Sony VAIO VGN-TX650P

Sony VAIO VGN-TX650P Review

Overview

Mobility is in and Sony took charge by revamping its lightest and thinnest ultra-portable with the new VAIO TX model. A predecessor to last years T350 series, the new VAIO TX is lighter, wider, and richer in features while maintaining a similar $2,200 price tag. Measuring 1-inch thin and weighing a mere 2.8 pounds, this robust and versatile laptop comes loaded with most functionality a business user would possibly need, including a multitude of connectivity options and communication offerings.

The Sony VAIO VGN-TX650P comes with cutting-edge elements, including being wrapped around a sexy carbon fiber chassis, so far found only in a limited number of laptops such as the prestigious Acer Ferrari 4005WLMi. The VAIO TX sports a razor sharp 11.1-inch WXGA widescreen display with XBRITE to enhance image clarity and is one of the first laptops to incorporate LED backlight technology. Despite its minute size, it comes with an integrated double layer DVD-RW optical drive and for convenience it features Sony's Instant On Mode so you can watch movies or listen to music without having to boot into Windows.

Equipped with a battery efficient Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage processor clocked at 1.2 GHz and 512MB DDR2 RAM (upgradeable to 1.5GB), this ultraportable is powerful enough to handle most mainstream and office applications sufficiently. Unfortunately you will have to look elsewhere if you plan on using it for 3D intensive tasks, as the Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 is to say the least a bottleneck in the graphics spectrum.

In addition to featuring the standard 802.11b/g Wireless LAN and built-in Bluetooth wireless, the VAIO VGN-TX650P also integrated the new Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) using Cingular's Wireless National EDGE network so you can surf online anywhere with cellular coverage.

Available in a variety of colors, including charcoal, slate blue, or platinum exterior colors, the VAIO TX represents a perfect fusion of a fashionable and chic mobile lifestyle.

Design

Portability

Mobility is in, especially for people who travel frequently where every ounce matters. Classified as an ultraportable, the VAIO VGN TX is small, lightweight, and compact just like the Fujitsu LifeBook P7010 we reviewed earlier. Measuring 10.7-inches wide, 7.7-inches long and only .83-inches thick at the front section and extending 1.12-inches thick towards the back, the ultra compact notebook is made to slip inside virtually any carry case or backpack. For a perfect fit, it's recommended to use a carrying case made to compliment its size such as the Samsonite L25 Ultra Portable case. At 2.8 pounds with the standard battery, the VAIO VGN-TX650P is intended to accompany you everywhere you go, best suited for heavy travelers such as students and business professionals.

The VAIO VGN-TX650P compared to the HP L2000 14-inch Notebook.

Case and Design
Sony assembled an aesthetically chic yet sleek modern laptop. The two tone inverted color scheme keeps it sleek and refined, with a coat of charcoal wrapping around the carbon-fiber top lid and bottom chassis. Grey aluminum finish covers the surface around the keyboard and palm rest area extending around the hinge and the sides adding to its clean and smooth looks.

Carbon fiber chassis adds endurance and good looks.

The instant appeal lies in the laptop's ultra-thin LCD panel measuring only 4.5mm (.18") thick, which is 45% thinner than its T series predecessor. To accomplish this, Sony adopted LED backlight technology (more on this in the display section of the review). For added durability, the VAIO TX is enclosed in a multi-layered carbon-fiber casing, which is stronger yet lighter than other materials (i.e. magnesium-alloy) used in most notebooks today.

Ultra-thin LCD panel measures only 4.5mm thick.

Resembling Fujitsu's ultraportable LifeBook P7010, the Sony VAIO TX possesses a silver cylinder hinge embedded with the function keys and status indicator panel. The power button and multimedia hot keys are also built on the hinge.

Cylinder hinge serves hot keys and holds the display together.

Although the VAIO TX falls under the business laptop category, it contains multimedia-centric features such as multimedia hot keys that accompany Instant Mode so DVD and music playback is seamless.

Buttons: AV Mode, Play/Pause, Stop, Rewind, Forward, Eject

LED display status

Status indicator panel is also built on the front on the right edge of the palm rest area. In this set, you will find status for Bluetooth which illuminates in blue, Wireless LAN & WWAN in green and audio in orange.

Clear and litigable status indicators on the front of the laptop.

