Sony Vaio V505AX Notebook Computer

Editors' note: Sony has discontinued the AX version of the V505 and replaced it with the V505BX, which company representatives say is nearly identical.

WHAT'S HOT: Weighing only 4.4 pounds (without the power adapter), containing a fixed DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive, and wearing Sony's signature gray-and-purple case colors, the VAIO PCG-V505AX is a chic little portable. The tidy design features smart-looking round covers protecting the modem and network jacks, as well as a spring-loaded PC Card release button that stays down the first time you press it (unlike standard PC Card release buttons, which keep popping out). A Memory Stick slot lets users who own other Sony products share information between devices easily.

WHAT'S NOT: The two-tone keyboard is small, shallow, a bit noisy, and fragile. We accidentally popped off a couple of key tops looking for the keyboard's release tabs. It's easy to mistake the power switch, a slider on the front, for the similar-looking lid release.

WHAT ELSE: The modest set of connections, including an I.Link (FireWire) port and two USB 2.0 ports, are located on the sides and front of the notebook, which also has built-in 802.11b wireless capability. A connector on the bottom lets you attach a $199 port replicator that provides three USB 2.0 ports, plus parallel, VGA, and ethernet connections. The replicator also has a DVI port that can attach to a digital flat-panel display.

The 12.1-inch screen is very bright and readable. The stereo speakers located above the keyboard produce loud sound for such a small notebook, but not surprisingly (given the limitations of size), the sound quality is not the best; we heard raspiness at high volume. Our review unit came with no print manual, only a couple of electronic references with overlapping information.

At the time of our review Sony offered the V505 in an "AX" model with a 1.8-GHz Pentium 4-M processor. Its score of 107 on PC WorldBench 4 handily beat the mark of 93 posted by the only other system with the same configuration, a ChemBook 6300C. Meanwhile, the V505AX's 2.4-hour battery life in our tests was slightly above average for a thin-and-light notebook. (A double-capacity battery is available for an additional $499.) By our press time, however, Sony had replaced the PCG-V505AX with the PCG-V505BX, which is available with a 1.8-GHz Mobile Celeron processor or with a 2-GHz or 2.4-GHz Pentium 4-M CPU. Because we could not run PC WorldBench 4 and our battery test on the latter configurations, we could not rank either notebook model on our September issue's Top 15 Notebook PCs chart.

UPSHOT: The PCG-V505AX has an easy-to-tote 4.4-pound weight and good performance going for it--along with the usual Sony perks, such as the memory card slot and trendy case colors. But if you have $1800 to spend, you have the shop-around power to find a comparable notebook with a sturdier keyboard.

SUMMARY

Sony VAIO PCG-V505AX 1.8-GHz Pentium 4-M processor, 512MB of DDR266 SDRAM, Windows XP Home, 12.1-inch active-matrix screen, ATI Mobility Radeon graphics using main memory, 40GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM and 24X/10X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in V.90 modem, built-in network adapter, touchpad pointing device, 5.2 pounds (including AC adapter and phone cord). One-year parts and labor warranty, free unlimited 24-hour daily toll-free tech support. $1779 888/315-7669 www.sony.com/vaio