Official Sony NW Series Owners Thread

That is correct. You can watch Blu-Ray movies on the screen, but only at 720p resolution. This laptop does not have a full HD (1080p) screen, so you can't watch the movie at its highest resolution. To do that, you must output the movie to an HD TV.

For reference, the laptop's resolution is 1366x768.

 

I can't tell a difference on a 15.5" screen. If it was 20+, I might be able to.

You will be very happy with a Blu-ray movie on this screen.

 

Just noticed that all the NW's are out of stock on the sony style website. Anyone else think they may be doing a refresh or new 15incher altogether?

 

I saw in the web page of best buy the NW350, I think they will make a update very soon

 

I saw that as well, it seems to have the same specs as the 270 model though.

 

Hi everyone i buy my Sony NW21MF since 2 months ago i noticed while cleaning the screen that the protection glass is moving up and down if u apply a little force with the finger just wanted to know if it is normal in this model or i do have a faulty one thanks.

 

I don't have that problem. I think you might have a faulty unit.

 

Hey guys, so i've had my nw240 for a few months now, and its wicked. One proiblem though, I spilled beer on it and need to remove the keyboard. This one doesnt seem as easy to remove as other laptops i've come across. I already have the replacement keyboard, I just need some solid steps to follow to remove the original keyboard. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

Hello freinds, i am from saudi arabia........can anybody tell me why sony NW 120 J is cheaper in price than other sony models? Does it has any problems? here the price is 820 USD!

 

Hi,

I am interested to buy the NW laptop:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...categoryId=8198552921644647989#specifications

but I was wondering if this is the latest version because I see posts about NW 120 etc... I don't know which version of the NW I have referenced above is.

And is there any news if there is coming a new NW serie? or does it still take a long time for the next one? So should I wait a couple of months or not?

please let me know something! Thank you

Phil

 

I have the same question. Sony doesn't have anything configurable on their site, so I am wondering if a refresh is coming soon. Sony, let us know something soon!

 

As an FYI, Sony came out with their NS series in Sept 2008 and the NW series was then released just 9 months later in June 2009. I would therefore assume the new line will be released within the next 60 days. My only concern in waiting however is that Sony and some of the other mfrs have had either noise problems or heating problems with some of their new chips. My guess is that this new line will go to the Intel I5 series..

(Boca Raton, Fl)

 

my gf wants the NW white one, but its sold out everywhere here where i live. (Sydney Australia), so i am hoping the newer version of this model NZ or NT or NG or wateva its going to be called will look almost the same as the NW model.. coz NW looks very very sleek

 

Thank you richardm07 for the info!

 

Yesterday I actually pulled the trigger
and purchased the NW380 in Mocha Brown
at the Sony Style store in Boca. I paid
$850 for it plus tax. The on-line store
and the retail stores will take about 5%
off unless you find one locally simararily
equiped. Mine has the blueray and also
the better graphics chip. I decided the
reviews on the this specific model may
actually be better then waiting for an
upgraded I5 or I7 and then theyay have
short term QA problems.
Ps The silver model is backordered on-line
and is only available at a few Sony Style
stores or at other retail stores without
the Blueray.. Good luck....!!

 

I just got the white one the 275 model from Overstock for $800 shipped. Comes with the Blu-Ray player and the ati 4570.

 

Wow so I've been tracking NWs for a couple weeks and it's obvious they're selling out. I was eying one for $599, but now it's gone. I sure hope we hear this week what the replacement is, and I hope they don't change the appearance too much.

 

Hi everyone,

I have a couple quick questions about how the Windows 7 upgrade from Sony is installed and what installation options (if any) are available.

When I purchased my NW180 several months ago, it came with Vista x64 and a voucher for a free upgrade to Windows 7. I filled out the form and Sony sent me a Win7 upgrade DVD and a driver DVD.

Can someone please explain what the upgrade process is like?

I tried putting in the upgrade DVD and I had a Sony progress bar and window that said "preparing installation" or something like that. I stopped it at that point.

