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Reviewed by: triplesixes
01-04-09
Duration of ownership:
1
Years
Strengths: display, connectivity, ergonomics, build quality, keyboard, port replicator, speed, ease of use
Weaknesses:battery life, Sony's false warranties and fake promises and breach of contract.
Overall Evaluation: The computer itself, i rate the highest ratings and definately recommend; Sony Corp i rate the lowest of lows. they lied tome and breached their own warranty. I am ashamed of them, they should know better. I have always bought Sony brand, but it's for this reason that i'll never buy another Sony product or trust them again. Thanks for listening!
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Reviewed by: rav3n
04-07-08
Duration of ownership:
5
Months
Strengths: Ultra Portability, Great screen resolution for its size, bluetooth, wifi, A/V out and most of the bells and whistles of its bigger cousins, dual-monitor capability, external dock comes with it.
Weaknesses:Sluggish, comes with loads of useless software, small hard drive, not enough memory, keyboard difficult to use, price of add-on components.
Overall Evaluation: First thing's first. I personally feel this micro PC is a great piece of hardware, but.... You need to be absolutely sure it's something you can really use.So, bad news first.If you have short stubby/fat fingers, you'll find that it's an impossible task to "type" on the keyboard. Even if you have long, slender fingers, the keyboard might as well be the kind you see on cell phones. It's TINY. There's very little feedback from the keys to let you know you actually pressed one, and you absolutely MUST look at the keyboard while typing. It simply isn't possible to "touch type" with this micro, much less type quickly.My biggest complaint about this machine is that the hard drive is simply too small. 10Gigs of the 40GB is reserved strictly for the system restore partition and data. On top of that, all the crapware that comes preinstalled on this in addition to Vista is another 15GB or so, which leaves you with a miniscule 10 to 15GB left to install YOUR programs and data... Not much to brag about.I ended up ripping my 60GB iPod apart and swapping the drives out. If you decide to undertake this task yourself... Be forewarned... It's not for the faint of heart, and it certainly isn't an easy task. It's actually quite difficult because the connectors that bridge the components together are EXTREMELY delicate and impossibly fragile.The memory really should have been at least 2GB on this little guy to cope with Vista's horrendous resource usage. However, the fact that it DOES accept a Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo means you can activate Readyboost and leave the stick installed if you use one of the shorties like what goes into the PSP. Get a 4GB one and use it all... There really is a marked improvement in speed.The system is INCAPABLE of running Vista Ultimate, so... DO NOT waste your money trying to upgrade it with the "Anytime Upgrade" option. You'll be sorely disappointed.Although I have yet to travel by air with it yet, I have to consider how the TSA baffoons recently treated the Macbook Air, I fully expect the local airport "security experts" to detain me for fear it's a self-contained bomb with a small brick of C-4 planted in it somewhere... But I'll travel with it anyway.Accessory prices... They're astronomical. A new battery will set you back a fair stack of cash, not to mention another dock so you don't have to carry the one that comes with it back and forth to work, home and/or school. So be prepared if you want to expand its capabilities and convenience of ownership.Finally, unless you can read microprint on U.S. currency, you're going to have difficulty reading the screen. It really does have a high resolution for its compact size, and that means microscopic pixels, which further means you're going to be holding this thing up REALLY close to read the LCD much of the time.Now, for the good stuff!This machine is an amazing piece of technology. It's light, extremely small and many people I've shown it to believe it to be a Windows CE/Mobile device (PDA) right off and I usually have to prove to them it really IS a full-featured PC, and not some half-breed bastardization of one.It comes with a full-featured port replicator that will easily allow you to use an external monitor and have the LCD still active in a dual-monitor type setup. The addition of a memory stick makes a dramatic improvement in the speed of this little guy. Make the investment, it's well worth it if you get this PC.The built-in wifi and bluetooth means you can use it wirelessly with ease and sync/connect to your various bluetooth devices. This is a GREAT thing, and something that's definitely worth having for anyone that's constantly on-the-go.You can easily change the screen orientation so that it's in page-view, or wide-view. Great for reading documentation and such if you're actually using this thing as intended.As many reviews I've read for this thing so far have said... Be sure you REALLY have a use for this PC. It's not something you can game on, so don't expect to load up half-life or Doom/3 on it and get anything playable. This is a purpose-built business PC, and it's a perfect fit in that role for those who really are always on-the-go.Final thoughts... Create the restore DVD's then restore it without the system-restore partition. Keep the discs in a VERY safe place, as Sony *DOES NOT* offer key software for download that is required to regain full-functionality (fingerprint reader in particular).Uninstall all the crap-ware from the system, then install all the updates from Microsoft and Sony (especially the BIOS!) Then, use the Vista backup utility and make a full "ready-to-go" image of the system. Use an external USB hard drive and when you have to restore it, you'll save HOURS getting it back to a usable state again if something should happen and you need to reformat it.Get it and enjoy the hell out of it!
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Reviewed by: brucezak
02-27-08
Duration of ownership:
Strengths: Screen resolution, size, features.
Weaknesses:Battery life, Vista
Overall Evaluation: For people who like to have the latest and greatest or who's lifestyle demands mobility, this UMPC is for you. Not only that but the WOW! factor when people see the Sony Vaio 380N is great too. I travel heavily for my career and the transition to the Sony 380N has been very easy. From the noticeable decrease in size and weight from standard laptops to the all in one features the 380N has to offer my 380N has now become my primary device for home and travel. The included docking station is great and allows me to seamlessly transition from life on the go to my home office. The only major drawback is Vista, if you truly want to speed things up, install Windows XP and only the select applications you need.
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Reviewed by: c0d3917
02-26-08
Duration of ownership:
Strengths: Ultra compact, portable, great screen resolution, good connectivity options.
Weaknesses:Battery life, pre-loded software.
Overall Evaluation: The Sony Vaio 380N has been a great addition to my current line up of new technology items. The unit itself is very well designed and ultra portable. Imagine having a full featured desktop computer in the palm of your hand and you would have the Sony Vaio 380N. This UMPC has been great for me thus far, lending itself to uses ranging from a business laptop replacement to a full featured media center for viewing and sharing all types of multimedia content. The on e drawback I did notice from the start was the pre-bundled software, the items that come pre-loaded are quite numerous and really un-needed. Do yourself a favor and remove all of the excess "Bloat Ware" and you will be very pleased.
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Reviewed by: schneiderdriver
02-07-08
Duration of ownership:
1
Days
Strengths: Compact size. Built in cellular modem. Touch screen.
Weaknesses:Built in wireless modem is Cingular, I'm on Sprint and Verizon. Keyboard a little too small, not much feedback on keystrokes.
Overall Evaluation: I bought this at a good price in September 2007 or so. I wound up selling it on ebay, I just couldn't justify keeping it. If the wireless modem had been on Sprint or Verizon, I could have saved $20/month on the service and would have probably kept it. I replaced it with an HP 12" screen laptop with a swiveling touchscreen. The VAIO quality is outstanding, and the wow factor is off the scale. But once that novelty passes, the weaknesses will begin to outweigh the positives, IMHO. If it is exactly what you are looking for, features-wise, then you won't be disappointed.
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