TX questions for TX owners...

Hi guys.

I have a couple of questions for the TX owners...

1. I've read that the TX screen gets "imprinted" with the keyboard. Is this true?

2. Does the TX touchpad allow you to scroll by running your finger along the right side of it? My current laptop allows this, and I use it constantly.


I also have a question for the Sprint EVDO users:

Is there any way to get the unlimited service for less than $59 per month? I ask this because I currently get a discount with Cingular that would get me unlimited 3G service for around $48 per month. If I can get the Sprint service for less than $59 I'd feel better about getting a TX. Otherwise, a Dell with built-in Cingular 3G is more attractive since (A) I really want built-in broadband (not an external card), and (B) it would save me around $130 per year in service charges.

Thanks...

 

1) It can, just as any of the VAIO's can. One of the first things I checked on my TX850 was whether or not I could see daylight all the way through when the lid was closed. I could. As added protection, I keep the thin piece of foam paper that came with it between the screen and keyboard when closed.

A BIG reason for this problem occuring is that people put their VAIO's in a backpack or briefcase along with books and such which press against the lid and force the screen to rub on the keyboard. The lid/screen is so thin that even minimal pressure can do this.

2) Yes, the touchpad allows you to scroll along the right side.

 

Bummer. I'd rather not have to always put something in between. Minor inconvenience, but inconvenience none-the-less.

Yeah!

Thanks!

 

My TX850 does not imprint on the screen but I also have a couple of covers from an old binder on each side of it to prevent this when in a soft bag.

 

You can get Sprint unlimited EVDO service through: sprint.com/sero

They're special plans for friends and family of Sprint employees. The data plan is $49 a month + taxes. You'll need a Sprint employee's email address to access the plans though.

 

Buy a ShaggyMac microfiber cloth (the 11-inch one is just the right size for the TX). Also do get a keyboard protector. Both of these will help with the keyboard touching the screen problem.

 

With my TX790P, I don't have that keyboard imprinting problem at all and you can scroll by running your finger down the right side of the touchpad.

 

This would be perfect -- thanks!

Looks like I'm about to become a Sprint customer.

Oh. Any Sprint employees in here want to make a friend?

 

So, the bottom line (I guess) is that you do need something to protect the screen... otherwise it will get marked up. Right?

 

Ok, try this email address:

[email protected]


Use your zip code. The thing with this is that you HAVE to get a data card with the plan, but that's no problem. Just choose the data card that's free with activation. The card is the Pantech PX-500.

So sign up with the data plan. Choose the Pantech PX-500 and you get the plan with a free PCMCIA data card. After you get the card, call up Sprint and have them change the ESN number on your account (it will be the ESN number of the Pantech PX-500) with the ESN number of the EVDO card in you TXN.

 

Yes, that's a way to keep your screen safe (especially if you're going to be carrying your TX in a backpack or something where other items will be up against the TX).

If you want to get a ShaggyMac the coupon for 10% off is: TAKETEN

 

Very cool. Thanks!!

Question: is this price a limited time thing, like it's good for "x" amount of time, then the price goes back to $59?

 

No, that's the price of the plan. You keep that price until you cancel your service or you change to a different plan.

 

You are the man.

Or is it the bOi?

 

With my Vaio TX, I have not protected the screen when I keep it in my backpack and its been just fine, but maybe I am just lucky? I'd probably just get some protection if I was you.

 

Yeah, I hear ya, but I just wanted to know what would happen if the lid closed and there wasn't any protection.

I can certainly see it happening, and I'd hate to mark up such a pretty screen.

 

Hey guys, one more question (sorry):

I've read a few reviews that suggest the TX screen is pretty easy to crack. Here's one where a guy broke the screen just by moving the laptop while open (which I do all the time!).

So... how fragile is the screen really?

I have a 4 year old son that might occasionally use whatever ultraportable I buy to watch DVDs while we're on a trip or a long car-ride, etc. He's never done any damage to my Dell 15.4" laptop... how easy do ya think it would it be for him to accidentally crack the screen on a TX?

