Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO VGN-SZ120P/B 13" Laptop (Intel Core Duo Processor T2400, 1024 MB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, DVD+R Dbl Layer/DVD+/-RW Drive)

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

 

 

I was on the line between choosing a Sony vaio sz120 and sz160. I'm glad I went with the 120. The main differences between the two are the material they are made from -- fibre carbon for the 160 and magnesium alloy for the 120 (ignore the fact that they describe the 120 as black carbon -- this refers to the color only), the weight -- the 160 is about a half pound lighter due to the fiber carbon, and the screen quality. The last thing made me hesitate, as the 160 screen is both thinner, and brighter than the 120s. But the 120 is still pretty darn nice, and for the price difference, it wasn't worth it to me to go with the 160.

Of cosmetic note -- the 160 model has a smooth black exterior, and the word vaio is in black. The 120 has a rough black surface, and the word vaio is in silver. I prefer the rough surface myself, as it is both less prone to scratches and fingerprint smudges.

The machine itself seems fairly solid. The battery is slightly loose, but not too bad. The built in dvd dual layer burner is a very nice new feature for someone whose last laptop didn't even have an internal drive. I was hesitant about the fingerprint reader at first, wondering about whether it was really necessary, what happened if it failed to read your fingerprint properly, etc -- but I am surprisingly taken with the feature. Specifically, the ability to use it to do fast switches between two users on the same system. You can scan multiple fingers, and if you simply can't get it to respond, you fall back to your typed-password.

The webcam, on the other hand, is a waste of space and power. It's incredibly poor quality, and because it's a usb powered camera, it runs afoul of the duo core usb-bug issue that causes your battery to drain faster than it should. Here's hoping they patch that soon.

A heads up on the battery life -- although Sony has scaled back from it's original, preposterous claims of six hour battery life, it's still overestating by a long shot. In speed mode, you'll get somewhere over two hours. In stamina, just over three.

You'll hear Sony taking a lot of grief over the keyboard on this model, and at first, I was also taken aback. I'm used to a keyboard where the keys are raised, and narrow towards the top. The keyboard on this model is almost entirely flat, and as a result the keys take up the entire space allotted to them, and are much larger than what I was used to. People have called these keys "plasticky" and "cheap" feeling, but honestly, I think it's the size that's shocking at first, and people may just be taken aback by the new style. As someone with fairly small hands, it took me about a week to ten days to adjust to the new feel. Now I'm fine with it. For someone with larger fingers, this might actually be an advantage.

My 100 gig drive shows only about 87 gigs. I'm told a good chunk has been set away in a hidden system recovery area. The machine also come pre-loaded to crap they were trying to sell you on. (AOL, Anti-spyware software), etc. I spent the first day or so just cleaning off the clutter.

The wireless seems strong, I haven't tried the bluetooth out yet, and physically, the machine is simply lovely. If you're using stamina mode, and the screen seems to dark at first, use Function+F6 to brighten things up, as going into the display management system just resulted in an overbright, washed out screen.

This may sound like a lot of critical material, but I don't regret buying the machine, and think it will serve me well, hopefully for as long as my last vaio did.

I believe all of you know that his laptop is fast and cool looking and has a strange feeling keyboard with a non-responsive spacebar corner. also the hdd cannot be upgraded as it is buried deep inside the machine.

Sony does not restock this machine (I bought 2 and they charged me $350 for restocking one) so make sure you know what you are buying.

Battery life is poor, nearly half of advertised. The regular battery is around 3 hours (average brightness and no sound on on speed mode - lower end graphics card). its 5 hours for the extended battery.

As someone else pointed out, the battery has a loose fitting too.

The integrated webcam is of 640x480-interpolated resolution. its crappier than my logitech which has a native resolution of 640x480.

Adapter is BIG, power cord (from wall to adapter) is very small.

Battery sign on the laptop does not work when the laptop is off and charging. It just blinks.

Screen is too delicate. You can literally twist it.

One single switch for wLAN and Bluetooth. Its a pain sometimes.

PROS: Supports Vista completely, light & does not produce a lot of heat.

I got my laptop a little over a month ago, and I am very pleased with it.

People seem to be complaining about 3 things: battery life, keyboard, and battery "looseness". I tested out the battery life a couple times and it goes about 4-5 hours on stamina mode, pretty great if you ask me. TO make it last longer, I take the battery out when the power supply is plugged in. Also the keyboard? I like the largeness of the keys and how it spans the whole bottom panel. I think it's great. Also the "looseness" of the battery is something I had a concern about before I bought it, but it's NOTHING to worry about! You only notice that it wiggles a tiny bit if you try hard to move it. I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't heard so much about it.

Other things: the integrated camera is a great feature but not as clear as my desktop webcam. The fingerprint sensor is a cool tool too, and lets you automatically sign into secure websites (to check your mail, etc) very quickly. The only downside is that it isn't compatible with my browser of choice: firefox. Also a negative is the bulky power supply. I mean, what's the point of a superlight notebook if the power supply is going to still weight you down?

A huge negative that almost made me not buy the thing is the ancient speed of the DVD burner on this notebook. I mean, it's as slow as my 3 year old desktop! However, it does have the new double-layer disc burning capability, which I haven't been able to try yet because those things are expensive right now.

