Sony Vaio W Review
Pros:
Vibrant high resolution 10 inch screen (1366 x 768), Built in 3G, Huge touchpad
Cons:
Only 2 USB ports, Price
Bottom Line:
The Sony Vaio W series netbook is a huge improvement over previous netbook iterations. You can tell Sony has stepped up their game with these new netbooks based on the Intel Atom N450 processor. The review unit I received was full of features not offered in most netbooks; however, that came with a hefty pricetag of $599
Quick Product Specs:
Intel Atom N450 1.66 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 Starter (see full specs)
Full Review:
The Sony Vaio W series 10 inch netbook packs a ton of features into it's small frame. The unit I demoed (VPC-W215AX/L) offers something else the other models don't: built in 3G access via Verizon Wireless. This makes the netbook the perfect travelers companion and the roomy 1366 x 768 resolution screen provides plenty of real estate for viewing your content. But beyond the price which I've already beaten to death let's move onto the appearance and functionality of the netbook.
Design:
The netbook is only 1 inch thick, but with the 6 cell battery at the back of the netbook it brings the total height up to nearly 2 inches at that point. The edges of the case are slightly rounded with both an SD card slot and a Memory stick slot found near the front. There is also both a hardware based button to shut off the wireless (always nice to avoid messing around with function keys) and a switch to turn on the netbook found on the front as well. The inside area features a dimpled texture design that's really nice.
Usability:
The Sony Vaio netbook features a 92% sized keyboard (common size for 10 inch netbooks). The keys have a nice firm response; however, they took me a while to get used to because of the small individual key size. This is the experience I usually have when reviewing netbooks with "island style" keyboards but after a short time I was able to adjust. The touchpad is also very easy to use at nearly 3 inches wide and 1.5 inches high. The only other netbook with a touchpad as good as the one offered by Sony is Toshiba.
The W series netbooks only have 2 USB ports though which is below the netbook standard of 3 USB ports, by the same token I rarely use more than 2 USB ports in my own netbook so I don't think this drawback is a deal breaker.
Battery Life:
The Sony Vaio W netbook has a 6 cell battery that provides the netbook an average battery life of 8 hours under normal usage (MFG numbers). This isn't close to the 14 hours I've seen offered by some ASUS models, but when you come in close to double digits in battery life the incremental gains don't mean as much.
Overall Performance:
Overall, I believe this one of the best 10 inch netbooks out on the market right now for people that will be on the road a lot and need built in 3G; however, as I mentioned before that comes at a price of $599
Shop:
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US $109.87
Tagged: Sony VAIO W
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