Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO PCG-TR2A Laptop (1.0-GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

PROS: The TR2A is a full featured system in an incredibly small and lightweight package. Despite the small size the screen is excellent and the keyboard usable. Before the Vaio I used to dread lugging my full sized laptop on trips. The Vaio goes with me everywhere. Battery life is not 15 hours (an absurd claim) but is long enough for a 7 hour flight and then some. Some nice touches such as a switch at the front to turn wireless lan off / on. It is not a CAD or graphics workstation, nor is it intended to be. Great WOW factor.

CONS: Should have a DVD burner and not just CD burner. For sake of future compatibility, 802.11G wireless would be nice as well. Sony should include the recovery media instead of requiring you to order it or burn it to a dozen plus CD's (since there is no DVD burner). Probably the best subnotebook available at the moment although it seems they cut a few corners in terms of the DVD and wireless. Heck, at least provide a cheap vinyl zipper case and a printed copy of the manual.

Do consider the TR2AP3. For not much more $$$ you get twice the memory, XP Pro, and 802.11 B AND G. TR2 is great, I only wish the AP3 configuration had been available when I bought mine.

Okay, this is a niche product that fills its niche so magnificently that it deserves all 5 stars. It is solidly built and yet so light it almost defies explanation. The processor is not only a very capable 1 gigahertz, but as a Centrino tuned Pentium, it throws off less heat and is much more miserly with its battery use. The optical drive will play and record CDs and will play DVDs beautifully on an extra crisp 10.6" screen (and battery life is longer than any DVD I can think of).
The hard drive is an adequate 40 gigs. The connections are fine, including two USB 2.0s, and the built in 802.11 wireless is foolproof. I find I have no problems with the ergonomics of the keyboard or touchpad, though I do keep a tiny USB optical mouse in my case for hotel stays, etc.
Overall, this is the ideal 2nd computer, especially for a student or for a frequent flyer. Sony has been pretty good about backing their products in case you have a problem, though mine has not even hiccupped yet. The only extra expense I had was finding a small enough case to carry it in, and that was very much a pleasant purchase!

I got a TR2AP3 a few days ago, and just about finished configuring it to my needs. So a few quick comments.

I did side-by-side tests with a V505 with 2-GHz Mobile P4, with the same amount of RAM (1GB) and have found TR2A with 1-GHz P4M Centrino is in some cases faster than V505!
Other than raw speed, TR2A is extremely quiet and generates much less heat than other notebook PCs. Also, the battery life is just phenomenal.

I also noticed that built-in wireless card is much more sensitive than most notebooks.

The stunningly sharp LCD screen, etc., etc. can be mentioned, but, to keep my review short, you can read reviews of TR1A.

I am enjoying a renewed freedom in mobile computing.

This nifty little machine has a plenty of capabilities....all in a compact, light-weight package....but what most people call a gripe I find a plus...the bottom of the laptop gets quite warm but on those chilly late-night surfing sessions I find the heat generated by my TR2A a welcome benefit...as long as it doesn't harm the computer itself I have no problems with the comforting warmth that emanates from my little lap-companion...I rate this wonderful machine an A+++++++++!!!!

This computer has a lot of bang for your buck. I love the built in camera and the ease of use; just press one button and you're off. I also love the small form factor and its lighweight makes it perfect to lug around. Barely weighs anything. Feels lighter than a school text book. For something that is so small, it has all the port connectors I would use; firewire, usb, vga, ethernet, and a magicgate port to boot. Some people complained that the native resolution would make text too small on screen, but I find it perfect. I gave it only 4 stars because it runs on crappy windows xp. Otherwise great product and Sony customer support is very helpful.

