Sony VAIO S Series SVS1312ACXW 13.3-Inch Laptop (White)

TECH GEEK AND VALUE-HOLIC’S REVIEW

I must admit that I spend half of my salary on latest gadgets though I do make sure that I don’t overpay for anything (meaning I never waste money on overpriced products from a fruit named company and the likes).

When I saw this laptop at 550 dollars at amazon, I knew i just had to buy it because the valueholic living inside me would never forgive me

I am quite happy that I did pull the trigger (till now…I will keep on updating this article). This is an extremely high end looking and feeling laptop made of magnesium alloy and for this money you won’t find a core i5 laptop, let alone one which is as light as this one (3.8 pounds), has a slot loading optical drive, made of magnesium alloy and carries an expensive brand name (sony) instead of acer or asus.

However keeping aside what a great value this laptop is, here is what I think of this laptop during my two week’s acquaintance with the product.

PRO’S
Excellent (I mean EXCELLENT) Keyboard and Touch Pad.
Very Fashionable (everyone thinks i bought if for at least a 1000 dollars)
Scratch Resistant Magnesium alloy Casing.
Quite Fast with Core I5.
Windows 8 is what Windows Vista should have been, an OS for the 21st century (see below as well)

CON’S
Windows 8 (can be daunting at first for technically challenged people)
The Screen has quite bad Viewing Angles (and i mean QUITE bad). Come on Sony i know this is a cheap laptop but my 5 year old hp netbook has better viewing angle than this one.
Sony product have proven unreliable for me in last 2 years. Let’s see how this one holds out.

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UPDATE 1:
1. I updated the touchpad software (synaptics) and upon restart the touchpad reverted to default windows drivers. I had to manually go to website and download and install the synaptic touchpad driver.

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UPDATE 2:
1. The pc hanged and upon restart a message appeared “No Operating System installed”. I went to bios and saw that internal hard drive is not detected. Thinking that the connection may have become loose i gave laptop a slight shake and Eureka the laptop started working.

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UPDATE 3:

I absolutely adore the keyboard of this machine. Very Very comfortable to type on.

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UPDATE 4:

The screen viewing angles have really started to annoy me. Come on Sony i know this is a cheap laptop but my 5 year old hp netbook has better viewing angle than this one.
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Update 5:

I have gotten use to the screen bad viewing angles. The colours on the screen are quite good actually. The laptop did show “No operating system found” a couple of times after the incident, but for last two weeks it is working like a charm.
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Update 6: (After Three Months)

Three months on, I have changed the review to 5 stars from four. That rarely happens with me as i grow tired of tech products but this laptop absolutely deserves it. The reason for change are:
1. Amazing battery life,
2. Very light and user friendly weight and dimensions
3. Very good speakers
4. Very reliable, after initial hiccups not a single problem
5. Absolutely excellent keyboard
6. And above all, three months of rough use and not a single scratch on magnesium body

An absolute must buy for its price specially if you want an optical drive.

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I’m in love with Windows 8 and this laptop! I would not be feeling the same if it weren’t for my son’s help. Everything went smoothly during setup, except I was having a frustrating time getting connected to the internet. Internet showed I was connected, all looked perfect, just could not get a good connection. I was feeling like I had the slowest laptop ever made, my Sony Vaio netbook was faster! I was not very happy. Disappointed, I even had another model laptop picked out after reading the reviews here.

Thankfully my son, who’s been singing the praises of Windows 8 since his beta version, informed me that I probably needed my drivers updated. He told me to use my other laptop to access Sony’s website to get to the software/drivers needed for this model. I simply downloaded the update for the Wireless LAN, moved the file to a usb flash drive so I could install it on this laptop. After the update was installed, I restarted just to be sure everything was set, and like magic I had speedy internet service.

My husband and daughter have different models of the S Series, only with Windows 7. I knew what to expect concerning the larger mouse pad, as it takes some getting used to, and can get in the way a little while typing. I like the lighted keyboard, and how thin this laptop is. I also chose this model because I’m not ready to give up my CD/DVD drive yet. This laptop has everything I wanted, except I plan to add more memory. I think it is at a reasonable price too.

Anyway, everything is working great. Now I have only to learn my way around Windows 8.

