Sony VAIO VGN-S260

Sony VAIO VGN-S260 Review

Overview

Thin-and-light laptop computers are becoming more popular among consumers who need a balance between portability and performance. The VAIO VGN-S260 is a thin-and-light laptop that adds Sony's cool design and includes a number of onboard features. The most notable feature is the stunning 13.3-inch WXGA widescreen LCD with Sony XBRITE technology, for exceptional picture quality. Its powerful performance combined with a long-lasting battery and integrated multimedia features all packed in a sturdy magnesium alloy case; makes the VAIO VGN-S260 the perfect blend between a powerful mainstream laptop and a light weight ultraportable. While the S260 design is sleek and performance is strong, it's still not the perfect laptop. The fan is very noisy and spins intermittently. The battery rattles and the touchpad design is less than ideal.

Currently, Sony offers the S series in two models: the VGN-S260 with Windows XP Home Edition and the VGN-S270P with Windows XP Professional, for $1899.99 and $1949.99 respectively. A steep price compared to other thin-and-lights from Dell, HP/Compaq, and Averatec that sell for around the $1000 - $1400 price range.

Design

Portability
In terms of its portability, compact and lightweight are the perfect words to describe the VAIO VGN-S260. Measuring 12.3 inches wide, 8.55 inches deep and 1.25 inches thick, this laptop is ideal to fit in virtually any backpack or carrying case. It's about the width size of a notebook binder, but smaller in diameter. As for the weight, it's only 4.2 pounds with the battery, which is remarkably light considering how feature rich this machine is. Ultimately, you could conveniently tote it around in a backpack or carrying case while allowing your back or shoulder a break from strains, even during long durations without ever noticing the VGN-S260.

Case and Design Layout
The VAIO VGN-S260 design is solid throughout the exterior and interior construction. The matte-black case surrounding the top lid and bottom case, including the metallic grey area surrounding the keyboard and screen are made of magnesium alloy with some areas made of plastic. The VGN-S260 feels very sturdy including the top lid (back of LCD), protecting the display from damage while lugging the machine around. The surface feels very smooth but also very sturdy and appears to be less prone to scratches. With an inverted color scheme, the VGN-S260 has a very stylish aesthetic design. The top display lid and bottom case is finished in black, whereas metallic gray surrounds the screen and around the keyboard.

The LCD is held on by two stiff hinges that allow the display to open almost a flat 180 degrees. The display lid is closed without latch, which could possibly lead to problems with the LCD lid not securely shut during transit if the hinges wear out over time. The screen hovers slightly over the keyboard and palm rest area when the lid is shut protected by 9 rubber pads (7 around the display in each corner and 2 on each side of the keyboard) to prevent the screen from touching the keyboard and palm rest area. The rubber pads are very thin so I recommend placing a thin cloth between the screen and keyboard/palm rest area when shutting the lid.

The CD-RW/DVD combo drive and the Memory Stick media slot are located in front, but hidden underneath the bevel. Although this is only my personal preference, this is inconvenient due to the optical drive and Memory Stick reader slot not visible from my position even though being in front of the machine. The metallic grey bevel extends outward, covering over the bottom portion where the optical drive and Memory Stick are located. This requires me to bend down to locate the desired drives. I would prefer these two to be located on the sides.

The optical drive and Memory Stick Slot are located in front.

The battery is attached on the rear edge, but it fits loosely and rattles when carrying the machine around.

Right below the palm rest area on the front edge are another set of indicator lights to inform you which functions are being accessed: power, battery, hard disk drive, optical drive, memory stick, and wireless LAN. To the right of the indicator lights is a switch to turn on or off the unit's Wi-Fi b/g radio to conserve battery life, which felt flimsy when switching it. The indicator lights and wireless switch is still viewable (and accessible for the Wi-Fi switch) even when the display lid is closed since the lid doesn't cover over the entire base's front panel.

