Others say...

"Won't buy another Sony"
I am very disappointed with Sony VAIO. My first Sony VAIO's power connector broke after two years. Now this new one I bought three month ago, the charger stopped working. This is very annoying because all my files are in the computer. It is amazing the quality of Sony is becoming so poor, and I am not going to buy another Sony for sure.

"don't buy sony"
I own a Vaio and so does my girlfriend. Unbelievably, her charger does not work on my Vaio, and vice versa. Further, the Vaio does not accept SD cards so you have to carry a converter, plus, most ridiculously, my Sony video camera's memory stick does not fit Sony's memoery stick. Sony has produced different memory sticks for its video cameras, compatible maybe with who knows what, another converter to buy and carry. Meanwhile, no matter whether I turn off the wireless, the Sony feels compelled to keep warning me that my wireless is not connected. I'm through with Sony forever.

"Sony customer service sucks but the pink color is HOT!"
I have the newer CR-490 version of this computer ( Intel® Core(tm) 2 Duo Processor T8300 ,2.4 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hardrive). I was on my way to the apple store when the pinkness of the laptop caught my eye. My ex has had Vaios for a few years and swears by them. After going to the Apple store & being overlooked by all the sales reps ( a class was about to start, so in all fairness maybe they didn't realize I was there to purchase), I decided on this cute little number instead. I had to wait a little over a week because they can't keep them in stock but I was able to buy one 10 days ago.

About 5 days after buying it, my network adapter stopped working and I had to call Sony support. The two gentleman that helped me were wonderful. The first tech couldn't get my adapter to start, so he transferred me to a senior tech who corrected my problem via remote access. I was pleased, until my adapter went out again last night. I called sony support again and this time the tech was RUDE! He asked if I remembered what the previous tech had done to fix the problem. When I replied he fixed it via remote access, he said remote access was too vague and that I had to have remembered some of the things that he did. I stated, again, that the tech used remote access to try several things and that I was unsure of what he did because none of it required my assistance. ( Anyway, if I could remember what the tech did, I wouldn't need tech support again now would I ?) He then went on to tell me to look in my tool bar for items that did not exist and no matter how many times I told him that there were no double arrows showing, he kept instructing me to look for them. I finally got fed up and requested to speak to someone else. He said there were no other techs available. I requested to speak to a supervisor and of course no supervisor was available either. He told me to call back the next day. I called back today and low and behold I got the same guy. I ask for a supervisor and he comes back, after leaving me on hold for several minutes, and states that no supervisor will be available until 9 am EST. I informed him that I was calling from the east coast and the time was currently 9:34 EST so therefore I would like to speak to a supervisor. He argued that it was 7 am EST and that a supervisor wouldn't be in for 2 more hours. I hung up. I called back at 2 pm EST and asked again for a supervisor. A young lady stated that she would see if a supervisor could accomodate me. She placed me on hold for several minutes, only to come back and state that the supervisor said he could not accomodate me at this time. I told her that as a repeat Sony customer (several tvs, video game systems and vaios) that my family would not be dealing with Sony anymore if this was the kind of service they offered. I called the store that I purchased the computer at to see how to make a complaint with Sony's Headquarters. I was told that unfortunately phone support isn't always the best but that they would be more than willing to help in the store. They are going to exchange my laptop for a new one and will allow me to deal with them in the store from now on. The only problem is the store is an hour away and it's the closest one.

That being said, the laptop is an eyecatcher. Several friends have been oohing & aahing over the "girlyness" of it. It's very lite and doesn't burn my leg like the old Averatec back up laptop that it is replacing. The battery power could be better. I get about 2 hours. Sony states 2-4 hrs. I noticed some reviews complained about the feel of the keys but I haven't noticed anything distracting about them. The touchpad is also easy to use as well. I am having difficulty getting used to Vista though. It is soooo much slower than XP. I was told that Vista takes about 1GB of memory to run and that if I increase my memory to 4GB, I should see an improvement. I hope so. Vista's layout is also a little annoying. I'm used to having everything in plan sight with XP and find myself having to frequently use the help menu to locate things. I guess I'll get used to it in time.

So if you're in the mood for an eyecatching design and have easy access to a Sony store, this might be the laptop for you. If you will have to deal exclusively with Sony phone support, I'd suggest getting an Apple or a Dell( comes in several colors as well). Also beware, if you purchase it from a Sony Store, there is a 15% restocking fee if you return it. OUCH!