Review of Sony's VAIO VGN-S4M

Posted by Matthew Brodsky

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Ultraportables have been known to make even fighter pilots squint like Mr Magoo after a few hours of looking at a tiny screen. However the new VAIO VGN S4M is something of a welcome compromise. Weighing just 1.9 kg, the S4M boasts a 13.3 inch widescreen display, and spacious keyboard with ample finger room.

The SonyVAIO VGN-S4M is the perfect solution for someone with big handsand bad eyes. Or put in more general terms, it’s anintriguing laptop buy for folks who can't stand those ultra mini-notebooks.Sony knows all about tiny laptops. It manufactures the Sony VAIO T2XP, after all, a notebook with a 10.6-inch monitor.Ultraportables like these have been known to make even a fighterpilot squint like Mr Magoo after a few hours of playing Warcraft:)

Hence, the VGN-S4M. This new VAIOweighs slightly over 4 pounds (1.9 kg), so it's no heifer, but ithas a bit more to it than its petite counterpart. A large part ofthis is its 13.3-inch widescreen.Perhaps you won't be able to create your computer-graphics magnumopus on this screen, but it can make for a vivid movie projector.The Sony X-Black high-contrast coating brings out the brightest andstarkest colors from whatever you view on the S4M.

As for a bigger, more comfortable keyboard, the new VAIOoffers that as well. Keyboardsare often overlooked on laptops, but really, when you use onewith ample finger room, and a good bit of bounce and travel inthe keys, it make a world of difference.

But let's be honest: A keyboard is key, but hardware is whereit's at. And for a lightweight laptop, the newVAIO, at under $2,000, packs enough power for any business trip.It possesses a 1.6GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of RAM, and anadequate 60GB of hard disk space. For your DVD viewing, the S4Mcomes with an nVidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache graphics chipset. Toaccess a hotspot at a coffee shop or conference center, the VAIO offers anintegrated Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG that's 802.11b and gcompliant. (No Bluetooth, however.)

The accoutrements are equally as adequate. As we mentionedearlier, like its smaller brethren, this VAIO has aread/write DVD. For ports, it has a MemoryStick slot, two USB 2.0ports, a FireWire port, a PC Card slot, and an Ethernet adapter.It may sound like all standard stuff, but at 1.9 kg, that's a lotin a small package.


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