Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
I received my FE570G yesterday and have spent a lot of time just installing. Takes a day or more just to get a laptop setup for my use. Thus far, no problems. Here are some "first" impressions of various aspects of the laptop.
Specs summary...
15.4" WSXGA integrated graphics
1.66 Dual Core
160 gig hard drive
1 gig memory
Dual layer DVD drive
Windows XP Media Center Edition
Reasons for purchase...
I have a Thinkpad T43p and really like everything about it but the LCD. It's dim and can only optimally be used in indoor conditions. I was looking for a laptop that had decent specs and could be used in "brighter" conditions, such as in a car in sunlight, outside, etc. Sounds weird, but I use my laptop as my entertainment system in my car for my grandkids when we go to soccer tournaments. It's also used by some of the players to watch movies in the hotel. The T43p was not well suited for this purpose due to it's 14" LCD, only 150 nits brightness, and restricted viewing angles. I selected the Sony primarily because of the LCD and generally appealing appearance.
I also wanted a laptop with Windows MCE because I have a TV tuner that I will be using with it to record the World Cup games in June.
Packaging and assembling...
Well packaged and easy to get everything setup and up and running. Of course, the only thing in the box was the laptop, battery, Windows license agreement, power cord, and the memory card adapter for the express card slot. Suspiciously missing was the Windows CD - but you have to create your own recovery CD using the option provided.
LCD...
What a gorgeous display. I'm sure this isn't the only Sony with this type of LCD, but all I can say is that as far as brightness, clarity, and overall uniform display of text and graphics... it's excellent. This is the number one reason I purchased this laptop and I am not disappointed. Actually turned the brightness down a peg because it is too bright indoors.
Keyboard...
No, it's not as comfortable to type on as the Thinkpads, but I kind of find that I have fewer mistypes using it than using the Thinkpad. I'm a touch-typist, so the keyboard is very important to me and I think after a period of brake-in, this will be a very nice keyboard to use. The layout is a little different than the Thinkpads, but that hasn't caused me any great problems.
Trackpad and buttons...
Once again, I have to give the nod to the Thinkpads, especially because of the scroll button on the Thinkpad. Of course on the Sony you can press both buttons at the same time to turn on scrolling, but this is combersome to use. The scroll area on the touchpad is not very smooth - I find myself using scrollbars on the webpage or in the application most of the time because the scrolling on the touchpad is so unreliable.
AC adapter...
Kudos for Sony NOT to include a 3 prong adapter. Makes it a lot easier to use in some older houses that don't have a ground built in to their outlets. I visit my Aunt who is wheelchair bound and her house is one of those that doesn't have grounded outlets. I do some computer work at her house and it's nice to NOT have to bring your own 3 prong adapter along in those cases. The Sony adapter has good length on the cord and doesn't get overly warm. A little on the large size, but not too bad. I have to give the NOD to the Thinkpad because you can actually purchase a 45w adapter which is smaller than the normal 65w adapter if you have your laptop plugged in most of the time. Just makes for less weight and a real convenience for the consumer.
Outer shell...
I didn't think I would like the white keyboard, but it's very appealing with the contrasting dark colors of the rest of the unit. The outer shell is just a beauty. Definite nod to Sony. You won't turn any heads with the Thinkpad, that's for sure. Incidentally, the LCD casing is excellent on the Sony. No distortion on the LCD if you press on the outside. Not so with the Thinkpad. Second nod to Sony.
Heat...
I was worried about this one because the Thinkpad runs very cool and this is a big pet peeve of mine. I'm happy to report that the Sony's keyboard and underside stays pretty cool. I'd call it mildly warm and should not be a concern to anyone who doesn't like a hot running laptop. It was copying 20-30 gig of data last night from my Buffalo lanstation last night and when it was done, it was no warmer than when it started. Nod to both Sony and Thinkpad.
Wireless...
Sony includes some wireless setup software that is installed, but I just let Windows take care of acquiring my wireless connection. Sony has an on-off switch for the wireless and the Thinkpad does not. This is important to me because at work if I leave my wireless on with the Thinkpad, it will use it to transfer to an FTP site that we use. It's about 3 times slower using the wireless as opposed to the wired connection. If I disable the wireless on the Thinkpad, then it will use the wired connection, but on the Thinkpad, you have to right-click on MyNetwork Places, and right-click on the wireless connection and select "disable" or right-click on the icon in the tasktray and select disable from it. It's a lot easier to just flip a switch.
Incidentally, the wireless on the Sony seems to be a bit more sensitive and picks up a stronger signal. Nothing scientific, just judging based on observations.
Speed...
Can't really judge that yet, but I was concerned about the 160 gig hard drive perhaps being a bottleneck because it only runs at 4200 rpm's, but this does not appear to be the case at all. Keep in mind that the Thinkpad has a 100 gig 7200 rpm drive and I thought I would notice the difference in boot up, copying, etcs., but I didn't notice any difference at all. Interesting... I can't really comment on true performance yet, because I haven't had a chance to do any real processing on the Sony yet.
Summary...
I am fairly impressed with the Sony. I thought there would surely be some issues with keyboard, heat, speed, that would make me want to use if for just specific tasks, but I could actually see myself using this for some real work. Perhaps even in place of the Thinkpad - which I find reliably boring...
I will be using the Sony for some software development during the next week and I'll post a follow up report.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention one thing that I have noticed. One of the issues that I have had with the Thinkpad is how slow it can be to pickup other computers in a workgroup on a network. Especially if you go from office to office or if you have a network at home. The Sony does not appear to have any problems changing networks and picking up other computers that are on the same network and it does it much, much faster. I've had some Thinkpads that would never work properly and IBM (at that time) was clueless to figure it out. This is very significant and important to me, because I go to client's offices regularly and I'm connecting to their network as well as connecting to my own home network every night. Big NOD to Sony!
If there is anything you'd like me to report on, let me know and I'll do my best.
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Thanks! Could you tell me the name of the tuner as well? Could come in handy when searching for it
First impressions - Sony FE570G
Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by jjfcpa, Mar 25, 2006.
