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Sony Vaio VPCW2

Posted by Kathleen Maher on March 19th 2010 | Comments Closed
Categories: Hardware Review
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The smaller the computer the better as far as I’m concerned; and the new Sony Vaio VPCW2 line of computers is pretty darned small. It’s an example of the newest netbooks coming out based on the new lineup of Atom processors. This computer weighs 2.9 lbs and it’s 2 inches thick.

It’s basic. The Atom N450 is a dual-threaded processor that runs at 1.66 GHz, it has integrated Intel 3150 graphics, a 667MHz frontside bus, a 512 L2 cache and 1GB DDR2 memory. It features a 10.1-inch display, 1366x768, with web cam and microphone. The video technology includes face tracking. It has Bluetooth. The Microsoft Performance score for this baby is 2.4 and that’s because the Atom processor for this machine gets the lowest score. The integrated graphics is rated at 2.9. The battery life is rated at around 8 hours and that’s the kind of performance we’ve been getting so far.

This is a machine that goes to the coffee shop with me when I have to get out of the office and it’s the machine that goes with me on the road. Its primary purpose is word processing and Web browsing. I have some monster spreadsheets and some giant word documents—these run but you have to remember you’re on a netbook—it will slow down when you pile up a bunch of stuff on it. The processing time for photos is reasonable.

Since I’m a generally optimistic person I’ll tell you what I like about the computer first. It’s small, it’s light. It has a Windows 7 operating system that gets up and going with no waiting—that’s not to say that it’s fast in all it does, but Microsoft has improved the operating system so that start up is considerably less painful. The computer I’m using has a nice, pale green finish and it came with a matching bag.

This being a Sony machine and all there are nice touches in addition to the attractive finish. Sony has added multimedia player tools that add to the usual Microsoft player features with network utilities and Sony has teamed with ArcSoft to provide cute toys for playing with video and photographs. This is the sort of thing you play with when a computer is new and then you never look at it again. Still, it’s fun and if you have a child that must be amused, you’ll be grateful for these tools.

Now, after I’ve told you all the good stuff, I’ll tell you what I don’t like so much. The keyboard is small—that’s okay, really. I’m an adaptive creature but because the keyboard is small, the placement of familiar keys has been changed—in the most diabolical way you can imagine. The shift key has been moved down and it’s right next to the up key. If you’re like me, you will have some initial moments—even hour or so—of thinking you are going to completely lose your mind because every time you try to shift you either hit enter or the up key. I have to be on the keyboard a while to get used to it and I have to watch where my fingers go—not an ideal usage model for a fast touch typist. I have to remind myself to slow down and hit the keys deliberately. I’ve used small keyboards before but this is the first that surprised me so much on the key placement. I thought at first this problem would be a deal-breaker. It’s not, I have gotten used to it and the computer’s size and general responsiveness makes me forgive this problem. However, I’m not sure that everyone would agree.

The Atom N450 and the Sony VPCW2 line represent big improvements over the first generation of netbooks. The dual processor is a help if you tend to open up a bunch of programs and ask the computer to do more than it’s designed to do. However, it is still a true netbook designed for casual computer use, web browsing, photo management, etc. I find it to be a great productivity tool allowing me to take a computer along in situations more often and have it on hand whenever and wherever I am.

$479.99 online

Pros: small, light, cute, nice bag, long battery life and solid functionality

Cons: small keyboard with keys in unexpected places.