Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO VGN-FJ270/B 14" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 750, 1024 MB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, DVD+R Dbl Layer/DVD+/-RW Drive)

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

 

 

I always wanted a vios and this time I got one. It's my third lap top, before I had a compaq and a toshiba. The camera was fun but I and the sony guy couldn't get it to work as a web cam and the mic was handy as well. It was fast(not as fast as I wanted) and fun and looked great. I LOVED it ..."until I typed" and like the reviews of another vios from the prior one before the fj270 the keys don't only stick , if you were trying to type on a plane you'd drive people nuts. The sony guy said that unlike other keyboards it's not fully fastened down. Only one little thing on the right which does allow the left to pop and when you hit anything above cap locks the keys all move in that area. He tested all the pc's in our local store and they we're all the same... he said it's an "annoyance" and so sony probably won't care because thats not considered a defect....but if I wanted a key (click,click,click)popping computer that wasn't smooth typing I wouldn't have gotten a Sony. I wasn't expecting perfection, but atleast a smooth ride. I am let down by the quality.

goods:

1. beautiful, realistic, and very clear screen. i own a HP laptop and i have to admit that sony's screen is clearer, more realistic, and easier on the eyes. the light is "natural" and it's simple a wonderful LCD screen.

2. design. the color combination is very pleasing and the silver VAIO logo is modern and elegant. my HP is the typical all black laptop; it's ugly compare to sony.

bads.....

1. HORRIBLE battery life.... this is a 4 cell battary.. which means the laptop needs to be recharged every 2 hours or so. THIS IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE. my HP's battery can last over 6 hours (it's a 6 cell) with this price level, sony should throw in a 6 cell battery. simply put, you can't even finish a movie on airplain with this laptop.

2. replacement battery is very very expensive. it runs around 150 bux.

3. the laptop runs hot. my HP laptop, after using it for a whole day is only warm. on the other hand the sony laptop is burning after about 2 hours of use. i can't even put it on my laps without using a thick book to insolate the heat after about a hour of use.

4. very limited transfer, communication ability. the sony laptop has no infared port, no SD, SC, CM or other flash memory card slots. it only accept MS cards. i found the lack of infared port troubling since i am so used to "beam" files at work. with sony, it's a no no.

5. no S-video output... i simply HATE this. with all my other computers, they all have S-video output. and i love to play some music files i downloaded from internet on tv. but i can't do it on sony coz it doesn't have a S-video port.

6. flaky wireless connection. everytime the computer goes to standby, i will have a hard time turn back the wireless connection back on. this never happened on my HP and my old dell. everything just connected automatically.

bottom line.... it's a pretty laptop to look at.. but i believe the bads out weigh the goods.

We bought our Sony and it looked great - imagine out disappointment when we got it home and found out it was bogged down with every imaginable piece of rubbish.

Sony won us over with gerat design - as usual - then lost us entirely with bad choices about rubbishy OEM software - they should know much better than this.

Here's an idea - offer us the OPTION of getting a clean PC - I would gladly pay extra for this. Seriously - I have wasted two days trying to get this PC working to spec.

Is anybody else tired of this practice?

This is a great laptop with everything that i wanted. It is not very heavy as other laptops, the qaulity of camera is good. The screen size is also perfect. The only thing that is a little bit irritating is that the buttons below the touchpad are a little bit smaller as compared to thinkpad and dell . But once i get used to it everythings cool.

Mine lasted 16 months, the problem being that it ran hot. Eventually, the cooling fan gave out. A remarkable imitation of the noise a hard drive would make when failing. Backed up all data and contacted Sony about repair. They want (now) $30 just to speak to them to ask a question. Like: "how do I get this repaired". Once you're out of warranty, too bad sucker! They would not even provide a shipping box at my expense to get the machine to San Diego, which is where all repairs are done. At any price! I bought a new Toshiba laptop, and will never deal with Sony again. Useless. Sad, they used to be a good company...

I recently purchased this Laptop from Amazon.com.

THIS IS THE BEST LAPTOP YOU CAN GET!!! It's SUPERFAST and the screen is sharp and clear!!!! The battery life is really good too..

A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PROS:

Cheap with a Sony badge

Nice display

Plenty of them around

CONS:

Battery life is woeful! States: 3.5 - 5hrs Really: 2hrs (at most!)

Packed full of trailware, adware, etc. WTF?

Toshiba 'starter' hard-drive is problematic: read: foo-baa'd

Gets hot, really, really quickly.

Optical drive is clunky, loud and slow.... :(

Support? What's that... :(

Verdict:

I was really looking forward to this lappy but I've realised it is not really a Sony, i.e, Made In Japan. This Chinese shocker is a pure revenue-raiser from Sony and they should know better than to put their name to this quality of product - too many bean-counters in the top jobs these days I guess. Take my advice: stay away from the Onyx model that is made in China! Hate to say it but this thing STINKS!

I've had this laptop since 2006 and 4 years later, nothing to complain about!
Not sure about the bad reviews, it works great,does not get hot and the hard drive is quiet...
That a big change from a previous VAIO I had that broke down weekly.
I am writing this review on the Vaio and its working great...I'm sure it lost some of its original value of $1000 when new but its probably a great deal to get on Craigslist for $300!!!

...and my FJ270 is still running smoothly.

This is my 2nd Vaio notebook that I've owned. My first one lasted 3.5 years - I sold it at that point (for $400) since I was going to upgrade to a newer model. I'll probably be upgrading from this one in the not-too-distant future, and yes, I will stick with Vaio. Vaios are a big cost up front, but it's worth it in the long run.

Let me first say that while Vaio batteries don't last very long (I got 2 hours max), they will live for AGES. I'm running this guy on AC power right now because the original battery only died about a month ago. When was the last time you heard of a battery lasting for over 3 years?! Mind you, I use this laptop every day.

But aside from that, here are some pros:
-Unbelievably sturdy and well built
-Great display
-Great sound quality
-Keyboard (I don't have sticky issues with the keys like some people say they do)
-Good quality camera

And some cons:
-Runs hot. My older Vaio did this too, and it's annoying, but I guess it's the big trade-off. My laptop has outlasted my brother's Toshiba, countless Dells belonging to friends, AND a Macbook.
-Battery never lasted more than 2 hours.
-CD/DVDrom is kind of noisy.

I definitely recommend this model. Very pleased with Vaio notebooks in general.

After 1 full year and 9 months of daily usage and dozens of travels I can only say that it's very well built and durable! Never had to replace any parts. I've only recently upgraded it to 2 GB RAM.