Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This Sony VAIO Fit Series laptop happens to replace another Sony VAIO laptop that I previously owned and pretty much enjoyed using. That one was a red version (the /R rather than the /W, icy white version) of this Sony VAIO VPC-CW17FX/W. I had gotten that laptop back in late 2009 specifically because it had some features that made it somewhat more appropriate for gaming and/or for use as a portable media consumption device (the included Blu-ray drive, something that I must note that I did experience issues with as it would mysteriously not want to handle Blu-ray discs when I'd want to use them). I wound up passing that laptop on to a co-worker who has now passed it along to his former significant other. For her needs, it is still a fine device that will do everything that she'd want to do on it (browse the web, play games like Words with friends, etc.)
This particular VAIO Fit Series laptop is a nice enough device with some nice advances, but at the same time, perhaps a few areas of regression to comment about.
First up, I like the touchscreen, especially for use with Windows 8 which is very touchscreen friendly, if not downright touchscreen demanding. While it (Windows 8) can be used with a mouse and/or touchpad and a keyboard, there are just so many ways that using a touchscreen is much more efficient with Windows 8. That said, I must admit that the touchscreen also drives my OCD self a little crazy as the screen tends to get fingerprinted easily, making the display more cloudy/fuzzy than I would like. Considering that the touchscreen already makes things a little cloudy to begin with (not badly, but enough to notice), the added fingerprint oil smudges on the screen can be distracting.
I dislike that there's no Blu-ray drive built-in and find it a bit mystifying that Sony, the purveyors of, if not the downright pushers of, Blu-ray technology have opted to include just a DVD drive. The added cost to go with a Blu-ray drive, or even better to have included a Blu-ray RW drive in this laptop should have been minimal for Sony to have done. It makes me think all the more that Sony, as with other studio owners, just wants to push their consumers all the more toward streaming digital media. :-/
I also find myself disappointed that there's no Memory Stick PRO(tm) reader slot on this device. This was something my earlier laptop had and since I have a couple of Sony cameras that I've used that memory on, well, it would have been nice to have a reader for same on this laptop. I can use a USB adapter that I have for such purposes, but that requires using a USB port and having the card reader stick off to the side of the laptop. Not necessarily a "clean" solution.
Performance wise, this laptop is pretty nice. Its built-in Core i7 processor is plenty fast. The graphics performance is nothing to rave about, but is reasonable for typical usage. Even for lowered expectations in a game like the latest SimCity, it would be acceptable, though it would mean turning down some of the advanced graphics features in such a game.
The memory is already maxed out as shipped, with 8 GB of RAM the maximum for this device. That is another area where I wish that I could perhaps make changes here. My older VAIO had topped at the same level and that is now nearly 5 year old device. With thoughts of perhaps running VM's (Virtual Machines) on this device, well, more RAM would have been an area to make improvements in, but it just isn't in the cards for this machine, or at least not without limitations.
Disk capacity is plentiful with 1 TB of hard drive space built-in. For most users, that is more than should be needed. If someone did want to work with virtual machines and the like, I could see using up considerable portions of that disk space, but again, for more typical users the 1 TB that is included should be fine.
Wi-Fi performance has been quite reasonable for me. In my case, this laptop easily found both of the available Wi-Fi access points and networks and would happily operate on either even when sitting farther away than I might have expected other devices to be able to work from. For example, I have tablet devices and/or other laptops that just can't find the access points unless they are sitting much closer to the access points (which is why I have multiple APs in my home, basically one for either end of the home), but experienced none of those issues with this laptop.
The size of the unit is a bit bigger than I had originally expected when looking at the system specs, but not really that much bigger than the VAIO that I formerly had. Having the backlight available behind the keyboard is kind of neat, but as a touch typist, I don't necessarily need the visual clues that others might.
Having 4 USB ports, two of them USB 3.0, is nice as it seems that I'm always plugging something into those ports.
All told, this is a nice laptop. Not necessarily top of the line or gamer ready, but nice for most home users. It is stuck in the middle of a crowded marketplace when it comes to these devices, and the performance and other features are not necessarily enough to make it stand out.
It doesn't feature the lightweight and/or longer battery life features that would be found, as an example, in my ASUS X202E 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop which is more of an Ultrabook type device, and at 5+ pounds, well, it is actually relatively heavy by comparison. Especially in an era where tablet PCs are becoming more the rage. It is not a convertible device, doesn't flip the display, doesn't break into two pieces (the keyboard "dock" and the touchscreen device of a typical convertible device) and as such, well, again lands somewhat squarely in the middle of the marketplace with customers that will likely expect more.
If asked about recommending this device for purchase, I could easily do so, but I'd also want to ask the intended purchaser hard questions such as "what do you intend to use it for", "where do you intend to use it", and things like that which might make them think all the more about perhaps looking into a Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet or something of that ilk.
Oh, one minor complaint, but something that I think all laptop makers do (and I wish they wouldn't), comes up in the fact that this device includes Windows 8, but not Windows 8 Pro. I will be adding, eventually, the media center components to this device and doing so will require "upgrading" to Windows 8 Pro. Yet another opportunity to hand Microsoft more funds. Ugh. I'll also be looking to add Office to this device and will likely do so via subscription to Office Live. Ah, the fun of owning laptops and other computing devices.