Design Continued

Keyboard and Touch pad
The extra screen width allows the keyboard to be larger than keyboards from other typical ultraportable laptops. The black full-sized keyboard contains all the essential keys such as the Windows key and the Ctrl key at the bottom left of the keyboard (which also in the correct place), where normally some laptops contain only Fn key instead. All the keys are fairly large, in comparison to my desktop keyboard. The Caps Lock, Shift, Alt, Tab, Backspace, and Enter keys are extra large. Interestingly, Sony decided to integrate the Home, End, Pg Up, Pg Dn keys as function keys into the arrow keys. For example, in order to activate the 'Pg Dn' key, you must hold the Fn key and then press the down-arrow key, which is also the Pg Dn key. In addition, there are function keys to adjust the volume, screen brightness, sleep, and switching to an external monitor when connected. When the function keys are accessed such as adjusting the brightness, it will activate the on-screen brightness bar and makes a beeping sound when you toggle through the brightness setting of your choice.

In terms of use, the keyboard feels fairly good. The keys are nicely positioned and it feels responsive. The keys are large as mentioned earlier. However, the keys feel stiff when depressing them whereas the keyboard from the Dell 8600 and Apple PowerBook 17-inch feels lighter. The keys also don't depress as deep compared to the IBM ThinkPad T42. I typed for 2 hours with the VGN-S260 and after I switched to the Sony VAIO VGN-A250 to type, the keys felt much lighter (as the Dell 8600 and Apple PowerBook do) to type with. I actually prefer the keyboard on the VAIO VGN-A250 over the VGN-S260 but nevertheless, the keyboard on the VGN-S260 feels fine.

The touch pad is approximately 2.4 inches wide and a little over 1.5 inches in diameter. This is quite small compared to other touch pads such as on the Compaq Presario V2000. The narrow and long (3 inches wide when both combined) silver touch pad buttons are about half an inch away from the touch pad. This makes pushing the buttons feel far and too small to locate. In terms of use, the touchpad is sensitive and responds accurately to my finger. The touchpad also allows for tapping to execute an action and also has the function to scroll vertically and horizontally with certain applications when sliding the finger in the appropriate direction.

Small touchpad

Ports
Many of the connections, including two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet port, modem jack, and i.LINK FireWire S400 port, are protected by plastic covers. This is a great way to protect these essential ports from dust or dirt but I'm not sure if it's really necessary since I personally don't like any type of covers. Nevertheless, the plastic caps appear very sturdy so they are less likely to break off when transporting the laptop.

On the left-side, there is an Ethernet port, modem jack, microphone jack, headphone jack, VGA port and PC Card slot.

Left-side

On the right-side, there is the iLINK FireWire S400 port, two USB 2.0 ports, and the DC IN port.

Right-side

Heat and Noise
The heat is dispensed through air vents located in the bottom, front, and right side. After using the laptop for 20 minutes, the fans activated intermittently. The fans sound like a motor as its one of the loudest fans I've heard compared to four other laptops I've recently used and reviewed including the Apple iBook, ThinkPad T42, and Compaq Presario V2000, which are nearly silent. Even when I adjusted the power scheme to reduce the clock speed, the fan still continued to spin noticeably. As for the heat, the right side of the palm rest area and at the bottom is where heat is the most apparent. After long periods of use, the laptop begins to warm up, but never reaching discomfort levels.

Upgrading and Expansion
Although the VAIO VGN-S260 is equipped with almost everything you need, Sony offers an optional port replicator. This expands more connectivity such as 3 USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, printer port, and VGA and DVI out. There is also an option to purchase a $300 high-capacity battery that is supposed to last six hours. Beneath the VAIO VGN-S260 is the memory module cover housing the RAM. Currently, the VGN-S260 comes installed with a Micro-SODIMM 512MB DDR SDRAM at 333MHz (PC2700), leaving an open slot to upgrade, and expandable to 1024MB. Micro-SODIMM is a 172-pin memory module that is found in most ultraportable machines and is approximately half the size of a 200-pin SODIMM module.

