Sony VAIO VGN-S150 Laptop (1.60 GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

by Sony

Product Details

• Item Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 11 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002DV9EG
• Item model number: VGN-S150
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 27, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Sony's Vaio S Series notebooks unite desktop PC power and functionality with performance rivaling any desktop. The Centrino Mobile technology runs cool and quiet, while helping to keep the profile light and slim with enhanced battery performance. The VGN-S150 features fast 802.11g wireless connectivity, a decent-sized 60 GB hard drive, 1.6 GHz Pentium M processor, 512 MB of installed RAM, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, 13.3-inch screen, and a bevy of Sony multimedia software.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The ample 60 GB hard drive offers more than enough storage for both your work and home files.
• Processor: The 1.6 GHz Pentium M processor is near the top of the Centrino speed range. Because of its design, the Intel Pentium M gets more done per clock tick than a Mobile Intel Pentium 4, thus providing the discrepancy in GHz measurement (i.e., 1.7 versus 3.2). The Pentium M processor is designed specifically for low-power mobile usage, and it features the latest in power-saving technologies--ensuring you push your battery and productivity to the max. It also has an L2 cache of 2 MB and a front-side bus (FSB) speed of 400 MHz.
• Memory: The 512 MB of built-in memory is a good start for power users. It has two memory slots in total, with a maximum memory expansion up to 2 GB (2 x 1 GB).
• CD/DVD Drive: It is equipped with a combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive. For DVDs it reads at 8x. For CDs, it has a 10x write/24x rewrite/24x read speed.
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has an 82-key QWERY keyboard and electro-static touch pad.

S Series notebooks pack blazing power into a sleek, lightweight body.

Dimensions and Weight
The S150 measures 12.3" x 1.16" inches (in the closed position) and weighs 4.2 pounds (with battery).

Sound and Graphics
With the 32 MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics card, the S150 delivers an adequate visual experience optimized to support most 3D gaming environments of today. Sony's exclusive XBRITE LCD technology delivers ultra crisp and super bright graphics, and the Smart Display Sensor automatically adjusts to any projector or display resolution. It also has two built-in stereo speakers.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The S150 has an integrated 802.11g wireless LAN (which is compatible with the more widespread 802.11b and offers faster data transmission rates). You get a decent--but not overpowering--offering of connectivity options, including both high-speed USB 2.0 and FireWire:

• 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) ports for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 A/V mini jack
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II)
• 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack
• 1 Memory Stick slot (Memory Stick Pro compatible)

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
This S150 comes with the Windows XP Home Edition operating system, and it features Microsoft Works 7.0 (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents). It's also loaded with Sony's Vaio Creative suite of multimedia applications, which includes PictureGear Studio (digital photo), SonicStage (digital music), Sony MovieShaker, DVGate Plus (digital video), and VAIO Media (network file sharing). Other preloaded titles include a 60-day trial of Microsoft Office, Quicken 2004, Norton Internet Security (with 90-day trial subscription), and a 90-day trial of AOL.

Power
The S150 comes with the PCGA-BPS2 rechargeable lithium ion battery; it has an estimated battery life of 2.0 to 5.0 hours.

What's in the Box
This package contains the Sony Vaio VGN-S150 notebook, rechargeable battery, AC adapter, and printed instruction manual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VAIO = FUN!, July 25, 2004

By 

A. M Samsky (Brookfield, Connecticut United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO VGN-S150 Laptop (1.60 GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

Sony VAIO VGN-S150 Notebook Review

The pictures of the VAIO VGN-S150 on this page don't do it justice - this laptop is very small and stylish, and definitely has a cutting-edge, highly designed look. It's certainly as physically pretty as anything that Apple has to offer, and as far as I can tell, Sony designed this notebook to attract Apple customers (it's certainly a big style improvement over clunky Dell and IBM computers). The VGN-S150 is very small and light, but it has a wide screen format. This keeps the system very portable, but gives you critical extra screen space so the display doesn't feel cramped or undersized. The display is probably the high point of this system - it's fantastically bright and sharp looking. It uses Sony's XBRITE technology - I initially thought this was an expensive gimmick, but it really does look MUCH better than equivalent laptop LCD screens. It has all the depth and color richness of a regular monitor. The color black especially is much richer and darker than I've seen on other laptops, which is very important if you want to watch DVDs.
All in all, the system seems very well-designed: the ports all seem to be in logical places (there are none on the back, which makes sense), and the keyboard, though small, doesn't feel jammed together (if you have gigantic hands, it will make you miserable - it's not THAT spacious). Unfortunately, the keys feel a little bouncy, but I got used to it after just a little while of typing, and it didn't really slow me down.
On a more technical note, this is a pretty fast system, using Intel's relatively new Centrino processor, which seems to deliver on performance and battery life. The built-in wireless G is great - it's plenty fast, of course, and the switch is built right on to the front of the system (not hidden away underneath like something shameful). It worked perfectly right out of the box. The system also has a 32MB video card, something a little unusual in such a small laptop. The dedicated video can easily handle day to day tasks (of course), and is beefy enough to tackle most games on the market now (July 2004). I imagine that it will not cut the mustard with 3D games for very long (32MB is certainly on the low end of video ram), but I shouldn't think that many people will buy this computer to play games.
All in all, this is a great choice for students or executives who want a stylish, powerful computer to take with them on the road (In fact, it has some sort of proprietary monitor-switching technology for presentations, but I haven't tried it out yet). It's very versatile for a superportable computer, so DVDs and gaming are certainly not out of the question.

