Sony VAIO FW First Look

[dietcokefiend]

by Kevin O'Brien

The VAIO FW is a brand new Centrino 2 platform notebook from Sony, offering a much needed facelift, as well as a 16.4" widescreen. What sets this apart from other widescreen notebooks is the aspect ratio of the screen lets movie aficionados enjoy a video without ugly bars above and below the screen. This first look will give you a glimpse of what this notebook has to offer, in general use as well as what to expect when watching various Blu-ray titles.

src="http://www.NotebookReview.com/assets/27098.JavaScript">

Our Sony VAIO FW review model specifications:

• Screen: glossy 16.4" 1600 x 900 display
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• Memory: 4GB RAM
• Storage: 320GB HDD (5400rpm)
• Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW / BD-R DL
• Wireless: 802.11a/b/g/n
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 w/ 256MB
• Built-in web camera
• Battery: 4400mAh Li-Ion Battery
• Dimensions: 15.12" x 1.14"-1.45" x 10.27" (38.4cm x 2.9-3.7cm x 26.1cm)
• Weight: 6.83 lbs (3.1kg)
• Retail Price: $2,149

(view large image)

Build and Design

The fit and finish of the Sony VAIO FW is wonderful, and the overall design is beautiful. The notebook has a streamlined sculpted look, and when opened has a palmrest and keyboard surround that looks like the graceful sloping surface of a car hood. The surface starts out flat, has a small dip, and then gracefully slopes down to the screen hinges. From working day in and day out at a ThinkPad, it is much easier on the eyes to say the least.

(view large image)

Build quality is excellent, with the overall chassis feeling rigid and sturdy. Although thin at the very edges of the palmrest, you can pick the notebook up from the corner with minimal flex from the chassis. Even the super thin screen shows that quite a bit of effort went into making a durable design, as you are able to man-handle and even punch the back of the LCD panel and no ripples or distortion shows on the display.

(view large image)

Screen

I have to say that my first impression of the true HD screen format was one of hatred. Another odd format I would have to get used to, and more odd screen designations to remember. I figured it would be just another gimmick ... but then I started to enjoy it. Outside of watching movies, the extra-wide wide screen is great for organizing many tasks on the screen, where a normal widescreen display just starts to feel crowded. Two documents side by side, a webpage next to a document, or even a webpage with my IM buddy list far off to the side. Of course it is nice for movies as well.

Movie Experience

True HD displays are basically what you have in your living room or TV room if you own an HDTV. 720P or 1080P screens are slightly shorter than what you usually find on a computer. For example on a WUXGA notebook has a resolution of 1920x1200, where as a Full HD 1080P screen is 1920x1080. This has to do with the way most movies are recorded, and in the end thinner or no bars at all showing up during a movie. Below I picked 3 Blu-ray titles from my collection, to give you a good idea of what you might expect to see on this screen format.

• Chain Reaction (2.35:1): Almost fullscreen with 2 thin bars top and bottom that are about 1/2cm tall.

(view large image)

• Swordfish (2.40:1): Far from full widescreen, with almost 1 inch bars top and bottom.

(view large image)

• Open Season (1.85:1): Looks identical to the 2.35:1 ratio

(view large image)

Ports and Features

Port selection on the Sony VAIO FW rates average, and one USB port less of perfection. Users have two video outputs (HDMI and VGA) for easy hookup to external monitors or your home theater HDTV. In some ways the design of the notebook hinders the port layout, as some curved locations which would be prime for an extra USB port end up being too small to work out. The ports and feature selection include the following:

• 10/100/1000 LAN
• Modem
• VGA
• HDMI
• FireWire
• Expresscard/34
• MagicGate
• SD-Card Reader
• Headphone/Mic
• 3 USB Ports

(view large image)	(view large image)
(view large image)	(view large image)

Performance

System performance is one category that this notebook really shines. Even with a 5400rpm hard drive, the notebook performed quite well throughout various activities including watching Blu-ray movies, playing a few games, and installing applications. The Intel Centrino 2 platform no doubt had a hand in this, and gave us some impressive performance benchmarks. PCMark05 was into the 6,000 range and 3DMark06 was around 2,600.

Battery Life

Working away from a power outlet was not a fun activity with this configuration that included a 4400mAh battery. In the balanced profile with the screen brightness set to 50-60%, I was lucky if the battery gauge indicated more than 2 hours and 40 minutes. Watching a Blu-ray movie decreased the battery life further, putting me into the range of a movie, with enough time to safely shutdown once the film ended. One thing I can say though, if you have the option to select the extended battery, get it.

More To Come

As always, our First Look Review is merely intended to provide you with a first glimpse of a new notebook. Our full review is coming soon ... stay tuned.

src="http://www.NotebookReview.com/assets/27098.JavaScript">

[Needmore4less]

Thanks for the first thoughts review Kevin.

That screen size makes this laptop an almost perfect desktop replacement, great to watch Hi-Def Movies, giving you more real state in day to day apps..

For me, is just to big to carry around, I'll stick for the 14" notebooks.

[John Ratsey]

Thanks for the preview.

Is this a triumph of form over function? All three USB ports next to where the majority of users put their mouse could be a serious annoyance. Sony normally pay more attention to such details.

John

[Hinduemperior]

which screen is this. the hiColor or the ECO?

[Redline]

These 16:9 screens, while shorter, also have higher resolutions than regular 15.4" notebooks. Especially when you compare 1080p to WSXGA+, you're getting significantly more pixels in essentially the same size notebook, maybe a bit wider. While you can get WUXGA 15" notebooks, they aren't nearly as common as the 16" 1080p screens will be.

Interesting though, either way.

[SoundsGood]

which screen is this. the hiColor or the ECO?

Good question. Hard to say, since there's a discrepancy on Sony's site. Based on the specs and price, this FW appears to be the VGN-FW190EBH.

Notice that on the 'Features' tab it says "comes equipped with a gorgeous, extra-wide 16.4" XBRITE-HiColor™ LCD display", yet on the 'Specifications' tab it says "XBRITE-ECO™ Technology : Yes"

Soooo, which is it? XBRITE-HiColor or XBRITE-ECO ?

[cjcerny]

Definitely something not right with the way Chain Reaction displayed. A 2.35:1 movie has more prominent black bars on a 16:9 display then what is pictured here--very close to the 2.40:1 movie that is also shown.

[jedisolo]

I was in Best Buy today and this notebook is there. The lid seems to made out of some metal. Is it made out of Titanium?

[Balrog]

Regarding aspect ratios: The 1600*900 screen has an aspect of (16/9) = approximately 1.78:1, so the closer the movie is to that ratio the thinner the black bars you'll see. It makes sense for the 1.85:1 to show really thin bars, since it's very close to the screen's ratio, but the 2.35:1 should look very much like the 2.40:1. Are you sure the Chain Reaction movie didn't switch to some other aspect ratio? (like maybe 1.85:1?) It's possible the disc had more than one format on it...

[hendra]

I wonder why the Blu-ray model is so much heavier than the DVD model. The DVD model, according to Sony, is 6.4 pounds while the Blu-ray model is 6.8 pounds. I mean, come on, a Blu-ray drive is not any heavier than a DVD drive.

What is the weight of this notebook without the battery and power supply? I am curious.