Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO VPC-CW23FX/B 14-Inch Laptop

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this model of sony vaio on 3/10/10. I read the reviews and product description before I bought it. And I like what it says, so I ordered it. Now that I have it I was disappointed to find out it does not have a one touch web access. This is one of the reason that I chosen this model of sony laptop. In their product description "The CW also features fast, one-touch access to the Internet without booting up the operating system--just press the "Web" button." I read the manual and this features is not included. So people beware not everything you see in their product description is acctually the one your buying !!!Sony VAIO VPC-CW23FX/L 14-Inch Laptop (Blue)

Positives: Great features for the price, Intel i3 processor, blue ray player , 500gb, windows 7. Negatives: Glossy exterior smudges easily with fingerprints and marks clearly visible, requires several wipedowns. No light up keyboard, plastic exterior feels fragile and flimsy. It's no Apple Macbook Pro, but good laptop in the PC universe.

I purchased the Sony VAIO CWFX/B on April 27, 2010.

I actually got the laptop as a FREE replacement via Sony's seriously awesome extended warranty program.

The i3 processor flies and the RAM and harddrive are more than enough to handle moderate to moderately-heavy computing. One fact that is often overlooked: the graphics card. Unlike similar laptops at similar pricepoints over at HP and Dell, this laptop packs a fine NVIDIA 310M GeForce laptop with Cuda. For all you non-technie-aficionados, that means it's a rockin' card.

And when I say rockin', I don't just mean that it's rockin' for the size and weight of the laptop (although, to be fair, the size and weight are pretty admirable for the computing power), I mean this is the upper-middle class of laptop graphics card. It would be hard to find a better graphics card in this size of computer.

Speaking of the size, it is perfect. This computer weighs in at just under 5 1/2 lbs, and the screen is a super-glossy widescreen. This can be moderately frustrating in bright sunlight because the glare is pretty ridiculous, but in anything less than bright sunlight, typically the laptop screen does OK.

Also, I know the other reviews mentioned it-- but this thing does not overheat. Now, I love Sony but they do sort of have a rep for sucking with overheated laptops. Not so here, friend. This laptop runs cool pretty much all the time, and I have yet to see it take over 55% of the CPU's resources.

The design is pretty great right out of the box. Sony knows where to put its curves and the screen feels sturdy. You get three USB ports, an optical drive, a VGA input, and A HDMI INPUT!!!!!!!! They're all well placed and easy to access. That said, the other reviewers are right: the glossy sheen loses it's cool-factor very quickly because it's pretty prone to heavy fingerprinting. I miss the days of matte computers, but that's another story.

I'm surprisingly picky about keyboards and surprisingly happy with the chiclet keyboard. This is the first laptop I have purchased without the traditional keys, and I have to say I'm pretty happy with it. The spacing is just right, and my only complaint is that I wish the arrow keys were bigger (I hate using WASD in MMOs, but that's another story).

Things that bug me: the speakers, quite frankly, are terrible. They sound tinny at low volumes and like they've been blown out at moderate volumes. They're less than an inch big and seriously pathetic. I have a pair of external speakers so I'm covered, but it sucks for anyone who wants to use this computer to listen to music.

I wish that Sony had sprung for a 7200 rpm harddrive over the 5400rpm one. I think it would have seriously sped up computing power, but 500gb is generous, so I can't complain. If you really want to get the most out of this computer though, it doesn't look like it would be difficult to just swap out your harddrive with a faster one.

On battery, the computer slows to a crawl and has pretty mediocre battery consumption. The laptop this replaced could squeeze 5 hours out of the battery at medium settings, this laptop squeezes out 3 at medium-low settings. It's a pretty big downgrade in battery consumption and life.

The multi-touch function is nice, but just a tisch too sensitive. And, the most petty of my concerns, they kept the computer indicator lights towards the very bottom edge of the computer instead of near the screen. I guess they didn't want the lights to distract? I don't know. But it's pretty frustrating because sometimes I hit the powerbutton, and not seeing a light, I'm not sure it's turned on. So then I hit it again and I shut the thing down. Pretty weird choice, Sony, very odd choice.

Anyway, it's a pretty great buy for the price. HP, Samsung, and Dell offer nearly-identical laptops at the same price (within 50 bucks), but those laptops have TERRIBLE graphics cards (I'm not sure the Intel Accelerator card even deserves to be called a graphics card). Thus, if you're looking for a small, mid-range, well-priced laptop:

Welcome to the Sony CW.