Does it just go through and convert the existing Vista OS to Windows 7 automatically? Or do I get some advanced options?

Specifically, I would like the option to install Windows 7 clean from scratch, instead of performing an upgrade. Likewise I also would like the option of installing Win7 to a different partition. These options of course are available with the retail versions of Win7 but I am looking for these options on their upgrade DVD.

I also tried rebooting with the DVD in the drive but it did not give me the "Press any keep to boot from CD" option like the retail Win7 would do.

If someone can please let me know if any of this is possible, and if so, how, what would be great.

Thanks!

 

You have to first upgrade the operating system before you insert Sony's upgrade disc. So first insert the Windows 7 disc and install Windows 7. Here is where you choose to upgrade or do a clean install, and it does have the option of installing Windows 7 to a different partition (although I don't see why you would want to). I will tell you that upgrading takes several hours and clean install takes under an hour. After you have Windows 7 up and running, then you insert the Sony upgrade disc and it will install all the necessary drivers for your computer.

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for the response! I have one point I would like to clarify please.

When I inserted the Windows 7 upgrade DVD from Sony (not the drivers DVD, but rather the Win7 DVD) it started loading a bunch of stuff with a Sony looking dialog box that said something like "preparing your installation". And it sat there for a few minutes working.

I wasn't sure if it was going to start automatically upgrading the OS right then and there, without me having a chance to select options and interact with the upgrade before actually choosing such options.

So, not knowing what it was doing, I canceled out of it by just turning the laptop off (not good I know, but didn't want to risk it proceeding with the upgrade before I was ready).

Anyway, the point I wanted to clarify please - are you saying that if I let that "preparing" stage (or whatever the message dialog box was - can't recall) do its work that eventually it would come up with welcome screens and the like that would enable me to make various selections like Upgrade vs Clean install, and optional partition, and so forth?

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

 

I just picked up a NW 380 series laptop on Monday of this week. After configuring it I had it working fine and I then put it in "sleep mode" on Wed evening at 11PM after a full charge. I didn't have a need to restart it until today (Friday) at noon time. When I tried to start it this new PC was "completely" dead.

The tech rep at the Sony Style store indicated that I should not have put it in "Sleep Mode" unless I planned on restarting it within a few hours. He said this was very common for most Vaio's and in order for me to alleviate this problem I needed to either "shut it down" each time completely, or at least put it in "Hibernation" mode which would eliminate the problem.

If this is the case why do they even allow you to choose sleep mode and not hibernation mode in the Power Saver panel. There should be a comment in the Power panel that Sleep Mode is only to be used for very short periods of time.

My frustration is I also have a Dell Studio XPS and an HP DV 4100 and I can put them both in "Sleep Mode" and not come back for 5-7 days and there is still at least 50-70% battery function.
Has anyone else experienced such a severe drain in just 36 hours of using the "Sleep Mode" feature..?

Richardm07 from Boca Raton, FL

 

Let the DVD do its thing, and don't worry, it's not just going to start upgrading without asking you what you want it to do. You'll get your chance to choose how to install and where to install.

I haven't experienced that much of a drain on battery but to be honest with you, if you're going not going to use it for more than a couple hours, it's best to turn it off. Computers, especially laptops, aren't designed to constantly run like that (unlike a server). I always turn my computer off unless i'm going to use it within the next few hours.

 

Appreciate the suggestion, I guess I just thought that either using "sleep mode" or "hibernate" would be more beneficial instead of bringing bringing the syst up and down daily. I had erroneously thought that "sleep mode" used only a negligible amount of electricity while "sleeping" however it looks like there are numerous programs working even while in sleep mode. Thanks again..

 

Don't hibernate too much either. Doing that too often can be even worse for your computer - look it up on Google if you want more information. Use it in moderation and you'll be fine.

Btw: sleep mode is only supposed to use a bit of power. Standby is what you're referring to as "sleeping", which means that it just turns the screen off and reduces energy consumption by a bit, but it still allows all the programs to continue running.

