First Impression and Virgin Boot

I finally have the opportunity to play with my new-found-love over the past couple days, and I find myself falling in love with this beauty more and more every day. First, let it be known that this Sony VAIO FW490 is an incredibly well-built machine. The non-glossy chassis looks and feels extremely sturdy and classy; most importantly it does not attract fingerprint or dust. It is relatively thin and very light in weight for a 16" laptop; it is definitely stylish and convenient enough to be carried around in a small backpack or in the Sony FW carrying case.

Open up the lid, you will find a gorgeous 16.4" FullHD display with very crisp and bright images. Even though the screen is the glossy-type, I can still use the laptop comfortably in a brightly-lit room or even outdoor under the shade. Sony does a very good job in minimizing the amount of glare reflected off the display. Compared to the HP dv5 and Toshiba X205 I had before, this Sony FW490 really has the best display I have ever seen.

The keyboard is large and comfortable for everyday use and the touchpad is also spacious enough. The touchpad does support vertical/horizontal scrolling, although the scrolling areas are not labeled on the touchpad. The palm rest area remains cool after 2 hours of gaming, which is a welcoming surprise. Overall, the laptop runs relatively cool, the fan only kicks in when the laptop is under load. During a typical web-surfing and document editing session, I don't even notice the fan at all.

Of course, this is by no means the perfect laptop; there are some noticeable, albeit manageable, flaws. First, I wish Sony can put one USB port on the left side of the laptop. Having all three USB ports lined up side-by-side can be problematic at times, especially if one of the USB device is too bulky. Second, the caps lock light is too small and is positioned far away from the button itself; I prefer to see the caps lock button light up brightly when the caps lock function is on. Finally, backlit keyboard would be a nice addition.

I am going to install Windows 7 on this laptop soon and I will do a full review after that. In the meantime, please enjoy a short clip that I made during the first and second boots. I hope it can give you a taste of the speed of this laptop.