Sony VAIO VGN-N11M/W review
| Design |
| When we heard that Sony had released a notebook for under £700, we were expecting a big ugly brick with no style whatsoever, but we were pleasantly surprised when we took the Vaio VGN-N11M/W out of its box and realised that it looked as stylish and sexy as any other Sony Vaio laptop in the market. The first thing that strikes you is the very cool metallic grey and white colour scheme that Sony has decided to use on this mid-range notebook. The cover and keypad come in white, while the rest of the laptop is metallic grey. The Sony Vaio VGN-N11M/W is not as big as desktop replacement laptops and not as small as the ultra-light notebooks like the Sony Vaio VGN-TX3. It measures 36.4 x 26.5 x 2.9 cm and it weighs a mere 3.1 Kg, which is less than other notebooks on the similar price range. It is big enough to work on comfortably for long stretches but small enough for occasional commutes. The 15.4-inch LCD display offers a 1,280x800 native resolution, which is what we'd expect from a screen this size. Sony uses its X-black technology in the screen, which the company claims gives you deeper blacks and richer colors. |
| Features |
| For the price of the Sony Vaio VGN-N11M/W you can not expect top of the range features, but you will definitely not be disappointed either. This affordable notebook is powered by the latest Intel Core Duo processor T2050 at 1.60 GHz which is more than enough to cope with running demanding applications at the same time. You will be able to watch a DVD at the same time that you burn a CD or run an antivirus program with no problems whatsoever. There are several more expensive notebooks on the market that have a slower processor, so we thank Sony for their choice on the VGN-N11M/W. The 512 Mb RAM that comes with it is acceptable, but we would have liked to see at least 1GB. You can always add more RAM, but it won’t come cheap. The VGN-N11M/W runs on Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition and like the majority of new notebooks it is Windows Vista capable. The system provides the standard set of connections, including two USB 2.0 ports, headphone and mic jacks, a media card reader, an ExpressCard slot (but no PC Card slot), and a VGA output for hooking up an external monitor. Networking connections include modem and 10/100 Ethernet jacks, and integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless, allowing you to connect to any wireless network wherever you are. The hard drive is not the biggest we have seen, but 80GB should give you plenty of memory to store Pictures and MP3’s. It also comes with a DL DVD±RW so you can burn CDs and DVDs. Unfortunately, the VGN-N11M/W doesn’t have dedicated graphics card so we will have to live with the integrated Intel GMA 950 to handle the graphics. |
| Performance |
| Compared to other similarly configured systems, the Sony VAIO N11M/W performed well on our test and it coped with everything we threw at it. The N11M/W is fast enough for Web surfing, movie-watching, and tackling basic productivity tasks. You won’t be able to do much 3D gaming with this system, but it is sufficient for older or casual games. The screen was very bright and it’s a joy to watch DVDs on. We watched Aliens DVD while we were burning a music CD and we have to say that the VAIO N11M/W handled both tasks without any problems. Wireless works very well and the signal has no drops. It will take you less than a minute to connect to a wireless network or hot spot. Sony claims that the N11M/W has a battery life of 3.75 hours, but we only managed to get 3.25 hours under normal use. You can always get an extra battery, but they don’t come cheap and there is no extended life battery for this stylish Sony notebook. |
| Overall Opinion |
| The Sony Vaio VGN-N11M/W Laptop is a solid notebook for those who want a solid performer for every day tasks without having to spend loads of money. And with the VGN-N11M/W laptop you not only get performance, you also get style. We like it! |
By Nacho Galvez |
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Pros + Intel Core Duo processor + Affordable + Windows Vista capable |
Cons - Only 512 MB RAM - Integrated graphics card |
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Overall Rating 
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By Nacho Galvez
14/12/2006 at 10:30:58am
14/12/2006 at 10:30:58am
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