Customer Reviews

Sony VAIO VGN-SZ450N/C 13.3-inch Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2 GHz Processor, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD RW Drive, Vista Business)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First let me say the positives--this is one of the best PC laptops you can get on the market, period. In terms of weight and function, magnificent screen quality, carbon fiber, elegance and sheer computing power--A++

The mediocre aspects: mid-life battery. I miss the 8-hour VAIO battery life, but 4 hours is still not bad, especially for this unit.

But now the bad news--and bad until either Sony and Microsoft work out the kinks. There is a buggy operating system shell file: shell32.dll which causes Windows Explorer to crash. I am not referring to Internet Explorer, which works fine on this machine. Rather, when you try to paste programs to the Quicklaunch taskbar or when you try to drag and drop folders in Explorer. It may seem trivial but honestly if you plan to drop a lot of files onto this 160Gb drive and can't move those files around, then there is a serious problem.

I have been on the tech support line with Sony and they told me that this is a known problem and are working the solution out with Microsoft. However, I meanwhile purchased a retail copy of Vista and used the product key on the bottom of the laptop, and ended up with a clear and well-working copy of Vista. I then uploaded all the drivers from the Sony eSupport site. Within a couple of hours I had a much faster system, not bogged down by all the ridiculous bloatware. Everything worked fine but then I couldn't get the Bluetooth application on Sony's site (I could get the Bluetooth drivers but not the app that allows you to connect a mouse or other devices to the system). After hours of exhausting my energy and mistakenly downloading a 30 day trial version of the Bluetooth app, I really have to say that Sony makes life EXTREMELY difficult. In the end, I went to the Toshiba website and found a way to get the app from a Toshiba laptop. Still I am waiting to find out if this expires in 30 days.

Thus, I say, if you are technically minded and want to go through all the steps that I did then you will end up with a working PC VAIO.

Otherwise, it is really wise to wait until Sony has solved this problem.

Also, I really want to say the the amount of bloatware on this system is a horrible monstrosity and they should be ashamed of themselves. This includes:

Microsoft Works
Quickbooks Free Edition
AOL Toolbar
Corel Snap (or something like this) Trial
Corel Paint Shop Pro Trial
Norton Internet Security Trial
and about 20 other things that most people will never use.

Microsoft has identified one of these installed programs as a possible culprit in the error. Thus a clean/retail Vista install (not a recovery disk install) will avoid all these problems.

Well, like Kurt Lieber below, who actually HAS this computer too, there are somethings which I like and do not like.

Pros:
1. This computer is very stylish. It is a comprehensive package which includes many features that you'd expect to see from a computer of this price...well most. It's in a great form-factor and has the best color combo. Even the seemingly out-of-place silver touchpad somehow matches with the entire package.

2. The carbon-fiber casing of this computer makes this a very light computer. Plus it one-ups the non-premium model with a higher quality look.

3. Sony's white LED backlit LCD WXGA X-Brite Display...WOW!!! (only a very very limited amount of notebooks have this LED backlit feature). you have never seen true white until you use this computer. I came from a Vaio S260 with X-Brite and this successor just blows it out of the ballpark.

4. Integrated fingerprint reader is easy to use and saves time when you don't keep track of all the different usernames and passwords you have.

5. Hybrid graphics. Although you have to restart the computer to switch, this is a very good idea to keep battery life high, and keep efficient computing.

6. Sony makes the best keyboards from the best materials; it's not like the cheap plastics from other manufacturers. It has a long stroke and they are full-size. And they make the most precisely engineered tap sounds.

7. Hidden [num lock] [caps lock] [scroll lock] indicator lights.

8. Smooth back display cover, unlike the rough finger-file cover on the non-premiums.

9. QUALITY! made in Japan...you're not going to find another computer that has the aesthetics of Sony Vaios.

Cons:
1. I don't like the triangular design. It is .9" in the front and 1.3" in the rear. The actual front is less than .9" because the casing two tiered. so it's even thinner when grabbing from the front.

2. The cassettes to fill the PC-card and Express-card slots...What happened to the flaps? like in the Vaio S?

3. The integrated camera is pretty awful, unless i just don't know how to program the fuzzy picture out.

4. There is a lot of pre-installed software on this computer. When it first came out-of-the-box, there was about 120GB left. Then somehow, it kept getting lower and lower, and i wasn't even doing anything. I have no idea how I lost 25 MORE GB by the next day.

