Front view of Sony VAIO 15.5"

Sony VAIO 15.5"

$499
  • 2.2 GHz Dual core
  • 4 GB
  • 320 GB HDD
#2 in cheapest Sony laptops
Released January, 2011
It was the only high end brand I could find with HDMI and blu-ray under $800 that had good processing ability along with other specific features I wanted... and I looked... and looked... and looked... The white keys and bright display are helpful if you occasionally use your laptop in the dark (though having a back lit keyboard would have been a nice bonus).
Rated 80% by by Cherry-Coke--Cherry-Coke (Mar, 2010)

Conclusion Check out the Sony VAIO 15.5"

71%
83%
85%
View Details
27%
100%
87%
70%
95%
87%
View Details
82%
78%
84%
View Details
62
First reviewed December, 2011

Features Key features of the Sony VAIO 15.5"

Front view of Sony VAIO 15.5"

2.2 GHz

I watched The Dark Knight on BluRay, and it looked amazing.
Rated 100% by by A.-Kim (Sep, 2010)

screen resolution

Sony VAIO 15.5"
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet Series Tablet
The text in Internet browsers on both laptops looks similarly good at a normal reading distance of 18-20 inches when using the max 1920x1080 display resolution.
VAIO 15.5" by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
This laptop also has the graphics power to display at 1080p over HDMI to an HDTV.
VAIO 15.5" by A.-Kim (Sep, 2010)

cpu speed

0 GHz
1.7 GHz
1.65 GHz
2.2 GHz
3 GHz
The Core i3 processor is very good for multi tasking and work applications.
VAIO 15.5" by A.-Kim (Sep, 2010)
The version in white only came with an i5 processor so I had to give up on the color (well translucent/teal akin to those old Macintoshes would've been the ideal...), but everything else was spot on what I wanted.
VAIO 15.5" by quite-yes

processor

Sony VAIO 15.5"
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet Series Tablet
I really love the new processor, is is very quiet and the laptop is much cooler, although I still use a cooling fan and recommend one.
VAIO 15.5" by Dee-Gee (Jun, 2010)
Now this SONY runs like a rocket, and it beat my iMac 27" with i7 cpu ( cost me $2500 in 2010).
VAIO 15.5" by Ken (Sep, 2011)

memory

0 GB
8 GB
4 GB
8 GB
8 GB
The first thing I needed to do was up the RAM to 12GB which was simple and cheap.
VAIO 15.5" by Nathan-Hoover (Oct, 2012)
It's possible some more RAM may help, or putting Win7 on a diet (preferred) would be in order.
VAIO 15.5" by Jason-G. (Feb, 2011)
 

Performance Real world tests of Sony VAIO 15.5"

battery life

5 hour
8 hour
7 hour
From my mixed usage, I can reasonably conclude based on the usage time and the battery indicator (remaining life/time) that in the Stamina (power save) mode (which is very good for everything except heavy gaming or some other very heavy programs) and the screen brightness about 70% (still excellent display), I could get about 5 hours total on a single full battery charge while casually browsing the web and/or working on/reading email, word documents or spreadsheets.
VAIO 15.5" by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
The battery life is solid at 3.5 hours, too.
VAIO 15.5" by J.-Charron (Oct, 2010)
 

Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors

pros

  • watch high-definition movies on Blu-Ray discs
  • 31 mm

cons

  • Jan, 2011
  • 320 GB
  • can't read a camera or phone memory card
  • 57 MB/s (USB 2.0)

Reviews Word on the street

Rated 81% by 94 users at amazon.com
One thing with this laptop display, as some other reviewers mentioned elsewhere, is that like with almost all other laptop displays, RGB color accuracy at the high-end spectrum is not as strong as it could be (like on the above mentioned latest Sony VAIO 13.3" Z Series).
Rated 100% by by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
When using this laptop at my desk I have it in its Sony port replicator - a true docking station that you put your laptop in and provides power supply/battery charging, monitor connection (HDMI or VGA), USB keyboard, mouse, USB speakers and any other USB peripherals connection, and a 1Gbps wired network connection, plus it has 500GB HDD in it, all automatically integrated with the laptop.
Rated 100% by by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
The hd display is great, at first everything seems small but you get used to it and its neat.
Rated 80% by by mike5420 (Dec, 2012)

Screen

The antiglare coating on the laptop screen is very good and unnoticeable - the display is still bright and sharp, and you do not get any noticeable light reflections like you would from glossy screens.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
I run a lot of photo-editing software so I needed a system that could handle multiple large programs at once and this laptop doesn't flinch - everything is smooth and seamless, the display is beautiful and the 10-digit keypad is a nice touch.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by J.-Charron (Oct, 2010)
Its speed is great, screen clarity too.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by Mocha-J (Jun, 2010)

Storage

The general specs of the system are excellent, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB Hard drive, DVD-burner, Built-in webcam, SD card reader, multiple usb ports.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 80% by by imageek (Aug, 2010)
I love the blu-ray and HDMI.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by T.-L.-Yang (Nov, 2010)
I was also unhappy with the media card slot.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 40% by by Douglas-Abbott--Doug-Abbott (Nov, 2011)

Keyboard

The keys on the keyboard are spaced perfectly for my big hands.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 80% by by ADavis (Dec, 2010)
The keyboard is very good, backlit, and it feels very good and quiet as well.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
The backlit keyboard is awesome and the keys are perfect for ease of use.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by lukester (May, 2012)

Ports

The external HDMI display link is very good and works excellently in 1920x1200 resolution on my HP 24" HDMI professional monitor (either directly from the laptop or via the port replicator HDMI connector).
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
The built in web-cam and microphone are very convenient and the software has some cool features to play around with.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by A.-Montgomery--DJ-Lia (Sep, 2010)
HDMI output is great.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 80% by by ADavis (Dec, 2010)

Battery

The battery doesn't last long but it takes forever to charge it.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 60% by by derek (Mar, 2011)
It's relatively simple to replace this Sony laptop battery if needed, unlike the latest Dell 15" XPS laptop or some other high-end laptops on which the customer cannot change the battery.
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by FunPro (Sep, 2012)
You can also set the max battery charge to 80% or 50% to extend the overall battery useful lifespan (to delay the need to replace the battery completely).
Sony VAIO 15.5" 2.2 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by FunPro (Sep, 2012)

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