Rating: 
Summary: Sony does it again
Review: After buying a Sony Desktop 3-4 years ago I thought I would buy another Sony for school.Lets start with the negetive.The hard drive are suppose to be 40 gigs but only about 32 gigs is able to be used. The second complaint is the battery life is almost nil for the lenth I need to use this computer for school. The battery life is between 2 hour to 2.5 hours it just depends on what kind of usage you are using it for (more powerful programs will use more battery life)The third complaint is that the recovery "Disk" is accaully on the hard drive there is not an extra cd recovery disk included.In contrast,Sony makes some of the best computers for what is being payed. I enjoy the fact it does come with 512 megs of memory(Half A gig). It makes a pentium 4 go pretty fast and (not to mention the bus size for the rest of the computer geeks out there)This is a stable system I have had it for pretty close to a month and not one crash(due to system flaws)and has been very dependable for school. The dvd drive is a excellent feature and more of a added bonus but the cd burner is an awsome little burner and usful for on the spot recording (I'm a broadcast student).The bundle software I am never a big fan of but it does include some very handy software such as money 2003,Intervideo 2004 and Works those are just a few but the ones I use the most.The techincal support is the best support team out there they will speak english to you instead of computer lingo and will accaully be nice when the custumer is getting upset.I have use Sony's tech support on and off for the last three years and they truely know how to treat their custumers with kindness.I would say comparing to the computers I have used in my life (Hewitt Packard,Dell and Gateway) you are getting more for the money when you purchase a Sony Vaio and you are buying quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent value as a desktop replacement
Review: At over 8 pounds of carrying weight, this Vaio is not ideal as a traveling laptop. Instead, it's designed to be a desktop replacement. Witness the 2.8Ghz P4 processor (not the mobile version), which is screaming fast especially for gaming and video/audio editing, as well as 512MB of fast RAM and large screen. BTW, the screen is beautiful and has terrific viewing angles.This particular configuration is a good value; what you won't get is built-in DVD burner. Otherwise Sony, in its usual way, throws in a lot of add-on software. Performance seems pretty good, as the system is responsive at all times. The internal fan does kick in a lot, to cool down the system. In this regard, I highly recommend a cooling pad with built-in fans, such as the "Bytecc cooling pad" I'm currently using. It plugs into the USB port and the fans keep the air flowing under the laptop. A beautiful screen, admirably fast performance, and general good looks make this Vaio a good choice for anyone except those needing a constant traveling companion.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony Sucks
Review: BEWARE of Sony VAIO Laptops, you can never upgrade them to newer operating systems that MicroSoft releases every year. If you try upgrading them, the laptops lose out on functionality and SONY recommends you buy a newer laptop!!! Here is what they had to say in one of their emails -
NOTE: SONY does not recommend or support an upgrade path to Microsoft's Windows XP Professional operating system for VAIO PCs originally shipped with the Windows 95/98/98SE or ME environment. Currently Windows XP Professional upgrades are only supported for systems pre-installed with Windows 2000 Professional or XP Home Editions. Both Microsoft and SONY do not support an upgrade from Windows 2000 Professional to Windows XP Home Edition.
Rating:
Summary: If you want a great TV, buy a Sony
Review: Everything else is ticking me off lately, this Vaio being the latest. It won't run my Nero software, or STOMP, or anything it seems that is not somehow Sony affiliated. And their software has givin me nothing but problems. The video editor that came with the bundled software tends to disappear right before my eyes, so I end up saving my work every 3 seconds. And I've burnt DVD's that are bad even though Vaio says they're fine. Sonic music software that comes with it will not burn .wav files to CD's unless you have imported them using their software. The list goes on. And I recommend avoiding their external DVD burner like the PLAGUE. And their DVD players (I have 2) won't play 5% of my DVD's for no reason (and of course they play on others).
Rating:
Summary: IT'S A STEAL FOR THIS PRICE!
Review: For the price listed here (and you can get even better rebates if you look) this Vaio is a fabulous steal. At the very least, you won't have "restore" problems etc as a reviewer called "Sam Michaels" mentioned. One wonders if Mr. Sam has heard of Windows XP and the restore feature within it. It has nothing to do with Sony. If you want even higher duty backup facility then get something more professional like Acronic TrueImage or Norton Ghost. (Seldom necessary unless you know what you want out of these.) The hardware of Sony Vaios is still made entirely in Japan, unlike your average IBMs or Dells (which are made in China or Malaysia.) This means that Sony's hardware is top notch, at the very least you can bet it won't begin to crawl after a year of solid (ab)use. The only reason I take off one star from this review is the missing track-point ball from this laptop, but some people like the touchpad for the mouse, and if you are one of these latter, this is a 5 out of 5 machine! Don't listen to foolish naysayers. Vaio rocks, especially for the quoted price (< 1,200 USD as of this writing.)
