Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO VGN-FS570 15.4" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 740, 1GB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive)

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

 

 

Net/net:
1) GREAT! for web surfing, managing/editing multi-media (especially stills/videos of the kids), and MS-office apps
2) Good to okay for gamers (Half-life does well, but Doom 3 and Everquest 2 can get bogged down)
3) This is my 9th machine for home use (9 desktops; 2 laptops) and my 2nd Sony. Based upon experiences with previous purchases and manufacturers, after owning this laptop for three days now (but already well in excess of 20 hours of usage) I would whole-heartedly recommend this to family and friends. The following are the pros and cons...


Pros...
+ Super simple set-up -- took me less than half an hour to open the box, configure the system, and establish an internet connection through my home-based, WEP enabled 802.11g wireless network
+ Stunning graphics display (1200 X 800 resolution is awesome!)
+ Lightening fast handling of MS office applications (a 60 day trial version of MS office -- Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint is pre-loaded)
+ Fit and finish are BMW-like (i.e., high speed, low drag)
+ Extremely nice touch for Sony to have preloaded a decent anti-spyware application (SpySubtract)and Norton Security (3 month trial version)
+ A couple reviewers have maligned the 128 MB Intel graphics card, but using an idependent test site (pcpitstop.com), the graphics card received extremely high marks
+ Over-all configuration/performance are similar to machines costing several hundred more (somewhat unusal for a premium brand like Sony)
+ Keyboard action is sweeeet -- so is the big and fat 100GB hard drive (can't ever imagine having the content to fill it up!)
+ Comsumer's Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) continually gives Sony high marks for build quality

Cons...
+ Sony's knucklheaded bean-counters decided to save money by equipping the machine with a 7 foot power cord -- I have never (and I mean never ever) seen a machine in this price tier come with such a short powercord (my Dell that I use for work came with a 12 foot powercord); I now have to make a 2nd trip to the store to rectify this albiet small, but nevertheless disappointing shortcoming
+ I am surprised that the built in speakers are just this side of acceptable (that's okay as I live for searching Amazon for fun peripherals!)
+ I am also somewhat surprised that there are so few hot (a.k.a. quick connect) buttons for multi-media and internet apps (just two!) -- many other machines come with half a dozen or more
+ Would like to see more free software preloaded (this seems to be an issue with most of Sony's machines: laptop and desktop; high end and low end)
+ Touch pad takes a little getting used to (not quite sensitive enough at the default setting)

Hope this helped with your search for a new machine!

The Sony VAIO VGN-FS570 is another great Notebook from Sony. The appearance, at least to me, is a variant of the Apple Powerbook look, and is an aesthetically pleasing design. Immediately I was impressed with the 15.4 widescreen display, which using XBRITE technology makes viewing text and images a pleasure (I am used to an Apple Powerbook by comparison). Importantly for me this variant of the new FS series has both a large 100 GB HD and 1GB of RAM. This makes it perform well for most of the intensive tasks you might want to run on it, for example DVD editing or using Photoshop. In many respects it can fill the role of a desktop replacement. In addition, I found battery life was good for this Notebook. Using Intel Centrino mobile technology I was again impressed by the connectivity and wireless range of the Vaio (again in comparison to a Powerbook). The bundled Vaio software is good, and it makes the XP user interface a pretty friendly experience for the uninitiated. Overall I would rate this Notebook very highly, both in terms of performance and aesthetic appearance.

I know nothing about mhz, ram or balh balh burning time. When I was looking for a lap top I told the sales person I just want a computer I can use to get online and check my emails and not get knock off.

The 1st lap top I owned a 2001 Hp pavilion (paid $2,200) when I put it on my lap to type it would burn my leg (it always had to be on table). I constantly got knock off line & if I ran more then one application the HP would lock up and the battier would die after 2hours of use, I really hated using it.

With the Sony VAIO FS570 (which cost less) I am very happy with this notebook, when I put it on my lap to type it's Cold, and using the wireless Internet (I can use my lap top in any room in my house and I don't have to plug into a phone jack) is SO neat. And I had my notebook on for 6 (using power save mode) before needing to recharge and the screen is huge very eye pleasing when viewing 8x10 of family photos. And it hasn't lock up yet and being able to turn down the brightness on the screen in dark room with one touch is Easy!! I have no complaints about this computer at all. If your not a computer junky, and don't care about ram, burning time etc... and you just want a thin, cool looking, fun notebook you'll love this computer the power and speed is unbelievable!!

The Sony FS550/570 is a nice machine: nice screen, slim design, lots of features for home users but lacks behind the competitor's same offerings such as the Fujistu N3500 Series notebook. This is a great machine for home users...dual-layer dvd burner is a plus, huge hard drive, but battery life is less than ideal.
So if you travel and want a big screen, this is the one to get. If you do alot of graphics work, such as 3D games or intentsive graphics design, try another alternative with a better graphics card.

This is a great Centrino notebook and Amazon has a pretty good breakdown of the features. There are few things worth adding:

The wide XBRITE screen is great to look at but it is also highly reflective. If you expect to use this in areas with strong direct light (sunlight, direct halogen, etc...) you may find the glare bothers you. It is great in the diffuse light found in most offices and homes (much better than standard LCDs). If you are curious go check out this notebook or Sony's desktop LCD monitors in your local electronics store. Tilt the screen around and check the affects of the lighting. Compare that to the matte screens used by other companies (such as the HP4900 series or most View sonic monitors) and think about where you will be using it. Toshiba and HP have similar screens on some of their models (such as the Toshiba Qosmio).

