Deftly balancing work and play, the 13.3-inch Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAB offers enough style and power for everyone from home users to students to road warriors. And with a price tag of $1,359 (starting at $1,049), this notebook offers a good combination of graphics power and battery life, making it a value-priced alternative to the 13-inch VAIO Z Series (starting at $1,739) for executives. We especially appreciate the versatile Switch mode feature, which lets you customize shortcut buttons based on how you use the notebook. The webcam could be better, and we wish there was less preloaded software, but, overall, the VAIO SR is a great value.
Design
Compared with the pricier VAIO Z series—a 3.4-pound notebook that sports an all-aluminum keyboard and carbon fiber housing for its LCD panel—the VAIO SR seems fairly basic, but we generally like this machine’s design given its price point. The SR features a magnesium alloy chassis that weighs a relatively light 4.2 pounds and measures 12.4 x 9.2 x 1.3 inches, making it a good travel companion. In fact, this system is one of the lighter 13-inch notebooks in its price range. Certainly, the SR felt lighter in our hands than the 4.5-pound 13-inch Apple MacBook, although that aluminum unibody machine has a slimmer 1-inch profile. The similarly priced Dell Studio XPS 13 has a more luxurious wedge-shape design, complete with leather accents, but is even heavier at 4.8 pounds.
While the lid is smooth, the sides and bottom have a rough, sandpapery feel. The version we tested comes in standard black, but you can opt for Glossy Pink, Platinum Silver, and Titanium Gray in the configure-to-order model.
Multiple Personalities
The seven buttons on the circular hinge area above the keyboard are unique to the SR’s design. The switch mode button (furthest to the left), lets you switch among three desktop environments (Home, Office, or On The Go). Depending on which environment is selected, the five buttons in the center activate various applications, which appear as icons in the lower center of the screen.
In Office mode, for example, the icons are Mute, Lock Computer, Computer, Presentation Support, and Windows Meeting Space. Home mode has icons for VAIO MusicBox, Movie Story, ArcSoft Webcam Companion, Burn Disc, and Internet Explorer. All of these buttons can be mapped for different applications using the Setting button on the right.
Keyboard and Touchpad
While other notebook makers have just begun to adopt the island-style keyboard, Sony has been doing it for years—and at this point, the company has it down pat. The keyboard, in a recessed area of the deck, provided good feedback and no flex, and was comfortable to type on for extended periods.
The large touchpad has a gray-and-white spotted pattern that distinguished it from the rest of the deck. Although the pattern looks textured, it’s actually as smooth as the rest of the chassis. It, too, was very comfortable and had low friction. The two mouse buttons, separated by a fingerprint reader, provide strong tactile feedback, but are a bit noisy.
Ports and Webcam
On the left side are VGA, HDMI, and FireWire ports, along with an ExpressCard/34 slot. On the front are an SD Card slot and a Memory Stick Pro slot, which features Sony’s proprietary MagicGate encryption technology.
The right side houses the 8X DVD+/-RW drive, two USB ports, and Ethernet and modem jacks behind a removable flap. The power button, built into the right side of the hinge, glows green when the system is powered on.
Although the colors were pleasant, the 1.3-megapixel webcam took dim, not-very-sharp still photos. Our VGA video, too, was dim and soft, but at least all of the movement looked fluid, and the picture stayed in focus as we moved closer to the lens.
The ArcSoft WebCam Companion software’s white-and-blue interface isn’t the sleekest, but its task-oriented main screen makes it easy to navigate. When you finish snapping or recording a capture, you’ll see a thumbnail in a pane to the left. A separate dashboard allows you to adjust the lighting, contrast, and saturation settings (among others) on a sliding scale, as well as apply fun filters, begin face tracking, and insert 2D frames.
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