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Sony VAIO VGN-S480 Review

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  1. Shanx •  October 30, 2005
    Rating: 3/5

    For all its snazz and everything else, Sony needs to learn that once the glitter of a sexy laptop fades away, a user needs the basics right —

    1. The keyboard: Which sucks. The four important keys — END, HOME, PAGE-UP, and PAGE-DOWN keys — which anyone more sophisticated than 80 year seniors uses regularly, are only available through a FN (function) key press. Single most annoying feature that convinced me to look for others. Dell for instance manages a regular decent keyboard on 12.1 inch laptops!

    2. The battery life is terrible. For a portable computer, that is very high on the wishlist.

    In summary, this is a great machine when you look at it, but you don’t want to own this crap. Look for Fujitsu or Samsung, both of which have great looking models now.

    Rating: 6 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  2. Tony S. •  December 10, 2005
    Rating: 1.5/5

    I bought a Sony VAIO laptop for £1,350 in 2003 having chosen the machine mainly for its large, high-resolution screen (16inch, 1600 x 1200) and in the belief that Sony laptops were some of the most reliable on the market. However, when the computer was just over 14 months old (not quite three months out of warranty), the keyboard failed completely, and I had to purchase an external USB keyboard to be able to continue using it. I wrote to Sony, arguing that such a major fault was unacceptable, and asked them to repair the product at their own expense. Their response was to offer me a derisory 10% discount on the cost of repairs.

    Then, about a month later, the screen flickered briefly and died completely! I was left with an expensive laptop that was effectively reduced to a desktop machine that could only be used with an external keyboard and an external monitor.

    So, here was a laptop that had been used carefully for about five hours a day, in a benign environment, had never suffered any kind of physical damage, and had only been taken out of the house on a handful of occasions, and yet had developed two major faults in the space of just sixteen months! Sony’s response to my complaints was simply to argue that their machines “are some of the most reliable available on the market”.

    Not one, but two major faults in just over a year. Reliable? Judge for yourself. Maybe Sony have moved on since then, maybe their VAIO range is now more reliable, maybe they now offer better customer care….who knows? My advice: think very carefully before purchasing a Sony VAIO laptop – unless, that is, you intend using it as a desktop machine.

    Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  3. Aaron •  February 12, 2008
    Rating: 2.5/5

    I just bought a Sony Vaio vgn-CR309. There is no page up or page-down key on the keyboard. Only if you use the arrow keys together with the function key you can go up and down a page. And for that you need two hands because function key is on the left. What a pain.

    Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  4. Carl •  February 26, 2008
    Rating: 0.5/5

    I bought a Sony Vaio last April. Hunk of junk and customer service is up there with the worst of them. They replaced my Vaio three times then would not honor a $300 extended home service contract. After almost a year I have spent a few thousand dollars and have NOTHING to show for it. Had to go out and buy a Dell to get something that worked. My advice would be staying way away from any Sony Products they will not honor their warranty.

    Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  5. Carl •  March 7, 2008
    Rating: 1/5

    I agree completely with the negative assessment of the prior reviews, and have to add who would ever decide to locate the only USB connections (2) near the front corner on the right side? Exactly where one is going to want to use an outboard mouse and mouse pad? Keyboard faux pas’, noisy fan, bad USD locations, horrible customer service…I was a Sony fan from my prior experiences…but they lost me with this one. I have bought Dells for myself, my daughter, and my wife and have been happy with them. Sorry Sony.

    Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  6. Luigi •  April 15, 2008
    Rating: 0.5/5

    The motherboard of my VAIO VGN was faulty and got overheated, damaging keyboard and screen. Even if I was in warranty, they replaced the motherboard but refused to replace keyboard and screen, saying that “hardware damage is not covered by warranty”. I had to pay 180 pounds to have my pc back. More, they didn’t fix the screen, not even paying. Stay away from Sony.

    Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

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