Sony Vaio Laptop (Sony Vaio NS10L/S)

Member Name: alexhaysler

Product:	Sony Vaio NS10L/S
Date:	21/10/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good processor speed, RAM, operating system

Disadvantages: will cost you in the pocket without backing up and good security, and battery life is abysmal

As this was my first laptop, I had an unbiased view regarding what to expect for the sort of prices. After looking around at Dells, HPs and lower end MacBooks I finally settled on a Sony Vaio, purchasing it from a Sony Centre shop for £440, at what I thought would be all the money I would need to pay out for it. How wrong I was!

But lets start with the positives: a 2.16 GHz processor, with Intel Pentium Dual CPU T3400 allows the user to download most softwares from the internet with ease, and the 3GB of RAM means that most products will have enough space to download, even the larger products such as the Adobe Creative Suite Range has no qualms. The Vista Home Premium that came as standard has been nothing but a friend to me; for all the bad press that Vista gets, this system has been fast, reliable and has not crashed on me at all, despite the fact I adore multitasking and frequently have numerous windows open.

In truth, I feel I have no need in forking out another 100 pounds for Windows 7, when I already have a good operating system: so don't be swayed by the majority.

Back to the Vaio, and as an A Level Student studying Design, running Adobe products, Cinema 4d and other related products have been nothing but a breeze.

That was the good stuff - now lets get down to the money I have spent getting it repaired on numerous occasions!

Now, I am a very careful person. I am the sort of person that, if he sees something out of place or untidy, he feels it is his moral obligation to straighten it, or tidy it, whatever it may be. However, just a simple menial task such as closing the lid, caused the whole system to collapse and then required the system to be backed up, costing me over 200 pounds! Prior to this I had managed to get a trojan, despite that fact that I hadn't even used the internet. By the way DON'T use Internet Explorer - use either Firefox or Safari. I find Firefox is good at home, and when I need to use my laptop at school, Safari gets around proxys, as my school has for soe reason put a block on websites such as google and the bbc website!

The battery life is also very poor - it says it lasts 2 hours, but I tested this by leaving it on from 100% on Normal setting with nothing up and it managed only 1 hour 25 minutes. Other Vaio users have said it uses up 20% by just switching it on!

So, for me there are two choices:
1. You can get this computer for all its redeeming features, and in addition to this, immediately purchase an external hard drive and a good security software (I recommend ESET), or;

2. Buy a low end MacBook - in total I have forked out almost the same amount for repairs which I used to buy the initial Laptop (£835), which is 40 pounds more than a low end MacBook (£799), which will have no viruses and will run extremely well

So, to sum up, the good points of this Laptop make your life a convenience, and the bad points burn a sizeable hole in your pocket!

Summary: good points make life easy, bad points leave you with no money

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