Sony VAIO CR Series VGN-CR21S/L

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Why I brought the laptop
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I had had so many problems from my previous laptop, although I had only had it for 2 years - but there were problems with it right from the beginning. It was really staring to be unreliable and crashing all the time, as well it being highly annoying, I couldn't afford to keep loosing my work all the time and I was just waiting for the day for it to finally completely pack up, so I decided to go on the internet and start looking around for a new laptop. Originally I was looking for the cheapest yet good one I could find. By chance I ended up on the Sony website and advertised on the home page was this Sony Vaio. I instantly fell in love with it, so decided to check it out. This Sony Vaio is part of the CR Series and there are 3 different laptops which come with 3 different specifications. A 1GB for £799, a 2GB for £899 and another 2GB one for £999. There were obviously other different features. I would have loved to get the most expensive one, as it was obviously the best one, but I knew that was completely out of my price range. So I started looking into getting the 1GB for £799 but my boyfriend informed me that the specifications on that one where not very good, especially for the price and told me the 2GB for £899 was the best one, so I decided to purchase that one.

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The Look
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The first thing you see with this laptop is that it is baby pink - you will either love it or hate it. Even if you do not like pink you would agree it looks small, neat and stylish. The laptops official colour is called Luxury Pink. And you have to agree that it really is a beautiful luxury laptop whether you like pink or not. It can also be purchased in other colours such as Indigo Blue, Pure White, Blazing Red and Sparkling Sand. It is the ultimate luxury laptop for a girl.

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The screen
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This is one of the smallest laptops which a 14.1 inch screen apposed to an average laptop that has a 15.4 inch screen. The screen has a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. It is not too small or hard to use, it being so small, is really useful, its easy to use, carry and store. The screen does not get dirty easily and doesn't tend to smudge much when you do clean it, but it is recommended that you clean it correctly according to the instructions. The screen is nice and very bright, easy and clear to read.

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Keyboard
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I have heard some bad things about the keyboard - that it is too small and difficult to use. I do not agree with this. I think the keyboard is great, the keys are quite close together but that does not make it difficult to use - yes I have small fingers but it also is not difficult for my boyfriend to use either who has larger fingers than me. The keys are close together because they do not have a gap between the keys and the board meaning that dirt cannot get inbetween the keys, a problem which has always annoyed me about other laptops. The keyboard looks similar to that of MacBook keyboards.

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Speakers
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At each side of the keyboard there is a fairly large speaker. The speakers provide good quality and clear sound but do not go that loud, so I suggest investing in a pair of external speakers if you want to watch films or listen to music loudly. The speakers provide clear sound because this laptop isn't equipped with a subwoofer, the basses are weak, but, music can still be enjoyed with hardly any restrictions.

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The Mouse
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The mouse pad is easy to use, there is a pad to move around and a left and right button for clicking as standard with every laptop.

The mouse pad is beautifully fit into the case and has two buttons, where the surface looks interesting. Sometimes you need to apply sufficient force for the buttons to react. Furthermore, the clicking noise of the buttons is relatively loud.

One annoying thing about this is sometimes when you are typing and your mouse is on the screen or even when you move it out of sight, it skips all over the place, in the way of you typing and it interupts your concentration.

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The Shortcut Buttons
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Along the top the keyboard are 7 buttons - AV Mode, Mute, Volume Up, Volume Down, Capture (for the camera), Display Off and a large power button, which is clearly marked, easy to see and use.

At the bottom of the keyboard under the mouse are 4 buttons - Play/Pause, Stop, Rewind and Fast Forward which can be used to control Windows Media Player and any films or DVD's tha are watched.

These come on a chrome silver finis meaning they are relatively sensitive to various traces of use.like small scratches etc.

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Playing Games
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I love playing The Sims on my laptop, but on my old laptop, which wasn't that old, it was only about 2 years old, it got so tedious. It took so long to load, up to 40 minutes for the initial load, it frequently froze, crashed, was very slow and was just a pain to play. Now I have loaded it onto this laptop, also with an expansion pack. The game now loads within seconds, doesn't freeze and the graphics are also better. I can't get over how fast I can now play The Sims! The Sims is one of the biggest computer games you can get, so as it plays this well, it will play pretty much any other game fast, with good graphics and no problems.

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Games the laptop comes with
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The laptop comes with Big Fish Games centre which has 5 new games for the laptop, to play these though, you have to go on the internet which requires you to pay for these games, apart from Sudoko, which is free. In the standard games section of the laptop there are all the usual games which the addition of Chess Titans, Mahjon Titans, Inkball, and Purble Palace which comes with new games. They are designed more for younger children but are still great fun. The laptop still comes with all the other standard laptop games.

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Ports etc
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The laptop has 3 USB ports, two on the left hand side and one on the right hand side. All in good, easily accessible positions and all in good working order. When you plug something into the USB ports, it loads immediately onto the laptop and runs smoothly and with speed.

On the right hand side on the laptop there is a DVD/CD drive, it is in a good position and easy to use. When you put a CD/DVD into the drive it automatically loads for you.

