I bought this notebook to replace my VX88, and i was amazed at how much has changed in the past three years.

Many of sony's notebooks have been proven to be very solid and reliable, and this one is no exception. The magnesium body, which is 20-30 times stronger than plastic, not only protects, but helps to dissipate heat, making the computer so cool to the touch you wouldn't know its on.

The display is very bright thanks to their xbrite technology, and it has a wonderful 160 degree viewing angle - the display rivals those on powerbooks that cost easily $1,000 more. Since its widescreen, i can view two pages at a time! its also very good for movies.

I have many sony products, and the memory stick pro slot makes things much simpler. If you have digital cameras or other devices, you can even program the computer to automatically transfer the files on the memory stick in a certain way. For example, for my digital camera, it automatically transfers pictures and places them in folders in a specified location, along with naming the folders according to date. If there were two folders that day, it would name accordingly. Check the manual for your sony products for more information.

The battery holds for about 3 to 3.5 hours, and though that is better than average, it doesn't live up to the 6 hours that the specifications state. I would recommend bringing a second battery along.

Since the wireless antenna spans the length of the monitor, i get excellent reception. When my brother's powerbook can't pick up a signal, i can move mine 20 feet away in the next room and still receive a clear, consistent signal!

As for the speed of the computer... its a centrino. 'nuff said. fast, efficient, powerful. take note though, that you may need to, at some times, change energy-saving settings. For example, the centrino's speed-step system has a keystroke function that can power down the processor between keystrokes... it can be a real pain when you're playing a game! If you are playing a game, set the processor on full performance.

which brings me to the 64MB radeon 9700 - once again, its a radeon... 'nuff said! the 9700 is the fastest graphics processor in its class, and i think there's no reason why anyone could think otherwise.

All-in-all, a great computer!

I've had a horrible experience with sony support though... so try to steer clear of them... i don't think you'll need to call them for this computer though because it doesn't look like it will have any problems for the next 3 years or so (my old VX is 3 years old and running perfectly)!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 2499
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 13 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: SuperDisk
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50