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Sony Vaio S-Series, or T-Series?

post #1 of 11
6/8/05 at 4:23am
Thread Starter 
This time last year, I bought an S-Series Sony Vaio, but had to cancel because I accidentally ordered my customized model with the Centrino chip (woops). One thing led to another and I never got around to re-ordering. So, now a year has passed and Sony has a better line up with thier T-Series. I remember they had the funny looking TRA model last year with the built in camera, and I simply couldn't buy one b/c of that reason. Yet now Sony has a very nice, ultra-portable new T-series lineup, and I'm intrigued. I see that I could still order my S series customized laptop (and now it will be faster than if I had bought it last year at least, lol), but I'm confused.

I know the big differences between the S & T series. The biggest being the SIZE. I Can NOT find a store anywhere near me that has a T150/250/350 in stock at a store (compusa, bestbuy, circuit city, etc.). I live in Syracuse, NY, and would be willing to drive a couple of hours to get my hands on one of these before I lay down the cash for one.

Other than the size, i absolutely love the ultra-portability of the Tx line. It's awesome. I just need to know if the keyboard will be adequate. I have semi-large hands, and I don't want to make a bad purchase decision.

Another thing I really like about the S lineup is the fact you can custom order one from Sony. Why don't they let you do that with the T series?

So my questions are (sorry for the long post):
Where can I go to physically get my hands on a T150/250/350 (if anyone knows of such a place)?
What you fellow Sony Vaio lovers think, (Tx Line VS Sx Line)?
And, What are the differences between the T150/250/350 models? I really can't figure them out. All I can tell is that finding a store that has the 150 in stock is hard (online), so I'm guessing that's an earlier model that I may want to stray from. But, what are the differences between the other two, just hardware? If so, what?!

*takes an aspirin*

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this!
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post #2 of 11
6/8/05 at 8:35am
There's no simple answers -- you have to decide what's more important: lighter weight or larger screen/more horsepower.

I went for the S because a) I was worried about having to spend significant time working on spreadsheets etc. on a T-sized screen; b) I get annoyed by sluggishness & want a fast system -- even the S felt sluggish until I swapped the stock hard drive with a 7200 rpm drive; c) I wanted the option of playing 3D games when on the road, & you can get a decent graphics chip on the S but not the T.

I think if you're going to be carrying your notebook around ALL the time (ie like if you're a student) and usually have a desktop around for when you need to do serious heavy-duty work, then the T would be the way to go.

I needed a laptop primarily for going on trips, where I'm out of the office for 3-5 days and have nothing but my laptop to use. So in my case the extra pound isn't as big a deal since I'm not carrying it around daily, and the extra horsepower & screen size is a big deal since that's my main & only computer when I'm on the road.
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post #3 of 11
6/8/05 at 3:12pm
Thread Starter 
From what I've read, the S-line is a performance driven laptop, of which I don't need. I have an Athlon64 3400 desktop with oodles of Ram and a kick ass video card for all of my video crunching/editing/gaming. I'd like a laptop that I can easily take with me to work, school, a friends house, etc. All I want to be able to do with the machine is websurf, e-mail, instant-message, code, and play some 2d old school games on. Mind you, I won't be using this laptop *for* work, but at work.

Also, I keep seeing users here complain primarily about the noise of the S-series, with the fan? I don't want a noisy laptop, lol. The only thing the S-series IMO has going for it is performance/screen-size/full keyboard. The only thing that really worries me about the T-series is the size of the keyboard (i dont have small hands). The screen size is fine, I've seen 10.3" laptops at CompUSELESS and WorstBuy.
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post #4 of 11
6/8/05 at 3:51pm
Go with the T series if you have had a chance to lay your hands on one. You simply must try the keyboard and the trackpad buttons. If you feel even the slightest bit of discomfort, I would say think about it twice. I really love mine because it was an instant match and the keyboard felt perfect even in it's 90% size. I have very large hands (I'm 6'4") and I can type almost as fast on this as I can on an IBM Thinkpad keyboard. It is slightly slower initially but before you know it, you will barely perceive any difference in the ability to type on this. Speed is adequate for everything you list. Hey, I even play a DVD, run azareus torent client, and have three IE windows open and I still don't notice any sluggishness. The hard drive is admittedly slower, but at least it is quite quiet. The whole machine is very compact, very solid, and very quiet, just what I need for 80% of my computing time every day. So, try the little beast first, and if you like the look and feel, go for it. I would definately rate this a solid 9 out of 10 with a 1 being a Gateway or eMachines and a 10 being an IBM Thinkpad. One more thing: the battery life is simply WICKED!
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post #5 of 11
6/8/05 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
That's my problem! Here in Central New York (Syracuse, NY), I'm limited to CompUSA, BestBuy, Circuit City, Staples, and Office Max. None of these stores carry any of the T-Series in store, only online. I've even looked up stores in Rochester, and Buffalo (the only 2 big cities near me), and I still can't find a store that has a t150/250/350 on display.
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post #6 of 11
6/9/05 at 12:49pm
Solution: Bite the bullet and go to NYC for the day.
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post #7 of 11
6/10/05 at 2:34pm
I have a t250 and the keyboard is just fine. I had a S360, but decided that it didn't really fit my needs: better portability without too much of a performance sacrifice. I have another computer that I use for general stuff, my music production, and more demanding tasks, and I was looking for something that I could take too and from the office, on trips, and use a mainly an entertainment unit. The S-series is a kick-ass computer. Powerful, great screen, great performance, but the T fit my needs better. The screen is smaller, but not too small. Watching mvies on it is still excellent. I also read a lok of ebooks so it is great for that too. I occasioanlly even run Reason, a music production program on it and it is really a little portable audio powerhouse, at least for my needs.