The laptop also comes with a memory card slot, located on next to the DVD/CD drive but I have not yet used this.

There is also a port to plug in speakers and a microphone if you wish located on the left hand side on the laptop at the front.

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Wireless
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The laptop comes with an intergrated wireless feature, which can be turned on and off which a small silver switch on the left hand side. It could be easy to knock though, so be careful when using it. One problem with the wireless I found is that you have to switch your computer off fully for the wireless to work when you start up again, not on standby or hibernate as it will not work. It took me ages to work out why the wireless had suddenly stopped working, but as soon as I only restarted fully it worked again.

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Camera
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The laptop comes with an intergrated camera and webcam, which is great, not having to worry about plugging webcams in and trying to make sure they are in the correct position. It is located at the top of the screen in the centre. It is small and descrite. There is a button above the keyboard called capture, which you press to activate the camera, this automatically loads it and you can see yourself on screen, you can also change the camera to movie mode and create a film also. The camera is a 1.3megapixel but for 1.3megapixels it takes good quality photos, my mobile phone is a 3.2megapixel but the intergrated camera on my laptop is much better quality. It is very simple to use and relocate photos after they have been taken.

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Performance
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The laptop is equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 CPU with 2.0 GHz and an integrated video chip by Intel, a Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. This is a typical office equipment with sufficient reserve capacities for applications like Office, Internet, DVD, etc.

In addition it comes with a 160GB hard disk (5400 revs/min), whose access time and transfer rates are passable and which also provides sufficient capacity for your music and video library.

2 GB main memory guarantees a smoothly working Windows Vista. Apropos, Windows Vista Home Premium is already pre-installed on this laptop and after some configurations you can immediately start using the laptop. It stores plenty of data without causing the laptop to run less efficently.

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Memory
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The laptop comes with 2GB RAM (short term memory (Random Access Memory). This is relatively high spec for this price laptop and having this amount of RAM helps the computer run quickly and it's noticely smooth when running multiple programs.

The hard drive has 160GB which is easily sufficient to store a large variety of music, videos and other data.

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Speed & Reliability
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I have found this laptop really reliable, I haven't experienced one problem with it. I have heard of problems with this laptop from other people who have found it has overheated but I have not found that problem at all, it does get warm but there is a large fan in the back which stops the latop overheating. I have not found it has crashed once or even frozen, which is fantastic.

The laptop runs really quickly, without freezing or crashing, even when you are doing several things at once. You are able to do lots of things at once with the laptop even slowing down or struggling at all.

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Windows Vista
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As Windows Vista is only a small part of the laptop and not necessarily to do with the laptop, I will only talk about a few things about Vista which I think are particularly good or bad and give you a quick review on it.

Windows Vista is one of these things that people seem to love or hate. I personally love it although I am still getting used to using it, having used XP for so long now! There are a few things I don't really like which include programs not having a menu bar for File, Options, Tools etc which most usually have. It makes using some of the programs difficult. The button which you would assume to be turn off when you go into file to shut down, is actually only stand by and you cannot set shut down as the main option, which is annoying.

The menu is easy to navigate through, easier than XP I think, rather than having to click on one thing and sort of dragging on it, Vista just keeps it in the same column.

The laptop comes with a Google toolbar that is displayed in small on the right hand side of the screen, I believe this is a feature of Vista rather than the laptop. This toolbar is really useful and not like the annoying ones you collect on your internet page.

It displays a clock, a round one which hands, but incase you're like me and don't like reading those clocks, there is still the time in digital in the bottom right hand corner like usual.

There is a little news column, feeding you all the latest news, which regularly is updated, it provides a link that you can click on, if you want to find out more about the story.

Underneath the news section there is a slideshow of photos, it is a slideshow of the sample photos that Vista provides, which is of wildlife and nature, but you can change this slideshow and update it with your own photos if you wish, or you can have a selection of both.

Underneath that is a little notepad, where you can write yourself a note, I find this extremely useful, as I am always going onto the internet, to find several things, and after the first thing I always forget what the other things were, which gets really frustrating.

Underneath that there is a google search bar, so instead of you having to load internet explorer, you can type what you want into the search bar and it will load it for you.

If you are not connected to the internet the google search bar and the news section will not work.

The toolbar is always on show when you have a webpage or program apart from games displayed. This can easily be made larger or smaller or even removed.

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Battery Life
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The laptop says if the laptop is left unplugged that the battery will last over 3 hours, but I have not found this to be true, even when you are barely doing anything on the laptop, I would say whilst doing a reasonable amount of work on your laptop - having one or two webpages open the laptop will last just under 2 hours unplugged. It takes quite a long time to fully recharge, so I tend to keep the battery plugged in if I am working near a plug. When your battery is running low the laptop comes up with a warning and runs on a standby method, which helps to reserve the battery and I must say I find it lasts quite a long time on this. If you do lose the battery life whilst you are working it saves the page or program you are in in the place you last left it when you turn the laptop back on. Although this is useful, to help prevent you loosing work, overall I would say that the battery on this laptop is not that good.

