Sony VAIO VGN-AW125J/H 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive, Blu-ray Drive. Vista Premium) Grey

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 20 x 6.6 x 14.1 inches ; 13 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001FB6T6C
• Item model number: VGN-AW125J/H
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 10, 2008

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Boasting an 18.4-inch widescreen XBRITE-FullHD display that's designed to maximize LCD space while minimizing chassis size, the Sony VAIO VGN-AW125J/H delivers vibrant colors in full 1080p high definition clarity. Weighing a little more than 8 pounds, it's ideal for multimedia enthusiasts or photographers who like to view or edit high-definition content on-the-go. An HDMI output provides single-cable full 1080 HD connectivity (audio and video) to a compatible HDTV (cable sold separately). And you'll be able to tackle virtually any graphics requirement with the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics card and 512 MB of dedicated video RAM (and up to 2280 MB of total available memory.

Equipped with an extra-wide 18.4-inch XBRITE-FullHD LCD screen, this Sony AW-Series laptop delivers vibrant colors and full HD 1080p resolution.

It offers high-definition Blu-ray Disc read/write capability, which supports full 1080p HD video as well as up to 5.1 discrete channels of uncompressed digital audio. The Blu-ray system is backwards-compatible with standard DVDs and CDs, enabling you to enjoy your digital library for years to come. The optical drive can also write a full range of disc formats, including dual-layer DVD discs. You'll enjoy immersive audio via Dolby Home Theater surround sound technology and the integrated stereo speakers with subwoofer.

It's powered by the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processor--with Centrino 2 technology--which boosts speed, reduces power requirements, and saves on battery life. The 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 includes a quick 1066 MHz front-side bus and 3 MB of L2 cache, providing an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved multimedia and multitasking performance.

A built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam (with integrated microphone) lets you join in on video conferences as well as make long-distance VoIP calls. Other features include a 320 GB hard drive, 4 GB of installed RAM (maximizing capacity), ExpressCard 34 slot, quad-mode Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth connectivity (including stereo music streaming), both Memory Stick and SD card readers as well as a Compactflash slot, biometric fingerprint sensor, and pre-installed 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1).

This Sony notebook is RoHS-compliant, effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances.

Security Enhancements
This Sony VAIO AW-series notebook takes security seriously, employing a biometric fingerprint sensor and proprietary hard disk drive protection software to ensure your data is protected from unauthorized use as well as accidental damage. It also stores passwords to secure web sites you visit, so authentication and access are quick and easy--you only need your fingerprint.

The Basics

• Processor: Experience improved energy efficiency, expanded wireless connectivity, and amazing battery life with the 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor featuring Intel Centrino 2 technology. This processor has a 2.26 GHz processor speed, super-sized 1066 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and a extra-large 3 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

  Formerly codenamed Montevina, Intel Centrino 2 processor technology improves upon every facet of a laptop's main features, including performance and battery life via new processors and chipsets, faster draft 802.11n wireless, and new business-class manageability capabilities. The new hafnium-infused circuitry--which reduces electrical current leakage in transistors--conserves even more energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet.

  The Intel Core 2 Duo processor has two computational execution cores in a single processor, providing greater system response when running multi-threaded applications simultaneously with no significant increase in power consumption. It's optimized for multitasking and it can run multiple demanding applications--such as graphics-intensive games or serious number-crunching business productivity applications--while downloading music or running virus-scanning security programs in the background.

  Spec Check 18.4-inch XBRITE-FullHD LCD screen 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor 320 GB hard drive 4 GB RAM (maximum) Blu-ray Disc read/write, DVD±R read/write Quad-mode Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics Windows Vista Premium (64-bit) Weighs 8.4 pounds

• Hard Drive: The extra large 320 GB Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive (5400 RPM) offers a wealth of storage space, perfect for storing a vast multimedia collection or for editing digital video. This SATA hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to Firewire and USB 2.0.

• Memory: The 4 GB of installed RAM (PC2-6400, 2 x 2 GB) maximizes the capacity for this notebook,. It also offers an ultra-fast 800 MHz speed.

