Comments on Sony TR5AP

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Theo;
Congratulations! Great choice IMO

--
Ken Wolf
kwolf8380@comcast.net
"Theodore Heise" <theo@heise.nu> wrote in message
news:slrnch3bm1.onp.theo@linus.heise.nu...
> On Wed, 4 Aug 2004 20:12:20 -0500,
> Ken Wolf <kwolf8380@comcast.net> wrote:
> > Hi Theo;
> > I am using a 5010D right now with a replacement hard drive; a 40 gig
5400
> > rpm 8 mg cache Fujitsu drive that seems to make a noticeable difference
in
> > access speed compared to the original 40 gig 4200 rpm drive.
> > I also highly recommend www.leog.net for tons of info on the 5000 and
7000 P
> > series. I actually bought my 5010D from someone on the forum. Also
Portable
> > One store has a great selection of laptops and accessories. They are
good
> > people to deal with.
> > As far as suspend/unsuspend speed, I think it is fairly quick to do
both.
> > The difference in weight is a non-issue. You can't tell the difference!
> > I read on the forums that someone has replaced his CD-RW with a DVD
burner
> > very easily. Again, check the forums. Avoid the P1000 and P2000 series
if
> > you need speed. They are both slowdue to their Crusoe cpus. I had a 2040
and
> > sold it within a month for this reason.
> > Hope this helps.
>
> Yes quite a bit, thanks! I went ahead and ordered the P7010 with
> the 60GB 7200 rpm HD.
>
> --
> Theodore (Ted) Heise <theo@heise.nu> Bloomington, IN, USA

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Ted;
Pleas drop a note to the group after you get your P7010 and tell us what you
think of it. Pros and cons are welcome. Being a new model, any of us are
curious about it. THANKS!

--
Ken Wolf
kwolf8380@comcast.net

"Theodore Heise" <theo@heise.nu> wrote in message
news:slrnch3bnq.onp.theo@linus.heise.nu...
> On 4 Aug 2004 23:07:12 -0400,
> JHEM <James@thinkpads-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote:
> > Ted,
> >
> > Please give the Thinkpad X40 a second look. The 8 cell battery gets up
> > to 7.5 hours of runtime.
>
> Thanks for the info. As it happens though, I just ordered the
> Fujitsu P7010 yesterday.
>
> --
> Theodore (Ted) Heise <theo@heise.nu> Bloomington, IN, USA

 

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On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 15:09:53 -0700,
David Chien <chiendh@uci.edu> wrote:
>> After quite a bit of research, I've narrowed down the field to a
>> handful of notebooks. They include:
>>
>> Sony VAIO TR5AP
>> Sony VAIO X505 (small HD, no CD)
>> IBM ThinkPad X40 (short batt life, no CD)
>> Panasonic ToughBook CF-W2 (slower CPU, less RAM)
>> Toshiba Dynabook SX (poor review, batt life)
>
> Here, we've assumed you've examined all of the Japanese options (eg.
> through www.dynamism.com) for models they've got not available here.

Yeah, I definitely checked them out. I've used a Libretto L5 I
got from them for a year now. It's been pretty good, but there
have been just enough little oddities deep within menu structures
of Word that I really would prefer to get a model built for the
U.S. market.


> Well, besides the Sony U50/U70 series at ~1lbs which can fit into
> any pocket, you'll be in the same place as me -- looking for a fast,
> lightweight, mini-notebook, hopefully with built-in CD because we both
> know how annoying it can be to have an external one.

Yup.


> I currently have three choices after looking through the entire
> BestPC Japanese magazine that recently compared all of the available
> mini-notebooks (I can scan and email to you if you want to look at it --
> compares wieght, size, AC adapter size, battery life, screen resolution
> & brightness, etc.).

Thanks for the offer, but I've reached a decision so I'd rather
not know.