Upgrading the memory simply requires removing two screws, removing the memory module cover, and inserting the RAM. The Intel Wi-Fi PCI card is also upgradeable too. As for the hard drive, Sony does not provide any instructions on replacing the hard drive but by observing the machine, it would require you to disassemble the entire case in order to replace the hard drive.

Features

Processor
The Sony VAIO VGN-S260 is the next revision to the VGN-S150, with the only considerable difference is an enhanced ' Dothan' Pentium M processor. The VAIO-VGN-S260 is powered by the Intel Pentium M Centrino 735 1.7 GHz processor installed with the Intel i855PM chipset. It features a 2MB L2 memory cache, and 400MHz front-side bus. The clock speed and power usage can dynamically adjust based on the application demand. Essentially, the processor can either run at optimal speeds for full performance or clock down to conserve battery energy. Even with the processor clocked down, it's fast enough to watch DVDs or play games with respectable performance.

GPU
The VAIO VGN-S260 graphics processing is powered by the ATI Mobility RADEON 9200 with 32MB DDR SDRAM dedicated memory. The ATI RADEON 9200 supports DirectX 8.1 programmable pixel and vertex shaders and AGP 8X (Intel i855PM chipset supports only AGP 4X). Another great feature is the ATI RADEON 9200 can dynamically adjusts power consumption based on user activity to maximize battery life.

Half Life 2 running on 16:10

Will this machine be able to handle games? You bet, but only at low resolutions. The RADEON 9200 is capable in handling most 3D games such as Warcraft 3 and even the recently released Half Life 2. I played through Half Life 2 on this machine and to my surprise, it ran fairly decent - of course frame rates dropped in some parts of the game but for the most optimal playable performance, ensure it runs at 800 x 600. I tried 1024 x 768 and it was playable but frame rates were obviously slower than playing at 800 x 600. Even Warcraft 3 ran smooth and the graphics were visually pleasing. Doom 3 was a no go, as the game is too demanding for the RADEON 9200 to handle. Ultimately, the VGN-S260 can handle most games!

Display
Sony is the first company to offer a 13.3-inch widescreen display in a laptop. It offers the WXGA resolution of 1280 x 800 with Sony's XBRITE technology. The screen has a glossy finish and offers great contrast. The LCD with XBRITE technology is Sony's trademark for more vibrant colors, sharp contrast, and crisp detail. As a result, the VGN-S260's screen is simply stunning. The viewing angle is wide, more so horizontally than vertical. The response rate is fast, so games and movies run smoother and scrolling through a webpage full of text does not exhibit motion blur. The screen is bright overall, more so compared to other laptop screens without XBRITE.

DVD playback with the movie Troy

With an aspect ratio of 16:10, the VAIO-VGN260 is a great mobile DVD player. The movie Troy looked bright and vibrant. In 2D desktop use, text is legible despite the high resolution and small display size. Due to the screen having a glossy coating, you will notice reflections on the screen. Reflections are more apparent when light is directly shining over the screen such as from sunlight or a lamp. I took the machine outdoors and did notice strong reflection but increasing the brightness did help reduce the glare. Some users may be distracted by the reflective display but I find it not an issue.

Sound
The built-in stereo speakers are located above the keyboard on opposing sides. The speakers lacked bass, despite the option for 'Bass Boost' in the Sony Notebook Setup application. The speakers can reach a high volume without becoming distorted. MP3 playback sounded muffled. Action sequences during the movie Troy sounded decent as it had a loud presence with the volume set to maximum. With the headphones connected to the system, sound quality is substantially better.

Features Continued

Wireless
Like most Centrino platforms, the Sony VAIO VGN-S260 is integrated with the Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG 802.11g/b Wi-Fi adapter. As mentioned before, there is a switch to turn on or off the Wireless LAN to conserve battery when Wireless Hotspots is not available or needed. Connecting wirelessly with this machine is incredibly simple, thanks to the bundled VAIO Wireless Utility that takes you step-by-step through the connection process and provides a diagnostics and instructions guide to help you even further.