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The first machine came with a problem on the LCD screen a white line down the left part of the screen which was promptly exchanged without much hassle.
Now I am facing an issue with the intermittent wifi connection. I lose connection for a minute every now and then. I know it is not a router problem, because I check with another machine. After reinstalling wifi drivers, the problem seemed to go away, until the day before yesterday. I have sent the machine for a checkup and have not heard back from them. I will update the review once I hear back from them.
Pro's
Instant start up. quite a fast machine (I have lots of files and pages on my browsers open, and the memory of this machine seems to handle it well.
Touchscreen is great. Though it takes some time to learn, and there are youtube help videos, once mastered, win8 does not seem to be a big deal.
the keyboard light is good and bad in low light it is wonderful, but once it is darker, the keyboard light reflects on the screen which is a nuisance.
Cons,
Keyboard light in dark places
Machine heats up quite fast.
Wifi issue? ( i thought only the lenovo's had this problem!!!)
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program First, let me say that this laptop is gorgeous. I was pleasantly surprised how nice the white color looks on this laptop. The color is more of a Pearl white and looks very elegant and gives a very good impression at first glance. This device is plastic, and not the aluminum trim model. Still, the fit and finish is superb, and definitely Sony quality. The buttons are great quality and the backlit keyboard is stunning behind the white keys. The buttons have a great feel to them, and a nice, soft click. The screen is also of great quality. Very bright with good contrast ratio. The machine is a solid piece of hardware.
The i7 processor keeps up very well when multitasking, but can become QUICKLY bogged down when making multiple downloads. I was a little surprised that the machine slowed down as much as it did, but I feel this is more a function (or limitation) of the HDD than the processor. The fan runs very quiet and minimal heat is felt from the laptop, though it does heat up pretty fast. The touchscreen also works flawlessly.
There are a few important issues with the laptop that keep it from becoming a player, in my opinion. The main issue being the touch pad on the device. The pad does not register any clicks on the right side of the pad. It does, however, register scrolling, etc. At first, I thought the pad was designed this way, until I realized after using the laptop for an hour how frustrating it was to click on the touch pad and not get a response. I did all the necessary updates, including the bios update, and even tried to reinstall the touch pad software with no success. I called Sony, spent an hour on the phone with their technician, and received no help with the issue. I'd say about 75% of the touch pad works great. The right side of the pad did not work out of the box. Another issue is battery life. I'm getting about 2.5 hours at 50% brightness with a balanced power plan. I was expecting a bit more. The WIFI has been a bit sporadic, but lately it seems to have become a bit more stable.
I guess I was expecting a bit more from a Sony laptop that retails in the $800+ range. I recently purchased a mid range Aluminum laptop for my wife that is on par with this one for hundreds less, plus the quality controls were much better on her laptop. This laptop does not include a hybrid drive, which would help speed things up a bit. My wife's laptop has a hybrid drive. I think at this price point, you can find a much better laptop that will give you better performance out of the box.
UPDATE: After spending another hour on the phone with the Sony technician, I was asked to send the Vaio in for repair. The return process is very smooth and Sony pays for overnight shipping, as well. Thanks to Sony for the good service after the initial call, though it is always a little disappointing when you have to send in a brand new device for repair. But it does happen. I will have the laptop back in 10 business days, and will update this review if the issue is not corrected.
Honest reviews on Sony VAIO Fit Series SVF14218CXP 14-Inch Core i7 Touch Laptop
I was a bit unsure when I went to buy this computer, but now that I have it, I love it. Many of the complaints that I had read about, I googled them and found a solution for most of it and I'm really happy with this purchase. The touchscreen is awesome and I love Windows 8, yes it's confusing at first but along with the computer comes a little Windows 8 tutorial that shows you the basics. The backlit keyboard is not as bad as people say, its really helpful actualy. Also, you can fix the sensitivity of the trackpad so its not jumping all around & when people say that the right side of their trackpad doesn't work, its because that's your right clicker (the one that brings up the drop down menu)so you just have to get used to clicking on the left side when you want to select something, and if you can't get used to that, then just tap it, the touchscreen is great. I haven't had problems with my wifi, it's actually been working great. I'm super happy with my purchase, and if you have any questions about anything, you cant go wrong by googling it, or if you're thinking about buying it and haven't yet,comment on this post & ask whatever you're debating about so maybe I can help clarify.
p.s DataVision is a great company, the delivery got here sooner than expected. ALSO! I thought this was the aluminum model, but I'm really happy with the plastic model, it looks very sleek.
I would definitely recommend this Laptop to a friend.
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When I first received this computer I was fairly impressed with it. It is a very sleek computer with a modern design. It runs great and the touchscreen is very nice, but I would not recommend this laptop until the WIFI issue has been fixed.
The laptop has the worst wifi range of any device I own. My kindle fire has a longer range than the vaio 14 laptop. If im outside of 15-20ft of my router the laptop has 1-2 bars of connection in the same place where my older computer has full connection. This is outrageous for such a new computer. Unless you plan on leaving the Ethernet cable plugged in at all times DO NOT BUY THIS LAPTOP