> Otherwise, for compactness, I'd pick Fujitsu T70 myself over the Sony.
>
> Why?
>
> Don't need the webcam built into the Sony TR series, and because the
> Sony uses yucky smaller 1.8" HDs, you can only get a max of 40GB hard
> drive storage space (60GB when Toshiba releases their just announced
> 1.8" model later this year) of internal storage.
>
> On the other hand, the T70H uses a 2.5" HD, so you can easily swap
> it out for the upcoming 100GB Toshiba 2.5" HD. Also, the optical drive
> is swappable for repairs or upgrades. The screen opens up a full 180
> degrees (the Sony can't). Otherwise, about the same weight & size as
> the Sony TR series.

Yup, I settled on the P7010D -- it's ordered and is supposed to
ship by the 13th.

--
Theodore (Ted) Heise <theo@heise.nu> Bloomington, IN, USA

 

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On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 21:08:13 -0500,
Ken Wolf <kwolf8380@comcast.net> wrote:
> Theo;
> Congratulations! Great choice IMO
>

Now all I have to do is wait. At 48, I haven't felt like a kid
waiting impatiently for Christmas in a very long time.

--
Theodore (Ted) Heise <theo@heise.nu> Bloomington, IN, USA

 

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On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 21:12:47 -0500,
Ken Wolf <kwolf8380@comcast.net> wrote:
> Ted;
> Pleas drop a note to the group after you get your P7010 and tell us what you
> think of it. Pros and cons are welcome. Being a new model, any of us are
> curious about it. THANKS!
>

Will do.

--
Theodore (Ted) Heise <theo@heise.nu> Bloomington, IN, USA

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

That makes it even sweeter when you get it.

--
Ken Wolf
kwolf8380@comcast.net

"Theodore Heise" <theo@heise.nu> wrote in message
news:slrnch5vee.sod.theo@linus.heise.nu...
> On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 21:08:13 -0500,
> Ken Wolf <kwolf8380@comcast.net> wrote:
> > Theo;
> > Congratulations! Great choice IMO
> >
>
> Now all I have to do is wait. At 48, I haven't felt like a kid
> waiting impatiently for Christmas in a very long time.
>
> --
> Theodore (Ted) Heise <theo@heise.nu> Bloomington, IN, USA
>

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

David Chen: You're a little behind the times. The Fujistu is now up to the
P7010D model.

Also the Dell 700M you are pushing has lowsey battery life, as mentioned on PC
Mag and CNET.

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

> David Chen: You're a little behind the times. The Fujistu is now up to the
> P7010D model.

That's correct. I always focus first on the Japanese models since
they release the USA models afterwards. Thus, the latest USA model
avaiable are the P7000 series instead of the older P5000 series, and I
wasn't paying attention to when they had updated the USA website.

Hopefully, they've also removed the aweful matte antiglare sheet they
applied only to the USA P5000 models, which are terrible when seen next
to a Sony TR series. The Japanese model screens w/o this silly matte is
wonderful!

Also, there is not yet an exact equivalent of the Fujitsu T70H/etc.
Japanese model series in the USA -- why? ++NONE++ of the USA models
have the included DVD burner drive found in the Japanese models, thus
the USA P7000/5000 series are not exact equivalents of their Japanese
models, which do have DVD burners. (and no, even if you customize a
system, you can't add it)

The Japanese models would be among, if not, the lightest DVD burning
notebooks available for sale today.

> Also the Dell 700M you are pushing has lowsey battery life, as mentioned on PC
> Mag and CNET.

The 144 minute battery life (CNet) was not using the 'full capacity'
battery pack. Unfortunately, Dell is doing a very evil thing of selling
you a half-empty battery pack as the standard battery (only 4-cells!?!
nobody does that anymore!), and forcing you to buy the 'real' battery
pack for $116 (8-cell, 65 watt).

Naturally, with the full-capacity 8-cell, you'll be pushing closer to
288 minutes or about 4.8 hours of run-time, which is close to what the
figures stated in some Japanese magazines have found.