 

Unfortunately I have had this perception that bringing the system down and up again evey day will add too much stress to the syst and therfore might shorten it's life somehow. That's the reason that I ususlly do leave the A/C plugged in and have only brought the syst part way down, either in sleep or hibernation mode to make it easier to re-boot. This is a syst that will unlikely do much of any travel at all and other than my using it out on my Lanai it will always sit in my home office plugged in. Thanks for your feedback and suggestiions etc..

Richard from Boca Raton, FL

 

Keep in mind also that leaving your system plugged in all the time with the battery installed will shorten the life of the battery. I did research back when I got an iPod, and the worst way to store a LiIon battery as far as service life is concerned is to keep it warm and charged up constantly. I've also learned this from experience with my Dad's laptop and the one I use at work.

The best thing to do is charge it up, then let it discharge, then charge it up again, etc. If you need to store one for a long time (months+), discharge it to about 1/2 to 2/3 charge and keep it in a cool place.

Deane
Mpls, MN

 

Yes, I forgot to mention that. I always unplug my computer at night and sometimes I'll let it just run right down when I'm using it.

 

I just got an NW380 and am still trying out the various features. The web button and Splashtop browser seem to work fine once I set up the wireless configuration.

The Splashtop browser seems to be Mozilla-based. Does anyone know of a way to import a bookmarks file from Firefox? Can it be done with a USB flash drive? While poking around Splashtop, it looked like it may be able to access USB devices.

 

I don't think so. The Splashtop browser is very basic and doesn't allow you to store or access any files at all. I'm not even sure if the browser will store the bookmarks after you exit at all. Hopefully we'll get a Splashtop update that will give us more features. I don't really use it much at all though.

 

I looked a little further tonight. It does let you save and organize bookmarks, and there is a save and restore from file function. It brings up a file open dialog that states "No external device found. Please insert USB or other external device and try again to open file." So, I tried a USB flash drive. It sees that fine. I also tried an SD card, but it didn't detect that.

My Splashtop About box shows version 0.2.268.36644 (3.0.10).

 

I purchased an NW 180J/S in July 2009. It has worked flawlessly and I really like the notebook very much.

Recently, however, I have been experiencing some significant issues with the touchpad. As I slide my finger, the mouse pointer does not follow it properly and acts erratically. Sometimes it acts like I am at the edge of the screen although I am not. Other times it jumps to a new location. Also when I tap it for the "click" operation, I have to tap it a harder then usual.

I have tried this under both OSes I run on the notebook, as well as in the recovery partition bootup section as a test, and the behavior is the same so I do not think it is software or driver related (I also tried removing and reinstalling the pointer driver but that did not make a difference).

What is particularly odd is that there are times when the touchpad works perfectly fine. Then other times when it is erratic as described. I am thinking it may be heat related - like it may occur after the laptop has been on for an extended period, although I must say the fan still runs quiet and the unit seems cool as normal in any case.

I called Sony who walked me through several steps and concluded it is likely a hardware issue. We set up a support case to have the unit serviced and I assume they are going to replace the touchpad.

Has anyone else experienced or heard of this type of issue? Any thoughts about this? Do you concur that it is likely a hardware issue? If it is heat related I wonder if another touchpad would actually help or perhaps it'll do the same thing?

Thanks!

 

Has anyone seen the NW on clearance anywhere? I'm surprised to see them still at full-price most places with the release of the EB series, especially when you consider that they cost MORE than the better-equipped EB right now, haha.

 

Personally, I don't see the EB series as much competition. It really seems to be aimed at a different market (14 yo girls?) than the NW's. Once I saw those neon colors, I popped for the NW380.

 

I've had some issues with the touchpad as well but they're very minor and I don't think it deserves a servicing. Plus, as a college student it's hard to go without my laptop for a week. If it gets really bad I might consider it.

 

I hope you're joking. Because those 14 yo girls are getting a helluva better deal with the i3, DDR3, and bluetooth at the same price as the NWs. I prefer the looks of the NW too, but you can't deny that the EB is replacing the NW unless Sony intends to make the NW an "economy" line and knock $200 off the price.

