Sony VGN-AW11M/H Reviews: Windows Vista Home Premium 18.4" Screen Laptop computer

+ Excellent design - rivalling Apple products. The build-quality seems to be high, though I've only had the machine for a month. The attractive matt silver-grey finish is likely to age well and is classier than the super-gloss finishes on most Dells. The display is generally sharp and colour-rich and the extra width is useful for movies and applications that offer side toolbars (including Windows Vista). The keyboard, number pad and trackpad are solid and easy to use. The additional control keys make cd and dvd playing more acccessible. There is also a good range of ports for cards and accessories (but see bad points below). The inclusive software package is also useful. Overall, this is a very good alternative to a desktop but it would be too large for travel use. Good to have a Blu-ray rw drive, but I haven't tested it yet.

- The sound is better than many laptops, but there appears to be some distortion in the higher frequencies and volume levels - perhaps from small speakers and/or from a soundcard that has a limited response. I will compare the sound quality with another machine and update this review if possible. There are only three USB ports and these are located on the sides of the machine, near the front - this means that the plugs and leads are visible, detracting from the stylish look of the machine. There is no parallel port so you'll need to have a usb printer. The machine runs more than one application reasonably quickly but I'm surprised it's not even faster at some tasks - perhaps Vista is slowing it. No software/ backup disks are supplied so you need to create these before using the machine (DVD -Rs). Some touch typists may find that they keyboard spacing and its offsetting to the left of centre-screen may be strange at first - not a big problem though. Please note that I haven't fully tested battery life yet, but I suspect that it will be limited for multimedia use. If using Vista for the first time, I suggest customising your desktop and start menu by adding extra shortcuts and removing unnecessary ones.

+ This is a real desktop replacement system but with the added advantage of being fully portable too, when you need it. Quality of build seems to be excellent. 18.4" screen is crystal clear when viewing video/TV.

- Battery life is not as good as our other two laptops at only 2 to 3 hours. (5yr old Toshiba Tecra M1 = 5 to 6 hrs, 2.5 yr old Dell Inspiron 6400 = 3 to 4 hours)

+ Screen quality, brightness, battery life, spacious keyboard, speed etc, etc,

- working with vista after yeard of xp

+ Massive screen
Great sound
Widescreen view is good for stuff other than movies

- Size makes it less portable (not easy to find bags that fit)
Battery life could be better
Get used to using a massive screen and then other computers seem rubbish!

+ Excellant quality for the price

- Not a very long battery, but I already knew this when I bought it.

+ Screen layout is clear and uncluttered, numerical layout on left of computer is an advantage.
Keyboard keys provide a feel of positive action when pressed.
Smart looking and usual Sony quality throughout.

- The touch pad is too offset to the left
You have to be careful not to twist the lid when opening, possibly due to being extra wide, and very closely fitted.
Vista flags up dialogue boxes showing problems with problematic programmes for unknown reasons, which are hard or impossible to fix.

+ Large high quality screen,generally a well finished product.
Seems very fast,but they always do when you update.

- Purchased as a lap top alternative, hence poor battery life & weight were taken into account on purchase

+ I like the positivity of the buttons on the key board, I find it quite simplistic to use and it is a good quality looking model.

- The power point cable is too short and the battery life could be improved.

+ It is great to have a clear, large screen without half a ton of computer realted gubbins
It is fast, had been relativley easy to set up - the sony software is the best i have seen. My partner has a smaler vaio - eccelent as well.
The keyboard buttons for media controle are eccelent - volume, stop, etc.
It also looks gorgeous

- The only drawback is the size, whe weight is amazingly light for the size.
The size is a disadvantage only in that none of my laptop bags and cases are big enough

+ Lovely, stylish machine, fabulous keyboard (really comfortable), clear, crisp screen. Very fast performance. My last laptop was a Sony Vaio and was super reliable, this one seems to be following in the same footsteps. Considering the spec, this is great value for money.

- As you might expect, this is a power hungry machine and so the battery doesn't last very long. It is also rather heavy, but again this is not unexpected considering the specification and 18" screen. This laptop is not designed to be truly mobile, it's more of a desktop replacement. However, it is still reasonably easy to carry around and comfortable when used on the lap.

+ Size, loaded software.

- I bought this large laptop specifically to edit photos. I have yet to find out how to alter the contrast.

+ Super size screen.

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+ Stable

- Hibernate takes a long time with 4GB memory!

+ nice machine

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