SONY VAIO VPCS111FM/S 13.3" LCD, 500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, i5 PROCESSOR, WINDOWS 7

by Sony

Product Details

• Item Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds
• ASIN: B00396IC6G
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,166 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 20, 2010

Product Description

# The all new 2010 Intel® CoreTM i5 processor Features smart 4-way processing performance with a speed boost. # Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Delivers extra performance when you need it and increased energy efficiency when you don't. Intel® HD Graphics provide extra graphics power for your laptop when you need it. # 4GB DDR3 memory For multitasking power, expandable to 8GB. # Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Also supports DVD-RAM. # 13.3" LED-backlit widescreen display With 1366 x 768 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity. # 500GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm) Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times. G-Sensor shock protection for protecting your information. # Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD With 2263MB total graphics memory. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV. Intel® High Definition Audio support. # Intel® Wireless Display technology Lets you wirelessly stream online media and personal content from the laptop to your HDTV through your home network, so you can enjoy Internet TV, videos, photos and more on your big screen. # Built-in MOTION EYE webcam With microphone and face-tracking technology makes it easy to chat with and send video mail to family and friends. # Multiformat media reader Supports Memory Stick PRO and Memory Stick PRO Duo formats with MagicGate functionality. Also includes a Secure Digital card slot. # i.LINK (IEEE 1394) port and 3 USB 2.0 ports # Built-in Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200 Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) To wirelessly connect to the Internet. # Built-in A2DP Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) interface For linking with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player. # Built-in 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T Gigabit Fast Ethernet LAN With RJ-45 connector for quick and easy wired Web connection.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feature rich at a reasonable price, April 27, 2010

By 

Benjamin V. Bonora (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SONY VAIO VPCS111FM/S 13.3" LCD, 500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, i5 PROCESSOR, WINDOWS 7 (Personal Computers)

I'm a web developer/designer and consider myself fairly computer savvy. I have built several computers from the ground up and was surprised when I found exactly what I wanted at Best Buy.

I have been researching laptop computers for the past 4 months and consider the Sony Vaio VPCS111FM/S to be the best option for the price.

Pros: Intel Core i5 2.26 GHZ, 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB of RAM, 13.3" screen, 5 hour battery life, chiclet backlit keyboard, Blu Ray player, Video Card has 256 MB dedicated RAM, 2 year warranty

Cons: Price($1050.00), hard drive is only 5400 rpm and Out of date Bios that caused a minor audio problem

I was looking for a powerful portable computer that didn't cost a fortune. I found cheaper laptops that had the same specs but they were all 15" or larger which was a deal breaker for me. Also, most of these models came with a battery that only lasted 2-3 hours, which was also a deal breaker (the Vaio standard battery last just under 5 hours).

I think the reason this has received some bad reviews is because the installed bios and drivers are out of date resulting in a few minor bugs, most notably unexpected audio drop outs or a buzzing metallic sounds while listening to audio. The Vaio Update software that comes installed won't update the bios automatically - you have to download the latest version from Sony's website and install it manually. This is very easy to do and after the bios is updated everything works perfect.

I have installed Gimp, XAMPP, FL Studio, Inkscape, Netbeans and iTunes and so far they all run better then expected. I also tried out the wireless display feature with the NETGEAR Push2TV Adapter that was included in the price. I watched some Netflix movies and it worked great.

I have only owned this machine for 3 days and so far I love it and am extremely happy with my purchase. If you are looking for a highly portable powerful computer for around $1,000 then this is the machine for you. I don't think you will find a 13" model with all the same features for the price.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Performance but Some Problems, June 1, 2010

By 

Jeff Chambers (San Ramon, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SONY VAIO VPCS111FM/S 13.3" LCD, 500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, i5 PROCESSOR, WINDOWS 7 (Personal Computers)

Sony's Vaio VPC-S111FM/S does a good job of balancing weight and performance. I've used mostly Think pads and Dells for the last 15 years, so this was my first Sony purchase. Ultimately, I decided to not keep the laptop and returned it to Best Buy.

Strengths:
- The keyboard is very good, but it had quality issues.
- Keyboard back-lighting
- Performance, 4GB RAM and a fast processor made this laptop nearly comparable to my desktop i7 Winx64 system.
- Low noise. The fan and hard drive are very quiet.
- Low heat. Never did the bottom of the laptop feel hot.
- Competitive battery life. I averaged 3-4 hours per charge.
- Low weight. This is one of the fastest laptops for the price and weight available today.
- Wireless N performance was excellent and reliable.

Weaknesses:
- Although the LED back-lit LCD has nice contrast, the screen is too reflective for my taste, and much more so than most Dell models that I've used over the years.
- The keyboard is generally very good, but some keys (specifically the shift key for me) clicks and sticks. My keyboard may have been defective so this could be rare occurrence.
- The Intel Wireless Display does not work well, and when it does, the video quality on our 47" HD LCD TV was that of an older DVD (video playback was also choppy on the remote TV). Additionally, nowhere are end-users told to configure the wireless connection to operate over the 2.4GHz band. If the default "mixed mode" or 5.2GHz is selected in the connection, the Intel Wireless Display won't function.
- The battery didn't fit snug, so it rattled when you moved or handled the laptop.
- The 5,400 RPM HDD is noticeably slower compared to 7,200 RPM systems. If I were to keep this laptop, I'd probably upgrade to a faster and larger HDD.

If the laptop's strengths listed above are important to you, and you can overlook the troublesome "Intel Wireless Display" and potential keyboard issues, then this laptop is worth consideration.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great performance, April 18, 2010

By 

B Man (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SONY VAIO VPCS111FM/S 13.3" LCD, 500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, i5 PROCESSOR, WINDOWS 7 (Personal Computers)

I have been using this new VAIO for the last few weeks and it is very well built. I read a bunch of reviews and message boards to see what I was getting and have not been disappointed. I bought this to compliment a desktop computer I recently purchased with an i7 processor and the i5 in the Sony is no slouch. It handles everything very well and gives me about 4-5 hours of battery life with a few tweaks to the screen brightness (and turning off the CD burner when on battery power).

I was a bit concerned about the keyboard layout since I have never used a "chicklet" style keyboard, but I think I type better on it than I do on most other keyboards, it feels so natural. The screen is very bright but just a touch reflective in certain light, but then nearly every laptop today is the same way. I think the only compliant I have is that I couldn't get it in black, but the silver finish actually looks pretty good.

I've had no issues with my computer whatsoever, wifi is blazing fast, bluetooth is seamless, card readers are automatic, etc. Some have mentioned issues with sound, that can be resolved with a driver update from Sony, and mine updated automatically on the first update so I never experienced the issue. All in all, I paid as much for this as I did for my desktop, but it was worth every penny...I might just give this one to my wife and get a black one once that is released. This is my first VAIO, but definitely not my last...VAIO's for everyone in my house from now on.

Oh and the wireless streaming of audio/video to the TV is pretty nice also. I compared it against the quality of the HDMI out port on the laptop and it was very close (tested using streaming video, there may be differences streaming other videos, haven't tested). The only downside of the wireless streaming to the TV is that the cursor lags on the TV so when you move the cursor, you have to wait a second before you see it move on the TV screen, but I mainly use it to watch streaming MLB games on the 52" screen and it has been flawless.

So I rate this 5 stars since it has lived up to my expectations in exceeded them in some cases. Like I said, this is my first VAIO, but it won't be my last, this laptop made me a fan.