Keyboard
The grey aluminum, integral 82-key straight-laced arrangement keyboard contains all the essential keys, particularly the Windows and Ctrl keys at the bottom left of the keyboard compared to the ThinkPad X41 which does not have the Windows key. The PgDn, PgUp, Home and End cursor keys are also present but require users to press the function (Fn) key, similar to the embedded numeric keypad on most laptops. The Caps Lock, Shift, Alt, Tab, Backspace, and Enter keys are quite large so you don't miss compared to the LifeBook P7010 and ThinkPad X41 where these critical keys are smaller. Unlike the Fujitsu P7010 where most of the keys are very tiny measuring about .5-inch wide making it difficult to hit at times, majority of the keys on the VAIO TX are close in size (.75-inch wide) to the keys from a full-sized keyboard (Logitech diNovo keys measures .80-inches wide) with only the top row keys (ESC, function keys) having slightly smaller than the rest.

Like most laptop keyboards, the numeric keypad is embedded within the keys located near the center of the keyboard and is activated with the num lock key. In addition, there are function (Fn) keys are used in conjunction with the F keys to alter the screen brightness, disable or enable wireless, and switch to an external monitor when connected. When toggling one of these function keys, such as the screen brightness for example, it will activate an on-screen brightness indicator. This helps you identify exactly which brightness settings you want to select. The on-screen indicator applies to other function access buttons as well, including the volume adjustment.

Compact notebook, compact keyboard Enlarge Image

Due to the notebook's diminutive size, the 10-inch compact keyboard takes a little practice to getting accustomed to (compare this to the Acer TravelMate 8104 keyboard, which is 11-inches wide) as its only 90% of a full-sized keyboard. As I've mentioned earlier, most of the keys are similar in size to the keys of a typical full-sized keyboards which is quite impressive. After typing on this keyboard for some time now, I can type fairly quickly and somewhat accurately; but not comfortably. This layout is rather cramped, making it uncomfortable at times to type, especially for long periods of time. Keep in mind this is normal for an ultraportable machine.

The keys feel moderately stiff when depressing them, but not as stiff as Fujitsu's LifeBook P7010. Compared to the LifeBook's 2 mm travel distance, some users may find the 1.7mm depression level (travel distance) on the VAIO TX too shallow, especially if you're accustomed to the 3 mm key stroke from models like the Lenovo ThinkPads. Noise generation is very minimal when typing, quiet as most notebooks we have tested. Besides the narrow typing area, even the palm rest area feels cramped.

Touch pad
The touchpad measures 2.5-inches wide and 2-inches in length, offering sufficient surface area to allow comfortably gliding of one's finger. Like the palm rest area, the grey flush surface is clean and smooth, sensitive to touch and responds accurately to movement. As with most touch pads, it also allows for tapping to execute an action if you prefer not to use the click buttons.

To the right edge of the surface area, the touchpad has a function to scroll vertically but not horizontally. This allows you to scroll in applications like Internet Explorer when sliding your finger in the appropriate direction. The two click buttons are appropriately sized and exhibit minimal noise when clicking.

Design Continued

Connectivity Options
For such a compact laptop, the VAIO TX is loaded with a sufficient number of connectivity options surrounding front, rear, left, and right sides of the computer but still falls behind the robust connectivity options found on the Fujitsu LifeBook P7010 (i.e. S-Video and a built-in microphone). For users who prefer to connect their laptop to an external monitor, television or projector, the VAIO TX supplies VGA output; but omitting DVI and S-Video. Believe it or not, the VAIO TX is also missing a built-in microphone!

The VAIO TX marks the first time Sony has incorporated an SD card reader in one of its laptops.This makes it convenient for most users including myself, as I generally use both SD and Memory Stick formats.

It offers a SD slot in addition to the Memory Stick/SD Slot.

Phone and USB 2.0 port are protected by plastic covers to prevent dust or debris from filtering through while the notebook is in transit.

Front
On the front panel [front left to right], you will find Memory Stick slot reader supporting Memory Stick Media, Memory Stick Duo, and Memory Stick PRO. Below it is the SD (Secure Digital Card) slot reader, allowing you to transfer data to and from a variety of digital devices. Next you will find the Wireless LAN/Bluetooth switch. The integrated Wireless LAN and Bluetooth can be activated or deactivated by toggling the Wireless On/Off switch disabled when not in use in order to conserve battery. Mute, volume buttons, and headphone/microphone jacks are all stationed on front of the computer, allowing for quick and easy access.

The LCD panel does not come with any type of latch mechanism to secure the display when shut but the hinges are strong enough to securely shut the display. The display opens very easily and lightly. When shut, the screen hovers slightly over the keyboard and palm rest area, reinforced by seven rubber pads to prevent the screen from touching the keyboard and wrist area.

