Laptops > Sony Laptops > Microsoft Windows XP Media Center

Advantages: Attractively Designed / Excellent Performance
Disadvantages: erm...

...that is the catchily named Sony VGN - FE31M. (The very name itself, sends shivers of anticipation... or perhaps eyebrow - raising bemusement... down your spine) To kick off my review in a predictable, inevitable and somewhat tedious way I shall bombard you with technical waffle, the likes of which you have never seen! (well, maybe you have if you have read the box it comes in). Processor: Yep, it has one. The sturdy little workhorse that is known ...
...product spec page on the Sony Vaio website: More technical stuff here: http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VGN-FE31M&p roductFilters=retired&site=voeenGBcons&pageType=Overview&category=VN+FE+ Series I bought the VGN-FE31M (mmm... say it again, say it again), just over a year ago, at the princely sum of £1000. No doubt this price will have plummeted since then, but even at full price I feel it is more than worth the money. ... Read review

Advantages: Price! Slim design, X-black LCD , Speed
Disadvantages: Weight, Partitioned Hardrive ,USB, Speakers

Sony Vaio N-Series VGN-N11S As I'm studying IT at college I needed a laptop that would be perfect for my studies quick enough to deal with all my applications and being a student, affordable. The VGN-N11S is perfect for all of these, but don't be fooled by the price. At last, Sony have brought us a good quality laptop with many great features which is affordable! They state that this laptop is the 'Perfect Balance Between Value and Versatility', ...
...with the 15.4' X-black LCD, Sony are bang on when they say its for a brighter picture, sharper contrast and vivid lifelike colours. I was blown away with the clarity of the picture and the colours. The display is even brighter when the AC adapter is plugged in. I would defo suggest the adapter is plugged in while watching a DVD to get the most out of it. The keyboard looked pretty scary at first. The keys are flat with gaps in between so no eating ... Read review

Advantages: Stylish, well made, good features, light weight, fantastic screen
Disadvantages: Short power lead, only two USB outlets, no infra red

I've only owned my Sony lap top for a short time & I'm impressed with the geneal fit & finish, light weight construction, standard wi-fi & other features. The keyboard has a lovely quality feel to it, battery life is around 2 hours & the screen is totally amazing. It came with Vista Home Premium & Sony have added extra valuable software from Adobe & for Sony MP3s. The lap top comes with a separate SD card reader & memory stick 'gate' for simple downloading ...
...of colours, my one is in silver & white & looks similar to an Apple Mac lap top. My only gripes is the rather short power lead, only 2 USB outlets, no infra red facility & miserable one year warranty. However it is a rather stylish & well made lap top that should give years of good service. ... Read review

Advantages: Powerful, Massive screen, Dual core, Fantastic media center,
Disadvantages: Large form factor, low battery life

The first thing to strike me about the AR21M was the sheer size of the thing, immediately I began to have doubts as to how portable this system would be. I was pleasantly surprised however to find that despit its size it really wasnt too heavy. Size aside how does this machine perform? Well the beast is powered by an Intel core 2 duo CPU at 1.83Ghz, with 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a GeForce 7600 graphics card so should be able to cope with just about anything ...
...avid gamer (When I get time at least) I was Eager to try a couple of the latest titles on it and had no trouble at all playing MOTW II, Oblivion and Mark of Chaos at top resolutions with all the features on, the system did get quite warm but I invested in a notebook cooler for around £20 which the vaio sits on top of and is kept ice cold by. As well as games the media center software, remote control and TV Tuner make this a fantastic home entertainment ... Read review

Advantages: Crystal clear screen, good price, battery life, excellent overall
Disadvantages: 512MB not enough, not many ports

This is the first Sony Vaio I have owned. I have stayed away from Vaios in the past because of Sony's insistance on customising the way operating systems work (the Sony Clie Palm OS devices were a testament to this). I have owned a couple of Acer laptops which, although heavy and with low battery life, are extremely reliable (my oldest one is 10 years old and still going strong). I once owned a Compaq laptop that fell to pieces within 6 months. ...
...Sony. In the end, the Sony X-Black screen clinched it - I'd seen the screen in the shops and it was incredibly sexy. The Toshiba was a very close second choice. I bought the Sony at eBuyer.com for just under £550 brand new. After my Sony was delivered, I quickly uninstalled just about everything that they included as I already had my own software. The Sony comes with 512MB of memory, but up to 128MB can be allocated to the graphics card, so straight ... Read review