The battery on this laptop is good, but not the longest life battery you will find (you are looking at 2-3 hours of regular use, maybe 4-5 if you aren't hitting the wireless too hard). If battery life is critical to you, this may not be your model (for that your best bet from Amazon would be a high-end Toshiba or HP with a 14" screen and a 8-12 cell battery). If you are looking for a powerful notebook with an eye pleasing display, good aesthetics and decent battery life this model would be hard to beat.

I own a Sony VAIO laptop that I purchased in March of 2002 and as always keep true to form, Sony has created another great product.

I must say that I truly adore my Sony VAIO VGN-FS570. It is very lightweight and very sleek. The screen is wide and bright.

I am not a computer geek, but originally I was going to spend up to a $1000 more for an Alienware laptop because I wanted a notebook that could handle PC games. And although I don't get the top flight graphics card as an ATI/GEFORCE, I am still pretty happy at how the FS570 handles my Sims2 game.

What was most important for me was getting the 100 GB HD and 1GB of RAM. Most of the notebooks I checked that had those specs were more than up to $500 to $750 more than the FS570. I was also fortunate to luck up on great mail in rebates, which dropped the notebook's price down considerably.

Having a considerable amount of prepackaged software is unimportant to me, because the majority I probably will not use.

Although, I just recently purchased this notebook (2 days ago), I feel this is a great notebook at a great price.

Great piece of hardware and the best screen of its class on the market. What sucks is Sony support. They were useless in help with upgrading to XP Pro. Don't even bother with their online chat and first line of support, they just want to know if laptop is plugged in. They don't know anything about drivers, install files, configuration, etc. Finally I had to do this myself without any help from Sony. Boy, do I miss the Dell support. I purchased this laptop to develop code. The resolution and clarity of the screen makes it ideal programming tool. I wish Dell had a laptop with a quality screen like this.

Hunted for a laptop for the last 3 weeks, searched major stores and did some major on-line research. Narrowed down choices between 2, and the fs series is one of them.

The LCD is great, first look-> OMG, PRETTY AS HELL!

Weakness:

SLOW HD-> 4200 rpm
Weak Graphic card-> INTEL? common, at least throw in ATI/GEFORCE
HOme edition xp-> Dear god, for 2grand, throw in a pro version!

Oh yeah, and TAXES o.O*

UPDATE
Friend got one for his sister:
Problem->
1. The CD drive. The button is not good, unlike any other drives. After clicking on the button, the tray don't pop out sometimes. Plus, I just dont like it.
2. NO RECOVERY CD. o.O###
(Viruses, trojans, hackers, programing errors, scripts...)
3. 3 USB ports all cramped on the right side. Printer+Tablet+Mouse takes up a lot of space on the right side of the laptop. Pretty cumbersome.

If you still want it because it's a sony and you got more money to spend, get it customized to a better video card and faster hard drive with more ram.

Or, get a used car.

Its almost 4 years since I bot this one. The pros are nice screen.. hmm thinking what else... however the cons made me give this a 4* rating.

Non upgradable HDD and RAM (HDD merged with CPU board)
No Mike

I BOUGHT ONE NOTeBOOK, WHICH WORKED FOR BARELY 20 DAYS, LCD BLACKED OUT, THE BACK ILLUMINATING DEVICE FAILED AND NOW CANNOT SEE OR READ ANYTHING.BASICALLY BACK ILLUMINATING LCD NOTEBOOKS ARE BIG FLOPS. TRYING SONY SUPPORT TEAMFROM LAST 4 DAYS. I HEAR NOTHING EXCEPT RECORDING MESSAGES,PUSHING ME FROM ONE LOOPING PHONE TO ANOTHER WITH NO RESULT. ALREADY WASTED FEW CALLS EACH LASTING 40 TO 60 MINUTES. SOLUTION SUGGESTED BY SOME JERKS AT SONY:" PUSHING ON OFF BUTTON", "IF I HAVE CONNECTED BATTERY OR CABLE". THIS PRODUCT IS MADE IN CHINA AND NOTHING BUT GARBAGE FOR WHICH I PAID 1725 $. THERE IS NOTHING CALLED ON SITE WARRNTY THOUGH IT IS INCLUDED FOR A YEAR ON DOCUMENTS. THEIR DEALER "BEST BUY" ARE ANOTHER BUNCH OF JOKERS WHO DO NOT WANT TO DO ANYTHING UNLESS I PAY 89 $ PLUS I NEED TO BUY SERVICE PLAN OR EXTENDED WARRANTY PLAN.

SONY VAIO- MADE IN CHINA REALLY SUCKS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IS FULL OF UNPROFESSIONAL JERKS. WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND ANYONE TO BUY SONY VAIO MORE BECAUSE OF NON-EXISTING CUSTOMER SERVICE.

being bounced from one drone to the next, hearing about policies and procedures, but never about them trying to do the right thing and take responsibility for their products or promises, then you've got plenty of choices and say no to SONY vaio. Would never ever think of using SONY vaio even if it comes free. I have lost my precious data, project and work sheets with this sucking chinese garbage . AND STILL HOLDING THESE GARBAGE WITHOUT ANY HOPES OF GETTING EXCHANGE OR REFUND. THE WAY OUT IS TO SUE THEM FOR ALL THE LOSSES, MENTAL AGONY , TIME WASTE AND BUSIENSS LOSSES.