Sadly, Dell is being too greedy here and 'forcing' people to buy what
should be included in the base system price -- a full battery pack, not
one that is half-empty with air. =(

Anyways, probably explains why Dell's PC Magazine Reliability ratings
for 2004 have dropped in their recent survey to close to 24% units
requiring repair of those surveyed (vs. 14-18% for other models like
Sony & Toshiba) -- they're going too cheap.

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 22:41:42 -0500,
Theodore Heise <theo@heise.nu> wrote:
> On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 21:12:47 -0500,
> Ken Wolf <kwolf8380@comcast.net> wrote:
>> Ted;
>> Pleas drop a note to the group after you get your P7010 and tell us what you
>> think of it. Pros and cons are welcome. Being a new model, any of us are
>> curious about it. THANKS!
>
> Will do.


Here are the comments I posted to the notebookreview.com forum.
The review I mention can be found at:

http/www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3932



------- begin quote -----------------------


Okay, I received my P7010D on Monday. I made the mistake of
setting it right next to my Libretto L5W when I took it out of the
box, so my first impression was that the thing was huge. As time
has passed (and once I turned over my L5W to my wife), it's become
quite acceptable. I still would prefer a smaller computer (I used
only an HP200LX for travel for many years, and still carry it
wherever I go), but to get the features and specs I wanted this
was about as small as I could find.

I haven't had much time to play with the unit until today, but I'm
very pleased so far. I would say that Brian's review was spot on,
so I'm not going to repeat anything he said. However, I will add
a few comments on how it compares to my Lbretto L5W (for Big
Calhoun).

First, the unit is very snappy. I have to log on to a secure
website (LiveLink) for work on a regular basis. Internet Explorer
(with the Java machine needed) would get very doggy on the L5.
On the P7010 it responds quite nicely, even with several windows
and other apps open. I *can* make the P7's fan come on by running
through a slide show that has lots of medical imaging and cine.

I'm also very pleased with the display. The odd dimensions of the
L5 always caused problems with external display. Usually they
were minor, but the edges of PowerPoint displays were often cut
off and video clips would not run on both the LCD and external.
The P7010 runs video clips on both fine, and so far the edges of
Powerpoints are prettty good. It's also very nice to have higher
resolution available. One other thing I like is that the P7
remembers what mode it was in when coming out of suspend--the L5
always reverted to LCD only. One thing I don't like about the
Fujitsu is that it suspends with the display only partly inside of
straight up. I could close the L5 nearly all the way without it
suspending. I've inadvertantly put the P into suspend quite a few
times, but I expect I'll get used to this.

The USB 2.0 of the P7 is a great improvement over the 1.1 on the
L5. I use a flash drive to transfer files, and it would take 5-10
minutes to transfer my ~500M Outlook mail file. This is much
improved with 2.0. When working at home I like to hook up my
notebook to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse
(grudgingly)--all are USB. With the L5 the USB keyboard was a bit
dodgy--occasionally a character would simply go AWOL. I think
this may be a function of the USB, and has not seemed to be a
problem with the P7.

Believe it or not, the keyboard is my biggest complaint as
compared to the L5. Having never learned to touch type and being
an old DOS retrogrouch, I have what are probably unusual
preferences and the L5 was great. I avoid the mouse at all costs,
much preferring keyboard shortcuts. I liked the full-size arrow
keys and the dedicated Home/PgUp/PgDn/End keys on the L5. The
smaller Shift key never bothered me a bit. It will take me a
while to get used to having the delete key at the back (it's up
front on the L5), but I like having the Start and Properties keys
up front (they're at the back of the L5). The smaller arrow keys
and shifted Home/PgUp/PgDn/End will also take some getting used
to.

One thing I don't entirely agree with Brian on is the fingerprint
scanner. Once I figured out where the software was (the manual is
worng, wrong, wrong), I practiced twice and enrolled two fingers
without problem. Since then I've succeeded with one scan in
nearly all cases. This may be due to the tips that somebody (Big
Calhoun?) posted a little while back.

Anyway, those are my comments--hope they are helpful.

--
Theodore (Ted) Heise <theo@heise.nu> Bloomington, IN, USA