Sony GRT-260G review

Hello

I don't normally post in these forums but I do read alot. Never enough time.
This as just a short review of a new sony GRT-260G I got a couple of weeks ago, in a few words its the best laptop I've owned. As an old road dog I've had both light weight machines and heavy old clunkers.(IBM's and HP's) both never lived up to expectations. This new sony I bought takes the cake. THe bottom line is that the 16in Xbrite screen on the sony is the best I've every seen. its got all the goodies too but its the screen that sets it apart. I looked at toshiba's and HPs but those screens seemed dull. Those machine have faster processors and more bang for your buck but if you have older eyes (like me) the sony's xbrite screen is the way to go. I don't blink as much with the sony.
All thise stuff about weight in my opinion is a bunch of BS, by the time I load up a laptop bag with the power supply and software and extra's its around 15lbs or so anyways. THe battery life does suck I get alittle over 1 hour depending on what I'm running at the time. Every hotel room I've been in has an AC plug so the battery is not a real biggie to me. On top of that I can play a game or two, or use it for movies.
The only other drawback to the machine is that it took me a couple of hours to get rid of all the "trial software" thats pre-loaded on the machine the other thing that bugs me about it is that sony uses 5 gigs of Hardrive space for its restore to original factory settings BS. I guess If I every have to use it then I will be stuck taking out the pre-loaded software again.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Anyone here every upgrade a newer Vaio from XP home to XP pro? What I've been thinking of doing is reformatting the 80gig drive and start fresh with xp pro getting rid of all the software that was provided. I'm also thnking of repartitioning the drive to my needs.



Token22

 

Token22, thank you for taking the time to post and voice your opinion here, we really appreciate it! Glad to hear the Sony GRT is working out for you. The XBrite technology intrigues me, I'm not actually sure what this technology is beyond the marketing term (XBrite does sound impressive I must say, and the screens are bright, but still not sure what makes it technologically unique). I plan on asking Sony that question sometime soon, they're sending NotebookReview.com a VAIO V505E to hold onto few a few weeks to review and during that time I plan on asking the Sony folks a few questions such as this.

/andrew

 

Token22, thanks for your feedback. I own a Vaio GRT270 and am thrilled with it. Big and heavy yes, but also fast, stylish, and that XBrite screen is incredible!

The only real complaint I've heard with the screen is the increased glare that comes with it. However, the tremendous brightness and clarity more than offset any disadvantages. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best screen on the market - although I will admit I haven't seen Fujitsu's new ultrabright screen yet.

There's a link on sonystyle regarding the development of the XBrite screen:

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start;sid=b7tVtde_D4RV65fnyClfvpix-GSk-PExmTA=?CategoryName=pr_p_xbrite_develop_cpu

It's more marketing fluff than anything, but it does provide a bit more information.

Regarding your disadvantages with the notebook, I agree that the lack of recovery discs is inexcusable - especially on a $2000+ machine. I promptly made the media recovery discs and then used Partition Magic to reclaim that 5gb of hd space. Also, I highly recommend an hd upgrade. I installed one of the newer Hitachi 7200rpm 60gb units and noticed a significant improvement in speed/responsiveness.

Thanks again for the comments!

Doc986
Sony Vaio GRT270/P4 2.8/Hitachi7K60/1GB Ram/GeforceFX5600

 

As I'm always late to the party I'll have to comment last. [ ]

Again, thanks for taking the time for posting your impressions. I share your enthusiasm as I own a GRT270P and agree that their screens are the best that I have *seen* (haven't seen Fujitsu's implementation yet). I also think that the lack of recovery software is. . .sucky. But aside from that small drawback and the battery life (which is EXPECTED with a machine of this caliber) I can't find much fault with it (but I have found some). I will be posting my review in a few days, I just want to make sure I use it at least a month so my views are accurate.

Thanks again for taking the time--and please post more, we don't bite. . .usually. [ ]

 

I have a pcg-grt260g aswell, and am extremely happy with it.
However, in the past, I did have a problem with the screen. The backlight started to flicker 3-4 years after buying it, and a few months after that, it gave out completely. However, i discovered, rather by accident, that if you blew into the air vent at the back of the chasis, then the backlight would obligingly turn back on again!!