Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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Cons: Price($1050.00), hard drive is only 5400 rpm and Out of date Bios that caused a minor audio problem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I think the reason this has received some bad reviews is because the installed bios and drivers are out of date resulting in a few minor bugs, most notably unexpected audio drop outs or a buzzing metallic sounds while listening to audio.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.

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.

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.

I'm giving this laptop five stars because after using it for a week, I have yet to find something to criticize. I paid $1049 at BestBuy, and they included in the deal the box for wirless streaming to your TV, which works well. One of the things that made this laptop stand out for me among all the choices in the store was the keyboard. Very comfortable to use, reminded me of the MacBook keyboards. The laptop is light, the screen colors seem great, and the computer itself looks pretty good and doesn't feel cheap. I do think that the speakers are a bit weak and tinny, but I was not expecting anything more than this. So, in summary, I got what I paid for-- a powerful, well rounded, lightweight laptop.

I bought this laptop from Best Buy on February 6, 2010, shortly after it came out. I have had nothing but problems with it and with Sony's technical support (technicians). First, the technicians had no idea the laptop existed. The day I bought the machine, I called to verify my warranty and three technicians at Sony told me I had only a one year warranty - it does actually have two years, and I think Sony finally knows this. The speakers have a terrible intermittent buzzing noise that is not helped by the driver update offered from Sony. When questioning the difference between the software Vaio Messenger and Vaio Update, the Sony technician actually told me that Vaio Messenger was a bag, like a messenger bag. The keyboard started squeaking 4 days after I bought it. The touchpad is even defective. Often the right click menu will pop-up without me clicking the right-click button. Also the mouse jumps from one part of the screen to another.

As far as the specs go, they look great on paper, but aren't any faster than a Core 2 Duo 2.1 GHz. The automatic backlight on the keyboard only comes up for a few seconds before it goes out. Firefox and Office 2003 will often stop responding.

Sony technical support is terrible and I've often received conflicting information, sometimes from the same technician. They have no idea that the Automatic Screen Brightness exists. Every phone call I've made has been at least 30 minutes long and most are over an hour. On March 24th I was offered on-site technical service. Today is April 20th and I'm still waiting. No one at Sony has even said "I'm sorry you're experiencing these problems." Best Buy has offered to exchange the machine today and I am doing just that.

You would do well to spend your money on a machine that works, isn't as expensive as this one, and with a company that actually cares about their consumer.

Bought this laptop a little over one year ago. My older PCG-Z1WA (purchased in 2004) was showing it's age. Since I travel overseas 6 months each year, I'm a bit tough on laptops.

I liked the weight, looks and quality - plus it's a Sony!! The only thing that I don't like is that I'm unable (so far) to get Solaris 10 running properly. Once that happens, this will be a 5 star laptop. Right now, it's a 4.8. Oh, and I could use a powered eSATA port, but other than that, this laptop is complete.

Having a laptop that is capable of 8GB memory and comes with a 500GB hard drive is great. The graphics capability is excellent, the auto-dim sensor and back lit keyboard is great when you're on a red-eye and having to do work. You won't disturb your neighbor (too much).

I'd buy this again, but the way Sony's have lasted for me, who knows what innovation they'll have in six years. I'm looking forward to their next generation. Maybe they'll have 500GB SSD as standard!

I bought this laptop for these reasons:
-i5 procesor
-good size HD
-Push2TV technology
-Backlit keyboard
-Good looks/thin. Overall aesthetic appeal.

Pros:
-The computer feels great.
-Light weight.
-Keyboard is wonderful and backlight works great (although there is no manual switch i.e. the room must be dark for it to turn on)
-Reasonably quick and decent battery life.

Cons:
-Lots of problems right out of the box requiring tons of driver updates.
-High pitched squealing sound from speakers that required a full system restore to fix.
-Choppy audio playback, updating the drivers seemed to fix this as well.
-Push2TV technology is so slow that it is virtually unusable.
-Plastic finish on computer is very easily scratched.

Overall, I would not recommend this computer. I don't expect this computer to last me more than 1-2 years and since I mainly use my computer to download and listen to music, the poor quality in audio performance is a deal breaker. Do not even consider the Push2TV option as a bennefit, it simply does not work well enough.

Lovely machine with good specs at a high price. I thought I was paying for peace of mind and quality that will last.
Within a few weeks, the screen gave problems. The battery is also loose. I battled with Sony technicians in a similar manner as the other person who wrote a review on this product. I made numerous calls, long long calls, got transferred from dept to dept and detected the Sony technicians lack of expertise. The Sony Style store finally replaced the machine with another one which I have been using for 1 week now and am getting the same problems. In addition, the sound has also started giving problems.

I purchased this laptop two weeks ago from Bestbuy worth $1049 (package with Neatgear Push-to-Tv and Kaspersky Anti-Virus) to replace our 3 year old Dell Inspiron PC. My wife fell in love with the style which is similar to MacBook Pro. Initially, I don't have any issues with regards to the speed and performance which I expected considering that it has Intel Turbo Boost Technology. However, when I tried to manually install several of my applications into this laptop using CDs, there are times that the system doesn't detect the CD drive (even before I insert the CD). Whenever I encountered this issue, I just restarted the system and it all come back to normal. After that, my wife and I continued our "break-in" process by testing several apps, video streaming and playing music while surfing the net, chatting through skype etc... Then came the unexpected... Everytime we play music (either through CD or harddisk)/watching movie/making calls through Skpe, there's always a point where a squeking sound originates from the speaker. A distortive sound always takes place in random timings. We also not satisfied with the sound of the speaker in general. Even if we adjust the volume to its maximum value, you can barely hear the sound (add to the fact that the distortive sound still takes place). After three days, we decided to return it back even if we pay for the restoking fee. What we cannot stomach is the performance of this laptop compare to its value. At the Bestbuy store, we were directed to the Geek Squad section to check if our claim is valid (we told the sales person that it is a defective laptop to avoid paying the 15% restocking fee). After seeing the item that I am returning and informing him of the problem, the Geek Squad guy didn't bother to check/open the item. He pointed me directly to the cashier to get my replacement. At that point, we decided to get the MacBook Pro which only cost $1199. We didn't mind if we added a bit more as long as my wife and I are both happy with what we purchased.

This laptop is the crem de la crem. The amazing speed, the style, the backlight keyboard are just a few of the
beautiful things about this work of art.