An Ultra-Light Laptop For Your Digital Lifestyle
Written: Jan 22 '02
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Pros: Docking Bay; iLink (FireWire); 3.75 lb; Jog Dial; Damn good looks
Cons: Memory Stick; Docking Bay performance
The Bottom Line: While pricier than some competitors, this laptop is an absolute joy to use. It is the perfect balance of computing power and portability!
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| wenliu98's Full Review: Sony VAIO R505JS PC Notebook |
Before getting a laptop, you will have to ask yourself; what do I need and what do I need it to do. After all, this is not going to be an all-emcompassing desktop. When I was shopping for a laptop last October, here are the criterias I was looking at.
1) Portability
2) At least 256 MB RAM
3) At least a 20 GB HD
4) Windows XP Pro
After looking at various makes (IBM, Gateway, Toshiba, etc.) I ended up purchasing the Sony Vaio R505JSP. After 3 month of use, I am very happy with my choice. This laptop has become a part of my everyday routine.
The R505 comes with a Pentium III 850mhz processor, 256 MB of RAM (upgradeable to 384) and 30 GB HD. These specs, while not spectacular, are more than ample for most users. For me, this means using the Microsoft Office Suite, Photoshop, PageMaker, inDesign, various music programs, DVD viewing, and CD burning software. While I have not edited digital video on it, I am looking to do that in the near future.
As for CD burning, the included SlimDock docking bay provides a 8X CDR/4X CDRW/DVD drive. The 8X speed is nowhere near the fastest you can find on the market, but it is enough for me. It takes about 8 - 10 minutes to write a CD.
The SlimDock provides legacy ports (parallel/serial) which are not on the main unit. The main unit has 2 USB and 1 iLink (FireWire) port. It also has a PC Card slot, modem port and 10/100 Ethernet port. Via a Sony rebate, I also received a Vaio 802.11b Wireless LAN card for free. It's great to be able to surf the Net from all corners of my home without dragging a RJ45 wire around!
I'm sure some would find the Memory Stick slot useful, but since all my gadgets (digital camera and MP3 player) uses CompactFlash, it's quite useless for me.
Like the Memory Stick slot, Sony is known for adding unique items to their products, in the case of this laptop, it is the Jog Dial. It's the little scroll wheel beneath the touch-pad. Using it, you can launch programs without going into the Start menu. I have found this little item to be quite useful.
Overall, it's 3.75 lb weight makes it very convenient to carry around. Its hardware is more than enough for the task I need to do. The battery last over 2 1/2 hrs under consistent usage. The end result is a laptop which is the perfect balance of size and performance.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2500
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 801-900
Screen Size: 12
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
wenliu98
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Member: Wen Liu
Location: Chicago, IL
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 1 member
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