The Bottom Line
- Very Small Dimensions
- 512MB Memory
- Lots of Included Accessories
- Very Expensive
- No Optical Drive
Description
- Intel Pentium M 1.1GHz Ultra Low Voltage Processor
- 512MB DDR Memory
- 20GB 4,200rpm Hard Drive
- 10.4" XGA LCD Display and Intel Extreme 2 Graphics with 64MB Shared Memory
- AC'97 Audio
- 10/100 Ethernet and 802.11b/g Wireless PC Card
- Two USB 2.0 Ports, One iLink (FireWire) Port and One Type II PC Card Slot
- 10.2" x 8.2" x .4" @ 1.85 lbs.
- Windows XP Professional, MS Office 2003 Basic, Sony Digital Suite, WinDVD and Norton NIS (90-day)
Guide Review - Sony VAIO VGN-X505
9/17/04 - Sony has become very popular for their stylish computer designs and thankfully their prices have started to come in line for most of their computer systems. The VAIO X505 ultraportable notebook bucks that trend by returning to the high style and high price.
The X505 is a very stylish and extremely small ultraportable. The system comes in about the size of a standard spiral bound notebook and weighs an incredible 1.85 pounds. There are a number of sacrifices to make the system this small though.
First off, the system does not come with an optical drive. This isn't uncommon in the ultraportable market, but it does mean an extra cost on top of an already expensive system. Second, to save space on the system, many components have been offloaded to external attachments. The wireless networking is not built in but provided through a PC Card. Also, some external connectors like VGA port are provided through a dongle.
The reduced size of the system also means a smaller 10.4" LCD screen. This can be difficult for some with lesser eyesight to read at times. The graphics are powered by the integrated Intel graphics.
One the plus side is the core components. The Intel Pentium M 1.1GHz ULV CPU gives a lot of power and saves on battery life. The supplied 512MB of memory is also greater than most competing ultraportables.
In the end, the Sony X505 is a nice ultraportable overall, but the extremely high price sets it below the competition that has more to offer for less.