Rear
The rear panel contains the Network (Ethernet) port, DC In port, and i.LINK (IEEE1394) S400 FireWire port. The IEEE 1394 port, known as Firewire or iLINK, is of the 4-pin variety and used to connect to Firewire devices, such as Sony camcorders and some external drives.

The battery pack protrudes from the rear.

Left Side
On the left-side: USB 2.0 port, PC Card slot, and air vent. The modem port and USB 2.0 port are protected behind the plastic protective covers which is strange since the far left USB 2.0 port (along with the other ports) are left out in the open.

Right Side
On the right side: Dual-Layer DVD burner optical drive, VGA out and the rubber WWAN antenna.

Heat and Noise
In a notebook, components such as the hard drive and the cooling fan are responsible for generating heat and noise. The cooling fan on the VAIO TX, which is located on the left & right sides and bottom panel of the notebook, operates based on processor load. Whether or not the noise level of the fan is tolerable will depend on the individual user. After using a wide range of notebooks and experiencing vastly different levels of noise, I found that the fan noise generated from the VAIO TX is moderately loud and noticeable in some instances. In most cases, the fans will hardly ever initiate, especially when the processor throttles down. When the fan does begin to spin, it hardly ever ceases. This is most attributed to the type of fan/thermal solution used in this computer.

At a frequency of 600 MHz and undertaking tasks such as word processing, the fan noise is hardly noticeable but spins at a constant rate. During general Internet/email usage with the AC power plugged in, the fan begins to spin and creates a low-pitched whooshing sound as the air passes through the system's vents in the rear and sides. When using the laptop for prolonged use or when the processor is set to run at full-speed, the fan operates faster, thus noise level becomes substantially more noticeable. The good news is you can control the CPU fan to a certain extent in the VAIO Power Management application [more on this in the battery section].

Heat build up on this laptop is minimal. The system becomes slightly warm during heavy loads, but never comes close to reaching uncomfortable levels. A few areas like the touchpad and palm rest can become lukewarm. In fact, this notebook is comparable to the Fujitsu LifeBook P7000 as being one of the coolest running laptops I've tested.

Upgrading and Expansion
Upgrading components of the VAIO TX is simple, thanks to the easily accessible memory compartment located on the bottom side of the machine, only requiring a standard Philips screwdriver. Unfortunately, the only user-friendly upgradeable component is the memory. The Wi-Fi mini-PCI adapter and hard drive is more of a challenge, as they do not offer user-friendly replaceable compartments. Unlike the Fujitsu LifeBook P7010 laptop, which uses the rare and more expensive micro-DIMM, the Sony VAIO TX uses a standard SO-DIMM memory module. Inside the VAIO TX came pre-soldered (non-removable) one 512MB stick of 400MHz (PC-3200) DDR2 SO-DIMM module, leaving one empty slot for upgrade.

On the bottom of the computer, you are able to connect a port replicator to add more functionality and connectivity options. The VGP-PRT1X1 port replicator offers 3 additional USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet LAN port, and VGA out and sells for $199.

Features

Processor/Chipset/RAM
Using the fundamental components of a modern Centrino notebook, the VAIO TX is powered by the battery efficient Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) 753 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz and the Intel 915GMS chipset. The Intel 915GMS Express chipset is part of the Sonoma platform. This platform supports a number of features including DDR2 memory and an integrated graphics solution (GMA 900). The Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage processor comes with a front side bus of 400 MHz and thermal design power (TDP) of 5 watts, one can expect this to be a highly battery efficient processor.

As with all Pentium M processors, the 753 supports Enhanced Intel Speedstep where the CPU adjusts its speed dynamically based on system usage. However, unlike the processors that run on 533 MHz front side bus, the Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage 753 clocks down to 600 MHz, instead of 800 MHz due to the lower front side bus speed. Even with the processor clocked down to 600 MHz, it is still fast enough to watch DVDs or do general-purpose computing (Web browsing, Word processing) with respectable performance. Clock speed can be adjusted in the Power Options and Sony's own Power Management application to optimize battery life or enhance performance.

Intel's Ultra Low Voltage Pentium M processors are identical in architecture, features, and overall performance to that of Low Voltage and regular Pentium M chips. They have the same amount of cache memory, run on a 400MHz FSB, and all in all offer the same performance as other Pentium M's. The difference comes when the chips are manufactured and tested by Intel. When a processor rolls off the line, it is tested and labeled using a method known as speed binning. In this process a chip is tested as to how fast it can operate and under what voltages. Chips that can run at lower voltages are binned for Low Voltage and Ultra Low Voltage applications, just like chips that can run at 1.6GHz but not 2.0GHz are binned for their maximum stable speed. The Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Pentium M 753 runs at a mere 0.94 V at 1.2GHz. This is less voltage than a 400MHz FSB Dothan uses at full speed! And low power doesn't mean low performance: if you were to clock a regular Pentium M at 1.2GHz it would perform the same as our ULV Pentium M.

