Customer Reviews
A tale of two computers.... 
2008-02-10
I am in love with my Sony Vaio VGN-AR630E. It is fast, provides great graphis, and has just about any feature that you could possibly want it to have. I would definitley reccomend everyone to buy this computer based on its merit, functionality, and enjoyability.
HOWEVER, I have hit a couple of snags with it so far, that I think are more attributable to Windows than to the actual Vaio itself. For example, one of the main reasons why I bought this computer is because of the ability to play Blu-Ray DVD's. Well, low and behold, I am unable to play Blu-Ray DVD's on my computer. When I input the DVD, the software stays in "loading" mode and never plays the movie.
I called Sony Support and while they were very helpful, they didn't have a patch available to fix my problem. SO, I had to pay over $30 for a cd with the patch that is needed, which had to be ordered for me. Given that one of the main reasons why I bought the computer was to play Blu-Ray DVD's, I paid up. Needless to say though, I am not happy about it.
If you want to have a great computer, and don't mind messing with it and/or calling support once or twice, then this is a great computer for you to buy. On the other hand, if you believe that a $2, 000 computer shouldn't create any hassle for you, then you may want to pass this one up.
Excellent Overall Value 2008-01-18
I bought this for a combination of work and media player. Excellent screen, quiet and runs much faster than previous laptops. Not much heavier despite the oversize 17" screen.
On the plus side, I was able to create a DVD from a mixture of PC video files in various formats (.avi, .mpg, .wmv) with absolute minimal learning curve.
Some niggles:
- the DVD opens to the side, which means the PC cannot be stored in a stereo rack hooked to an HDTV and used with a remote keyboard.
- the VGA port output is not recognized by the PC port on my Samsung HDTV so I need to diagnose or acquire an HDMI to DVI cable and try that.
- the keyboard is set towards the base of the screen back far from the edge of the PC, which means I rest my hands on the PC - not a very natural position for me. And, the mouse buttons are right on the front edge, far from the keyboard, and prone to being pressed by accident.
- Windows Vista seems to have compatibility issues with some XP software. I am adjusting to some replacement file managers, etc. Aside from being able to create DVD's I have not seen any benefits from Vista - so far I prefer XP and Vista has just been a nuisance - maybe I will learn to love it.
- no manual and it took me a while to find the diagram of the system showing all the ports. Yes, I still like books.
- laptop speaker volume and quality is poor.
Have not tried the Blu-Ray player yet.
Sony VAIO VGN-AR650U 17" Laptop 
2008-01-14
I received the Sony Laptop for my Christmas present. I love it. It replaced a very old laptop. The operating system -- Windows Vista Premium-- has worked without any problems. I turned it on, and it found the wireless connection right away. If you check around you will have a hard time finding another laptop for this price that offers the hard drive size and accessories this one offers. I love the HDMI connection; I can connect it to our TV and watch the items I have selected on my laptop on the TV. It's great for any TV shows you are downloading from the internet. You can also watch movies on your TV that you are playing from the DVD Drive.
Great core/features, needs fine tuning 
2008-01-08
First, I will ignore all aspects Vista related. This Vaio has some nice power, a good feature set, and is one of the cheaper 17" that comes with an HDMI (an awesome feature if u download movies or have an hdtv. However, its needs a serious run through on the physical design, especially around the keyboard. The keyboard looks like it belongs on a 12 inch top. though the actual buttons are large, there poorly spaced and arranged. The entire keyboard has sooo much room around the edges that it begs the question "why didn't they use this space for the keyboard?".
The pros:
Excellent speed/cost ratio
Beautiful screen and 1080 HD
HDMI
The Cons:
The keyboard is TINY considering the real estate they could have used.
The screen is so heavy, it requires one hand to hold the bottom down, while the other lifts the screen up.
The screen has a 1 inch black bar all the way around that increases the overall size of the laptop.
I gave this 3 stars because it really has some nice potential, and any person who spends five minutes with it can see that it would be greatly improved with some minor changes. But, its been reliable for me, powerful, and came at a good price. In the end, you could do worse.
Ultra-fast delivery & great product!!! Strongly recommended!!! 2008-01-08
Great functionality!
Excellent video quality!
Quiet, fast speed, great video out, and so on... Excellent!!
However,
If you have a PDA with OS below Windows mobile, the Vista mobile center will not allow you to synchronize.
The best laptop I've ever had 2008-07-11
Awesome laptop! As soon as I took it out of the box, I was shocked at how beautiful it is. The screen is very bright, and everything about it is great! I definitely reccomend!
sony vaio laptop 2008-07-06
The Sony Vaio rebuilt laptop I purchased is just the best!! Has all kinds of great features. Great Buy and I'm glad I did it.
Vaio 2008-05-13
Laptop was in a good shape, however there were no CD/DVD drivers attached or OS. This was key because I had problem with Vista since the beginning - error messages and unable to login (and Vista wanted to reinstall).
I had to play with it for a while, download 400 MB of Vista upgrades and 150 MB of Sony upgrades to work... and it is still not working properly. Hard to say if it is fault of seller or Sony...
Hard drive issue 2008-04-02
Well, mine shows only one hard drive; a total of 141GB under my computer even though it shows both hard drives in BIOS. When I called the customer support numerous times, they all said different things but nothing they said resolved the issue. One guy said that the other hard drive is mirrored thats why it is not showing up and suggested me to perform the system recovery. I did that too, but it didn't work. Anybody else has/had the same issue? Or know how to resolve this issue? Other than this hard drive issue, everything is excellent.
Sony wins again 2008-02-13
Im a SONY fan so this review will be a little bias. I traded my old SONY 15' in for this moblie desktop. The Blu-ray upgrade was very well priced, I believe the same model without it was $200 less.
Pro-
The Xbrite screen is clear and crisp. It makes me feel like im watching a plasma. Na, thats a push.
The factory 2 GB of RAM installed. Its good for gaming right out of the box.
The Blu-ray drive. If youve seen a Blu-ray movie, you already know its beautiful, if not, go buy one. Also, almost 70% of the movie industry is Blu-ray exclusive. HDDVD is going the way of ZIP drives.
Battery Life. I bought a extended battery and ive had it last aboout two and ahalf hours after a full charge. I did not buy the SONY version though, the compatable off factory one works and fits just the same for about $150 less.
The quick keys. You can control music and movies right from the keyboard, no need to click with the mouse. There are two "S" buttons on the keyboard also that you can use to control almost any program or app without having to go to the start menu.
The Motion Camera. Its intergrated on the laptop and its really clear for 1.3 MP. I use it to chat on Yahoo with no issues.
CONS
The mouse buttons. The weirdly placed on the end of the laptop. They feel like they will break off if you click them too hard.
The USB ports. There on the right side and for right handed people using a external mouse, you have to reach a lil to use it.
The Keyboard. Its placed a lil farther back then I like. My hands are small for a guy.
The battery life. This is why I bought the extended battery. The factory battery holds up for about 45-1 hour at the max. This is a beast of a laptop and you cant expect a regular battery to be able to handle a lot of work for a long time anyway.
Weight. Its heavy but its expected for this size.
I just bought my laptop a month ago and ive traveled to New Zealand and back without any major issue so far. Ill update this review later.