Rating:
Summary: i suggestion
Review: hello... iam a analysis so i enteresting you product
but my country is INDONESIA would you shipping
to my adress.
Rating: 
Summary: PCG-FRV 26 CD-RW/DVD drive is absolutely flimsy
Review: I agree with the comment placed by Via Con Dios. This CD-RW/DVD drive on this PCG-FRV 26 laptop is absolutely flimsy. May I ask if this CD-RW/DVD drive is supported by Sony? It is my impression that it isn't. This computer is brand new and this CD-RW/DVD drive has already started acting up. 9 out of times it does NOT open. Just for info - my computer is not on standby or hibernate. It is too much of a pain to send it back and forth to Sony. I'd rather get an external DVD drive and move on. I'd strongly recommend to Amazon: Please do NOT sell any more of this version of Vaio.
Rating:
Summary: I'll never buy another Sony Laptop again, ever.
Review: I bought a Sony FRV26 about 3 months ago after reading various positive reviews. Last month, there was a virus and my friend reinstalled windows for me. The laptop came with Windows Home Edition, yet my friend installed a Windows XP. After it was reinstalled, the CD ROM wouldn't read most of the CDs that it used to read, and all the function keys (i.e. for adjusting brightness and volumne, etc.) wouldn't work. I called Sony and was told that I needed to buy a recovery CD set. It just happened that the SONY laptops have some special hidden functions installed in them, and the user ABSOLUTELY CANNOT reinstall windows or delete anything important on their own, or nothing, even the CD ROM, would work properly. So I was told to spend another $21 to get the recovery CD, reinstall the old Windows Home Edition, and then upgrade it to XP by calling SONY again to ask for special instructions on how to do that. I haven't bought the CD yet because I'm still considering. This has never happened to any of the laptops I owned (I switch a laptop every 3-4 years, and so far I've tried Compaq, IBM, and DELL). On top of this, the screen resolution is very strange (it has double images, when you switch from a page to another, the previous page's shadow stays on the screen), and the battery lasts for about an hour. The CD ROM (even before I reinstalled Windows) wouldn't read any of the copied CDs, even the data CD that I burn using SONY laptop. The CD ROM is located next to the powercord, so it's very difficult to open the CDROM without first removing the powercord. Anyway, compared to the laptops I've used before, I'd have to say that it's sucks. Had I known that it'd take so much trouble to reinstall windows, I'd never have bought this laptop. And after trying it, I'll never ever ever buy another SONY laptop again (but I'd still buy SONY stereo systems and TVs because they are really good).
Rating:
Summary: I'll never buy another Sony Laptop again, ever.
Review: I bought a Sony FRV26 about 3 months ago after reading various positive reviews. Last month, there was a virus and my friend reinstalled windows for me. The laptop came with Windows Home Edition, yet my friend installed a Windows XP. After it was reinstalled, the CD ROM wouldn't read most of the CDs that it used to read, and all the function keys (i.e. for adjusting brightness and volumne, etc.) wouldn't work. I called Sony and was told that I needed to buy a recovery CD set. It just happened that the SONY laptops have some special hidden functions installed in them, and the user ABSOLUTELY CANNOT reinstall windows or delete anything important on their own, or nothing, even the CD ROM, would work properly. So I was told to spend another $21 to get the recovery CD, reinstall the old Windows Home Edition, and then upgrade it to XP by calling SONY again to ask for special instructions on how to do that. I haven't bought the CD yet because I'm still considering. This has never happened to any of the laptops I owned (I switch a laptop every 3-4 years, and so far I've tried Compaq, IBM, and DELL). On top of this, the screen resolution is very strange (it has double images, when you switch from a page to another, the previous page's shadow stays on the screen), and the battery lasts for about an hour. The CD ROM (even before I reinstalled Windows) wouldn't read any of the copied CDs, even the data CD that I burn using SONY laptop. The CD ROM is located next to the powercord, so it's very difficult to open the CDROM without first removing the powercord. Anyway, compared to the laptops I've used before, I'd have to say that it's sucks. Had I known that it'd take so much trouble to reinstall windows, I'd never have bought this laptop. And after trying it, I'll never ever ever buy another SONY laptop again (but I'd still buy SONY stereo systems and TVs because they are really good).
Rating:
Summary: No worries
Review: I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX310 notebook. I have upgraded it successfully (added RAM and HD over the years) and it has always been fine. The only thing I don't like is that the HD is partitioned...this is annoying but can be dealt with and the partitions can be removed. OF COURSE Sony doesn't recommed upgrades...they want people to buy new machines...that's just called marketing. These machines are quite upgradeable. I've never had any problems with crashes or hardware failures. The CDRW/DVD combo drive is a dream. I'm a female with basic computer skills and I handled all of the upgrades myself.
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