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Business Stationary Mart - Sony VAIO VGN-FW180E/H 16.4" Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Blu-Ray Drive, Vista Premium) Grey
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List Price: $1,749.99
Our Price: $1,349.99
Your Save: $ 400.00 ( 23% )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Sony
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Batteries Included: 1
Binding: Personal Computers
Brand: Sony
Color: GREY
CPU Manufacturer: Intel
CPU Speed: 2.4
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Display Size: 16.4
EAN: 0027242742871
Feature: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor (2.4GHz), 3MB L2 cache
Floppy Disk Drive Description: None
Graphics Memory Size: 256
Hard Disk Size: 320
Label: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony
Model: VGN-FW180E/H
Modem Description: Fax / modem
Processor Count: 2
Publisher: Sony
Studio: Sony
System Bus Speed: 1066
System Memory Size: 4000
System Memory Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Warranty: 1 year warranty
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Features
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Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor (2.4GHz), 3MB L2 cache
Genuine Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
16.4" widescreen LCD with XBRITE-ECO technology
4GB of pre-installed RAM & a roomy 320GB Serial ATA hard drive
Blu-ray optical drive
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The King Of Bloatware!
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great value...but a few regrets
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great laptop but HDMI is fauty
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Absolutely nice
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good for the money (VGN-FW145E)
Comment: 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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Editorial Reviews:
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Broaden your entertainment horizons with the VAIO(R) FW notebook featuring an extra-wide 16.4" XBRITE-ECO LCD display. Great for watching widescreen Blu-ray Disc movies or viewing two web sites side-by-side, the entertainment rich notebook minimizes those annoying black bars you see when playing widescreen movies. With integrated Blu-ray Disc technology and optical drive, you can archive or record 25-50GB of home movies, music and digital photos to a single Blu-ray Disc media. Tackle virtually any graphics requirement with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 graphics card with 256MB of dedicated video RAM. An HD entertainment powerhouse, the VAIO(R) FW notebook is inspired by theater screens, born from Sony HD expertise, and powered by the energy-efficient and super-powerful Centrino 2 Processor Technology - the latest and greatest from Intel. 16.4 (1600 x 900) XBRITE-ECO Display Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 with 256 dedicated Video Memory with up to 1530MB Shared Blu-Ray Read/Write DVD+-R/RW Drive with Double Layer Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN 802.11a/b/g/n Integrated Stereo Bluetooth A2DP 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Built-in Memory Stick(R) Duo with MagicGate(TM) Card Reader Built-in Secure Digital (SD) media slot ExpressCard 34 Slot 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone; Microphone, VGA, HDMI, IEEE 1394, RJ-11 (Modem), RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions - 15.1 (W) x 10.3 (D) x 1.46(H) Approximate Unit Weight - 6.7 Pounds
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