As stated in the preceding section, our VAIO TX comes with one 512MB DDR2 PC3200 (400MHz) So-DIMM RAM already soldered onto the motherboard, leaving only 1 slot for you to upgrade for a maximum of 1.5GB. The reason for this is to minimize power consumption.

GPU
Aspart of the Intel 915GMS chipset package, it includes an integrated graphics accelerator to power the video of the VAIO TX computer. Key features include DirectX 9 hardware acceleration support, Pixel Shader 2.0, 133-320MHz core clock, 4 pixels pipes and 128MB dynamically shared memory (8MB minimum, 128 maximum).

The Intel GMA 900 graphics utilizes shared memory architecture, meaning the system memory (RAM) is shared with the graphics card. Since shared memory is dynamic, it will be allocated for graphics usage based on application demand. Once the application is closed, the memory that was allocated for graphics usage is then released and made available for system use. During general use, the graphics memory uses 8MB of system memory and can barrow up to 128MB during graphic intensive demand. As a result, the system may slow down when heavy graphics from an application are in demand. These limitations will make it difficult if not impossible to play most modern games. But the VAIO TX was not intended for 3D intensive tasks or gaming in the first place.

Display
One of the most striking features found on this ultra-portable laptop is its ultra-thin and wide-aspect 11.1-inch XGA (with an unusual native 1366x768 resolution) TFT LCD screen. It also incorporates Sony's XBRITE technology (glossy screen) to enhance image clarity and optimized for outdoor viewing. An anti-reflective coating is applied to minimize reflections but glare is still noticeable in some cases.

Beautiful luminous widescreen display with XBRITE. Enlarge Image

Image quality is impressive, as it is bright, vibrant, and sharp. In 2D desktop use, it provides sufficient brightness and contrast, with colors appearing bright and true. Text is very sharp, although some may be squinting as text is very small; but to the rescue is a magnification button (F10) to switch the resolution from a high 1366x768 to 1064x600. The response rate is fast enough to keep up with movies without significant ghosting. In addition, scrolling through a webpage full of text does not exhibit a lot of motion blur.

The viewing angle is sufficient.

For a relatively small screen, the 11-inch widescreen offers decent amount of desktop real estate, thanks in part to its high 1366x768 resolution. One can bring up two Word documents size by size and comfortably view both files. It also offers decent viewing angles; viewing the screen from a slight angle (horizontally or vertically) causes minimal distortion of the colors and brightness. When watching DVD movies, video quality is smooth and color rendering is rich. Connecting the VAIO TX laptop externally (capable of 1600x1200) to my Dell 20-inch widescreen LCD was simple as connecting the VGA cable and pressing the F7 key.

LED Backlight
This laptop is one of the first models to incorporate LED backlight technology and a newly designed display circuitry. As mentioned earlier,the VAIO TX sports an ultra-thin LCD panel measuring 4.5 mm (.18 inch) thin, which is actually 45% thinner than its T series predecessor. LED backlighting allows for the LCD display to be slimmer and consumes less power compared to conventional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lights (CCFL) backlighting found in most modern laptop displays. White LEDs are built inside the bottom edges of the LCD panel thus the bottom edge of the screen is brighter compared to the rest of the area like the top section.

Sound
Replacing the standard AC'97 audio specification is RealTek's High Definition audio codec to handle more channels at higher qualities and supports the latest audio content, equipped in the VAIO TX. It has capabilities to enhance sound experience by offering a more simulated 3-dimensional sound effect through regular stereo such as headphones or the built-in two speakers (requires DVD application to support this feature). High Definition audio now supports new formats, such as Dolby Digital Surround EX (7.1) and DTS ES. Unfortunately with all those new benefits, Sony didn't include S/PDIF digital audio output in the VAIO TX making it useless with this regard but it does utilize high definition power savings.

The on-board stereo speakers are positioned above the keyboard. For such a tiny laptop, the speakers produce loud and crisp sounds, but lack the hard-hitting bass, a common trait among most laptop speakers. Dialogue in movies sounded clear and the surround sound effect was impressive but bass was non-existent. Sounds and vocals were crisp but once again, bass was lacking during MP3 playback.

