Sony Vaio TT slim'n'light laptop Sony has been pitching small, slim laptops at executives for years now, packing in as much functionality into as compact a chassis as it can and charging a premium for it. Why mess with a successful formula? So the new Vaio TT doesn't. There's clearly a market for this kind of machine, as the success of previous Sony thin'n' …
... but a point has been missed ever-so-slightly: nobody in the target market for this machine really cares about the graphics. Saying that this machine is not very good for gaming is a bit like saying that a Porsche isn't very good at towing caravans.
You were spot on about the (perceived) flimsiness of the display however, it's the same as the one on my "Premium Carbon" TZ series and it is rather bendy. Sony do realise this and go as far as pointing out some care instructions in the accompanying paperwork; namely that you should place the supplied microfibre cloth between keyboard and display when closing the lid with a view to "carrying" the machine. I've always followed these instructions, and there's no marks on my screen despite having the TZ in cramped handluggage on dozens of flights and covering about 15,000 miles this year with it shoved in the top-box of my motorbike.
The biggest gripe I've had with the machine (and any notebook from Sony in general) is the amount of utter crap that they install along with the OS, and then not give you a driver CD or OS re-installation media. You've got to spend literally weeks trawling seedier parts of the net for the Sony drivers, not to mention blowing another £100 for Vista Business OEM, if you want a machine that runs as well as it looks. Shame on Sony.
My friend has an older T model that has the thin display. Still works now, so I wouldn't put too much substance into Register's claim that the lid isn't up to it.
Sadda, Sony has always had small laptops way way way before netbooks became a trend. People will always pay more for certain brands. I am sure even el reg would pay more for a 14" ThinkPad than a 14" notebook from Aldi.
I don't know what's wrong with Sony and their trackpads, with virtually every VAIO I've owned they've become slightly less useful. The original thin 'n' lite VAIO had a fantastic track pad with scroll zones and special control points. The next one was much less sensitive and prone to suddenly going hyper-sensitive and jumping all over the screen. My most recent VAIO was slightly less sensitive again and still had the bug where it becomes over-sensitive. And worse than that they took the middle mouse button away, which is very useful in Firefox for closing tabs.
I've gone for an Alienware this time so I can play some games, although the TT is very tempting given its looks and size...
Apple is not the only laptop vendor that sells on the strength of it's name. Viao has been a 'brand' from day one and has always charged a large premium for the name. It is good quality: I carried a Vaio notebook in a backpack for two seasons around a ski hill - about 60 days of minus 25C and a few bad wipe-outs but the machine did not seem to notice. If you think it is too expensive, don't buy it.
That said, I imagine that Sony would be happy indeed if it could engender the same Jonestown-like devotion that Apple has managed.
Me, I want ssh to run well on a laptop, the screen to be not lo-rez, the battery to last as long as possible and the weight to be small. Eee pc 1000 looks nice, but fundamentally I do not care which company meets my requirements.
If I buy an Eee pc 1000 and carry it around for two seasons on a ski hill, I will post the result.
I bought a Vaio last year after looking on their site and seeing XP drivers available for others in the series. When I came back with my nice new laptop, and checked the fine-print to get the actual model, and download the drivers, I found they refuse to supply drivers for that particular one! They've dug their heels in, despite appeals on their forums from many purchaser. Several hours hunting on the web found functioning drivers, but Sony won't supply them. They obviously reckon their relationship with Microsoft is more important that the one they have with Customers.
The disk started showing errors, and I asked them what the procedure was for returning under warranty if a scan didn't fix it, and the reply I got mostly concerned how it would need to have the original operating system on before they'd accept it, and trying to scare me off by saying there would be a charge of over £200 if there was no fault found. They never actually told me how to initiate a return either!
I'd forgotten at the time, about Sony's disgraceful performance with the CD rootkits, but now I'm trying to avoid Sony products. Not easy when I was looking a HiFi systems last month.
Anyway. The vaio I have isn't bad at the moment. Interestingly Wubi-installed Ubuntu can find drivers for all the components (A good job too, as for some reason the XP-Pro drivers have given up on the SD slot. I suspect an MS 'update'.). If the disk dies I'll risk wrecking the whole machine (no nice easy slot-in disk-caddy on mine), rather than give the Vista-pushers another penny. Then it'll become an Ubuntu system, probably with a virtualbox XP machine for the few Windows essentials I have.
Sony used to have a good name for reliability and quality, that was a long time ago however. These days I avoid all Sony products as everthing I've bought from them over the years falls apart sooner rather than later.
This looks like another excercise in style over substance, under powered and overpriced.
I've got one of these little puppies and I have to say I'm very impressed with it. I normally change laptops at least once a year as I just like new toys so I've had a few to compare it with and this is far and above the best laptop I've ever owned.
The fact is that yes, whilst its a bit pricey, it's well and truly worth it. When my clients see it, they're impressed with it too. The battery life and general speed is a breath of fresh air, its actually a usable machine for all my mobile tasks. As Mark mentioned, The first thing I did when buying was to format the drive and clear the installed crud and start a fresh, so theres a few hours of my life I can never get back - Sony, you really need to listen to your customers who don't want yours or your friends crapware! (I have the technet direct subs, so the OS purchase is a mute point nowadays)
For the churlish posters who think I'm an idiot for buying, you really need to get a life. My purchase choice was driven by me evaluatiing my needs, finding a machine that met them and then buying it - can't really see how that makes me an idiot. Money isn't always a factor in a purchase descision. I'll certainly get my moneys worth out of this machine though and so that makes it a bargain for me!
I bought a Vaio a couple of years ago and in two years I had to replace the CD drive twice and the motherboard once. I also bought a PS2 and had to replace it because the disk drive died. My experience with Sony products does not suggest that they are worth any premium at all.
I would far rather have a new MacBook Pro and would not cost two grand.
As one of my friends would say "Two grand? They're 'aving a larff".
A Laptop is a Laptop IS a Laptop!!!
I should know I trade hardware day in and out and I can assure you all there's no special technology here that couldnt be achieved by many laptops with similar spec
Looks good, but you can buy x3pcs of DELL inspiron or similar with this functionality (better functionality)!!
What a complete rip-off.
If you buy this other than for the need of the battery life...then your middle name is MUGGINS... and you should drop out of school if your in it or go back if your out of it...
"But it looks very pretty" get over it.. it will collect dust and marks in 3 months!!
Move along folks.. theres nothing to see here...
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