 

That guy must have had a defective screen to begin with. At my local Fry's and Sony Store, the reps even went as far as grabbing the screen (one hand on each side) and bending and flexing the screen. The screen held up to it everytime.

If I were you, I'd spend the $25 for a ShaggyMac and a keyboard protector. It's much better than spending hundreds later on just because you didn't take any preventative measures.

 

Interesting. I have seen this complaint before, though, so there must be some merit to it.

For sure. Either that or an extra absorbant (aka: thick) sheet of Bounty paper towel.

 

Sounds like maybe there was a defective batch.

 

Not necessarily. I don't think it's a given. But it is a possibility. Like I mentioned, I can see daylight all the way through with the lid closed on my TX850 so I know the keyboard is not touching the screen. Nevertheless, I keep the foam paper there anyway.

 

My TX850's keys touch (X, C, Alt, Space area), and it sort of sucks that I have to wipe it every now and then, but really, it's not _that_ big of a deal. Most notebooks have a similar issue, especially ultra-portables and thin and lights, where they shrink down everything. You don't really notice it once the LCD is on.

 

Well, instead of risking damage to your screen from the keyboard keys pressing against them and possibly oils from your fingers transferring from the keyboard to your screen, why not just get a silicone keyboard cover and a ShaggyMac or some other microfiber cloth the same size as the screen?

I don't work for these companies. It just makes sense to spend a couple of extra dollars to protect your thousand dollar notebook.

 

In regards to the LCD being fragile. Well, I'd say it's fragile as any other LCD. I don't see how that guy from the link managed to break his LCD, but it sounds like he ended up holding the whole notebook from the LCD (hence having to grip the LCD harder). Definitely not the right way to hold it even though it only weighs 2.75lbs. I like to hold it thumb over the right speaker area and fingers underneath.

The LCD itself is pretty cool. First it's really thin. Second, it's not actually screwed down or anything like LCD's usually are. The plastic bezel is all just snapped in place and the LCD panel just sits "loose" in there. When you first get the notebook, you think it's reaaallly fragile due to it's thickness, but I don't think it'd be that much more fragile than a regular LCD.

 

A silicone keyboard cover won't help with the oil problem, since the cover will end up doing the transferring anyways (not to mention decrease the gap between the keyboard and lcd). I personally don't think the keyboard touching the LCD will lead to any damage to the LCD other than possibly a cosmetic one, and even at that, it's only one visible when the LCD is off.

 

my keyboard does leave key-shaped marks on my screen, but they seem to be only oil marks from the natural grease on my fingers. The marks wipe off the screen with a screen-wipe and there is no permenant marking on the screen.

 

Ohhh, you mean it can just be wiped off? I thought it was leaving permanent marks in the screen... like scratches or indentations.

If that's the case, I'm not worried. I would still use a cloth when I could, but I was concerned about the times the screen might close without a cloth. I didn't want to leave permanent scratches in the screen!

 

Perfect. Looks like I was worrying for no reason!

 

Cool. Thanks. This little lappy is looking better and better.

 

Now I've just got 2 objections to overcome:

1. The 4200 rpm hard drive. I've seen the TX boot and re-boot, and holy cow it was slow. Personally I'd be getting a reconditioned TXN15P with XP, so it should be a bit faster than Vista... but I'm still concerned about the slowness.

2. The teeny-weeny screen. This is a good/bad thing. Good because it allows the laptop to be so small and light... but bad because I'm concerned it may literally give me headaches trying to read tiny text. I'm not as young as I used to be!

Anyway, thanks for the help guys!

 

Both of these issues are so subjective that I don't think people's opinions will help you much. The harddrive may be slower than some, but I personally don't really notice it. Boot time isn't critical to me so I don't sit there and tap my foot, watching the second hand sweep on my watch as the computer boots.

The teeny-weeny screen is one of the main reasons I went for the TX in the first place. I *wanted* something really, really small. Watching DVD's is great and word processing/reading is fine with the magnification set so that the font size is comfortable. I'm not young either (nearing 50) and for me, the screen size has not been a problem. Small size, light weight, and superior battery life were the important things to me and the TX has them all.

I don't do any internet work on my TX so I can't comment on how small everything on the net looks. Maybe someone else will offer their feelings on that one.