Overall, the sound capabilities produced from this machine are on par compared to most notebooks with a non-branded set of speakers (ie. Harman Kardon). Music and movies sounded excellent with my trusty Bose Triport connected, especially with the help of the Dolby Headphone Utility, which helps emulate realistic surround sound.

Features Continued

Instant Mode
Sony's Instant Mode [in fact, its made from InterVideo] allows for a quicker way to watch a DVD movie, listen to music or view photos without ever launching Windows operating system. While the laptop is turned off, press A/V Mode button to launch the Instant Mode menu as shown below:

The intuitive Instant Mode menu gives you the option to select the appropriate function. The CD-DVD mode allows you to launch an audio CD or DVD movie. The Photo mode allows you to view photos stored in the memory card reader (Memory Stick or SD). Once you've selected medium, there are simple on-screen menus that guide you through the navigation as this is where the multimedia hot keys and arrow keys come in handy.

WiFi, WWAN and Bluetooth
As part of the Sonoma trio, the VAIO TX comes with the Intel PRO Wireless 2200BG card, which can connect to 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networks. As mentioned earlier in the design section of the review, the VAIO TX includes a switch to turn on or off the Wireless LAN located on the front panel, which helps conserve battery when WiFi is not needed.

In regards to wireless performance, signal strength and download speeds were excellent overall. Our tests mainly consisted of connecting to a home and office 802.11b/g wireless network with no difficulty to speak of. Signal strength was reported between very good to excellent while using the laptop in my home and business network, even when being about 30 to 40 feet away from the wireless base station.

Another form of wireless is also built-in the VAIO TX that goes beyond the radius of 802.11b/g network. The VAIO TX employs Wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) built-in, accessing Cingular Wireless National EDGE Network, which allows you to wirelessly connect to the internet anywhere within Cingular's cellular coverage. The VAIO TX has a SIM chip built-in, just like the SIM chip in most cellular phones (Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon) to identify the phone or in this case, laptop model you have.

According to Cingular, the EDGE network has download speeds of 70 to 135 kilobits per second (kbps), which isn't close to broadband speeds but faster than dial-up. Certainly the EDGE networks gives mobile users flexibility in staying connected virtually in any proximity but for a cost. For $49.99 monthly service, you get 50 megabytes a month and 2 cents an additional KB if you go over. Unlimited usage is available for $79.99 per month with a 1 year contract.

Cingular EDGE Manager

The VAIO TX also features integrated Bluetooth wireless technology to wirelessly sync with Bluetooth enabled devices like printers, mice, keyboard, PDA, and cellular phones. I connected the Logitech V270 Bluetooth mouse with ease, thanks to the Add Bluetooth Device Wizard that detected the mouse immediately with no software drivers needed in order for it to operate. The Logitech V270 Bluetooth mouse felt responsive and precise without ever loosing connection. Although Bluetooth works within a smaller scope, it is useful for connecting multiple devices simultaneously.

With three different types of wireless technologies all integrated in the VAIO TX, it comes with a simple wireless management application called SmartWi. The intuitive and ease application manages the EDGE connection, Bluetooth and Intel PRO 802.11b/g wireless. You can manually select the wireless format you want to enable WWAN and WLAN cannot run simultaneously although Bluetooth can be used in conjunction with either WWAN or WLAN.

SmartWi makes selecting wireless formats easy

Optical Drive - Tiny Eject Button
The Matshita Dual-Layer Multi-Format DVD+/-RW Drive gives this ultra-portable even more functionality. This versatile drive is capable of burning DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW discs. The drive loads quite slowly; as soon as I insert a disc and shut the drawer, the movie or application takes approximately 14 seconds to finally load. However, the drive burned a couple of audio CDs and a backup recovery DVD disc with no problems to report.

To conserve battery life, the optical drive can be shut off using the Sony Power Manager which we'll dive into a bit deeper in the next couple of sections.

The eject button located on the drive is one of the smallest buttons I have ever seen as show below. Luckily you can just push the eject button located on the hinge.

