Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: sony, toshiba, 12-inch | Themes: Business Notebooks, Laptops and Notebooks, Business
- 1. 12" Power Notebooks
- 2. HP Compaq 2510p: Design, Weight, Quality
- 3. HP Compaq 2510p: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 4. HP Compaq 2510p: Features, Heat, Noise
- 5. Samsung P200-Pro: Design, Weight, Quality
- 6. Samsung P200-Pro: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 7. Samsung P200-Pro: Features, Heat, Noise
- 8. Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP: Design, Weight, Quality
- 9. Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 10. Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP: Features, Heat, Noise
- 11. Toshiba Portégé R500: Design, Weight, Quality
- 12. Toshiba Portégé R500: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 13. Toshiba Portégé R500: Features, Noise, Heat
- 14. Benchmark Testing
- 15. Application Testing, Battery Testing, Noise Level
- 16. Conclusion: Underdog, Sprinter, Endurance Racer and Flyweight
- 17. Spec Sheet
- 18. More on this topic
9. Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP: Hardware, Software, Usability
Equipment
Hardware
The G21XP has the slowest CPU in this test: the Merom-based dual core CPU is clocked at only 1.06 GHz and has 2 MB of cache memory. The Intel 945GMS chipset and its integrated GMA 950 graphics processor are not state-of-the-art anymore, but power and feature sets are sufficient for an office computer with Windows XP. This is also true for MP3 and DVD playback, but don’t expect much beyond that.
A 100 GB 1.8" hard drive is used in this machine; it’s the next larger version of the one in the HP Compaq 2510p, but seems to be significantly faster. The VAIO comes with only 1 GB of RAM memory, which is also used as shared video memory. This is low, but sufficient for Windows XP, although from the listed price one would expect more RAM — 512 MB of it is hard-wired onto the mainboard, while the rest comes as a replaceable SO-DIMM. The maximum supported memory is 1.5 GB according to Sony, and the notebook comes with a Matshita CD/DVD burner with DVD-RAM support.
The VAIO communicates with its surroundings either via cable (Gigabit Ethernet and a modem) or wireless using WLAN a/b/g/draft-n and Bluetooth. Its PC-Card slot supports type II cards. Since it is a business notebook, it offers a fingerprint reader and TPM; the login using your finger works without any problems.
The thin G21 comes with only two USB ports on the right side, one of them placed vertically. A Firewire port is missing which is very unusual for a Sony notebook. The VAIO only provides a VGA port for external displays. The card reader supports SD, MS, MS-Pro and xD cards.
Software
Sony decided to use Windows XP Professional SP2 as the operating system here, which makes perfect sense considering the performance level of the small processor. They don’t ship an installation medium though; instead, Sony offers a very comfortable and fast recovery function. With this you can also create your own recovery medium. VAIO Updates keeps drivers, applications and the BIOS current.
In addition to its other features, VAIO notebooks are known for their software bundles, and the G21XP is no exception. It comes with a full version of Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard and Photoshop Elements 5. For video it has Easy Media Creator 9 and InterVideo WinDVD 8.0 for VAIO. Microsoft Works 8.5 is provided for basic Office tasks.
Test versions of MS Office 2007 and Norton Internet Security are pre-installed as well.
Subjective Performance
The slow CPU affects overall performance, but it works well with the Windows XP installation; you never experience long delays, and the Sony just feels fast. Although it comes with a relatively slow 1.8" hard drive, just like the HP Compaq, the G21XP feels much faster. To make a long story short, it is very comfortable to work with the VAIO, and it seems to be faster than the 2510p.
Warranty
Sony offers the legal minimum warranty of 24 months.
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Why only these four?
The Acer Travelmate 6293 (or older 6292 model) competes well with these models. The review would have been much more useful if you had included the Acer.
What about x300, x61, d430 etc.... the review is grate, just pour choice of Notebook's if you ask me.
Nice article, especialy useful in times when mini-notebooks, or netbooks come to be more and more popular. I am owner of HP 2510p almost 6 months and I love this notebook. It was extremly cheap for me - just 450USD from ebay. Small, well featured, ultra-light /1.6kg/ and 6-7h on 6-cell battery. Btw I think that overlaping battery is quite useful - just try it - as IT admin I use it every day - one can hold this notebook easily in one hand while doing many common service work, and type with other hand. I got my HP with Windows XP Pro, so its much faster than with Vista. I installed tripple boot on it, XP Pro, Ubuntu and Mac OSX 10.5.4 - just used external USB WiFi for Mac OSX, all other HW is working in all OSs.
I never understand while to bother with popular trends like Asus Eee - no DVD, limited HDD options, extremly LOW battery time /I expected much better performances with Atom and SSDs/, small size-display like from Gullivers fairy-tale. Thers only one good point - price. And its fun that if you want all these features on new EEE-like notebooks, you have to pay 500-700USD. So why not to pay more and have all fetures together like in HP 2510p or Toshiba R500. Or try ebay like me, and its even cheaper than new EEEs with Atom.
But maybe I am wrong and EEE targets different audience.
I cant believe you have done a review user "power" and "12.1" in the same sentence and failed to include uber powerful Asus U6V. My god this thing would blow your choices out of the water for under $1700 anywhere in north america!
HP recently introduced the 2530p with substantially faster ULV processors (up to the SL9400, 1.86GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB) and with 2 DIMM slots for up to 8GB of 800MHz DDR SDRAM. It weighs a little more with a starting weight of 3.16lbs, but with some additonal durability features built-in, it meets the Mil-Std-810F standards for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude and high temperature. The spec's can be found at this URL:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products [...] 01_na.HTML
The 2510p will be going away shortly so the 2530p is the one to look at if one is considering HP.
HP also introduced the 2230s with a 12.1" screeen, and although it weighs a little more than the 2530p, it boasts a regular mobile processor such as an Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache). This is a new form factor for HP as this model did not replace any existing models, but rather it is a new addition to HP's notebook lineup.
Marcus
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