Laptops: HP v Sony

[TheForce]

Really? Last I heard only a handful of Sony manufacturing plants were shutdown and those were ones that made things like batteries and blu rays (not players the discs themselves).

More specifically, There are SIX Japanese Sony plants shut down ONE of which was directly hit with the tsunami and was responsible for the items you listed. It's first Floor was completely flooded. The other 5 shut downs have not been reported as to what they make nor what damage has been assessed. In addition, not widely reported, are plants in the US being shut down too but these were not as a result of the Japanese crises. They are being shut down due to lagging optical disk sales, particularly CD's.

 

[diogen]

If a laptop is the only computer in the household and BD burning is a must, this would be a better alternative than having it built in, I think.
Buffalo reveals slimline external BDXL burner for $275, affiliated media still makes your wallet weep -- Engadget

And not exactly offending price when compared to the $3K neighborhood...

Diogen.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

If a laptop is the only computer in the household and BD burning is a must, this would be a better alternative than having it built in, I think.
Buffalo reveals slimline external BDXL burner for $275, affiliated media still makes your wallet weep -- Engadget

And not exactly offending price when compared to the $3K neighborhood...

Diogen.

Yeah, my only BD burner is an external USB 2.0 Buffalo BD/HD-DVD burner that I picked up at Circuit City when they were going out of business. Don't use it much, but it works great.

 

[Steve Mehs]

I’d rather have it built in. I can’t stand external optical drives. I babysat my friends Mac Book Air over the summer, besides it being a CrApple product and running Mac OS I couldn’t stand having to plug in an external drive every time I wanted to do something that involved optical media. It felt like I was using half a computer. And I think it’s dumb to have an internal BD Player only to buy an external BD burner.

Anyhow, HP still isn’t offering 7200 RPM drives, they have three more weeks to get them back or I’ll be ordering the Sony.

 

[Steve Mehs]

Well I gave HP an extra week and still only a 5400 RPM hard drive in the Envy. I called up Sony and asked if I could get the F Series 3D laptop and cheaper, there is currently $70 off any computer with a BD drive, the sales rep gave me another $75 bucks off. $2,719.75 when its all said and done. Savings of $150, not too bad. Same extact configuration as I posted above. Oh yeah and free 2 day shipping. Estimated date of arrival is May 5th. Can't wait!

 

[Steve Mehs]

Figured I’d update this. After having the Sony Vaio F 3D for about a week I decided to return it. I just couldn’t stand the physical design of it. In less than a week the inside of the laptop by the keyboard was all scratched to hell with microscratches and I used nothing more abrasive then a microfiber cloth to wipe it down with, with it’s high gloss plastic finish I only knew it was a matter of time before the exterior would get all beat up from just normal usage. Plus, what really pushed me over the edge was due to the tapered sides of the laptop, my Sprint USB air card didn’t sit flush in the USB port and the slightest bump would cause it to lose USB connectivity causing the internet to drop out, obviously. And with the way the screen didn’t completely cover the bottom when closed, it just looked bad. The actual performance of the thing was great though. It ran beautifully, it’s just I hated the design.

HP woke and started offering 7200RPM hard drives again in the Envy series, so once I was credited back the money from Sony I turned around and order the HP Envy 17 3D. Same specs as in my first post but with a 750 GB 7200 RPM HDD. And I paid about $400 less then the Sony. When I called up and ordered the laptop I asked if I could get a $200 discount and the guy said ‘Yeah no problem’, just like the Sony rep did when I asked for another $75 off.

The new laptop came yesterday, and overall I am very satisfied. The screen is almost an inch and a half bigger and much more brighter and richer. Plus I prefer the glossy displays. At equal brightness settings, the HP gets slightly worse battery life (half an hour, if that) on the standard battery then the Sony got with the extended battery. And I LOVE the slot loaded blu ray player! The Sony had their S Force sound, the HP uses Beats Audio. Both sounded excellent, but I think the Sony sounded better for music and the HP sounds better on movies. Both do 3D GREAT! I have to say, I liked the keyboard on the Sony a little better though. Auto illuminating w/ambient light sensor was awesome, but both keyboards feel very natural and comfortable.

While it did cost me $55 to ship the Sony back, it was well worth it to have experience with both brands, this way there’s no second guessing or potential buyers remorse, and I am much happier with the HP, and I just have to say, 16” is too damn small for a laptop! When it comes to personal computers, I vow to never cheat on HP again with another brand!