The supported disc formats and burning capabilities of the optical drive are as follow:

Write: DVD+R DL Write (2.4x MAX); DVD+R Write (4x MAX); DVD+RW Write (2.4x MAX); DVD-R Write (4x MAX); DVD-RW Write (2x MAX); CD-R Write (24x MAX); CD-RW Write (10x MAX); DVD Read (8x MAX); CD Read (24x MAX)

1.8-inch Hard Drive
Due to space limitation and to conserve battery life, Sony opted in using a smaller 1.8-inch hard disk drive instead of a conventional 2.5-inch hard disk drive. This means you must sacrifice performance for less power consumption. Currently, only 60GB storage capacity is available across the VAIO TX line, which is sort of disappointing since the Fujitsu LifeBook P7010 offers storage capacities at up to 100GB. Our model came installed with a Toshiba 60GB (MK6006GAH) 1.8-inch hard disk drive with a low 2MB data buffer cache and a slow 4200RPM rotational speed. We tried to remove the drive but it appears to be sealed in its mount, potentially preventing users from upgrading the hard disk drive on this computer.

On a positive note, the drive is virtually silent when operating, in idle and when seeking. The 60GB of storage space is contiguous and comes formatted with NTFS.

Battery - Long Lasting
Evidently this ultra-portable contains several low power consuming components, which equals to highly efficient battery life. The capacity of the standard lithium ion battery is rated at massive 58 Wh (7800 mAh), making the standard battery rated at 49.6 Whr (4800 mAh) equipped in the Fujitsu LifeBook look puny. During DVD playback, the 141 minute movie Batman Begins ended with 1:28 hour (40%) of battery life remaining.

If you need additional battery time, you can purchase the large capacity (VGP-BPL5) battery rated at 96.2 Wh (13,000 mAh) for $299.

AC Adapter
The AC Adapter is a commonly overlooked part of a notebook's features, even though it is the most important part! The included AC adapter measures 4.5-inches long, 2-inches wide, and 1.2" thick, which is the same dimensions as the AC adapter found with the Fujitsu LifeBook. The AC adapter is extremely light and can easily slip in a carrying case or backpack pocket. Fortunately, it comes with a Velcro strap to organize the lengthy power cables.

Like the laptop, even the AC adapter is compact sitting next to our Motorola Razor phone.

Power Management
The VAIO Power Management Viewer, which is an application to allow you to change the power scheme that affects CPU performance, battery life, LCD brightness, and noise level. This is an excellent feature that allows you to adjust the performance level, maintain low fan noise, and ensure the battery will operate longer by changing further settings such as LCD brightness or shutting off the optical drive.

Adjusting the CPU fan noise can be adjusted with a total of five settings, with Level 1 being absolutely quiet and Level 5 optimized for performance. At the lowest setting, the laptop does appear to run a bit more quiet than usual. Other available user-adjustable settings include enabling or disabling the i.LINK port, optical drive, and built-in modem.

Software - Loaded
Sony included a vast array of software applications to streamline your computing experience. The Sony original software is comprised of: SmartWi Connection Manager as explained earlier, Click to DVD & DVD Creation, DVgate Plus & Digital Video, SoncStage & Digital Music, SonicStage Mastering Studio software with MP3 encoder, VAIO Media Network File Sharing, and Image Converter for PSP transferring.

Additional software includes Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition, Quicken 2005 New User Edition, InterVideo WinDVD, InterVideo Instant On, Roxio DigitalMedia SE, Microsoft Works 8.0 and Microsoft Office 2003 60-day trial Small Business Ed.

As for the utilities: Norton Internet Security, Norton AntiVirus, Norton Personal FireWall, Norton Privacy Control, SpySubtract 30 day subscription, Sony VAIO update, Sony VAIO recovery wizard, and Sony VAIO support central. I should also note Sony did clutter the drive with several trial applications like AOL, Microsoft Office 2003, and Norton suite.

It should be mentioned Sony did not include any recovery discs. Instead they supply the VAIO Recovery Wizard application for you to create your own recovery discs by burning them onto a recordable DVD or CD. The system-restore data is hidden on a hard drive partition, allowing you the option of restoring your computer directly from the hard drive.

Setup Method

The Sony VAIO TX was set to run at full performance by setting the power scheme set to 'Home/Office Desk' with the AC plugged in, meaning that the CPU will not underclock while running the tests. For the battery performance test, the power scheme was set to 'Portable/Laptop'. This activates SpeedStep technology, which lowers CPU speed when not needed, thus increasing battery life. Screen brightness and audio were both set to 50% and Wi-Fi was turned on while Bluetooth was turned off. Each test was repeated 3 times to ensure accuracy. Before each test was run, the laptop was rebooted and its hard drive defragmented.

Bapco SYSmark2004SE is popular benchmark suite consists of two different performance scenarios and generates an overall score by taking the geometric mean of the individual scores.

