Notebook review: Sony Vaio TX2-HP

If you can't stomach Apple's Mac operating system (see our Mac Mini review and Macbook Pro review), but require a notebook to impress the style-conscious, Sony's TX range should fit the bill.

The TX2-HP is the latest member of the gang and, as expected, its small, sleek physique quickly turned heads in the office.

Inside this compact case lies an Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Intel Pentium M 733 processor, which runs at 1.1GHz and employs 2MB of L2 cache and a 400MHz front side bus.

Blend this with 512MB of Ram and you've got a portable computer that will perform only the most basic of office tasks. This is illustrated by its score of 97 in Sysmark 2004SE and 1,425 in PCMark05.

As you'd expect from a notebook that struggles with anything more complex than image-editing, its graphics dexterity isn't exactly trail-blazing either. The Intel 915GM chipset may share 128MB of dynamic memory but it's only really enough to watch DVDs and power Windows' effects.

A 3Dmark05 result of 197 and 3.68fps (frames per second) in Far Cry means no 3D gaming here.

Despite these rather lacklustre results, this truly portable notebook hasn't been made for strenuous computing. Rather, it's designed to provide users with extended use away from a mains socket, wrapped up in a handbag-sized design.

And, where portability is concerned, the Vaio TX2-HP is stunning. It's often a chore getting the office to agree on what classifies as an ultraportable, but at just 1.25Kg it didn't take long for people to agree the Sony should wear its ultraportable badge with pride.

It also lasted for 297 minutes when playing a DVD in Mobilemark, which is more than enough for at least one Peter Jackson epic.

The 11.1in widescreen uses Sony's X-Black LCD technology that, at a WXGA resolution of 1,366 x 768, makes everything look super crisp.

80GB is standard for most notebooks these days and it's exactly what you get with this Vaio. So, as long as you don't start loading up on movies, there shouldn't be a need for attaching external storage devices any time soon.

The dual-format, dual layer DVD writer (Sony has managed to squeeze an optical drive into the casing) will archive up to 8.5GB of data at a time.

There isn't much in the way of expansion sockets; just two USB, one mini Firewire, modem, network, VGA and PC Card. Sony has branched out to include an SD memory card reader, which sits alongside the inevitable Memory Stick slot. Inside the case are connectivity adapters for 802.11g Wifi and Bluetooth.

The retro-cum-modern-day keyboard appears a little flimsy, but is sturdy enough to type on without a problem. At just 27cm wide, some keys are squashed together, which takes a bit of getting used to, but the overall typing experience is good.

A few buttons reside on the hinge too, allowing quick access to multimedia playback and Sony's 'AV Mode', which boots the notebook in a Windows XP Pro-less state to access DVDs, CDs and photos in around 15 seconds.

This Vaio also comes with a load of pre-installed software and a one year warranty.

Considering the number of unhappy Vaio customers in our PCW Interactive forum, we'd have preferred Sony to put its money where its mouth is and supply something a little more substantial than the one-year return to base warranty.

At £1,500 it's not cheap, but if you want style, true portability and Windows as your operating system, there aren't many other choices.