All in all, if you've got the money for it, go for it! I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It's very light for the size. The display is beautiful.

I hope I have used this enough so far to warrant a review, but here I go anyways

Picked up my SZ-120 on thursday night and am just loving it......

I have the same problems as others who have commented so far, from:

- Loose battery

- Dissapointing battery life (i keep reading that its XP and USB related though, hopefully MS will release a fix)

- I also *hate* the fact you cannot easily turn off the touchpad.. i use my notebook-sized mouse and hate running my palm across the touchpad....

- "100 gig" HD actually showing 89 gigs of space to use (there is a hidden partition, but windows says its only 6 gigs, where's the other 5?)

Otherwise the Dual-Core CPU's book along and it runs all my programming stuff just fine :-) Definitely recommend this laptop to anyone looking for small and fast

This is my first VAIO and it definitely is great as i have heard.

PROS:

bright, clear screen

very small and light (~4 lb)

comfortable keyboard

runs cool and quiet

hybrid graphics

powerful and fast

CONS:

relatively flimsy screen

poor battery life

have to reboot when graphics mode switched

The VAIO SZ is very light and portable, but packs a powerful punch. The processor, hard drive (5400 rpm!), and 1 GB RAM give the SZ a powerful laptop. In addition, the screen is gorgeous, perfect for movies. However, the battery life is not that great. Average usage - medium brightness, sound, single apps - lasts only about 3 hours. When you start multitasking or turn up the brightness, the battery life is only 1-2 hours, pretty pathetic. Because of this, I bought an extra-high capacity battery (I would recommend doing so) which costs about $200 but gives you at least 2 hours more time. The SZ is perfect for those who commute a lot and want a stylish laptop. I use my to type down notes in class and to play Age of Empires III on flight trips.

I just want to touch some subjects that have been the negative points of the other reviews.
Battery IS a little bit loose, however I don't think it's to the point that you need to worry about it. It has a locking mechanism to secure the battery to the main unit.
I actually like the keyboard better than my old Sony notebook (K-series). It's light and bigger. So, contrary to the complaints in the other reviews, I actually think the keyboard is an improvement.
The notebook does come with the options of "Stamina" and "Speed" performance. So, you can easily choose "Stamina" if you are running on your battery, and switch to "Speed" otherwise. Therefore, you DO have the options to have longer battery support.
I had problem setting up my wireless connection in the beginning, and I actually had to call Linksys to get support and received tips from the technical support person. Apparently, Sony has its own wireless connection manager. So, when I just enabled this manager (and disabled windows wireless connection manager), everything runs smoothly. Go to "VAIO Support Central" in the start menu for information. I wish Sony provided at least some hints about this. But all is well now.
Other than those issues, I love this notebook!! It's light (way lighter than the K-series, so I don't have to worry about back/shoulder pain from carrying it everywhere I go). I was afraid that the screen would be too small for me, but it turned out to be okay. The AC adapter (again comparing it with the K-series) is definitely a lot smaller and lighter. I have yet to explore the (integrated) web cam feature, but I am pretty excited about it.
If you are a Sony notebook fan, you can't go wrong with this product.

Bought it last week, received it on Thursday not working by Monday, what a shame, it's my first VIAO, the notebook doesn't boot up, looks like the HD is defective, called customer service at Sony, very rude guy, conclusion: after spending almost 2 thousands in this machine and finding it defective I'm returning it right away

I own SZ140p model for about 1 month.

Pros:

- Screen size and display quality are very nice.

- I'm happy with the embedded webcam, it is very convenient to use with a chat client.

- Lightweight, think, and sleek

Cons:

- Space key on the keyboard is really annoying. I had it replaced by Sony service but after two days it doesn't work properly again. You have to press hard. I tried several different laptops and they all have the same problem. :(

- The battery is slightly loose, and when you're carrying the laptop it feels as if it is very fragile.

- Although the harddisk is advertised as 100 GB, it shows around high 80s. It is not that important for me though.

I would strongly recommend trying the laptop out at a local store before buying it. When I did it myself, I had the impression that keyboard and loose battery problem pertain to the display model only but I was wrong.

Like others I have a few complaints but nothing serious. Most importantly is the keyboard. I'm getting used to the feel now but the space key is a problem. At least on my PC if you press either side of the space bar it doesn't respond unless you really smack it, meaning that I get a lot of words running together when I spell check. Pressing the center of the bar works fine with even light pressure.

Secondly, why only 2 USB ports? Seems like there is plenty of space for a 3rd or fourth port.

The screen is great and I like the idea of the two video cards. I usually use the nVidia mode and get prettygood battery life. Where Ireally sucks the juice is if you're playing games. In that case the performance is great but the fan is running full speed and the battery goes quick. But its nice to have the option. Even in speed mode I get 3+ hours when doing word processing/spreadsheets/email.

Dan

So far I love this notebook. The only problem I'm noticing is that the right side of the keyboard (beyond letters H,Y,N) sinks into the laptop when I'm typing, as if there is not enough support under these keys, but more air. I wonder if it's because the DVD player is on that side? The left side of the keyboard feels studier. Does anyone else notice this problem? Can Sony fix it?