• Internet Content Creation: In this scenario, the content creator creates a product related website targeting a broadband and narrowband audience. The user first renders a 3D model to a bitmap, while preparing web pages using a web site publishing tool. The user opens a video editing package, creates a movie from several raw input movie cuts and sound cuts and starts exporting it. While waiting on this operation, the user imports the rendered image into an image-processing package; modifies it and saves the results. Back in the 3D modeling software, the user modifies a 3D model and exports it to a vector-graphics format. Once the movie is assembled, the user edits it and creates special effects using one of the modified images as input. The user extracts content from an archive. Meanwhile, he uses an animation creation tool to open the exported 3D vector graphics file. He modifies it by including other pictures and optimizes it for faster animation. The final movie with the special effects is then compressed in a format that can be broadcast over broadband Internet. The web site is given the final touches and the system is scanned for viruses.
• Office Productivity: In this scenario, the office productivity user creates a marketing presentation and supporting documents for a new product. The user receives email containing a collection of documents in a compressed file. The user reviews his email and updates his calendar while a virus checking software scans the system. The corporate web site is viewed and the user begins creating the collateral documents. The user also accesses a database and runs some queries. A collection of documents are compressed. The queries' results are imported into a spreadsheet and used to generate graphical charts. The user then transcribes a document.. The user edits and adds elements to a slide show template. Finally, the user looks at the results of his work (both the slide show and the portable document) in an Internet browser.

Bapco MobileMark 2005 is the latest version of the premier notebook battery life and performance under battery life metric based on real world applications.

• Office Productivity: The workloads in this category model a mobile professional at a fictitious automobile company. The worker creates documents using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, accesses email, and creates graphics and animation with Photoshop and Flash to include in a multimedia presentation. An Internet browser is used to view presentations. The user also invokes file compression and virus detection in the background.
• DVD Playback: The DVD playback 2005 workload is based on a 1 hours 55 minute movie that BAPCo has created from content provided by BMW. The DVD playback test starts the movie playerapplication, sets up a full screen playback, and the loops over the content on the disk in the DVDplayer. This playback will continue until system shutdown at battery depletion.
  

3DMark 2001 SE PRO build 3.3.0 measures graphics performance by benchmarking the CPU, memory, and graphics through a series of 21 tests, including simulated games, theoretical tests, DX8 feature tests, and image quality tests. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.

3DMark 2003 build 3.6.0 measures DX9 performance through a series of 3D game based sound, graphics, and CPU tests. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.

3DMark2005 build 1.2.0 is a graphics intensive benchmark best suited for the latest generation of DirectX 9.0 graphics cards. It combines high quality 3D tests, CPU tests, and is the first benchmark to require Pixel Shader 2.0 support, making this a highly stressful 3D benchmark.

PCMark 2005 Advanced build 1.1.0 is the latest update to Futuremark's popular overall system benchmarking program. The 2005 version adds multithreading, DirectX 9, Windows Media Player 10, virus scanning, High Defintion video playback (WMVHD), and a vast number of other tests to its suite. Testing your computer's CPU, RAM, hard drive and graphics card, PCMark05 drives your computer to the max to determine its strengths and weaknesses.

PCMark 2004 build 1.3.0 uses real life application tests to generate a combined score by running specific tasks like application loading, game tests, 3D rendering, multimedia encoding, and more. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.

Configurations

Specifications	Sony VAIO TX650P	Fujitsu P7010	HP L2000 Special Edition
Processor	Intel Pentium M 753 ULV (1.2 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)	Intel Pentium M 753 ULV (1.2 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)	AMD Turion 64 ML-30 (1.6GHz, 1MB L2 Cache)
Front Side Bus	400 MHz	400 MHz	1600 MHz (HTT)
Chipset	Intel 915GMS	Intel 855GME	ATI RS480
Wireless LAN	Intel PRO/Wireless 220BG (802.11b/g) Bluetooth WWAN	Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG (802.11 a/b/g)	Broadcom 802.11b/g Bluetooth IrDA
Hard Drive	60GB Toshiba 1.8" 4200RPM 2MB Cache	100GB Fujitsu 4200RPM 8MB Cache	80GB Hitachi 5400RPM 8MB Cache
Memory	512MB DDR2 PC3200 400MHz SO-DIMM (1 x 512MB) Single Channel Mode	512MB DDR333 PC2700 micro-DIMM (2 x 512MB) on Single Channel Mode	512MB DDR333 PC2700 (2 x 256MB) Single Channel Mode
Graphics	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 128MB Dynamically Shared	Intel 855GME	ATI Radeon Xpress 200M
Operating System	Windows XP Professional w/SP2	Windows XP Home w/SP2	Windows XP Home w/SP2
Battery	7,800 mAh	4,800 mAh	4,400 mAh

Performance

Bapco SYSmark2004SE

Internet Content Creation

Office Productivity

Total Score

PCMark04
Here are the associated scores (numbers in bold highlights the higher score):

PCMark04	VAIO TX	LifeBook P7010	L2000
CPU	2252	2388	2944
Memory	2146	2205	2125
Graphics	673	638	726
HDD	2479	2761	3242

and the PCMark04 Overall Score:

The bottleneck in this test is the Toshiba 1.8-inch hard drive with a slow spinning 4200RPM and a low 2MB cache loaded in the VAIO TX.