5. The fingerprint reader takes the space of the mouse buttons, making the buttons really small.

6. Wireless toggle turns on and off the wireless connections...but why must it be linked to the Bluetooth? You can only turn off Bluetooth if you turn off ALL wireless connections.

Pros:

* The carbon fiber case is fantastic. It doesn't get scuffed, is very strong and rigid and is also very light.
* The screen is beautiful. The LED backlighting makes a noticable difference. Another benefit of the LED backlighting is the fact that it makes the lid so slim.
* The keyboard has a great, tactile feel to it, which is unusual for a notebook of this size. Keyboard opinions are largely subjective, but I really like this one.
* The laptop is extremely light. Again, the carbon fiber case shines here by reducing the weight of the laptop. It's very easy to carry around and I don't even notice the extra weight when I put it in my briefcase, suitcase, etc.

Cons:

* Way, way, way too much pre-loaded junk. Out of the box, this thing has close to 30 "extra" programs on it, most of which are a complete waste of space. It's almost impossible to uninstall all this junk, too. I had to completely wipe the hard drive and start over with a fresh install. Which brings me to my next con...
* No CDs. None. No installation CDs, no recovery CDs. Sony takes up space on the hard drive for their "recovery partition" and you can, if you want, generate recovery CDs from that, but for a laptop in this premium price range, doing something cheap like this is just, well, cheap. Shame on you, Sony.
* Price. Yes, this is a great laptop and yes, you're going to pay for it. You can certainly find cheaper laptops if price is a primary consideration for you.

Overall, this is a great laptop and one that I would buy again. The screen alone, is worth the price.

I was looking for a new laptop and was debating between a couple of Asus ones when I saw that this SZ450 was being released. I instantly fell in love with the carbon fiber casing. Ever since I bought it back in Feb 2007, I have been very satisfied. Yes it does cost a lot compared to a similarly equipped Dell. But at the end of the day, that is still a Dell and this is art :) This is the closest thing to Apple/Mac styling you will get in the windows world. I don't regret getting this at all! If you have the money and are looking for a great machine, I would highly recommend buying this. I would also recommend an extended warranty because this is such an expensive purchase (not because there are problems). I would hope this lasts at least 2-3 years for the price.

Pros:
-Very light, feels lighter than most of my textbooks
-Screen is amazingly bright
-I love the ability to toggle the video card modes for battery life and performance
-Screaming fast performance with the Core 2 Duo T7200 and 2 gigs of ram
-Vista Business is amazing. People complain about Vista not working properly, but those are people who have upgraded their existing computers and have older hardware. Since this is a brand new, post-Vista machine, all the hardware is fully compatible and the experience is flawless. Only thing better would have been the option to have Ultimate installed.
-Fingerprint reader is amazing. I love being able to program in my logins to various sites and just swiping when the time is right. Another little power-user trick with the fingerprint software is that you can program fingers to open applications from the desktop.

Cons/Issues that have come up with me:
-Battery life is barely 2.5 hours on balanced power mode with wireless on. I'm not quite sure how to get 4 hours like the specs say- perhaps with screen brightness completely low and wireless off and only one application open?
-Bluetooth worked for about a week and since then I cannot connect to my phone anymore. I know it's not the phone since I had it replaced a little while back. The Bluetooth hardware still works and does everything fine, but for some reason cannot connect to my phone.
-Sometimes after coming back from sleep mode the wireless doesn't work. Even after disabling/enabling the adapter and resetting it, nothing works until I do a restart. I did purchase the Sony extended warranty and will be trying to get the card replaced soon. I hope this is just an isolated issue and not a production-wide one.
-Battery is very loose. There is only a locking clip on one side and if that is not clicked into place, the battery will slide around. Even with the clip locked in, the battery feels very loose.
-This one won't matter to most, but is a minor annoyance to me. I wish there was a way to simply toggle the screen on/off instead of going into sleep or shutting down. My old Acer used to be able to do this. I would like this feature for when I am in class but not needing to take notes.

I have had this laptop for about a month now and absolutely love it! When I started searching for a laptop, I wanted something that would be small and light but powerful. However, I didn't want the screen to be too small. Therefore, I feel that the 13.3 inch screen on this laptop is just perfect. Compared to other laptops in this class, like the DELL XPS 1210, this laptop is lighter, thinner, has a bigger screen (13.3 inches compared to 12.1 inches for the DELL) and looks much better too. I almost bought the DELL XPS 1210 but it looked cheap, was heavier and the screen was too small for comfort. But when DELL customer service showed itself to be completely useless and even rude, that really made my decision and I decided to get the SONY VAIO VGN-SZ450N/C. I couldn't be happier!

