The real trouble with a Sony Vaio is that it's just too damn expensive for me. Even the models that boast "starting at $1149" have only two preconfigured options around $1500 and $3000. They are beautiful and the brand has been around for a while, so I have to see what I can do to configure it on their site.

The Sony Vaio A Series and B Series both can be cut down to $1149USD. If I had money to spend, this notebook would be a serious contender. Customizing the A230, there's a 5400RPM 80GB hard drive available and a 15.1" SXGA TFT screen. I've learned that XGA is all right at 1024x768 but SXGA+ sounds nicer for the wide aspect ratio screens at 1400x1050 pixels. The other nice option on the A230 is the CPU, it can be configured with a range of CPUs up to a Pentium M 755 that runs at 2GHz full speed. Geez, listen to me getting excited over clock speeds. It's like high school all over again.

Even getting the bare minumum options on the A230 (the 5400 RPM hard drive and a Pentium M 715) puts it up to just under $1500USD. A little rich for me.

The other choice that starts out in my range is the Sony Vaio B100 Professional Notebook. Unfortunately it has no 5400 RPM hard drive available.

Part of the Vaio distinction is the slender size and weight of the notebook. These are features that really push price up. It seems like anybody can make a 20 pound brick with a big screen, but Vaio builds a reputation by making that fit into a more condensed form. Okay, now I've got to get back to Compaq and beat up on them a little.