Many criticised Sony when they originally released their range of VAIO notebooks but the company has still managed to carve out a place in the laptop market. The company's latest release, the FX880K exemplifies the changes that Sony has made as the series has evolved.
Originally, wanted the VAIO series to stand apart from the crowd with unique multimedia capabilities such as FireWire and Memory Stick interfaces to make them more amenable to usage models in which digital video and audio is king. These features came at the expense of more mundane multimedia technologies such as DVD-ROM. With the FX880K Sony is re-joining the crowd with a standard desktop replacement configuration.
Playing large, graphics intensive games on the FX880K produces mixed results. Evidence that 50fps sequences tax the system appears in the form of jerky motion, but the 8x DVD operates gives smooth video playback, even with multiple applications active.
The VAIO series has been marketed as being a multimedia enthusiast's delight. The FX880K does support some of this hype but there are some notable deficiencies in its multi-media capability. Its potential lies with its 850MHz Pentium III SpeedStep processor, 20G hard drive, DVD-ROM and 128M of SDRAM (expandable to 256M) running on a 100 MHz memory bus. Six months ago this would have considered desktop-competitive, but 1GHz plus systems with equally strong components are about to grace desktops for around AU$1,500 to AU$2,500. Its video performance --delivered by the Intel 815EM's integrated graphics accelerator-- is likely to be ordinary.
The greatest assistance to Sony's wish to claim multimedia-magi status for the FX880K is its software bundle, and to a lesser extent its interface support. The Windows 2000 version, contains DVgate Version 2.3, Movieshaker 2.0 and picture gear 5.0. Also the media playback applications are quite impressive, with Jukebox 2.0, QuickTime 4.1, Real player 8, and WinDVD 2000 all coming standard. And it gives you plenty for porting your content to and from those applications; 2 USB ports, the obligatory i.LINK IEEE 1394 S400 FireWire interface, in-built 3D sound and a video out connector.
The ports will be essential for anybody wishing to transfer data from their digital video camera to their notebook, making this laptop quite versatile. The FX880K is ready to start creating on video, audio and pictorial content as soon as you get it.
Hefty and Power Hungry
The weight of the VAIO It can be described as hefty at best; coming in at 3.1 kilograms it is not something you want to carry around for too long. The floppy drive can be removed, but the weight difference is negligible. Leave it on your desk, plugged in.
With all these features Sony estimates that its battery life is of 3.5 to 4.5. We found that the battery lasted approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes before the low power indicator started to flash and another half-hour before the system shutdown. This is an acceptable for a laptop intended to be a desktop substitute.
An evolved design?
The design of the VAIO, though functional, offers no major improvements on the 700 series, which preceded it. The 14.1-inch screen is an improvement but the lack of any fast keys besides the 3-button configuration above the keyboard is a little disappointing. Dependence on software controls for operation of applications like DVD-2000 becomes tedious and adds clutter to the desktop. The addition of a fast key layout for the quick skipping of tracks and chapters of both CD, DVD, and media files would have moved the laptop onto another level of interactivity and ease of use.
On the positive side, the stereo speakers with the 3D sound function are exceptional and their stereophonic quality is far more palpable than that of systems in other laptops making similar claims.
Overall
All up the Sony VAIO FX880K isn't quite a multimedia users delight but it does ship ready to let you jump straight into digital video and audio editing, and playback. However bare in mind that the laptop is a desktop substitute; if you need a machine that you can carry frequently, look for something lighter.
--Edited By Andrew Colley Editor Reviews ZDNet Australia
Sony Vaio PCG-FX880K
Company: Sony Australia
Price: AU$4,699
Distributor: Sony Style
Phone: 1800 017 669
Rating:
8%
1%
