Typical price: £1,799
What is it: Small, lightweight Centrino laptop with 13.3-inch screen and 120GB hard drive
What we think: A well designed, highly usable ultra-portable with a good specification and plenty of power
What you need to know
Reviewed on: 10 January 2006
Tags: Sony, Sony Vaio S5VP, ports, DVD rewriter, storage
We like:
Lightweight chassis; excellent keyboard and mouse touchpad; great screen
We don't like:
Cramped, recessed USB ports; can get hot and noisy during CPU-intensive operations
You might also need:
USB mouse; spare battery, USB hub
CNET UK judgement:
The S5VP is yet another worthy addition to the VAIO range. Aesthetically it's a little more subdued than the excellent VAIO TX1XP, but it is slightly larger, and therefore more usable. Its extra bulk doesn't affect its portability -- you'll hardly realise it's in your bag. It offers strong performance (perhaps a little too much given the heat it dissipates), but we think it's still an excellent choice for any road warrior.
Full review:
The VAIO S5VP is the latest addition to Sony's S series -- a line of laptops that are thin and light, but not quite as petite as the diminutive T series. This laptop sports similar dimensions to the VAIO S4M, which it replaces. However, it's now finished in matte black instead of silver and uses more modern components including the Intel 915GM chipset and the latest iteration of Centrino. It is therefore ideal for those who want a truly portable laptop that can still deliver strong performance. It's not perfect (it runs hot, it's occasionally noisy and it's pricey), but it's still very worthy of consideration. Continue Reading...
Sony Vaio S5VP History
9 Dec 2005 in Crave
Sony keeps up its long-standing "our notebooks are better than everyone else's" routine with the excellent new Vaio S5VP
5 Oct 2005 in Crave
Here comes the sun: Hide your Sony VAIO
Not again! Sony have launched a new range of VAIO Professional laptops, but they've all got ultra-reflective X-Black LCD screens, which look lovely in Dixons but make normal office use a very shiny ordeal
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