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 The King Of Bloatware! Dec 15, 2008
A pretty good machine from a hardware point of view. Good OS Windows Vista. But the bloatware that Sony loads on their laptops is nearly enough to send this fat puppy back to get spaded. On my new ACER which I traded this Vaio in for, there was a trail version of Microsoft office and some other program that was useless. So 2 pre-loaded junk programs to get rid off. Took maybe five mins to get going. Awesome. This Sony Vaio took me nearly 10 hours to fully remove all the junk they infested my hard drive with. Not only that when I installed Kaspersky it showed half this crap as malware....thats right potentially harmful pre-loaded sony garbage. The only thing I have from Sony is a PSP and that's how im keeping it, they are a terrible company in every sence and slap their customers constantly. The ACER Extensa I got from trading this piece of crap in out performs this VAIO in every sence including price.
 Great value...but a few regrets Dec 15, 2008
This is a great laptop for the price. However, within 6 weeks of purchase my LCD went on the fritz. While wathcing a DVD white lines appeared on the LCD as though it was experiencing an electrical interference and eventually saturated the entire screen. I rebooted only to find that the image on the screen was now split in 3 horizontal sections, and what should've been the top of the image was now appearing at the bottom of my LCD!
I called Sony Support and was walked through a couple troubleshooting attempts, mostly software/driver based but with no luck. Sony support was responsive afterwards, but they promised in home service and when I called make the in home appointment I was told by the 3rd support representative that I spoke to that I would have to mail it in for repair. It was returned within 5 days at no expense but the service report never indicated the probable cause of the problem....only that the LCD had been replaced. So I don't know what action if any can be done to avoid a repeat of the issue...It had never been dropped so was it an overheating problem or over use?
Other problems for me include squeaky keys within about 3 days of purchase, slow start up because of pre-installed bloat ware, it tends to get warm to the touch right where you rest yours hand to type, and disappointing audio. Maybe I got a dud. On the upside similarly spec'd competitor laptops go for an additional $150 - $350, the screen is a pleasure, and it's quite light.
I am going to sanitize the hard drive and install XP in hopes of gaining some performance. If you have the extra bucks get a Dell XPS.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Great laptop but HDMI is fauty Dec 08, 2008
I have no problems with the laptop. The laptop is extremely fast and I'm satisfied with it. but the only thing bad about this laptop is that the HDMI does not output audio. which means that if you were like me and hoped to be able to watch blu ray on an hdtv by hooking up the laptop to the tv via hdmi, will not get the sound to play on the tv. The laptop image gets sent to the tv, but the sound only comes out of the laptop speaker and will not come out of the tv speaker.
I called Sony support and after 2 hours dealing with their technicians they admited that there is a problem with their products and hdmi, and that their engineers were "working" on a solution, maybe a future patch. but researching this problem online i found that another vaio user had the same problem around Jan 2008 and he was told that they were working on fixing this issue then and it's nearly been a year!
like i said, i'm 100% satisfied with every other aspect of the laptop, especially for the deal i got at the time, but i'm dissapointed with the hdmi issue since one of the reasons i bought the laptop is so that i could use it as a blu ray player and not have to spend $200+ on one.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Absolutely nice Nov 25, 2008
I am absolutely happy about this purchase. The computer is amazing. All its features make this laptop a great machine, for entertainment and work. The connectivity is great. Everywhere the computer finds a wireless network, the connection is easy, and work very well.
Bad things: I have been dealing with some problems with the software, but nothing bad enough to be worry about.
Another thing I have to say is that, this computer is definitely not light. Its weight is not a joke. But I knew this before I buy it, so I can be worry about this.
Good for the money (VGN-FW145E) Nov 18, 2008
Pros:
Good screen: although mine has a one dead pixel, it is better than my previous ones (IBM T43 and Acer Aspire 5100). It is one of shiny ones, but as others mentioned, they did a good job of eliminating glares.
Nice audio: as far as I know, it is one of the best on a laptop. I have always disappointed on laptop's speakers, but this one rocks! And the microphone and camera work very well too.
Good processor: 2.26GHz P8400 is not the best, but it does much better than may others. For me it is fast enough.
Nice keyboard: I was bit worried about the unusual shape of it, but it is quite comfortable to type. A little wide for my taste, though (I have small hands).
Oh, and it's very cute, as you can see in the pictures.
Cons:
Video: I knew it won't be the strength, since 145E has a shared video card, but still I wish it does better. If you want to play games, you may want to get a model with an independent video card (but you have to pay for it too!).
Size: I reckon someone was comparing MacBook Pro and this model, but it is not a fair comparison. This vaio is not designed for carrying around. It is a desktop replacement, I think.
USB: having all of USB port on the right front can be an issue when you have a small desk as I do...
Overall, I'm very happy with this model. For the amount of money I paid (about $1050), I don't think there are any other models that can offer as much as this one. If you are looking for an inexpensive desktop replacement with a nice big screen, and if gaming and other graphic intensive tasks are not your things, I recommend this model.
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