Test driving the eco-friendly Sony VAIO W

Some time last April, I was plagued by computer problems. My HP Mini 311 is allergic to our office, flashing the blue screen of death on my desk whenever I turn it on while working perfectly at home. I was already half-shopping around for a replacement, albeit it pains me since my HP is only several months old. It was the perfect time to take the 10.1 inch Sony VAIO W for a test drive.

The Sony VAIO W is very small and light with its 10.1 inch screen. Various parts of this model are made of recycled plastic so it's also very light. In fact, it made my HP Mini 311 feel like as if it weighs a ton.

I like how the keys are separated by a few millimeters. One problem I had with my HP Mini 311 was pressing two keys at once and getting lots of typographical errors since the keys are all immediately beside each other. Took some time for me to adjust, whereas the Sony VAIO W eliminates that problem altogether. I also loved keyboard's more grime-resistant matte finish as compared to my HP Mini's glossy one which I have to clean up every single day.

Notice how thin this netbook is. Well, in this aspect my HP Mini 311 is actually slimmer but as I've mentioned earlier the Sony VAIO W is lighter. The Sony VAIO W also runs on Windows 7, which I wasn't too impressed with since I found it kind of slow and clunky. The Windows XP on my HP Mini is a lot more convenient to use. The sounds on Sony VAIO W totally blew us away though, my hubby and I tried watching some HD music videos and wow! Crystal clear and rich sounds played back, more so when you use earphones. My kids also remarked that the Sony VAIO W is a lot faster than their dad's MSI Wind -- they used both for Facebook games and came up with the verdict.

The Sony VAIO W is also equipped with a built-in webcam which is handy for apps like Skype. Given as it's a netbook, there's no CD or DVD drive. There are however 2 high-speed USB slots, a memory stick slot, and an SD card slot. What I don't like about it is the short battery life, which lasts only a little over two hours. My HP Mini 311 can go on for more than double that length of time without charging.

In line with its eco-friendly positioning, the Sony VAIO W doesn't come with the usual cardboard box packaging. You get it with a handy dandy cute laptop bag instead. I love it!

The Sony VAIO W retails for P39,999. For complete product information and specifications, log on to http://www.sony.com.ph/product/vpcw21eag

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