Sony VAIO FW11E 16.4-inch Laptop, Intel Core2 Duo P8400 (2.26Hz), 3GB RAM, 250GB HDD

Solid performer - I was always wary of Sony as they seemed to charge a premium for their name on a laptop but the features of this laptop caught my eye. After coming away and looking around on the net convinced I would find the same spec in a different brand of laptop for less cash I was surprised when I couldn t.The real clincher for me was the screen - at 16.4 inch and 1600 x 900 resolution it s really very, very nice. Since this laptop will be getting hammered by Photoshop the screen was very important to me. For the price I paid (

wow... - I have to say I was expecting a quality product when I ordered this laptop, and that is exactly what I got. Sony have outdone themselves with this product, the large screen is great especially since I spend alot of time watching anime and the sound quality is also very good. The only thing I can think of that could ruin this product is the fact that it comes with Vista... However I guess that it isnt Sonys fault that Vista is rubbish so I gave it 5 stars cause the product itself is awesome.Enjoy!

A decent pocket battleship let down by poor design. - I purchased this Sony VGN-FW11E as an upgrade for my Toshiba M70 Equium laptop. I was looking for a branded Dual Core processor laptop, a lightweight build and great battery life were not important deciding factors in any purchase, as I do not intend to travel with the product. Generally, the Sony fulfils these criteria well.At the time of writing, it is still reasonably difficult to find a branded laptop with a decent amount of hard drive space, a good spec Core 2 Duo processor (2.26 GHz), 3GB of RAM (expandable to 4) and Vista Premium for less than £800 (although with the Credit Crunch really biting into retailers profits, this will certainly change sooner rather than l6ater). I was attracted to this specific model because it offers no-frills wireless-n enabled internet performance, and a good widescreen-enabled resolution of 1600x900. The pricier models in the FW range may include an extra gig of RAM, Dual Lamp screen brightness technology and Blu-ray a reader-writer, but this entry-level model is fine for watching films on the anti-reflective display and for various networking duties.Now the negative points. For a Sony product, the build quality is not the greatest. The computer looks plasticky right out the box, and relatively minor quibbles like the imperfect fit of the keyboard tray into the computer chassis are indicative of cost-cutting measures. However, by far the most wooden-headed decision, as stated in previous reviews, is the placement of inputs. The key problem is that the flip-lid covers the back of the computer, i.e., where most other computers have their ports. The upshot of this is that ports have to go elsewhere. Three USBs ports placed side by side, so that bigger plugs block the other ports? Not good. Ethernet ports on the side, meaning that the generally thick CAT cables risk dragging the computer to the side. Headphones and microphone jacks are to one side at the front, getting in the way of cables trailing from USBs. An l-shaped power jack placed inconveniently on the lid hinge and a power button on the opposite hinge mean that these will get knocked easily. These are lazy design decisions that are again indicative of cost-cutting in the design process. As I use the FW11 as a stationary unit this is not a big deal, but for anyone on the move this marks the model down significantly. The FW11E is a handy pocket battleship of a computer, offering branded reliability, the Vista platform and Core 2 Duo. Don t let the slightly cheap and dunderheaded design spoil your enjoyment if you are going for a compact home computer. However, for those wanting to travel with a laptop (which is after all what laptops are designed for) the size, weight and ungainly port configuration may necessitate a perusal of other and perhaps costlier choices.

Great laptop, some silly flaws (as mentioned in other reviews) - This laptop was an upgrade from my dell inspiron 6400, and my first experience with Vista (something I was unwilling to try for a long time).The FW11E is an impressive notebook to look at, very sleek design. I do like the latch-less design, and the power button on the hinge. However, as one of the previous reviewers mentioned, I don t really understand how Sony made the mistake of placing all 3 USB ports in the same area, which also turns out to be one of the worst areas to place a USB port in the first place! Its perfectly fine if you don t use a mouse, but the USB plugs do get in the way if you do what a lot of people decide to do when using the laptop at home, which is plug in a mouse, and several other USB peripherals. This is what lost the FW11E one star.Personally, I dont mind the placement of the audio and mic jacks, I like them better off to the right hand side than slap bang in the middle like you see on some other laptops. They don t get in the way of my hands because I place my right hand slightly more to the centre when typing, and when I m not typing, my hand is on the mouse, so that s not an issue for me. Bloatware. Lots of it. Not nice. Give us a clean install, Sony, I m not interested in silly flash games on my laptop, and if I was, I would just go play them online. Now some good points: great price for the specs. Centrino 2 2.26 ghz, ati 3470 mobility graphics card, 3gb DDR2 800mhz (as opposed to 667mhz, not much difference, but its still nice that they didn t skimp on that), will play any game out there albeit not on the highest settings. It s quiet. The fan doesn t sound like a hairdryer like on some other laptops. The built-in webcam seems decent, definitely on par with some of the logitech ones. I havn t had the chance to test the battery life yet, but a bit of googling indicates around 2.5 hours, which for a 2.26ghz dual core with a dedicated graphics card and a 16.4 screen at 1600x900 resolution seems pretty decent! I like the feel of the keyboard, although the key seem to be a bit squeaky. Not sure if this will resolve itself with some breaking-in, but I really hope so... I much preferred the port placement on my inspiron, and I liked the feel of the keyboard better, but in every other category, the Sony comes out on top. And it cost me less than my inspiron did when I bought it too :P

Great laptop but some dumb errors - I d agree with what Mr T Pope said regarding this laptop, but I m surprised he didn t pick up on 2 of the hugely silly flaws this laptop has. Let s start with them then get onto the good stuff.Flaw 1 - audio socket on the front of the laptop. So this means if you re vaguely serious about music and thus plug in external speakers, it s sticking out right under your right hand, before trailing around or under the laptop to the speakers. Why they didn t put this on the back - or even side, basically anywhere but where it is - is a mystery.Flaw 2 - more silly port positioning: all 3 of the USB ports are on the front right, i.e. precisely where you d use an external mouse (assuming you re right-handed). I traded up from a weaker LG model and that had the sense to split the 3 USB ports around the laptop - 2 on the front left, one at the far right. Here you have no choice. This is a serious piece of kit so Sony must have known it would be eyed up by developers and designers (like me) who, of course, always use external mice over mousepads.OK one more mini-flaw - the lid doesn t feel like it properly shuts since there s no clip mechanism. OK so it doesn t fall open or bob up and down, but it doesn t feel all that secure.Apart from that you can t go wrong. I really tried to avoid buying this, convinced that with Sony you pay over the odds for the name. But I just couldn t find another 17 (well, this is 16.4 but I m talking resolution here) laptop that looked the part. Don t get me wrong, looks aren t the first criterion with laptops, but if I m going to shell out £800 then I d like it to look half decent (take note, Toshiba).Unlike on other laptops, the keys are elevated, the thinking being it cuts down on typos caused by traditionally closely-knit laptop keys. If like me you touch type then you ll have no problem, it s very comfortable.Since I never use laptops onboard speakers, I sort of resent their being there at all since they often look terrible, in a tastless mesh, but on this it s bearable. Fine mesh which just looks like a series of mini-dotts.It s worth pointing out too that the mouse pad has scroll detection technology built in, both vertical and horizontal, though it s not flawless. But with external mice, page-down keys and other methods of scrolling, you won t be using this much anywayOverall, a gorgeous piece of kit with the odd flaw. Forgive those and you ll be very happy together.

Sony VAIO FW11E 16.4-inch Laptop, Intel Core2 Duo P8400 (2.26Hz), 3GB RAM, 250GB HDD