This computer is the total package. Given its capabilities it is nearly a desktop replacement, and all in a 3.7 lb ultralight package. The only reason I might not call it a true desktop replacement is due to only 2 USB ports, only one optical drive, etc. However, as far as power goes, the SZ can do it all.

The only computer that compares is the brand new Dell XPS 1330. I have not used the Dell XPS 1330, but after some scrutiny I chose the VAIO. Here are the big comparison points I considered.

(Note, I am not an expert on computers or components - but all of the following information is correct to the best of my knowledge.)

The XPS 1330 uses the newer of the Core 2 Duo processor lines with 800 MHZ front side bus, while the SZ processors have 633 MHZ front side bus. (My VAIO has the 2 GHZ T7200, while the Dell 2 GHZ processor is the T7300). The new processors have some other improvements to include some power saving ability, but my limited understanding is that the improvement in speed is very slight. Still it is a consideration.

The 1330 can use RAM at 667 MHZ, whereas the SZ uses 533 MHZ RAM. I think this may be a limitation of the processor.

The 1330 has a slit DVD burner drive, similar to a car CD player where the disk slides in and there is no tray that moves in or out. The SZ has a traditional tray DVD burner drive.

Both the 1330 and SZ use an NVIDIA graphics card, and I think the Dell uses a newer one, but I don't know how they compare. However, the SZ has an option to turn off the NVIDIA card and use the integrated graphics card to save battery life which I find useful. I don't know if the 1330 has such an option.

Otherwise the comparison comes down to price, availability, style, and of course customer service. Amazon asks that reviews avoid a discussion of price or availability so you have to figure those issues out for yourself.

As for style and customer service, the VAIO (Sony) has it all. The SZ is sleek and lightweight with a sexy carbon fiber body. The keyboard is well designed with flat keys that seem easier to use than any laptop I have encountered. Furthermore, the SZ is a tried and true design that has been around for years.

Lastly, and the biggest factor for me is that Sony's customer service is simply phenomenal. They are easy to contact and offer very good warranty plans, even if you don't buy directly from Sony. If you buy from an authorized Sony dealer like Amazon you can still upgrade your 1 year warranty by contacting Sony directly. My last computer was a Dell desktop, and though I never had problems with Dell, Sony is simply on a higher level of service. Sony obviously has decided at an institutional level that customer service is important (at least in their VAIO computer department), and it really shows.

In summary, though the Dell XPS 1330 has some advantages, I chose the Sony VAIO VGN-SZ450 for the fantastic tried and true sleek design and because of Sony's outstanding customer service.

Excellent Notebook. But attention: if you are going to use another Operational System in this Vaio, Know that Sony only support drivers for Windows Vista. No modem driver, bluetooth driver , soundcard drivers, etc etc, for Windows XP, 2000, and so on.

I bought this about a year ago for $1500 including 2 years of warranty support.. This notebook looks good and is light weight but right from the start it occasionally used to hang and then suddenly some days back it started getting heated up.. I called up tech support and they gave me a shock saying my warranty doesn't cover it and it can not be repaired!!! Support sucked big time! Just to transfer my warranty information from sonystyle to sony it took about a week!
My friends who have bought sony notebook also have faced some problem or the other and had warned me not to buy sony notebook but I was just carried away with the looks and features..
I ended up buying a new lenovo notebook.. hopefully I won't get any problem with this one!
I will not recommend this sony notebook and will tell you to stay away from it.. I would rate my previous dell laptop better than this sony notebook which is a junk for me now!

it's nice Computer but the battery is lose up to 14% if i keep the computer for more than 6 Hours Switch off after i Fully charge it, it's to bad for sony brand because i have another brand ( Toshiba, Acer & HP ) they not lose more than 1 to 2 % if i keep it Switch off more than 1 day

By the way the computer is fast but some time at start up it's not start all the programs at task bar under windows Vista

Note : These Model is Made in japan

I was looking for a laptop for long time, doing search, comparing brands, technology, cost/benefits etc.... I should say that I am a normal user and this laptop satisfied all my expectations, the screen size is perfect, its very light, powerful, bright, lighter, elegant, delicate... But the only think that I regret is the Battery life, barely 2 hours... some times less... it is too short... this laptop for a flight trip is not good companion...
Even the short battery life I can say that I am very happy with my Laptop VAIO and I consider that I did the best decision. I am sure that I did the best decision buying the SONY VAIO
José Vieira - New York