With respect to wireless performance, I was able to sustain connection with the machine approximately 30 feet away from my access point. This is while I was out in my backyard with the access point located through three rooms and upstairs in the bedroom. Signal strength reported a variable 'low' to 'good' connection but I was able to browse the net. While in the house however, signal strength reported a 'good' to 'excellent' connection. Like most laptops with an integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG adapter I've used, wireless strength and speed was not an issue.

Connections
The Sony VAIO VGN-S260 comes with all the essential ports to expand your communication and data transfer capabilities. There are two High-Speed USB 2.0 ports located side-by-side to connect external devices such as a printer, digital camera, or a mouse. There is also one FireWire port. Sony labels it iLINK S400, which is a six-pin port that provides power to your device, unlike the more popular FireWire with four-pin type. This allows you to connect a Sony camcorder without requiring its AC adapter or battery, for example.

Two USB 2.0 ports and an iLINK S400 FireWire port

On the left side, there is one Ethernet (10/100BASE-T) port for connecting to a network (Router) or to a cable or DSL modem to access the Internet. The internal 56 K V.92 modem allows you to connect an analog phone line to access the Internet. The headphone jack allows for connecting external speakers, headphones or other sound devices. There is a security slot to connect an optional security cable lock to secure your machine down to a desk or table. A PC Card slot is available to expand more connectivity such as additional ports or act as a media card reader. Like all VAIO laptops, there is a Memory Stick reader slot to read Memory Stick media. There is a VGA port to connect to an external display or projector.

LAN, 56K modem, audio, and VGA ports

Optical Drive
The integrated tray loading optical drive is a Matshita DVD/CD-RW combo drive. The drive reads and accesses CD and DVD discs very fast. When inserting a DVD disc, the movie loads up within seconds. I also burned several CD-R discs flawlessly. Surprisingly, the drive operates relatively quiet when reading discs in comparison to other optical drives such as one found in the Apple iBook.

The drive capabilities are as follow:

• CD Read: 24x max
• CD-R Write: 24x max
• CD-RW Read: 24x max
• CD-RW Write: 10x max
• DVD Read: 8x max
• DVD-R Read: 4x max
• DVD-RW read 4x max
• DVD+R Read: 4x max
• DVD+RW Read: 4x max

Hard Drive
The VAIO VGN-S260 comes with a Toshiba MK6025GAS 2.5' disk drive with 4200 RPM and 2MB buffer. The drive runs extremely quiet in idle mode but it makes a tolerable crunching noise when it seeks.

Battery
The supplied battery is a Lithium-ion rechargeable battery with 53.28Wh. Its rated capacity and rated voltage is 4800 mAh (6-cell) and 11.1 V, respectively. Battery life is outstanding. I used this laptop during my trip to Las Vegas, being able to last over 4 hours using word processing, image viewing, and Internet browsing. Our BatteryMark testing (performance section) reported one of the highest scores.

Sony included its own VAIO Power Management Viewer, which is an application to allow you to change the power scheme that affects performance, battery life, LCD brightness, and noise level. This is an excellent feature that allows you to adjust the performance level, while having low fan noise but also ensures the battery will operate longer by changing further settings such as LCD brightness or shutting off the optical drive.

VAIO Power Management Viewer

Software
Sony included a full suite of multimedia software such as SonicStage Mastering Studio Music, DVgate Plus Video, and PictureGear Studio Photo. Sony also includes VAIO Media which incorporates VAIO media content on your computer and the option to share on your network.

For music:

• SonicStage 2.0
• Sonic Stage Mastering Studio
• MoodLogic

For movies:

• DVgate plus
• InterVideo WinDVD 5

For pictures:

• PictureGear Studio

Others:

• Microsoft office 2003 60-day trial
• Microsoft Works 7.0
• Quicken 2005
• Norton Internet Security

Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack 2

The Sony Notebook Setup allows you to configure devices and settings such as programming the S Buttons and adjusting the bass of the audio.

Sony did not include any recovery discs but did include the VAIO Recovery Wizard application for you to create your own recovery discs by burning them on blank CDs. The system-restore data is hidden on a hard drive partition.

