I am looking to replace my desktop with a laptop.

So far I have narrowed my choice down to the Sony Vaio FE31M or the more powerful FE31Z. Or today I found a Toshiba Satellite A100 998 which was £200/£400 cheaper then the above.  It has pretty much the same spec as the Sony 31Z.

15.4 widescreen, 200 GB hard drive, 2048 memory,Intel Core 2 processor.

Has anyone got either and are they pleased with it?  Any tips to look for as this will be my first laptop?

Thanks
Sandra

VAIO!!!

:)

Mind you, we have 2 Sony Vaio PC's and a Vaio laptop in the house so I am a bit biased :) We lourve Sony Vaios

As an addition :

Sony prices are not just for looks IMHO ;) The design, the ergonomics, functionality are way above any other type ;) Mind you, I am speaking as someone who has used both over the past 10 years lol If you just want something for surfin' and email then go with Daisy and her Dells :p

Some of my colleagues at work use Sonys. Whilst they have 'functionality' they don't seem to have any more reliability and are obsolete just as quickly. We have a design department who need very high spec computers to operate CAD software etc and the Dells perform just as well :)

Daisy

Personally, I can't justify spending the money on a Sony :) Depends what you are going to use it for, but if it is mostly for emailing, surfing, business etc etc it's just not worth it IMO :) I'd rather spend less and get a Dell and then replace it at regular intervals with a newer version. Just got OH a new Dell for his birthday - got my son to spec it so that he can fiddle with video/photos etc and cost under £700. All five of us have Dell laptops and none have cost the sort of money that Sonys cost. If I wanted a laptop to last for 5+ years, then I might be tempted, but most of the money is just for the looks IMO :)

Daisy

>but most of the money is just for the looks IMO

It's a very nice look though Daisy :) 

My friend swears by Dell's, had a look at hers and it is just so chunky, no extra bright screen either. I do love those smooth lines of the Vaio , the Toshiba is very similiar.  My husband want me to get a Dell too, he can buy it through work and claim back the vat.

It's a bit like comparing Johnny Depp with Terry Wogan

> It's a bit like comparing Johnny Depp with Terry Wogan

LOL - perhaps that's why I'm married to Terry Wogan :D :D :D

Daisy

The pc repair chap we call on when our old desk top needs a kick recommended Toshiba laptops to us purely on reliability. As it turned out my husband did loads of research of his own and ended up with an Acer (bought in Bahrain with a UK guarantee - too good a deal to ignore !).
Anyway, that's not much help to you because we ended up with neither Sony or Toshiba !.

Val

All of our laptops are Toshibas :) Very happy with them and you can get dual processors with good specs for less than Sony and just as reliable.

The Toshibas look very good value with a nice appearance too.  I can get a same spec Toshiba for £400 less then the Sony, or a Sony with half the spec for the same price, as much as I love the Sony the price does seem a bit OTT, I don't know anyone with a Toshiba so it is good to get some feedback.  Thanks.

i have a Toshiba, got it in the summer and it has been fantastic, (touches wood very quickly :D). Its quite heavy if you want to actually carry it around though.  The Sony's do look great and some of them are way more portable than the toshiba, but rather than pay an extra £400 I would go with the Toshiba (unless you intend to carry it in and out to work or college on public transport). Mine cost less than £600 in the summer and has been fantastic so far.
Marion

I should also have said that the Uni I work for buys Toshiba laptops (all the desktops are Dell). We have over 100 just in our department and they're lent out to staff and students, so have to be fairly robust :)

Hi, I had a sony Vaio until Storm caught the power lead and took it for a walk round the living room!:rolleyes: I have now replaced it with a Toshiba satellite A100-761...bigger HD screen, lighter and hubby reckons they are a work horse that will go on and on and cheaper than the vaio! I love it so far, had it 3 months, it took a lot for me to NOT get a Vaio, but I'm glad I chose this one! All the best, Dawn :D (Ohh and the hinge on the vaio broke when I'd only had it 13 months! )

Hi Sandra,

I've had both makes (although neither models you're specifically asking for).  Personally I found the VAIO to be over-rated and, as with many laptops, just didn't stand the pace :)  It just squeaked it's way beyond the 1 year warranty and died :D - it had required a fair bit of attention before that too :rolleyes: 

I currently have a wide screen Toshiba, had it for just under 2 years (I think :rolleyes: ) and it's 10 x the kit that the VAIO was and certainly rated (at that time) as more reliable than the VAIO with the repairers who tried in vain to resuscitate the Sony :D

HTH, Teri :)

Does that mean it is 3 years since the Vaio Teri? I ask because the newer models can't be compared ;) Stephen uses his at work as a teacher, daily and has done for over a year with no problems at all :) My old Vaio PC is now 3 years old and is still going as well lol

We've got a Vaio PCG-K415S...but it got a problem when it was
just over the warranty...it won't open the CD/DVD rom without help
via a needle :(

Sony Vaio here too, both desktop and laptop

I recommend Toshiba. Toshiba were one of the first companies to make laptops (so they've been doing it for quite a long time) and they are very reliable. Don't know much about Sony laptops except that they seem very shiny... although I did have a sony cd player that lasted about 15 years, don't know if this applies to their laptops too though.

Thanks everyone, I have taken the plunge and bought the Toshiba, with what I saved I also got a nice photo printer to go with it.  :)