PROS
- Very stylish and sleek looking
- Superb display
- Tiny
- Has dedicated video RAM
- Intelligently laid out (this is a huge point with me - all the ports are in useful places)
- AC adapter is small and has a cool glowing light which will impress the kind of people who like glowing lights
- Has a mute button (the speakers are OK, about what you'd expect from a laptop)
- Flawless wireless G integration
- Battery life seems pretty good

CONS
- Keyboard is bouncy and not too big (and requires Function keys for end, page down etc)
- Included software is pretty much useless (but about standard for PC laptops), and comes with various advertisements (Actually, there are a few amusing programs for digital photography and media sharing among many VAIOs, but these are not exactly a hot selling point)
- Some ports covered with plastic lids - this actually makes the system look very sleek when they're closed, but I'm afraid that they might break off at some point, and they're kind of in the way when you're hooking things up (this could be either pro or con, really).
- According to The Internet, Sony's customer service is not great, but I haven't had any problems yet and thus haven't had to contact them.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The PERFECT laptop, August 3, 2004

By 

Technophile "ND" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony VAIO VGN-S150 Laptop (1.60 GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

As a upcoming freshman, I was looking for a powerful laptop with Centrino, but one that was lightweight and with good battery life. I already owned the HP ZT3010us which was excellent but too heavy to carry, and purchased and returned an Apple PowerBook 12" (lightweight and I liked the Mac OS, but I missed XP oddly enough). I had decided that a 15" screen was too big but a 12" screen was too small, and I wanted something between 4 and 5 pounds: hello S150! Performance is excellent, as expected from a P-M 1.6GHz Dothan chip. I upped the RAM to 768MB (note the laptop uses MicroDIMM instead of standard notebook DIMM). The most impressive part is the XBRITE LCD; once you see it, you will never be able to use a regular LCD again: colors are vibrant and everything jumps out at you. Battery life on the unit is more than I imagined: with the brightness at 5/8 with WiFi enabled, music streaming to an Airport Express from iTunes, while browsing the web, I achieved 4 hours and 43 minutes before the battery gave out (this was with the regular battery--extended is on the way--double the runtime and total weight of the laptop and extende battery is 4.55 lbs). I got through LOTR 3 using WinDVD 6 and its Centrino enhanced profile and still had 23% left (again, screen at 5/8).

WiFi (802.11g) works flawlessly as well; the laptop works throughout my home using only the Airport Express base station.

The laptop is well-built, the screen is gorgeous, the keyboard is comfortable (takes some getting used to). All in all, the best laptop I have ever used (History: old Fujitsu, Toshiba Portege, Sony F series, Toshiba S5000 series, VPR Matrix 205, HP TC1000 Tablet, HP zt3010us, Apple PowerBook 12").

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, functional and portable, July 31, 2004

By 

M. H Hillman "Early adopter" (Newton, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO VGN-S150 Laptop (1.60 GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

Across the line, Sony had redesigned or refreshed most of their laptop product line, and the online photos do not do them justice at all. I had to see this one in person before we could pull the trigger - and seeing it - it's a beautiful machine.

Searching for a replacement for my wife's Sony SRX-77 laptop (the Sony TR series computers seem to be the direct replacement model for that one) we found few laptops that met the requirement of low weight without breaking the bank. We came across the S Series. We thought we were getting a pretty basic laptop, but when we started using this, I now want to steal it from her - it's got great power, a beautiful screen, integrated wireless-g which is a big step up. . . this whole package is awesome. Haven't hit any major flaws yet. I personally don't like the mouse buttons, but that's really about it - we are very happy with this purchase.