Is the NS series bad?

i see no mentions at all for the NS series here.

Buddy of mine wants to get it for the 800 bucks they are selling it for on Sonystyle, is it a bad Laptop?

 

it's not bad !! but it's a simple laptop without a lot of problems !! so not too many people complain about it here !!

 

Not bad, just a low cost solution with an OK GPU. If he/she gets one, games will have to use low to med settings to get decent frame rates. The FW series is better if he/she wants to play games.

Cheers,

 

He has ZERO interest in gaming, just wants a nice looking laptop that does normal things well

 

For me the NS is Sony's no frills notebook, be decent build quality, not a ton of extra features to drag it down. It's an entry price point piece for them. Some people love the look and feel of them, though to me it's not the greatest, I have people who tell me they love the look of the NS over something like the TT or the Z. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Not bad, just a cheap Sony.

It's the only budget 15" that looks good imo. It's a bit like Macbook design.

 

Sounds like he will enjoy NS, then. Not sure the specs of the SonyStyle $800 one, but I did see a couple selling on NewEgg for $700, so worth checking for deal if he wants one.

 

In my opinion, Sony excels and should specialize in high-end, premium notebooks like the TZ/TT/Z/X505/etc.

Their lower end consumer/student notebooks I feel aren't that great compared to the competition and with the competition, you get more bang for your buck.

Such as with the Z, no other manufacturer yet offers a 13" notebook with a screen with 16:9 aspect ratio or 1600x900 resolution and few offer the great screens that the TZ/TT/Z have for instance.

But with the CS and NS series for instance, other manufacturers have identical or superior machines at the same price range, the CS and NS don't really have any special components or features that set them apart from the competition or am I incorrect?

 

I agree, except for design.

I am not aware of any design 15" laptop that sells at the same price as NS series.

 

Well, NS (& CS) got more color choices and better color coordination (this may be a little subjective), that's something going for them in the looks department.

 

Did i get a good deal?

Sony Style is selling the VGN-NS190J/S
for $899.

I have the Epp discount so its $809 before taxes.

I called up Sony support to see if they could get me more discount on this and they threw in another 50 dollar holiday discount (she needed approval but it was no biggy she said, so call if you want this 50 bucks off)

So the final was $759 before taxes.

the specs are:

 

Seems like a good deal:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=VGN-NS190J/S&oe=utf-8&cid=4525851077859173434#ps-sellers

 

Can someone please tell me why on Earth Sony offers the NS (I also think CS) with a Blu-Ray drive when its only offered with 1280x800 screens and no HDMI out?

 

since NS is affordable consumer range price, they dont want to add cost for it. *yea, greedy sony is greedy *

maybe they just want to expose their blu-ray technology to all users, not targeting only to corporate users; thus its also available in the lower cost notebook.

 

I don't think adding an HDMI out port would be too expensive on Sony's side.
A Blu-Ray discs quality is largely wasted on a 1280x800 screen.

 

Not really in my opinion. 720p (1280*720) has three times as many pixels as most DVDs (720×480). And it's also considered High definition.

And it will be very hard to distinguish 720p from 1080p on normal viewing distances. http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/ (unfortunately the table doesn't go to 15" screen size but it gives an idea)

If you do want to see the difference, you'll need to sit close.

 

Actually I was wondering if SONY should just keep VAIO as a Premium brand, and threw those CS, NS to a different new low end brand. Just like Lexus to Toyota.
In this way SONY VAIO will maintain its integrality and standard for its quality lines like TT & Z. Meantime put the new low end brand on the market for profit, afterall most people keep their eyes on the prize tag and go after those "Cool glossy" lappies anyway.

 

Thx for that informative link

 

GF picked up an NS from Bestbuy for 700

 

Blu-ray format is originally crafted by Sony, so it is in their best interest to market laptops with Blu-ray drives to as many people as possible.

You don't need to have full 1080p in order to appreciate Blu-ray. When I watch a Blu-ray movie with my 13.3" 1280x800 notebook and compare that with the DVD version, I can clearly see the difference. It is far sharper and it has far better color reproduction, even at lower resolution than 1080p.

 

I agree that Blu-Ray is still nice to have with 720p resolution... but no HDMI port is pretty lame.

A base-model FW series is close in price to the NS (at least at sonystyle.com)... and not that much bigger/heavier either. Just something to consider. Of course if you don't need the FW's dedicated graphics, wider screen, or HDMI... then some might prefer the slightly more compact form factor of the NS... I don't know.

 

Such as? What otehr brand laptops have entry lines that offer more bang for your buck and look just as good and built bettter?

 

I just recently bought a NS190J, Got a good deal and haven't had any problems with it. My question is, would it be possible to upgrade my graphics card so I could play some of the higher end games. I had not initially planned to use my laptop for gaming but i might want to give it a try now if it is possible.