I got the TR2A a while ago for school and i absolutely love it. i got a gig of RAM..and i reccomend you do too but only if you want to play MOHAA, BF1942, etc. if you dont know what im talking about, get 512. I got this computer for school and it has served it's purpose and gone far, far beyond. It is so light i can carry it in my backpack and not notice any weight difference, yet powerfull and the screen is sooo AWESOME!! its the brightest screen i have ever seen.. and i have a bunch of screens. The keyboard is perfect, not too big or small. The mouse is suprisingly nice, i didnt expect it to be so easy to use. the only gripe i have about this product, is that...uhh hmm i guess i DONT HAVE A GRIPE! it's too good to explain. go to a CompUSA and check it out, then get it off Sonystyle.com or here, they are about the same price. The dvd drive is awesome, since with the WIDE screen you can watch wide format dvd's and it looks so so so so great, you have to see it to believe it. I thought i had died and went to ultraportable laptop heaven. i was going to get a Z1, but they were out so i got this one and i love it. get it!!

Very nice laptop, great design, great screen, but it is running very, very hot. The temperature at the bottom is 111 F. That is the hottest running laptop that I've seen so far...

I purchased this small, wonderful unit about 10 months ago. Fantastic! Great for travel, wonderfully compact, good battery life, excellent viewing for a small unit. WiFi works great! Fast, but not blazing speed. Then, about three months ago, I let my 16 year old daughter borrow it to watch a movie one night! BIG MISTAKE. She fell asleep with it on her bed, rolled over, and it fell approximately 3' to a carpeted floor. Only got picture on half the screen, so the LCD had to be replaced. Very PRICEY repair! Sony Tech Support was great! Tech support sent me a box via overnight, I sent the unit in, and three days later I had it back! Since its return it has worked fine. Only problem was the Windows registry didn't recognize the DVD/CD player, but again Sony tech was helpful. Enjoy it, take good care of it, purchase the LCD insurance, and don't loan it to anyone....

I love this laptop, i'm writing the review on it, I had a TR1A and i swapped out for the TR2A, with the extended battery the most i've ever had out of it is 17 hours, 11 hours on normal use, i didn't really gain much swapping up but it was the same cost and i had a 0% restock with no questions asked.

Its very well designed, the right shift key takes a little while to get used too. Its quite light too,. I also got the privacy filter BUT i don't recommend this as it adds stripey lines and turns down the contrast of the fantastic xbrite display. I('ve been going in the the apple stores looking for a new ibook and they've all got vaio envy. XP Home is perfectly fine for most users, I'm a commercial games software developer and i use xp pro and home, and i've had only the slight inconvience of sharing slightly harder.

i have 4 laptops, hp ze5185 ibook and an alienware, i use the tr2a all the time, i'd buy two if i could use them at the same time, its always with me. its a lot better built than previous vaios, as for heat i've had no issues, it runs warm, but its meant too, and the system can take it, doesn't get anywhere near as hot as a powerbook or my alienware.

downsides are costs of sony items, extended battery was $345, the privacy filter, $80, its a piece of plastic, the memory takes micro sodimms, which can run about $400 + for one 512MB. it'd be nice if they used a slot loading dvd/cd-r instead.

plays a lot of different games, AOE no proble, quake, tribes 2 is perfectly playable etc.

buy one, buy two, but don't get the privacy filter., don't say i didn't warn you :)

(Edit)
Incidently I dropped my TR2A , it fell out of a shoulder bag (don't buy 3rd party laptop bags with zips on the side), and i sent it back to sony for repair, they have outstanding service and support people, arrived on friday, estimate etc was ready monday morning.

(Second edit) I finally found the perfect bag for it, sony have a little vaio bag with no handles so its ok for lite work, but theres a powerbook/ibook bag called the `booq` it fits great i picked the larger size since it game me some extra space but the 12 powerbook fits very snugly.

all the reveiws i read were from the 2003,2004,airer and did not refer to the problem of the magic eye going poof even if not used as they are always on when computer is on,they draw their power from the usb circuit the only thing you can turn off is the program.sony is aware of this problem and stick their head in the sand when it comes to admitting it.their are more tr series out there with bad cameras.i had mine replaced under warrantee used it once when i got it back,worked great.three months i tried it again and poof again.you can buy 5 or 6 web cams for the price sony wants for replacement.i gave this a 4 star rating as i don't use the camera .also the keybord leaves a bit to be desired.also the speakers are a little high pitched. all in all a great little computer.