Note that on your other issue of keyboard touching screen... I have heard of people winding up with * permanent* rub marks on their screens from heavy objects pressing on the lid. And not only on the TX but on the SZ as well. All of the thin-screen notebooks are susceptible. Just be smart and be careful and you should be fine.

 

Bingo. Same here.

Almost all of my work is Internet related, so this one is important to me. Anyone? (yeah, I know it's subjective, but comments from others do help).

Gotcha. I don't see that being a problem.

Thanks very much!

 

Oh, one more question for the Internet users out there:

Do you keep your TX's DPI Setting on 96 dpi (regular) or 120 dpi (Large)?

120 would make all the fonts larger (a good thing) but it tends to mess up layouts on web pages (a bad thing).

Thanks.

 

I use 120 DPI.

***m is your friend when viewing Web pages with hostile font sizes.

Edit, apparently the Z word for making Web pages larger is a bad word here?

 

Bummer. I'm trying to avoid using 120 dpi. I occasionally do web design work (minor edits only) and 120 dpi mucks up the formatting.

I can get away with 96 dpi on a 12.1" screen at 1280x800 resolution, but I think 96 dpi on an 11.1" screen at 1366x768 will kill my eyesight.

Umm, can you give us a hint?

 

Hi there,


We have the same exact doubts about TX. I tried one last week and i was fairly impressed by the screen and the lightness of it. At the other hand the slow hard drive is serious disadvantage if-like me- you do multitasking with the laptop. I was going for the TX17 with 2 Gb RAM and XP, but the Sony Store doesn't sell it anymore. So, i desided to wait few months for a new TX.
I think if you really dont need it now is worth waiting...

 

Well, I'm not sure how much true multi-tasking I do... but I do keep a TON of tabs open in Firefox. Right now I've got 29 tabs open in Firefox, plus one window of MS Internet Explorer, plus MS Outlook is running.

Anyone think that would be a problem for the TX 15 with XP and 1 GB of ram?

SonyStyle has it if you're okay with a refurb. That's what I'll be doing if I get the TX.

 

I'm sure that TX15 is running good with 1 gb RAM and XP. Quite all users of TX suggested me to buy or TX15 or TX17. But with XP as OS i don't think you really need the extra RAM.

I am just looking the Samsung Q35 and i can say is quite impressive. It has the Core 2 Duo, 12" inches of screen, and a faster hd (5400RPM 2.5” HDDs) of TX. Battery life also good.( 6 hours). And it cost half the price of the TX.
Check it out!!

 

It does look good, but I'm in the U.S. and Samsung isn't sold here unless you buy a very expensive import (which I'd rather not do).

EDIT: exetlaios, you might want to check out the Dell D420. I myself am trying to decide between the D420 and the refurb TXN15.

 

I generally run 20+ Explorer tabs, theBat, a couple of Word files, a PDF or two and the occasional Excel file without any problems. There's 1.5 gigs of RAM in my TX.

 

Very cool. Thanks for that!

 

Hey guys, it looks like there's a choice between Platinum and Charcoal, but I can't find any decent pictures.

Is Charcoal kinda like black, and Platinum like chrome or silver?

 

so,how long do we have to wait for a new TX???

 

I regularly run Photoshop CS2, Dreamweaver, Firefox, Thunderbird, Word, SmartFTP and MSN Messenger on my TX3 without any real issues. Sometimes there's a second or two delay when swapping between windows, but generally everything is responsive.

I did upgrade my ram to 1.5gb though.

 

Really? That is good to know. I also use some of these programs, but I had assumed I'd only be able to run them on my current laptop (which I'll be keeping)... I didn't think the TX could handle things like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.

 

Hey SoundsGood, Vaio G just got its hard drive replaced with a SSD.

http://www.dailytech.com/Sonys+VAIO+G+Series+Gets+SSD+Option/article6852.htm

 

yep it runs those programs fine it's not so speedy when editing large high-res photos, but for general use it handles those things fine. I used to own an SZ, and I don't notice much difference between that and my TX for general use - it's only when editing large files in photoshop that I notice the lack of power.