• DVD/CD Drive: This Sony notebook is capable of both playing back Blu-ray Disc movies in stunning clarity, as well as burning HD Camcorder content in its original 1080p high-definition resolution to BD-RE/BD-RE DL (dual layer) discs (25 GB single layer disc to 50 GB on a double layer disc). It will also play your current library of purchased and burned disc content. This notebook can also write standard DVD and CD media. The BD drive offers 4x speed for reading and writing BD-R and 2x speeds for reading and writing BD-RE as well as BD-R/RE DL media. It also offers the following write speeds for standard DVD and CD discs: 4x DVD±R DL, 8x for single-layer DVD±R, 6x DVD±RW, 24x CD-R/RW, and 5x for DVD-RAM.

• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 103-key keyboard (2mm stroke and 19.05mm pitch) and electro-static two-button touchpad. Playback controls include play/pause, stop, forward, rewind, AV mode, mute, volume +/-, WLAN/Bluetooth on/off.

Screen, Video & Audio
Ideal for Blu-ray Disc movies, this Sony AW laptop's 18.4-inch LCD screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Since many high-definition films are shot using a 16:9 aspect ratio, the unit-s extra-wide LCD is constructed with the same dimensions, helping to minimize the black bars that typically appear and letting you view movies in their intended format. The screen's XBRITE-FullHD technology delivers dazzling colors and stunning picture clarity in full 1080p high definition. It also provides deep blacks and bright whites, true-to-life color, and razor-sharp detail. Preventing surprise at print, the Adobe RGB color compatible display ensures the most color accurate reproduction of images captured by your digital camera.

It comes with a Blu-ray Disc optical drive for playback and recording of high-definition content, including movies in full HD 1080p resolution.

Video is powered by the Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT HD graphics/video card, which provides 512 MB of dedicated video RAM and offers up to 2280 MB of total available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista. Enabled by PureVideo HD, movies come to life with outstanding picture clarity, ultra-smooth video and vivid color. The lifelike images have up to six times the detail of standard DVD movies. Delivering state-of-the-art graphics performance, GeForce 9300M GT graphics card is sure to give you the power and performance you crave to play the hottest DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 titles. Its 16x full-screen antialiasing technology delivers superior quality along with astounding performance and since it's optimized for Windows Vista.

This laptop also has an integrated Intel High Definition Audio card with Dolby Digital Live, which provides real-time encoding technology that converts any audio signal into a Dolby Digital bitstream for transport and playback through a home theater system. It provides Dolby Digital (5.1-channel surround sound) during movie playback and gameplay, immersing players in high-quality surround sound that puts them at the center of the action. This laptop includes two built-in stereo speakers and a 2W subwoofer.

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
Be ready for the next platform in wireless connectivity with the integrated quad-mode Intel Wireless 5100AGN Wi-Fi chip. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range as existing 802.11g wireless. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and wi-fi hotspots) as well as 802.11a networks (which has a higher throughput, but more limited range--great for closed office environments). With the Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, you can communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones as well as enjoy wireless stereo music streaming (thanks to its embedded A2DP profile).

This notebook also includes a next-generation ExpressCard 34 card slot (though no PCMCIA slot), which lets you take advantage of thinner, faster, and lighter expansion cards for even more advanced wireless, networking, storage, and security features. Here's the full list of connectivity options:

• 3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 HDMI output (for connecting to a compatible HDTV or home theater receiver for uncompressed digital audio and video via a single cable)
• Analog video output: 1 VGA
• 1 ExpressCard/34 slot
• Memory Stick/Memory Stick PRO slot (Standard/Duo with MagicGate functionality)
• Secure Digital memory card slot (compatible with MMC cards)
• Compactflash memory card slot
• 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack
• 1 SPDIF digital audio output
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
• 56K modem (V.90)

Operating System
The 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium (with SP1) is the operating system for users with advanced computer needs, and it includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center for watching DVD movies and accessing your digital audio library. You can also use Windows Media Center to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV) and to access new kinds of online entertainment content. Computers that include Windows Vista Home Premium and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access key data even when your computer is off. It is also easier than ever to share files between other PCs in your household and to manage your laptop computer settings to more securely connect via Wi-Fi.

Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family's use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.

