Vaio laptops - Where ?

heggie

Hey guys, just wondering where sells sony vaio laptops? in particular the vgn 17" series. Buyin one of ebay, and would just like to see it 1st, Last time i was in peats they only had the other models + same story in sony stores/ and on their website(s). Thanks for replies in advance.

jester77

This is their on-line store, should have all the latest models. If you are looking for an older model then the stores or ebay are your best bet. I'm not sure if the sony shops have the latest range in stock. I know they have a store in Galway & Cork... I presume Dublin as well.

http://www.sonystyle-europe.com

Kali

Err Vaios are in my opinion and experience, terrible machines.. in my last company I had to send back three of them to Sony USA for replacement, from hard-drives dying, one even stopped booting as far as the bios, and we only had 4 of them.. the other developed a terminal case of pcmcia death. Customer service were a joke, both in Ireland and in the USA (where they were purchased and Sony Ireland told us to go to for help), and eBay would not be my first choice for purchasing in case it develops faults.
(FYI: there were two PIII GXRs and two P4s with the rather impressive 17", can't remember the model number).

Just some thoughts anyway, remember that the vast majority of reviewers on the net don't have to put up with them on a daily basis

heggie

hehe thats true, thanks for the info, i've used quite a few and they always seem good to me, I know sony support sucks, but i can live with that tbh. Theres also a lovely 17" hp i saw, its the screen that will be the most important in this, and that hp shares sony's xblack screen type, so i'll hava think, thanks

blorg

Well I've had four Vaios in the last four years (and my changes have not been due to them breaking!) and have been generally very happy with them all. My gf has a Picturebook which she loves. My last company was all Vaios and my boss in my current one has a very nice one indeed.

Ergonomically I think they are very nice machines; if you can get one at a competitive price I'd say go for it; they probably aren't worth a big "Sony premium" however. We had bought ours at prices that frankly beat any competitors when you considered the features (firewire, light weight, integrated wifi) but there are now a lot of manufacturers that include these features as standard (not so 18/24 months ago) and possibly cheaper than Sony.

I will concur with Kali with the awful service, however - I did have a problem with my own Picturebook around four years ago and it took Sony six months to fix it. On the other hand, I had a problem with the docking station on my current Vaio and they had it fixed within a week or so.

jester77

I've had a VAIO now for over 4 years, z600 model. It never ever gave me a single problem and it's had a few knocks. It's only getting used now for web and mail but it's as good as the day I got it. If I was in the market again for a laptop I'd have them top of my list... well maybe behind the thinkpad!!

RicardoSmith

I love the keyboard layout and screen of my Vaio. I've had no problems in a year. But the support seems non existent. I'd have to say it would put me off buying another one.

jester77

Just out of interest what does everyone mean by the non existent support?

I've used their support website for getting the latest drivers and software updates and I've never had any problems. My laptop came with 98, I upgraded to 2000, they had all relevant docs and software. I then upgraded to XP and everything I needed was there. When I first got the laptop it only had 128mb of RAM. I ordered an extra 128MB over the phone and 3 days later it arrived, from Belgium.

klong

sony shop in the pavilions in swords which does have some vaios on display (i know cos i nearly bought one!)

RicardoSmith

jester77 wrote:

Just out of interest what does everyone mean by the non existent support?

I've used their support website for getting the latest drivers and software updates and I've never had any problems. My laptop came with 98, I upgraded to 2000, they had all relevant docs and software. I then upgraded to XP and everything I needed was there. When I first got the laptop it only had 128mb of RAM. I ordered an extra 128MB over the phone and 3 days later it arrived, from Belgium.

I never get any replies to any questions I email them with. I can never get through on their support lines. My logon fails to the support site, and I can't get anyone to fix it. Etc etc. I haven't had any problems with the machine thus far. I was hoping to buy an extra battery and also buy an extended warranty.

jester77

RicardoSmith wrote:

I never get any replies to any questions I email them with. I can never get through on their support lines. My logon fails to the support site, and I can't get anyone to fix it. Etc etc. I haven't had any problems with the machine thus far. I was hoping to buy an extra battery and also buy an extended warranty.

Guess I've been lucky, never had to ring their support. Everything I ever needed was on their support website. I haven't used it in a very long time but I thought your logon was based on a number that is underneath the laptop? I could be wrong.

RicardoSmith

jester77 wrote:

Guess I've been lucky, never had to ring their support. Everything I ever needed was on their support website. I haven't used it in a very long time but I thought your logon was based on a number that is underneath the laptop? I could be wrong.

It is, so I'm stuffed because it won't let me log on and Sony seem unable to fix it.

heggie

had that prob with a sony i had too, the support number / serial doesnt work!

Auburn

RicardoSmith wrote:

I never get any replies to any questions I email them with. I can never get through on their support lines. My logon fails to the support site, and I can't get anyone to fix it. Etc etc. I haven't had any problems with the machine thus far. I was hoping to buy an extra battery and also buy an extended warranty.

Irish support line number (01) 407 3040. When are you trying to ring? Opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday. If you cannot log on to the site, give them a ring and they can have logon problems sorted for you. Make sure you have the correct serial number. Check from the BIOS

Extra batteries can be bought from here or from the online shop www.sonystyle-europe.com.

Extended warranties can be bought from their sales number or www.sonystyle-europe.com. Don't know the telephone number off the top of my head. They have to be bought within first year of purchase of the unit. It would then need to be registered with the support line.

maxheadroom

heggie wrote:

Last time i was in peats they only had the other models + same story in sony stores/ and on their website(s).

AFAIK, Peats own the sony stores in Ireland.

if you're looking to buy one online, check out uk.insight.com or www.dabs.com

RicardoSmith

Just in case anyones interested. Finally got it all sorted. Bought extended warranty online. No problems and the Vaio is over a year old now and in constant use.

Auburn

RicardoSmith wrote:

Just in case anyones interested. Finally got it all sorted. Bought extended warranty online. No problems and the Vaio is over a year old now and in constant use.

Good stuff!