You do realize that they offer matte black, matte brown, and matte white in the EB right?

 

I can't deny the specs are probably better, although I had trouble finding any performance comparison between the Core 2 Duo processors and the i3 and i5. I don't expect to stress the technical specs anyway, and I really prefer the looks and the keyboard layout of the NW. Also, you mention matte finishes in the EB, but every picture on Sony Style shows the shiny wrist rests.

 

Agreed on everything, and I may still get an NW if they ever go on clearance. I'm certain the performance will be noticeably better, but like you, I don't intend to stress my computer. Either are leaps and bounds about my current Celeron M laptop.

Regarding the matte finishes, they were mentioned in a few articles that came out around the announcement of the E series. They're already previewed here on the JR website: http://www.jr.com/category/computers/notebooks-and-tablets/pc-notebooks/n/4294562521-204-4294211408/

The pics aren't great, and the wrist wrests are shiny in one angle (but not others). I'm anxious to see one in the store.

 

Thanks for the JR link. I notice they list the i3 processor as "Intel rating 3 stars", which I believe is the same star rating as the Core 2 Duo, though the new CPUs have other features, and who knows if the "star" ratings are really based on something constant, or if they shift with the marketing needs of Intel.

The LED backlighting and eSATA port sound nice. I notice they seem to have dropped the IEEE1394 port.

Otherwise, it looks like this one (VPC-EB16FX/P) http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_VPCEB16FXP/ is roughly the equivalent of the NW380 (ATI graphics, Blu-ray) for $919, and another $50 will get you Bluetooth (VPC-EB17FX/P).

I'll defer to the EB Owners thread from now on: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=456538

 

Anyone find a good source for the extended battery (VGP-BPL21 in my case) that costs less than the $249 that Sony wants for it?

 

I've recently purchased the NW350F and I am having the same touchpad issues as previously stated. I have had this notebook for a week. Sometimes it works flawlessly, other times the cursor gets a life of it's own and is unusable for a few minutes. Very strange. Otherwise I love this computer. Just started having these touchpad issues today.

 

Thanks. Can you describe in some detail what type of issues you've had with the touchpad? I'd like to compare it to see if its the same thing I'm experiencing.

In some cases if enough users are having the same issue Sony may investigate and issue special warranty service and/or extensions if they discover an issue that affects many units. Therefore the more information we can collect on this (and the more users that chime in about it) the better.

Thanks!

 

A few weeks ago I posted some questions here about the upgrade process from Vista x64 that came with the notebook to Windows 7 x64. Someone posted that it is possible to run this upgrade and install to another partition. This turned out to be the case, however I wanted to give you guys a heads up that doing so caused problems with the Vista partition...

Essentially you can boot into Vista and run the upgrade and point it at the other partition. But when the upgrade loads it makes some changes to the Vista partition including uninstalling some programs. As a result, I lost the wireless connectivity on the Vista partition and could not get it back (wireless LED light by switch would not come on regardless of switch position) even after reinstalling the Vista wireless driver.

The point of me installing into another partition was so that I could test out Windows 7 on this notebook to make sure it would run my programs well, and it did. So afterward I upgraded my main partition to Windows 7 and all is fine. However if I would have needed to go back to Vista it would have been a messy situation. So this is just a heads up about this potential issue for some. I would have much preferred if they could just send a bootable DVD with Windows 7, like how the retail version works...

 

Well after using this laptop for several months now, it's still working flawlessly and I have some updates. Starting with the bad

The recycled plastic scratches very easily and makes me wish for an aluminium build. In the bottom left corner near the touchpad I have some paint missing (scratches) because I wear a watch on that hand.
I treat it more carefully now so I don't get any bad scratches. The ones I have aren't too noticeable.
Dirt finds its way on to the laptop surface because it isn't flat. Though, because of the grooves, it's easy to slide the dirt out to the edge and off the laptop.