Most importantly though, the size of the keyboard and useablity is perfect. The keyboard allows comfortable two hand typing, even with my fat-ass fingers, which is saying a lot. I checked out almost all the ultra portables before dieciding on the t250, including the JVC 841, the Toshiba Libretto, the IMB x series, and the larger Dell 700m. The JVC 841 is cool, but it doesn't have a optical drive, I dodn't like hte pointing stick, and I can't type with two hands. The Libretto is even smaller, the screen is small and it's hard to read. With the X-40 and the 700m, I'd rather just get a S series.

There are others, Averatec, Sharp, etc, but the nice thing obout the Sony is that it is solid. Now they just have to make it more affordable.
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post #8 of 11
6/10/05 at 9:53pm
Just got my S360p today. Everything is perfectly fine, except for the fan. It doesnt seem to stop since I fired up the laptop. I performed a quick CPU undervoltage and the fan doesnt seem to go off any moment now. Anyway, its ok. Acceptable. The keyboard is solid. The machine is totally solid too. Need more time to recommend it to anyone.
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post #9 of 11
6/13/05 at 2:14pm
Thread Starter 
Woot!

Flipping through the Sunday paper yesterday, I saw CompUSA & BestBuy advertising for my Vaio T-Series. I thought, "no way, they may be advertising, but their store won't have it." So, looking down my nose, I picked up the phone and gave both stores a call. To my surprise, both stores had it in stock, and on display. Mind you, this is the very laptop I was about to drive 6+ hours for to NYC to get my hands on. Can we say, "zoom zoom?" I boogied over to CompUSA--the lesser of two evils--and as soon as I turned the corner, there she was. They had the T250 (funny, because they were advertising for the T350...), and all I can say is WOW!

- The keyboard, despite its 90% form factor, was odd to type on, but strangely enough I never typod on it.
- The display was sharp, bright, and very easy on my eyes.
- The weight of this machine was unbelievable. Sitting next to it was some Compaq pos with a 12" display. I picked it up, and then my baby. Wow, a world of difference.

In short, I'm SO happy I got to see/touch one IRL. Kinda feel sorry for one of the rep's that I was talking to, because after seeing me in this "state", he was rather confident that he had made a sale. Did he not see my newegg t-shirt? Because of course, "Once you know, You Newegg."
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post #10 of 11
6/13/05 at 4:11pm
Good for you!
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post #11 of 11
6/15/05 at 12:24am
So you never bought it off CompUSA, right? You got it off of newegg, after viewing and playing with it in person? Can't wait to get the t350. The cingular thing is too expensive for $50 monthly.





Quote:
Originally Posted by serith
Woot!

Flipping through the Sunday paper yesterday, I saw CompUSA & BestBuy advertising for my Vaio T-Series. I thought, "no way, they may be advertising, but their store won't have it." So, looking down my nose, I picked up the phone and gave both stores a call. To my surprise, both stores had it in stock, and on display. Mind you, this is the very laptop I was about to drive 6+ hours for to NYC to get my hands on. Can we say, "zoom zoom?" I boogied over to CompUSA--the lesser of two evils--and as soon as I turned the corner, there she was. They had the T250 (funny, because they were advertising for the T350...), and all I can say is WOW!

- The keyboard, despite its 90% form factor, was odd to type on, but strangely enough I never typod on it.
- The display was sharp, bright, and very easy on my eyes.
- The weight of this machine was unbelievable. Sitting next to it was some Compaq pos with a 12" display. I picked it up, and then my baby. Wow, a world of difference.

In short, I'm SO happy I got to see/touch one IRL. Kinda feel sorry for one of the rep's that I was talking to, because after seeing me in this "state", he was rather confident that he had made a sale. Did he not see my newegg t-shirt? Because of course, "Once you know, You Newegg."
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