I purchased this as a birthday present for one of my sons, the whole set-up process and to get online took about 15 minutes right out the box. SUPER FAST and so easy to do. Do not hesitate on this one, just buy it. Item arrived on time and packaging was great. Great deal for the money. My son was on for 3 hrs and did not feel hot. I know he will enjoy this for along time and extremely happy with this purchase.

I purchased this about a week ago, and its my very first laptop. And might I say it definitely set some high standards for future purchases. In terms of tech.. its very "up to date" with the new i3 processor, and blu ray player. Visually, the vaio is beautiful and compliments other sony househeld gadgets nicely (I have a Bravia, PS3, PSP, and T90 camera...all in this same "piano black" color..)

Granted no laptop is perfect, as it faulters in the same areas all other laptops do. Unless you have a netbook, most laptops battery life last around 3-5 hours. This one is closer to 3.5, but with all the features and the powerful processor you really cant expect to have it all. But there are options for extended life batteries if it bugs you that much. The trackpad... similar to most laptops can be finnicky at times, but its a rare occurence...in other words, dont let that stop you from making the purchase. The only faulter would be the smudges, but if you're accustomed to most of Sony's other gadgets, you're familiar with it, and if you practice good housekeeping, this laptop will be sure to catch attention from bypassers.

The issues that have been mentioned are kind of..just nagging to be nagging. I have no regrets of my purchase, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who considered it.

This is the second laptop that I've ever owned. My first was a Toshiba Satellite. For my new one I decided to go more top of the line and I'm glad I did. This is the best laptop that I have ever used. It's fast, portable, and has built in blu ray. The image on the blu ray playback is flawless, and is a huge reason why I went with Sony. The keyboard is also a very cool design. The keys are raised and separated from one another which makes typing a breeze. Windows 7 is also a marked improvement over the terrible Windows Vista that my Toshiba had. Thankfully it runs smoothly and I have had no trouble with any applications. The battery life of the laptop is pretty impressive compared to others that I have used and on full power it will last about three and a half hours. On power saver settings that length of time increases, but I never run it on that so I can't say exactly. The vaio is also a decent gaming machine. I haven't tried many but FEAR runs flawlessly. I for one am glad that I went with Sony over the other brands in the market. I did have one problem with the Blu Ray though. Do not run PC Doctor with this laptop, for some reason it blocks the blu ray player. Other than that I have had nothing but praise for Sony and this laptop. I know that when this Vaio becomes outdated I won't hesitate to buy another in the future.

i bought this product off amazon, and i liked it very much, i first received it a week before the delivery estimate and it was functioning perfectly. i am only 16 and i saved a lot fo money to buy it and i was glad it was perfect. i have had great experiences with the brand itself, sony is a little bit cheaper than other brands like dell or apple and u still get the quality and name u want and u pay for. for a 16-year old, i know a lot about computers and i found the perfect combination fo the qualities i've been looking for in this laptop for only 909$. i received it and it was working super fast, windows 7 is the best and it hass it's own vaio programs that help keep the computer in shape and auto clean and repair. it works fast and efficently with programs and games and everything else,a nd the internet connection chip is super fast. i personally advise a person that is considering buying this vaio to do so, it was an unregrettable choice for me, i always advise sony, for i have a sony psp and a sony cybershot camera that always have been giving me the quality and service and entertainment that i wanted

The blue laptop is actually PURPLE !
and the mouse pad is multi touch ..tough i didn't see any reference for it on the site.
~ 2 hours battery life.

ENJOY :)

I bought the white version of this model # Sony Vaio laptop less than a month ago. Within 3 weeks of buying it, the top of the laptop started to discolor and warp from the inside. After HOURS of explaining and re-explaining the situation to Sony's TERRIBLE customer service, they sent a box for me to send the laptop to California for repair.

A week later, I got an estimate from Sony for $177 for the repair. They determined that they won't cover this repair, and implied that I did something wrong that caused my computer to warp and discolor from the inside. I didn't.

My experience with Sony and the VAIO has been extremely frustrating, and now I'm out over $800 for a computer that I can't resell from a company I will never do business with again.

<u> Beware:</u> Sony's customer service is terrible. If you have a problem with this computer, you are on your own - they will not help or stand behind the VAIO.

P.S. Do a search for VAIO problems, or check out Sony's Vaio user forums to see all the other people who are having the same non-service issues.

I really want this computer. Been shopping around for best one to buy...this seems to be it.

Best Buy has it for $799.00.....$100.00 cheaper!