Preloaded Software
Microsoft Windows Live OneCare anti-virus and recovery (trial version), Microsoft Works SE 9.0, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student (60-day trial), Sony Click to Disk Editor (CD and DVD burning), VAIO Movie Story (video editing), VAIO MusicBox

Dimensions & Weight
This notebook measures 17.2 x 11.4 x 1.56 inches (WxDxH) and weighs 8.4 pounds.

Power
It's powered by the VGP-BPS13/B rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of between 1 and 2.5 hours (depending on usage).

What's in the Box
This package contains the VGN-AW125J/H notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty, and Sony offers 1-year of toll-free telephone technical assistance.

Product Description

The VAIO AW notebook is a multimedia powerhouse boasting an industry-first 18.4-Inch extra-widescreen display with XBRITE-ECO LCD technology. Designed to maximize LCD space while minimizing chassis size, this user-friendly notebook packs a powerful punch with Blu-ray Disc playback, external NVIDIA graphics and next-gen Intel Centrino 2 processor technology. Whether you are a gamer, photographer or movie enthusiast, this cutting-edge notebook lets you enjoy all your media in a 16:9 aspect ratio that offers a wider viewing area and workspace. And with Dolby Home Theater surround sound and 5 built-in speakers, including a subwoofer, you will enjoy an immersive audio experience that puts this machine a step ahead of the pack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Value!, October 22, 2008

By 

Vincent Whitmore - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO VGN-AW120J/H 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive, Blu-ray Drive, Vista Premium) Grey (Personal Computers)

Pros:
Screen- 18.4", Full HD, 1920 by 1080 pixels, 16:9 aspect ratio. Biggest screen I have ever had (or seen) on a laptop.

Photographer's Laptop- Built in compact flash port, runs Adobe Lightroom 2 and Adobe Photoshop CS4 quite quickly, screen makes photos look really good and makes editing easy, included Roxio CD/DVD burning software that makes it easy to to put finished photos on a disk

Powerful system for the price- 4 Gigs of Ram, 320 GB Hard Drive. I have looked at systems with faster Dual Core processors and higher rpm hard drives- at twice the price of this system. Watching TV with an external tuner while running several resource-demanding applications such as Photoshop CS4 on two monitors can slow things down a bit, but that would be a demand on any system.

Full numeric keypad- Something I've always missed in a laptop and now I have it. No more cramping hands on those 'almost useful' regular keyboard adaptations or hauling around an external USB numeric keypad. This is a BIG feature for me.

Built in speakers with subwoofer are remarkably good.

Vista Home Premium- I guess I should turn in my geek card for saying this but I really like Vista- have since it came out. I'm not sure what all the hating it is about as I have found it stable, handy and full of great features. This computer is a replacement for my previous Vista computer that was stolen, and running XP for a few weeks on an backup laptop made me appreciate Vista even more.

Built in web cam and microphone- I've been Skyping on this new computer with family and love it. No extra stuff to carry about and I can video conference. I'm liking it. A lot!

Fingerprint sensor- I didn't think I would use this feature and when I discovered that I could swipe my finger rather than type in a password I use it all the time. I keep my laptop password protected but can be logged in in no time. Another cool feature.

All of this for less than two grand. THAT's a deal!

Cons:
Only 3 USB ports. What was Sony thinking? When there's a USB-compatible everything available now? While not a huge tragedy with all the USB hubs out there, I still think this is a design flaw. But it's the worst I could find in this great computer.

Other thoughts:

Docking. I don't have a real docking station but I plug this computer into a 24" Dell HD monitor with an HDMI cable and the display is GREAT. Even with a Blue-Ray disk. I tossed in a old Compaq USB keyboard and I run a two monitor system with the laptop. Very handy.

Recommended Accessory: The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000
Love this Bluetooth mouse. I'm a left-handed person and a five button, ambidextrous, wireless, rechargeable mouse is cool.