On the positive side, I haven't found a game this beast doesn't play. Crysis? No problem. Anno 1404? No problem. Heroes of Newarth? No problem!
Battery life is incredible for such a machine - probably because I shelled out for the P9700 instead of a T-series. I get 3 hours when I'm using wifi + heaps of applications non-stop. If I idle it, it maxes at 4 hours.
To me this is pretty amazing because it's just a standard 6-cell battery. The ULV Core2Duos (1.4GHz) only get 5 hours doing what I get with 3 hours. But, I have double the speed!

So far I haven't used my blu-ray burner much. I don't have any other blu-ray devices so there isn't much need. Though, I just bought a large monitor and plan to be getting some HD movies to play soon. I have a few 50GB rewritables discs and put Harry Potter and Dark Knight on there. Found on ebay that you can get 25GB discs for under $1 delivered now. Works out to about $35 per terabyte.

Found out some stuff about our videocard. The 4570 runs at 680MHz clock which is very fast for mobility cards. In fact, it's faster than (and outperforms) the 4550 desktop card. At stock, on load it runs about 65 degrees celcius. It overclocks to 730MHz without hassle. Not that you need to overclock it - what game doesn't it play?

Oh! And I installed the new 10.1 Catalyst drivers with Flash 10.1 Beta 3. It took 1080p Youtube clips from 32% CPU to 16% CPU!

 

I've been having issues with the touch pad on mine. It will stop responding accurately (moving finger makes pointer respond erratically). Other times it works perfectly, very odd. Seems like it is related to very dry days (low humidity).

Its just not bad enough for me to deal with sending it back. I mostly plug a mouse into it and go on about my business.

 

I formatted my hard drive on my sony nw. Now I lost the function for the WEB button. What program or driver do I need to make the web button work again?

Thanks

 

Try to install this:
ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/VAIO/UPDATES/EP0000207216.EXE

It worked on my NW310F

 

I just bought the VGN-NW from Best buy today for $650. 4GB ram, Duo core 2 with Win 7 64bit.

PROS: Interesting keyboard, much different feel than my older ones - probably will take me a while to get used to though.
Very nice and bright screen.
Attractive design

CONS: USB ports are all the sides, instead of the back (which I prefer as it's hidden away)
DVD drive pops out on the right hand side (bad for right handers like me who use external mouse)
Sound quality was surprisingly poor compared to my old Dell Inspiron 6400.
LOTS of bloatware!

Does anyone know how to do a clean install of windows, since they don't provide the disks? I've looked at the other thread, but the launcher.exe files required can't be found on my drive....

 

UPDATE: Figured out how to do clean install. Just need to Ctrl+shft+Esc and close a program called vaiorecr when it is installing the custom programs.

some other CONS about the NW 320f:
CRAPPY battery life (no where near the advertised 4hrs)
Screen is vibrant and great for movies, but is way to bright and straining to the eyes for normal use
Aspect ratio is again, not practical for normal use (what's with all these new laptops these days with the flattened screens?!)

All in all - I prefer my four year old dell inspiron for every day usage =(

 

Hi all, I recently purchased a NW350F and have found that the base of the laptop tends to creak quite a bit. I know that the computer will flex when being carried or on my lap (especially considering that it only has a plastic frame), but I was curious if any of yours do this as well. If it is abnormal, I'd like to address it.

Also, when I connect via HDMI to my 1080P 46" Sony LCD, I cannot get the tv screen to fill. I only connect to the tv for slide shows and for blu rays. I'm not concerned with the slide shows, but obviously in blu ray, I do want 1080P that fills the screen. I must be missing an option somewhere. BTW, the Vaio control center will not let me select 1080P.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

Two things about filling your 46" LCD (assuming you have set up a dual monitor arrangement):
1 - From the same dialog where you set up the dual monitors, you can specify the resolution of the second monitor (the 46"). Just make sure it's set to 1920x1080.
2 - When it is set to 1920x1080, the supplied wallpapers will not fill the screen. So it looks funny, but the black area is still usable.

I use my 46" Samsung as a second monitor with my NW380 a lot, mostly for viewing TV shows online (via Hulu, etc.)