Sony VAIO VGN-FW150E/W 16.4" Laptop Review
Sony VAIO VGN-FW150E/W 16.4" Laptop Review from Charles Macnaughton. Fast, gorgeous and loaded with crapware, This is a very speedy computer and a more than capable desktop replacement system. The Radeon HD3400 video comes with a dedicated 256mb of memory and handles multiple concurrent Adobe apps with aplomb. It comes with wireless-N which is a treat in this price range. It also comes with an HDMI-out port for excellent display (and DVD playback) on an HD monitor/TV. The VGA-out renders only average display on a digital LCD monitor; I did not have an analog CRT to judge display on that.
The built in display is a 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s a gloss screen and the clarity is stunning…excellent for image editing, etc. Contrast is very good. Lateral (side-to-side) readability is fantastic, but vertical readability is poor; you’ll have to adjust the screen tilt just right to get top-quality viewing.
Surprisingly, even though this is a Sony product, this machine includes an SD card slot in addition to their ubiquitous memory stick slot. Also included are the aforementioned HDMI and VGA outputs; 3 USB ports; mini 1394 (firewire) port; modem, and ethernet. There is a built-in webcam and microphone and headphone jacks. There is a thin strip of AV controls above the keyboard, which control Windows Media Center playback and the Dolby sound.
The system is solidly built, like most Sony products, but without the questionable UI/design choices used on so many of their camera and car stereos.
The only thing I can really fault this system for is the plethora of crapware that comes preinstalled. I spent over an hour uninstalling junk software and trialware before I even used this system. An additional power supply is around $80, which is rather pricey. The computer (w/o power supply) is around 6 lbs., so it’s not lightweight, which isn’t too surprising considering it packs a 16.4″ screen.
This computer does not come with any documentation besides the setup “poster.” No documentation is available for this PC on the Sony website (as of 8/4/08) other than a marketing spec sheet.
Addendum (03/22/09): After about 4 months of use, the keyboard developed serious problems. It initially manifested as the shift key not working in conjunction w/ certain keys (i.e., no CAPS) and eventually proceeded to some keys not working at all. Sony was perfectly willing to repair it for free, provided I was willing to give up my computer for a few weeks, which was not a realistic option for me. Unable to find any technical specs on this computer (even on the Sony site) or any replacement parts, I opted for just using a cordless keyboard, which worked just fine. Eventually I was able to find a replacement keyboard from a reseller in Hong Kong and repaired the computer myself. The replacement keyboard ribbon cable was much sturdier than the original and it was easy to replace. The $50 I spent on a new keyboard was preferable to being w/o a computer for a prolonged period of time.
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