Laptop Buyer's Guide: 14-inch and Smaller
by Vivek Gowri on July 19, 2010 12:01 AM ESTMedia/HTPC Notebook: Sony EA series
Our pick here was a complicated one. With the launch of the new Core i3/i5/i7 processors, any laptop with a basic Core i3 and Intel’s integrated HD Graphics solution had enough power to handle 1080p video playback and a standard HDMI output for connecting to an HDTV. Even adding the requirement of a Blu-ray drive (fair expectation in a notebook used for media playback) didn’t help much, since most 14”ers from mainstream manufacturers like Dell, HP, and Sony have at least the option of a BD-ROM drive these days for not a whole lot of coin. With standard media playback about the same regardless of notebook, the differentiating factor is going to come from something else.
Something like Intel’s Wireless Display. I really love the concept of WiDi, which is having a notebook wirelessly connect to a TV’s HDMI port. Press a button, and bam, what’s on your notebook screen is on your TV, simple as that. Pretty awesome. Very focused, very user friendly, not a lot else going on. There are a couple of problems, starting with the 720p limitation and the 2 second delay between laptop and TV. Also, you need to buy a $100 box to connect to the TV. The delay isn’t much of a problem, since WiDi will be mostly used for videos, which work smoothly, just 2 seconds behind your laptop. The 720p cap was implemented for bandwidth purposes, but it goes away in the WiDi 2.0 (which also eliminates the delay time). The problem of the box still remains: a Benjamin is pretty pricey for what is essentially the wireless replacement for a $4 HDMI cable. Overall, it’s a slick piece of technology, though it’s still got a ways to go as far as market traction, and some of my fellow editors (*cough*Jarred*cough*) don’t see the value in it. On an economic level, the skepticism makes sense, but it’s a very elegant solution and would make sense for a few specific uses, like watching downloaded and streamed movies on your TV (which is what a lot of HTPCs are used for).
The Sony VAIO EA series is one of the few notebooks that has both WiDi and Bluray. In addition, it has a 14.1” 720p screen, Core i3/i5/i7 processors, Intel HD graphics with an optional ATI Radeon HD 5470, and all the other standard stuff. Oh, and it’s available in every colour of the Skittles rainbow, and then some. The $999 model with an i5-450M, 4GB/500GB, Intel HD, WiDi, and Bluray is probably the best config for purely media purposes. Customizing your own model gets pricey (Sony price gouges on options like no other), so if you need the dedicated graphics you’re probably better off getting a different notebook.
If you don’t need the WiDi, you can look at something like the 14.5” HP dv5t, which is available with a BD-ROM drive starting at $749, though that only has a Pentium P6000 processor at that price and likely poorer build quality and display than the VAIO.
And if you’re more like me and don’t use physical disks anymore, all you need is an HDMI out and a fresh install of VLC, so basically any newer notebook will suffice. 1080p playback is no longer a big deal, any computer costing more than $500 can do it fairly comfortably. So if that’s your only criteria, you have an unlimited number of choices. But for overall media playback versatility, the VAIO EA series is about as good as it gets, with both Bluray capability and Wireless Display.
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Johnmcl7 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Macbooks at similar prices get entire articles regularly as do top of the range graphics card and computer parts which would also be out of most people's price category so a page or even article on the Z on a site like this doesn't seem too much.John
GTaudiophile - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
I just bought one...sort of like a cheaper Z...Intel Core i3 330 UM (1.2GHz)
ATI HD 4550 w/ 512MB VRAM
4GB DDR3 RAM
320GB HDD
Webcam/WiFi/Bluetooth
5+ hours battery with WiFi
Less than 4 lbs.
About $800
darunium - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
The M11x is an impressive notebook, despite the undervolting of the CPU, but why is there no mention of the Asus N82Jq? With a standard clock of the i7-720QM and GT335M, plus a solid screen in a 5lb package, I think that as a gaming portable notebook it really stands strong, even if it isn't specifically marketed in that segment.VivekGowri - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Read more carefully, it's there. Try the page with the Envy 14.Shadowmaster625 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
What new Puma platform? What the heck are you guys smoking. Puma is 2 years old WWWWTTTTTFFFFF? This whole thing reads like a big stinking pile of intel advertising.VivekGowri - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
My bad, that was supposed to read Nile, dunno why I said Puma (fixed now). But the rest of that is accurate: the new AMD-based ultraportables still don't have the battery life to touch the Intel portables, simple as that, but performance is starting to catch up, benchmarking similarly to the equivalent Core 2 CULV parts, and the HD 4225 is obviously a ways faster than GMA.Where AMD is really winning right now, both in desktop and mobile, is in environments where power requirements don't matter so much and they can provide tri- and quad-core processors for dirt cheap. Honestly, if you don't care about battery life in a 15" machine, you'd rather have an AMD quad than an Intel dual core, right?
Shadowmaster625 - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
I had the unfortunate displeasure of using a N450 netbook this weekend. The things are just not usable for anyone with a pulse. Of course AMD cant beat that battery life, because those things dont even do anything except sit there frozen half the time. Everything I've read about the K125 suggests usable performance with respectable battery life.Chloiber - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
Is it even available in Europe?jtsarnak - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
As an owner of Sony's Z-series laptop, I want to chime in and discourage anyone seriously considering an ultraportable from looking at Vaio machines.There is a known problem with Sony's newer laptops and battery drain. The battery loses life at an appreciable rate when completely shutdown. The only way to prevent loss is to physically remove the battery. Some have speculated the battery care function, some the hinged design common to the lines experiencing the problem, but Sony has done nothing and in fact call it a "feature".
The Z would be perfect (although expensive) if not for the drain. Now I have to remove the battery whenever I'm not using it or keep it plugged in. The 7+ hours of battery life in a machine this powerful mean nothing if I have to keep it constantly plugged in.
No review site has mentioned this issue which just goes to show you should head to notebookreview's forums before making any decisions on a laptop.
Mr. Gowri, you'd be doing the buying public a great service by looking a little deeper into this problem with Sony's laptops and making the problem more public. Maybe Sony will finally be forced to make a change...
GTaudiophile - Monday, July 19, 2010 - link
I have no such drain issue with my Y-series.