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Bluetooth
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The laptop comes with a bluetooth feature which I think is fantastic and really useful, you are able to send files from other computers to your laptop, phone to laptop etc and it is quick. You need a password and the user on the laptop has to accept the file they are being sent, so you can deny it if you do not know who has sent it to you. When the accept box comes up, it does not tell you what the file is called but tells you what file type (mp3 etc) the device is trying to send, and who it is from. If you are in doubt you can just deny. You can disable to bluetooth function

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Loudness
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In idle and office mode and also with Internet applications, the fan stays quiet and hardly audible all the time. Although, you can clearly hear the fan under load, the noise of the laptop is not at all disturbing. It is only if you are sitting in complete silence you may sometimes hear it.

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Temperature
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The surface temperatures of the laptop do not get hot. The bottom and also the top side of the Vaio always get warm as this is where the processor and fans are situated, but they do not get too warm at all.

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Programs the laptop comes with
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The laptop comes with a free 60 day trial of Norton 2008 and Microsoft Office.

The laptop also comes with the following programs:

VAIO Music Box
Skype
VAIO Recovery Utility 2.6
Google Picasa
Microsoft Works 8.5
Google Software Pack
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0
Roxio Easy Media Creator 9
Sony Click to DVD 2.6
WinDVD for VAIO 8.0
Microsoft Windows Media Player 11
Adobe Acrobat Standard 8.0
Sony SonicStage Mastering Studio 2.4
Adobe Reader 8.1
Windows Media Centre
Big Fish Games Centre
Google Earth
Internet Explorer

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Technical Information
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Just incase anyone is interested in the technical information of the laptop, here it is:

Platform Technology: Intel Centrino Duo
Built-in Devices: Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial, Bluetooth aerial
Width: 33.5 cm, Depth: 24.9 cm, Height: 4.3 cm
Weight: 2.5 kg
Localisation: English
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2 GHz
Multi-Core Technology: Dual-Core
64-bit Computing
Data Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Features: Enhanced SpeedStep technology
Chipset Type: Mobile Intel GM965 Express
Cache memory
Type: L2 Cache
Installed Size: 2 MB
Ram
Installed Size: 2 GB / 4 GB (max)
Technology: DDR II SDRAM - 667 MHz
Memory Specification Compliance: PC2-5300
Configuration Features: 2 x 1 GB
Storage controller
Type: Serial ATA
Serial ATA Interface: Serial ATA-150
Storage
Hard Drive: 160 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm
Optical storage
Type: DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - integrated
Read Speed: 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)
Write Speed: 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD±R DL)
CD / DVD Rewrite Speed: 16x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM)
Card reader
Type: Card reader
Supported Flash Memory Cards: SD Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo
Display
Display Type: 14.1" TFT active matrix
Max Resolution: 1280 x 800 ( WXGA )
Widescreen Display
Features: X-black
Video
Graphics Processor / Vendor: Intel GMA X3100
Video Memory: Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0
Total Available Graphics Memory: 358 MB
Audio
Audio Output: Sound card
Compliant Standards: Microsoft WSS 1.0/2.0, High Definition Audio
Audio Input: Microphone
Notebook camera
Camera Type: Integrated
Sensor Resolution: 1.3 Megapixel
Capture Resolutions: 1280 x 1024
Input device(s)
Type: Keyboard, touchpad
Keyboard - Localization and Layout: QWERTY
Telecom
Modem: Fax / Modem
Max Transfer Rate: 56 Kbps
Protocols & Specifications: ITU V.90, k56Flex, ITU V.92
Networking
Networking: Network adapter
Wireless LAN Supported: Yes
Wireless NIC: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Data Link Protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Compliant Standards: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0
Expansion / connectivity
Expansion Slots Total (Free):
1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/34
2 ( 0 ) x memory
Interfaces:
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 4 PIN FireWire
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45
1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11
1 x headphones - output - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x microphone - input - mini-phone 3.5mm
3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x display / video - S-video output
Power
Power Device: External
Battery
Technology: Lithium Ion
Operating system / software
OS Provided: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - English

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Warrenty
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The laptop comes with a manufacturer warranty Service & Support of 1 year, but I have extended this and purchased an additional warrenty from PC World, meaning if I experience any problems with the laptop I can get it fixed by PC World or call a hotline, depending what the problem is, it is usually free of charge.

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Price & Availability
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My laptop was purchased from a PC World store for £899 with a 1 year guarentee. It is not widely available but is also available from www.comet.co.uk for £849 and is also available in John Lewis for £899 with an extended 2 year guarentee and also on www.tesco.com for £899, and you can collect your Tesco clubcard points on this item. It can also be purchased on www.sonystyle.com where you can personalise it.

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Conclusion
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Sony have always created good quality laptop but they have always been costly. This is a great laptop, with only a few small glitches. It looks great, I love mine in pink but if that is not your thing it is available in other colours to. Althought it is an expensive laptop, I think you pay for what you get and this laptop is worth every penny.