 Skip Sony Strengths: Nice WUXGA display; Blu-Ray burner
Weaknesses: Buggy software; Lots of bloatware; Overpriced; Poor support; Slow; Sony's Media Center subpar!
Summary: I always hate it when my computer "decides" to do its own thing when I'm right in the middle of a project. You'll find Sony's Media Center will decide to crawl your hard-drive for media at inappropriate times, and it will completely bring your computer to a halt. As far as I can tell, there is no way to disable that "feature". I don't know why they don't let Microsoft manage that with their much superior Ultimate Edition Media Center. In fact you are not allowed to upgrade to Ultimate or you risk losing support from Sony (and believe me, you'll need their support since their software is completely buggy, and not removable). I once used the Sony update and "lost" all of my Microsoft Office icons, my media files stopped playing (no volume) and my HDMI display went from 1080p to 1080i. I spent 3 hours with their support and only got one of the problems resolved. They finally recommended that I send the unit in for repair. I called again to get a different support person and he recommended that I reformat and restore the original configuration from the backup partition.
Also, for the price, you should get full featured software and not bloatware (demos that take up the same space, but are for a trial period or are functionally useless).
There are also some defunct outputs on the unit, such as the built-in UHF/VHF tuner. Sony basically tossed a third-party tuner into the box instead of redesigning the system to support HD, almost as an afterthought. Now if you want to take your laptop on your next trip, you'll need to make sure to don't forget the extra devices. Many of the media-centric buttons stop working (after COM errors), so don't expect to use this unit as a Media Center (unless you have a lot of patience for imperfection). I wonder if Sony won't allow owners to upgrade to Ultimate because they want to control the users Media Usage, or if it is simply because they couldn't get it to work. Either way, don't be suckered. I say find a better computer for less money. The Sony brand is becoming increasingly irrelevant.
I think you should also get a T7500 or better for the premium price. Shop for a better computer and you will easily find one. If like me, you need a WUXGA display, you should consider mail-order brands, or call MWave and ask for them to carry another option (such as the TOSHIBA QOSMIO G40 or comparable LENOVO THINKPAD).
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