X-bit labs

14" Widescreen: Most Optimal Solution? 10 Contemporary Notebooks Roundup (page 27)

Category: Mobile

by Vasily Melnik

[ 06/07/2006 | 10:56 PM ]

The keyboard is very ordinary:

But after you’ve tried it, you won’t easily turn back to keyboards of other notebooks included in this review: the pressure force and key activation thresholds are so precisely set up that you have a minimum of mistypes and faulty presses. The single disadvantage of this keyboard is its not separated block of arrow keys.

This is due to the overall design of the notebook. If you take a look at its case from a side, you can see that the keyboard lies in a small depression. This easily solves the problem of scratched displays: MSI recommends putting soft cloth in between whereas Sony just sunk the keyboard a little deeper into the case. Simple and effective.

The touchpad follows the classic design:

The surrounding curb prevents your finger from slipping off the sensitive area. The keys are easily recognizable by touch and go down softly. The touchpad lacks any additional functionality, yet it is so agreeable to use that you almost forget you’re using it.

There are two additional buttons here:

They are marked as S1 and S2 and it’s up to you to assign them their functions. The photo doesn’t show it but the marking is made in a curious way – it’s visible only at a certain viewing angle. The keyboard status indicators are to the left.

Besides everything else, the notebook is equipped with an integrated web-camera and microphone which are going to be useful for video conferencing:

And surely the best thing about this notebook is its display manufactured by X-black technology. Its every parameter – color reproduction, brightness adjustment range, viewing angles, matrix response time – is superb. I have no doubt this is the best screen in this device category and one of the best notebook displays at all. Whence does this quality come? It’s just because Sony itself manufactures notebook displays and, unlike other manufacturers, equips its top-end models with appropriate matrixes. My general advice to you if you care about the display is to check out if there are any Sony models in the class you are interested in. Don’t expect high quality in an inexpensive model, but Sony’s notebooks priced at $1500 and higher are very unlikely to have a poor display – only good or very good matrixes.