Looking for a vaio-comparable laptop, 13"

[fiftynine]

Greets,

I'm seriously thinking about buying a sony vaio (specs here (http://www.sonystyle.com.hk/ss/product/vaio/vgn_sz79gn_c_e.jsp)),
but I wouldn't want to pay extra for just because of the brand, if you catch my drift. And the point that linux compatibility is probably pretty nonexistant with vaios in general isn't a strong argument in favor of purchasing one, either.

But.

I haven't found many (to be frank, I've found none) 13-inch laptops with similar specs! I'd like to play with my computer a bit, as I'm probably replacing my desktop with this ( my xbox just threw me a e74 error :lolflag: ). But the question remains, are there any comparable laptops for vaio sz -class? If linux would run without too much tinkering (well a bit is always needed :wink:), it would be great!

[Bungo Pony]

I'm seriously thinking about buying a sony vaio

Friends don't let friends buy Sony. [-X

[BOBSONATOR]

Just grab a lenovo x-series

[macogw]

I'm a fan of this baby (http://www.zareason.com/shop/product.php?productid=16159&cat=0&page=1). Should be getting one in the next month or so.

[archer6]

Friends don't let friends buy Sony. [-X
I could not have said it better myself...;)

[gn2]

Asus F6S.....?

[gn2]

.

[Northsider]

I have had my vaio for about 4 years now. Please do NOT buy a Sony! Go with HP or something, vaio's are terrible.

[HalPomeranz]

Just grab a lenovo x-series

I totally agree with this. I'm running 8.04 on my Lenovo X61s and it rocks. All the hardware worked with Ubuntu pretty much out of the box.

[notwen]

Dell XPS M1330n (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1330?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~linux_4~~) w/ Ubuntu pre-installed perhaps?

[mips]

Just grab a lenovo x-series

+1

[archer6]

I have had my vaio for about 4 years now. Please do NOT buy a Sony! Go with HP or something, vaio's are terrible.
I could not agree more. I,ve had three different VAIO's I was attracted by the size & style. However I experienced serious problems with every one.

HP's are nearly as bad. They make great printers & terrible computers.

These are two brands to avoid.

[Kernel Sanders]

Dell XPS M1330n (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1330?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~linux_4~~) w/ Ubuntu pre-installed perhaps?

What this man said!

I have an M1330 and its the best laptop i've ever had. Just awesome! :guitar:

[fiftynine]

Thanks for the input, guys! You're as eager to help as always :) Yeah I'm coming to my senses here, slowly but steadily, as I'm reading more about vaios.

Notebookreview (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4296) has a review on LG P300, which looks pretty interesting. It has pretty much same specs that vaio, which I previously linked, has. HDMI is a big plus, but no firewire (I have a firewire TV-card) is the only downside I can think of so far. Well, to be frank, the looks (the ugly stripes) is probably another, I can't decide before seeing one IRL :-s Any thoughts?

[Nepherte]

I have a sony vaio sz6, full model name in signature. I honestly wouldn't want any other laptop besides a sz7 maybe :p Works like a charm with ubuntu and has one of the best laptop screens I've ever seen. Very good battery life (Vista 6 hours, Ubuntu 3.4 :(). The laptop can also handle some 'roughness' as the case is made of carbon. It won't break that soon. The only two negative points I could find about it is that the preinstalled vista is full of bloatware, which I avoided by installing ubuntu and the price.

[archer6]

I'm a fan of this baby (http://www.zareason.com/shop/product.php?productid=16159&cat=0&page=1). Should be getting one in the next month or so.
I would enjoy hearing from you on the zareason laptop you have chosen. This is the first I've heard of them, went to the site just now and it looks impressive. As someone who likes to do business with and support small business I would appreciate any feedback you have. I'm thinking of buying a laptop from them. Thanks

[EnergySamus]

Everybody here is going to yell at me when I say: Look at This (http://www.apple.com/macbookair/)

But hey, at least it can run Ubuntu! (dual-boot)



EnergySamus

[bufsabre666]

Everybody here is going to yell at me when I say: Look at This (http://www.apple.com/macbookair/)

But hey, at least it can run Ubuntu! (dual-boot)



EnergySamus

i wont yell but id say if you go with apple overpass the air and go with the standard macbook and save some money, the air is under powered and over priced, add ~2lbs (i think it is) and you gain alot more power and a lot less price

[-gabe-noob-]

Not sure what the price is what is HK, if I know what it is I can find you one

Edit: Someone beat me to linking Zareason, but what is soooooooo bad about sony? .

[archer6]

but what is soooooooo bad about sony? .
I've had three. Even after the first two were filled with problems. I went back a third time because I was fond of the styling, size and brilliant display. However Sony's tech support is the worst I've ever experienced. Next up, is how quickly they make their models obsolete and do not carry parts or maintain drivers and other software bits on their web site. I have a ten year old ThinkPad 600, and just bought a new keyboard after literally wearing one out, they had it in stock, for a measly $19.00. It took about 10 minutes to install it, and it's as nice as my T60p keyboard. Try that with another mfg. Certainly not Sony.

[archer6]

Everybody here is going to yell at me when I say: Look at This (http://www.apple.com/macbookair/)

I have two friends with these and both are Mac Advocates, as am I, for certain models. This is not one. Do some research and you will see that a serious drawback is the amount of heat emitted out from between the keys on the keyboard. Thermal management on this model is an afterthought. The hard drive is only 4200, unless you buck up for an additional $1,000 for the SSD. While a stunningly beautiful design, as a computer I will pass.

If you find it to your liking however, more power too you. Enjoy...:)

[EnergySamus]

I have two friends with these and both are Mac Advocates, as am I, for certain models. This is not one. Do some research and you will see that a serious drawback is the amount of heat emitted out from between the keys on the keyboard. Thermal management on this model is an afterthought. The hard drive is only 4200, unless you buck up for an additional $1,000 for the SSD. While a stunningly beautiful design, as a computer I will pass.

If you find it to your liking however, more power too you. Enjoy...:)

I thought he wanted something light... Well, anyway I will say that all of my friends have MacBooks, and they enjoy them (I hate that I am the 1 out of 2 that has an Acer:( (the other has a Dell))


EnergySamus