Wanted to add: Don’t make the mistake I did an order 2×8 GB memory kit. My fault that I didn’t notice that the 4 GB was fixed. I should have ordered just the one 8 GB of notebook memory to get the maximum 12 GB.

I disagree with other buyers who have said it is a bad product. Not true! I’m testing it and I can say that all the specifications are correct. It’s a fast laptop, very convenient to work, as far as appearance is great, nothing to envy to other similar, but has a superior finish to many! It is elegant, has very good resolution, pleasant to the touch, probably with more RAM will be perfect. I will buy more, remember that you can add up to 12GB. I love this laptop! I recommend it!

Very fast laptop with a good price! It’s great to work, good appearance and light!

PRO’S
Fantastic Keyboard and Touch Pad.
Great price
Great processor
Windows 8

CON’S
Screen resolution.

This is a very small, 13 inch screen computer and very thin when you look at the side. I plugged it in and started the setup. I did a basic personalization since I am not that computer savvy. I basically selected whatever was quick and got me out of that mess fast.

I tried to connect to my wireless internet but had to hunt a little to find where I enter the password to access the internet. But I didn’t have any connection issues. I did have to download about 12 automatic updates and 2 manual updates. This did take a while because the computer kept going into a sleep mode and I have to keep waking it up to keep downloading.

I admit that I will have to get a separate mouse to use because I was having a heck of a time trying to work the mouse pad. During downloading updates, you constantly have to select your country. This meant that I had to click and drag to the United States all the time. That was a pain but I slowly get the idea for what needed to be done.

This does have Windows 8 on it. There are a bunch of pins to the computer so you can just jump to one place or another. I have never worked with that before so I admit that I was very confused. I got the basics of it but I have to say that I would rather stick with Windows 7, at least I can understand that.

Finally, I just surf the internet or such. I don’t do gaming or watching videos so I don’t know how this performed in those areas. But I will say that it seemed to take a little bit to load some of the pages that I was browsing. Not horrible slow but more of a nuisance. Also, because the computer is smaller, there is no keypad off the side of the keyboard. I can’t seem to find the keys that I need so it will take a while for me to get used to that.

Beyond that, this is a nice little computer. You are spending $700 (as of 3/18/13). I think that if you have all ready been using Windows 8 you will get along with it easier than I have. There are some minor irritations but once I use it more I think this will be a good little computer. I wouldn’t want to get rid of my Toshiba but as a back up computer, I would have one of these.

Shawn Kovacich
Author and Creator of numerous books and DVD’s.

This review could’ve gone pretty badly had I not had access to a second PC and a review posted here at Amazon, and lots of Google-ing and Yahoo-ing message boards. Because when I first opened up the VAIO, it was like opening frustration in a box.

I’m not a techie, and don’t pretend to be. The solution I spell out below probably makes no sense to someone who understands PC’s, and I probably took the long route in solving my problem, but this is what worked for me.
(*I will say that most of these tech kinks usually work themselves out rather quickly with a patch you can download)

The issue I had seems to be a fairly common problem posted by other reviewers here (as well as Yahoo answers and a couple other forums I visited searching for a solution), and that is that the VAIO would not connect wirelessly to the internet. I won’t bore you with the details, but what it boiled down to was that the VAIO saw my Network, but when I went to connect it either wouldn’t connect at all or I would get a “Limited” connection, which means I couldn’t get online.

The solution I found was 2-fold. First go online to Sony, and go to “download drivers and software”. (I forgot to say that you can either go online by connecting the VAIO with a wire, or you will have to go online on another PC and download the driver upgrade to one of those USB drives, which you can then plug into the VAIO and download). Here you will plug in the serial number of your VAIO, and Sony will list any/all drivers currently available for your model. Click on the “Wireless Lan” drivers and download the upgrade posted just last month. Once you’ve gotten the upgrade loaded shut down the VAIO. And here was the part that took me a couple of frustrating nights to figure out, reset your modem & router, or simply turn them off to reboot. Turn your the modem and router back on and then fire up the VAIO. This solved my problem, and I haven’t had trouble getting online since.

