A Product Review of the Sony VAIO VGN-SZ645P3 13.3" Laptop

Sony has come out with a line of ultra mobile high end notebooks and I've gotten my hands on one. The Sony VAIO VGN-SZ645P3 is a 13.3" bundle of multimedia dynamite. These Vaios can do it all - they have the mobility and the performance to compete with nearly any notebook on the market today. I'll let you know what you can expect from this notebook and who will get the most bang for their buck. First let's get started by going over a few of the basics.

Hardware:

Processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500

Storage Space: 160GB hard drive

RAM: 2GB of installed RAM (upgradable to a 4 GB maximum)

Optical drive: a multi-format CD R/RW with integrated dual-layer DVD drive (8x DVD +/-)

Graphics Accelerator: A unique Hybrid System that toggles between a NVidia GeForce 8400M GS (using up to 319MB of shared video RAM) and a powersaving Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (using up to 250MB of shared video RAM)

Dimensions: 12.5" X 1.5" x 9.3" and weighs in at about 4.2lbs

This notebook has it all. It really is a true multimedia notebook capable of playing games as well as playing music and movies. I had no trouble running Photoshop and everything looks great on the 13.3" WXGA XBRITE display running at a resolution of 1280 x 800. The display is clean and crisp and really catches your eye when you see this little notebook in person.

The only criticism is that Sony has included too much in the way of preinstalled trial-ware. Many of which include features that are unnecessary thanks to the integrated features of Windows Vista. My recommendation would be to remove whatever software you find unnecessary. When I cleaned mine I found that it increased startup time considerably.

Connectivity:

2 2.0 USB ports (to be used to connect most peripherals like digital cameras, iPods, and printers)

1 FireWire port (for high speed data transfer between digital camcorders and other PC's)

1 VGA port (a typical monitor port)

1 ExpressCard slot (this slot is used to add peripherals like a Bluetooth adapter or a cellular modem)

1 PCMCIA slot (like above only an older type)

1 audio out / 1 mic in

5 in 1 card reader (so that solid state memory from mobile devices can be directly inserted into this notebook)

This notebook really allows you to have your cake and eat it too. It is the perfect marriage of mobility and performance. It gets great battery life, it is very light and compact yet it can do as much as many desktop replacements. The connectivity is great although it would be great if it had another USB port. Currently moving at an average price of $1400 online I think that this is a great deal. I believe this is one of the best notebooks on the market today and will likely please about any consumer even the gamer.