In closing: I'm very happy with this laptop. Good price, good deal.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing desktop replacement, November 20, 2008

By 

K. D. Wells (Northern CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO VGN-AW120J/H 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive, Blu-ray Drive, Vista Premium) Grey (Personal Computers)

Fully loaded. Crystal clear huge 18.4 inch 1920 X 1080 HD LCD backed by NVIDIA's GForce 9600M GT card w/512 ram, Blue Ray DVD ROM, full size keyboard with numeric pad and 64 bit Vista Home Premium OS. Quick to set up, not too much bloatware. Runs graphic intensive programs quite well however a cooling tray such as NZXT's Cryo LX would be beneficial. Not a laptop, somewhat heavy, not something to easily tote from place to place unless you have a rolling case for it. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a desktop replacement with the advantage of being mobile.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Had it for 2 months and had to return it., June 8, 2009

By 

D. Bechtol - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO VGN-AW130J/H 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Blu-ray Drive, Vista Premium) Grey (Personal Computers)

I bought this laptop on a sale from Costco online. This laptop has some great features, but it also has some really big downsides.

As an up front warning, I hope you never ever have to deal with Sony's Support center. If you can buy a service contract where you don't have to deal with Sony, do it.

So why did I return it? I have two major reasons.
1. The USB bus inside the PC is underpowered for everything they have running off of it. The fingerprint scanner, USB ports, Bluetooth and camera all apparently run off the same bus.
What does this mean? It means that frequently when the computer comes out of hybernate, sleep, or even screen saver mode, the fingerprint scanner, USB, and bluetooth do NOT work. In my case, I had a USB keyboard, bluetooth mouse and I used the fingerprint scanner to log back in, so I pretty much had to start over using the laptop keyboard and glidepad. If you get in to this state, the computer has trouble shutting down and if you restart it, it will freeze up at a black screen and never finish loading Windows.

They have a registry patch for this issue on their driver site, but it does not work. I applied it and then looked over the changed registry settings just to be sure they had actually changed because I was still having the issue. I even reloaded the laptop from the recovery disks and then applied the patch and it still didn't help. Even turning off hibernate and sleep modes completely does not help, it will do it coming out of the screen saver.

The solution is to unplug the power cord, unplug the battery and then plug everything back in and start it up.

Go here if you are interested in the issue:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=341828

2. Sony's lack of support department stinks. I have been doing technical support in a call center for over 13 years. If I treated my customers the way they treated me, I would either be in my supervisor's office or fired.

I contacted them through email. Apparently they only read the first sentence or two each time I contacted them.

I told them up front that I applied their patch and it didn't help the issue. I had run several scans of my computer to be sure there wasn't some kind of file issue, cleaned up the hard drive with disk cleanup and ccleaner, run every update imaginable, ran a full defrag (even though it was scheduled to run automatically) and it still had the issue. I uninstalled almost every Vaio program to see if it was some rogue program from Sony. I even ran checkdisk and system file checker to be sure there weren't file issues in Windows.

When they replied the first time, they told me to run disk cleanup and defrag. I replied asking for a supervisor or 2nd level tech. I told them that I had already done what they asked but it was rediculous to think disk clean up or defrag would help this issue.

The second Sony reply asked me to apply the patch I had already applied before I sent the first email. If the 2nd tech had read the original email at the bottom, or the first line of the first techs email, they would have known I had already done that. The first techs email started with "I'm sorry the registry patch did not work for you..."

At this point I was disgusted and told them through email that I had returned the laptop to Costco. I begged them to read people's emails in the future and not treat their customers like they treated me. In response I got an email asking me to call them to resolve the issue with the laptop....even though I told them in the first few sentences that I had already returned it.

On the plus side, for what it is, this laptop is very nice. It runs World of Warcraft nicely, I never had issues with surfing the internet, streaming music online and gaming at the same time. I would recommend the 7200 rpm hard drives if you game at all and be sure the laptop has dedicated memory on the video card. This one has 512MB of dedicated video memory which works well with a game like WoW. The dual core processor and 4GB of RAM are helpful. The screen is very bright and has beautiful color.

If you don't mind having to pull out the power plug and battery every day or so OR you don't hook up any USB or bluetooth devices and don't use the fingerprint scanner, you might have a nice laptop. If you don't have to EVER contact Sony, you may like this laptop. Otherwise, do what I did and get an Hewlett Packard HDX 18t instead.

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