Now onto the VAIO itself. I love the design and layout! First it’s a beautiful little machine, sleek and lightweight. This is the first laptop I’ve owned with a backlit keyboard, and I can’t imagine not having one now! Makes working in a dim room or at night so easy! The screen looks great, the colors pop, and pictures jump off the screen. It’s fast, the speed at which programs open and files open is amazing! I’ve had laptops before that start to run “hot” after continuous use, and they can actually grow a little too uncomfortable to hold on your lap. The VAIO didn’t even get warm.

With the frustration I felt at the beginning of my VAIO experience, I couldn’t imagine being as happy with this product as I am now. I do highly recommend the VAIO, it’s a great little unit….once you get over those initial kinks.

Remember the day when your only choice of computer color was putty? Well, they call this white, but when I look at it all I can see is the old computer and office equipment color putty. What floats my boat is cutting edge tech, so visually, the Sony VAIO S Series SVS1312ACXW 13.3-Inch Laptop (White) doesn’t do it for me, but it does have some saving graces which I will tell you about.

I like the touchpad particularly the way it lets you click on the left or right side similar to a mouse – it has a really nice feel to it.

The magnesium alloy feels good to the touch. I like that.

I like the positioning of the ports, slot-loading optical drive, etc. I like that the USB charge port works even while sleeping. Easy assist, web, and customizable button.

The Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5 dual-core processor is blazing fast.

Rapid Wake is very responsive.

While the keyboard has nice easy to read buttons/keys, each one wobbles a little under your fingers making it feel cheap and wonder about durability.

Although the manufacturer claims “the 13.3-inch widescreen display includes a glossy, anti-reflective finish that provides better color intensity without any glare,” I think the colors look weak and faded and again, very old-fashioned retro and not cutting edge technology.

Sony says: “Now enjoy all of your personal and online content on your big screen-by wirelessly connecting your laptop to your TV. Stop crowding around a laptop screen, with Intel Wireless Display, you can sit back and experience your favorite videos, photos, movies, online TV shows, and more, all with great image clarity up to 1080p. Simply connect an optional adapter for Intel Wireless Display (such as the Netgear Push2TV PTV2000 and Belkin ScreenCast adapters) to your TV, follow a few simple steps, and you’re off and running. Set it up once, and sharing your screen is as easy as pushing a button. This VAIO PC also comes with an HDMI output, delivering both your video and audio via a single HDMI cable (sold separately) and providing the optimal digital connection to your HDMI-enabled HDTV.” These are not included in the box, so I was not able to try them out, this feature sounds cool but again supports the feeling of this laptop which is that it is lacking and needs something to make up for it lack-luster appearance.

It runs Windows 8 like everything else being sold now so you can’t really hold that against it.

There is a toggle button for stamina/speed and I tried both positions and couldn’t really see a difference nor could I find any information on Sony about it so I was left wondering if it was part of the original design and at some point abandoned with hardware button there like a dead switch doing nothing.

Overall, I would have to say that in my humble opinion, with the Sony VAIO S Series SVS1312ACXW 13.3-Inch Laptop (White), Sony took a couple steps forward but many steps backward leaving me with a quaint retro impression. In my cutting-edge technological search, what I look for in a laptop is sleeker, faster, sexier, more fun, more pleasure, and more cool factor, so this plain jane is left unnoticed and not one to recommend as the best choice to select.

Maybe I would like a different color better and maybe I just got a sample that Quality Control department should have weeded out. I don’t know. I’m sorry Amazin’ Amazon Vine and Sony, I wanted to like it more but I gotta give my honest opinion like you requested. Maybe if you don’t get the sales results you had hoped for with this laptop, you will consider some of my suggestions. As always, I hope my review was helpful. Thank you both for extending to me this generous opportunity.

For some reason whenever I plug in my headphones, I can’t hear any dialogue. I can watch TV shows and hear the score and the background noises and sound effects but I don’t hear anyone speaking. Same with movies.

However, this machine’s sleep most and Rapid Wake is the reason I bought this laptop. I can now easily fire up my computer and start doing things without having to wait 5-15 minutes for my old laptop to become fully functional. I really like the USB 3.0 / charger port as well.

it is a nice computer, i like it and its price not that much high. so it is a nice and cheap.