PCMark05 Advanced
Here are the associated scores (numbers in bold highlights the higher score):

PCMark05 Advanced	VAIO TX	LifeBook P7010	L2000
CPU	1864	N/A	2257
Memory	1829		1976
Graphics	550		607
HDD	2247		3250

and the PCMark05 Advanced Overall Score:

3D Performance

3DMark 2001 SE

The Intel GMA900 surpasses both the integrated 855GME graphics in the Fujitsu and the ATI Xpress 200M in the L2000.

3DMark03

The Intel 855GME Graphics just can't keep up with the Intel GMA 900 or the ATI Xpress 200M in the 3DMark03 test.

3DMark05

The ATI Xpress 200M shines here in the 3DMark05 test.

Battery Performance

Thanks to the massive 7,800 mAh rated battery, the VAIO TX surpasses even the once battery king Fujitsu LifeBook 7010.

Lasting 6 hours and 6 minutes in the office productivity test is quite impressive.

The VAIO TX takes a long lead by 72 minutes in the DVD playback against its rival the LifeBook P7010.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Carbon-fiber chassis
• Very lightweight and compact
• Sleek and durable design
• Sony Instant On
• Built-in DVD burner
• Built-in wireless communication: WWAN, WLAN, Bluetooth
• Decent sized keys
• Beautiful screen 11.1-inch widescreen LCD display with XBRITE
• Multimedia software & hot keys
• Runs cool
• Long lasting battery life

Cons:

• Slow system performance
• Slow hard drive
• Missing built-in microphone
• Missing S-Video
• Cramped keyboard
• Restricted upgrades (i.e. sealed hard drive)
• No hard drive options larger than 60GB
• Missing finger print security
• Expensive

Recommendation
The Sony VAIO TX represents the ultimate portable computer without sacrificing on functionality. At almost half the size and weight of most laptops, this computer includes a nice array of ports, communication options, and built-in multimedia functionality made to serve frequent travelers, business professionals and general purpose users. This is one of the most battery efficient laptops we've ever tested and perhaps the best in the market. Lasting almost 6 hours and 6 minutes in our productivity battery test, one can expect to use this machine out and about for an overly sufficient amount of time.

Having multiple wireless formats such as Bluetooth, wireless LAN, and built-in Wireless Wide Area Network is an added plus, but the high priced EDGE Cingular service might scare some users away. Of course, if staying connected anywhere is critical to you then it might be a good investment. The relatively high resolution 11.1-inch widescreen is a great size for an ultra-portable machine, minimizing weight yet providing sufficient screen real estate.

Despite the light and portable design factor you get with this model, it has its adverse affects as well. Due to the cramped keyboard, some will find typing on this ultra-portable uncomfortable. This is not abnormal for a system of this size, but at least the keys are quite large in size adding a bit of ergonomics. Throughout the review we've mentioned several component choices that were made to optimize battery life & this has a direct affect in performance as well. The 1.8-inch hard drive with 2MB cache and a slow 4200RPM is a bottleneck in overall system performance. In addition, upgrading is very limited, especially restricting the hard drive from being upgraded, which is a major limitation for future optimization. For a business centric computer, it's missing a finger print security sensor or even basic hardware based security, a feature business professionals will probably require.

With a sleek carbon fiber casing and available in three colors, the VAIO TX strikes as an elegant and chic modern computer to accompany your mobile lifestyle. The instant appeal of the VAIO TX is the mobility factor, combined with a myriad of functions that make it very appealing to most. If you need portability that can handle general purpose tasks, can connect to multiple wireless formats, and is equipped with some nice multimedia features, then the VAIO TX might be right for you. However, don't expect blazing performance speeds.

Availability/Warranty
The Sony VAIO TX is available now from $1,999 to $2,599 depending on options. Sony offers one (1) year Parts & Labor warranty with one (1) year hardware technical support and 90 days software technical support.