Sony Vaio Y Review

Introduction
I never thought I would be using a laptop that matched one of my Polo shirts, and I’m not talking about my black one. I’m old enough to remember the different color ibooks, but this VAIO takes the cake on cool color styling.  Personally, I see VAIO line as the Apple of PCs. They are sexy, slim, work well, and last forever. The Sony Vaio Y series is no exception; it even has a firewire port.
Specs
Teal Blue body
Intel U5400 1.2Ghz Processor, optional i5
4 GB RAM
500 GB Hard Drive
Integrated HD graphics, optional discrete card
HD display
6 hours battery at default settings
3.9 Pounds
Outside
The VAIO logo just looks sweet.  It is flashy, and I don’t typically like flashy, but it works because the rest of the case is simple. It is held shut by what it looks like the hinges, so there is no need for a clasp.  With one less moving part, this VAIO has one less part that is likely to break.Closed, the Y class is not as seamless as the Macbooks, there is a large enough gap in between the screen and keyboard to let plenty of dust in.  This is most likely the consolation for having a clasp-less design.
The front is sleeker than most PCs these days; it only has two card slots and one wireless kill switch.  I refer to it as a kill switch because no matter what settings you have on your computer, flicking the switch will turn off any wireless signal coming from the laptop; perfect for those on the go for use on an airplane.  The right side has two of the USB ports, gigabit Ethernet, the express card slot, and the power button.  Sony likes to put the power switch on the side which looks cool, but isn’t really that functional. Keeping it from the under the screen keeps the keyboard symmetrical, yet I do not see a point in being able to turn the computer on if the screen is closed.
The left side has a majority of the ports including the power supply, VGA, HDMI, USB, audio in/out, and the mini firewire port. The fact that there is a mini fire wire port further emphasizes that this is a Mac-like computer; I’m a huge fan.  Speaking of fans, the fan is very quiet, along with the rest of the computer.  With the 5400 RPM drive, and no CD drive, there are little to no sounds that come from this machine.  Yes you heard me correctly, no CD drive.  I don’t remember the last time I used my disk drive. This saves weight, cost, and space.  If you need a disk drive, you can pay $120 for the external drive.
The Inside
Pulling up the front cover, I find myself looking at a reflection of myself.  The screen is so glossy that I could put my contacts on by just using the screen with the computer in sleep mode.  When the computer is actually on though, the glossiness is not that bad because of how bright the screen is.  I do have a prejudice against glossy screens because of my photography background; glossy screens cause problems when editing photos, but they do look nicer than matte screens when watching movies.  I watched the Entourage preview in 720p and it looked awesome.  With a display this nice, I don’t see a point in having a disk drive unless it is a blue ray drive; pretty much all content on the iTunes store is HD.
This is quite possibly my favorite keyboard of any laptop that I have ever used, which is extremely impressive considering it is a 13-inch laptop.  It is extremely similar to the new Macbook keyboards with well-spaced keys.  The keys are precise with no sticky keys, yet it is not too loud to be used in public places. The direction keys are full size, the same size as any of the letter keys, which is something I have only seen on a few computers. This was made possible by adding extra keys on the right side that are not usually included in laptops, such as the home, page up and down keys, and the delete keys. My only gripe about it is that Sony decided to not make it backlit. This can be very frustrating in location such as airplanes or outside at night.
The track pad is very well designed; I just wish it were larger.  It is extremely responsive and I never have to take a second movement of my finger that I sometimes need to do with some PCs.  Having a small track pad should be a thing of the past.  When laptops first came out, the keyboard was the most feature because word processing was the most common kind of application.  However, these days internet and multimedia use is much more common.  The track pad is used a lot more often than the keyboard, so it should take up more space than it did in the past.
On the top left hand corner, there is a button labeled VAIO. This opens up the Sony media center where you can access multimedia such photos, video and music. It works fairly smoothly, but personally I would prefer to look to operate my music on iTunes, and my video and photos on the software I edit them on.
The speakers are fine for listening to music. I do wish Sony had included a nicer speakers to be paired with the great screen they included. Personally, I always have either my headphones or desktop speakers plugged into my laptop. So the speaker issue is not that big of a deal. I do wish Sony would change the sound the speakers made when changing volume
Recommendation
Starting at $869, this computer is more expensive than the average laptop, but well worth it.  It is extremely lightweight, well made, powerful enough, and looks very cool.  If I needed a new laptop, I would have no problem buying this one. It has plenty of processing power, plenty of RAM, and a great screen for watching movies downloaded online.  The keyboard is perfect my large hands, and I will not get annoyed typing on it all day as I would with smaller keyboards. This machine would work well for pretty much anyone; yet for avid business travelers, the lack of a backlit keyboard may be problematic on airplanes. A mini USB light could easily solve that issue. . I never thought I would want a laptop any other color than silver or black, but this teal blue is actually really cool. If the cool colors are not enough to sway you, a free engraving up to 30 characters is available on Sony’s website that would be printed on the top right hand side, above the screen. The only negative about having an engraving is that there is a zero day return policy. Obviously there are cheaper laptops on the market that would work just as well for anyone just doing basic tasks, but if you’d like a nice laptop that will last because of its durability and dependable brand, the Sony Vaio Y is for you.

Posted in: Sony