the LCD conectors are very lose and the corners break right away. Finally don't leave this monster on while trying to speak or sleep, its fan is too loud. I took my r505 to work and placed it in a line with all the other notebooks at work, blind folded my boss and told him to pick out mine. No problem he walked down the line twice and then put his hand right on it. Tink twice about buying sony's r505 series, stick to the GR, SR, or even a picturebook instead.
Compaq Presario 725US Notebook (Athlon-4 1600+, is better and cheaper! Much faster than Sony!
(1 out of 5)Don't buy
Rarely am I disappointed by a product to the point that I feel that I have to tell others not to buy something -- this is one of those instances.
1. The power management isn't. The software will not allow you disable powersave modes for anything other than your current session. Once the system is rebooted, the default scheme returns and you run the risk of the display going dark in the middle of a presentation.
2. The video card on the docking station is horrible. I like to "dock" my laptop, and bring up my display on my new LCD, then I can undock and go on my way with my documents -- the display to a flat panel screen is sorely lacking. Lack of color depth and resolution.
3. XP support is horrible -- there was no way to "export" your display out to the projector in XP by doing the "function-f7" sequence, you had to manually go through software and select that you wanted to export your display. One of the reasons I had to return to Win2K.
4. The standard install includes more junk that you'll never use -- AOL, Microsoft Network, etc. These applications would constantly pop up and ask you dumb questions. I understand that most new PCs come loaded with this kind of software, but most PCs allow you to reload the system from scratch with the bare-bones applications and build from there. If you go with Sony's build, get yourself the Autorun application from sysinternals.com and nuke these things. If you try to load your own software NOTHING will work.
5. Plugging a mouse into the docking station is less than responsive, the pointer skips around on the screen instead of smoothly moving like it's supposed to.
All in all, this laptop is junk, and at the price that Sony is selling these things it makes the insult that much worse. It's nice because it's light, but then again so is a Palm Pilot. I'd seriously get yourself something else from a company that has budgeted more money into Quality Control. I've really tried to work with this thing over the last year, it just keeps letting me down.