<p>I've seen posts about laptops, but I haven't noticed many comments about vaios. I'm leaning towards getting one and am most likely getting one tomorrow. Did anyone have any past experiences with them/ hear of any major problems? I know Sony is a decent brand, but are they sturdy?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>good brand, great and reliable laptops. however, they're on the expensive side (unless you get a good rebate/clearance deal), which is probably why you don't hear about them too much over here =).</p>
<p>i love my vaio....i have an A240 and it does me justice</p>
<p>Not every Vaio is a good one. Some are awesome (like the very one I'm typing this on now; 4 years old and stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill going strong.)</p>
<p>Then there are bad ones, like the S-series that my uncle bought several months ago. Last month, the LCD liquid started to leak for no apparent reason. My uncle swears that he never did anything to it and he sent it to Sony, which told him that the LCD leak was not covered by the warranty and that he had to fork over about $700 for the LCD to be fixed. My uncle told them forget it and he had planned to get the Vaio back, trash it, and buy a new laptop of a different brand. Instead, when he got his Vaio back, apparently Sony did fix the LCD - but left a small blot in the top of the screen. So my uncle still uses it, except that now he has this annoying blot on his screen.</p>
<p>I actually wouldn't buy Sony again personally because of their price. Not only are the notebooks pricey, but the replacement batteries are outrageous. I've never replaced my Sony's dead batt only cuz it costs $249! All the other PC companies sell new batts for about $75-150!</p>
<p>Sony as a producer of consumer goods has fallen to ruins lately.</p>
<p>Check out BBB reports and such or reviews. Their electronics are overpriced and do strange things. They overcharge on extras/replacements (like batteries) and there is nothing really amazing about their offerings. If you are looking to spend good money on a good product, go IBM or Apple and if you are looking to go cheap, take whatever is cheapest, probobly Dell (but go for the latitudes)</p>
<p>My Vaio is not good at all. It is incredibly slow for it's quoted speed and shipped with bad RAM. Also, it has recently been giving me the blue screen of death. That, combined with a poor video card that can't be replaced makes me stay away from purchasing one in the future.</p>
<p>If you're really considering Sony, then this should help you make your decision fast:
<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118514,pg,5,00.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118514,pg,5,00.asp</a></p>
<p>And yes, they are in order of best to worst.</p>
<p>When Sony laptops work, they work very well. But when they have problems, don't expect much help from Sony, since their support is anemic.</p>
<p>Unless you are going for lots of multimedia, you might consider a corporate Dell or IBM notebook.</p>
<p>redski59, emachines are garbage, that list is bogus</p>
<p>eMachines service has gotten a lot better than it was in the past. In fact, I know a few people that have had to call eMachines and everyone I know has had a great experience with them. </p>
<p>Of course, that may have to due to the fact that they paid very little for their machines and therefore had diminished expectations. But overall, I think eMachines has gotten better over the past few years.</p>
<p>Gateway bought eMachines recently, and in fact the management team that ran eMachines at the time of the merger now runs Gateway. They've definitely done an impressive job in improving product lines and support. Now if they can do the same thing with Gateway. I was at Best Buy yesterday and found an eMachines laptop to be of much sturdier construction and higher quality than a similar Gateway model.</p>
<p>I just got an IBM t42 its so awesome. They are a little high priced but they are so fast and stable, and their customer service is excellent. And the build quality is so solid.</p>
<p>How can you really tell if a laptop is better without noting the individual components? So they spent a few more dollars on the case....big deal. All of my experience with eMachines in the recent and more distant past has been of extremely cheap hardware, the internal hardware, which is what matters. They are getting better, but there is no way that they are better than all of the companies on that list.</p>
<p>I see where you're going, videogamerx2. But that list is 50% quality and 50% support. hp/Compaq and Dell laptops might have better internal hardware, but they still have lack of good support. (We all especially know how it is trying to deal with Dell support).</p>
<p>I would agree with you that eMachines definitely shouldn't be #1 on that list. I consider eMachines to be good, but I definitely think IBM/Lenovo should be #1.</p>
<p>APPLE all the way you will not be dissapointed with the powerbook it diminishes the competition.
Represent Apple users and tell it how it is!</p>
<p>I have an S-Series 200 VAIO. I've had it for a year and so far it has not had a single problem. It's fast, ultra-light, and very reliable. It has probably crashed only once or twice. They only problem i have is that their replacement accessories are expensive. This is definitely better than the Dell and HP i had before. They both started having problems like 2 months after purchase.</p>
<p>Where are you planning on buying it? I just got a VAIO FS series, and so far, I love it. Someone mentioned the batteries are expensive...I bought mine at Best Buy and when you buy their insurance type thing, (like $399 for three years) you get a free battery every year.</p>
<p>I'm eyeing the Vaio V505 (a refurbished one), because I want something light and compact. I've also heard good things about the S-Series, though I won't know for sure until I've had the chance to play around with a few at the computer store.</p>
<p>IBM has the best quality laptops by far - it's really too bad that they're so ugly.</p>
<p>You wont be saying its ugly when the person with a flashy laptop has theirs stolen for being so flashy. The laptop is a proffessional looking laptop because it is for professionals. If you show up at a business meeting with a bright green alienware laptop people are going to question you. I am typing this on a IBM t42. Its awesome and its planeness is what makes it such a good laptop.</p>
<p>Yep, IBMs are where it's at. The plain black is actually very nice. I've never been into flashy cases with side windows, blue flashing lights etc so I really enjoy the utilitarian finish of the Thinkpads. And they are rock solid.</p>