And this sensible design extends to the laptop’s media controls, which are above the keyboard where they’re safe from accidental activation. Below it, the trackpad is smooth and accurate, and small enough to avoid accidentally tapping it when typing. Although some keys have been shrunk, such as the left Shift and Caps Lock, the VAIO’s MacBook-style keys are very easy to type on. We’ve no complaints when it comes to usability. We’d have liked a little longer, especially as the FZ21S is fairly portable at 2.8kg, but we’d hesitate to take it for trips away from base without bringing the power supply along for peace of mind. The VAIO managed only 1hr 45mins in our intensive test, and 2hr 51mins under light use. It isn’t just while playing optical discs where battery life takes a hit. That rules out watching films on the move, as to boost the frame rate back to acceptable levels you have to put the laptop back in High performance mode, which drops the battery life down to around an hour. We found that with the laptop in Vista’s Power saver mode, the CPU struggled to render frames fast enough, resulting in a slightly jerky picture. The extra resolution provided by Blu-ray may be a joy to watch, but it’s more intensive on the processor than DVD is. The inclusion of an HDCP-compliant HDMI output is also a sensible addition, giving you the option of using the VAIO as a Blu-ray player for your living room, hooked up to an HDTV. Colours are intense and the glossy screen has great contrast, although its reflective nature can be annoying in brightly lit environments.
#Sony vaio s laptop reviews 720p#
In fact, it’s one of the best we’ve seen on a laptop at this price, and it displays HD resolutions up to 720p crisply and cleanly. Importantly for a laptop with an HD drive, the VAIO’s 15.4in 1,280 x 800 resolution screen is very good quality.