3. The Sony VAIO T350P/TX670P Lightweight Laptop Transition: Yipes!

When I reviewed Sony's VAIO T350P laptop back in August of 2005, I was so impressed and so in need of a new laptop that I bought one for myself. I still have the T350P and use it regularly. I still think it deserved the MobilityGuru Editors Choice Award I gave it.

My Sony T350P lightweight laptop with CD/DVD play buttons circled in red

Fast forward about three months and we publish a new review, "Goodbye Sony VAIO T, Hello VAIO TX." Unlike the UX180P and UX280P, there are a lot of significant differences between the T350P and the TX670P, the most significant of which are the TX670P's power saving features including an LED backlight which replaced the T350P's fluorescent backlight. The TX670P also has a magnesium alloy case, making the laptop's innards less vulnerable to damage and reducing the TX670P's weight by several ounces when compared to the T350P.

The Sony TX670P I just missed buying

I got pretty pissed off when I first heard about the TX670P, especially given that it cost about the same as the T350P. Then I realized that the T350P had been on the market for at least six months before its replacement reared its attractive head. I also realized that, unlike with the UX280P, Sony had really built some significantly new features into the TX670P. I sighed and wished I had waited for the newer model, but in the end I decided I had a pretty neat piece of hardware in the T350P and that I should just enjoy it.