Setup Method

The Sony VAIO VGN-S260 was set to run at full performance meaning it ran at 1.70 GHz during the tests. For the battery performance test, the power scheme was set to 'Portable/Laptop'. This activates SpeedStep technology, which would lower CPU speed when not needed, thus increasing battery life. The following software was used:

• Business Winstone 2004
• Multimedia Content Creation 2004
• 3DMark 2001 SE Pro
• BatteryMark 2004

We ran the tests 3 times for consistency, defragenting and rebooting in between tests.

System	VAIO VGN-S260	IBM ThinkPad T42
OS	Windows XP Home Service Pack 2	Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2
CPU	Pentium M 735 1.70 GHz	Pentium M 735 1.70 GHz
Bus	400 MHz	400 MHz
RAM	512MB DDR333 CL2.5	512MB DDR333 CL2.5
Hard Drive	Toshiba 40GB 4200RPM	Fujitsu 40GB 5400RPM
Video	ATI RADEON 9200 32MB	ATI RADEON 7500 32MB
Battery	6 Cell Lithium-Ion	6 Cell Lithium-Ion

Performance

Business Winstone 2004 (General Usage test)

The ThinkPad T42 barely edges the VAIO VGN-S260. This is due to the faster 5400RPM hard drive.

Multimedia Content Creation 2004

In the multimedia content creation test, the ThinkPad T42 with 5400RPM hard drive edges the VGN-S260 with 4200RPM hard drive.

3DMark 2001 SE Pro
(Default settings, 21 game tests)

The VAIO VGN-S260 with the faster ATI RADEON 9200 GPU beats the IBM ThinkPad T42 with a slower ATI RADEON 7500 graphics chip.

Battery Performance
(Business Winstone 2004 BatteryMark)

The screen brightness was set to 3 bars out of 8 bars, which is slightly dark in bright conditions but more viewable in darker conditions. Power scheme was set to 'Portable/Laptop' to reflect the same setting on the comparison machine.

The VAIO VGN-S260 proved to be superior in the battery performance tests.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Thin and lightweight
• Sleek design
• Sturdy casing
• Stunning 13.3-inch widescreen display with XBRITE
• Flexible power-management features for extended battery life
• Battery life is outstanding
• Average performance

Cons:

• Battery fits loosely and rattles
• Wireless switch button is flimsy
• Screen glare
• Fan turns on frequently and is loud
• Keyboard is mediocre
• Poor touchpad design
• Optical drive and Memory Stick location is not ideal

Recommendation
The VGN-S260 is a lightweight and compact laptop for exceptional mobility. The magnesium alloy case is both sturdy and sexy. The battery life is outstanding. With the help of the flexible power management features, you can adjust the power scheme to maximize battery life, such as to shut off the optical drive, adjust the processor speed, CPU fan and LCD brightness. The 13.3-inch widescreen LCD with XBRITE is bright and sharp but be aware, reflections are more apparent compared to normal LCD screens without the glossy coating. Nevertheless, this is a great machine to view DVD movies. The keyboard feels a bit stiff to type with. The touchpad is a bit too small and the associated touch pad buttons are too far to reach. Expect to hear the fan spin on this machine, as the fan noise is very annoying.

Performance is adequate, but lags slightly behind the ThinkPad T42. For the most part, the VGN-S260 will perform fine in handling most applications and games. This is a great mainstream portable for students, multimedia users, and even business professionals. The bundled multimedia applications will work great with video enthusiasts. If you're a frequent traveler, this laptop will fulfill your needs in terms of features and portability. But lets not forget, for $2,000, this is a costly machine.

Availability/Warranty
Sony offers one year of technical support: free service that includes free shipping both ways and 24/7 toll-free telephone technical support. The Sony support website provides a knowledgebase and download center.

The VAIO VGN-S260 and VGN-S260P is available now for $1899.99 and $1,999.99, respectively. Sony recently introduced the VGN-S360 with the only noticeable difference is an upgraded 80GB hard drive and ATI RADEON 9700 GPU. This will drive the retail price on both the S260 and S260P models down.