Sony Vaio EH2P0E 15.5 inch Laptop (Intel i5 2.4GHz Processor, RAM 4GB, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit) Hard Drive Capacity 320GB- Black

This laptop from Sony's e-series range is built for solid rather than spectacular performance. With an Intel Triple Core processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), and a 320GB hard drive, it is more than sufficient for office applications, email, web browsing etc but will leave those with more demanding needs somewhat underwhelmed. You can certainly get machines with higher specifications for less money, but this Sony does feel more solidly built than some others I considered without being heavy or bulky. Outward appearances are good. The black plastic casing is textured, with the word Vaio in silver on the outside of the lid. It's performance is fine. Not blisteringly fast, but absolutely fine. It scores 4.7 using the Windows Experience Index, with its graphics performance being the lowest score. The screen is a thing of beauty, sharp and clear, and if you are worried that it is 15.5" rather than 15.6" inches, don't be. I don't honestly think you can tell without a ruler in your hand.
The keyboard is good. Each key is recessed into its own separated place meaning you are less likely to find debris getting underneath the keys, and it feels good to type on. On some less expensive laptops the keyboard rattles and feels flimsy. This one doesn't. Although the keyboard feels well spaced out, there is still room for a numeric keyboard to the right hand side, useful if you work with spreadsheets a lot.
The trackpad, slightly offset to the left of the machine, so it is positioned underneath the space bar has tiny little bumps on it and it's responsive and easy to use. I'm not quite as keen on the left and right click buttons below which seem a little noisy, but they seem to do their job just fine.
Connectivity is good - four USB2 ports (no USB3), card readers for memory stick and SD cards, an HDMI out port so you can connect to your TV, WiFi, Bluetooth and a connector for an external monitor. There is a dedicated switch at the front to turn the wireless on and off. This works for the bluetooth as well as the WiFi. The DVD writer tray pops out from the right hand side of the machine. It doesn't play back Blu-Ray discs, only standard DVDs.
There is a dedicated button to start Sony's own browser without having to boot the machine in to Windows, which might be a useful feature if you want to check something quickly without waiting for your machine to start. There is also a shortcut button called Vaio which launches Sony's media gallery by default but which can be configured to launch other programs instead, and if you are having problems with your computer, the assist button launches Vaio care which provides help and recovery options.
The machine has Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) installed, and as is now the norm with new machines, you have to burn your own recovery discs. This is something you should do before you start using your computer and it took a while, but it's something you only have to do once.
It also comes with a month's subscription to McAfee Internet security and Microsoft's Office Starter edition which you will probably need to upgrade straight away. Sony also include various proprietary software which you may or may not want to bother with, along with a quick start bar called Vaio Gate which appears at the top of the screen by default and allows quick access to various things including RSS feeds. It can be switched off if you don't like it.

Overall, impressions of this laptop are good. Its performance is absolutely fine for my needs, it looks stylish and the build quality appears to be sturdy too. I am particularly impressed with the keyboard and the screen. Neither the cheapest nor the fastest, the Vaio feels like a quality machine with solid performance that should serve me well.

Have just bought a new Vaio (from the Sony shop via Amazon). Quick to arrive, beautifully made, and very solid-feeling. Only downsides on the hardware are that the screen is very shiny, so you have to be careful where you put it to avoid reflections, and the built-in speakers are very weedy indeed (although the sound is fine through headphones or external speakers).

The big failure is the Sony add-on software (VAIO Care and VAIO Update). As you go through the set-up process, the machine asks you to register with the Sony Vaio website. So far, so good. It then connects itself to a thing called VAIO Update, and (I assume) checks for any driver etc updates. Mine kept throwing up error messages "VAIO Update does not recognise your VAIO" and then disconnecting. Now two weeks of fruitless discussion with various Sony helpdesks, given a whole load of useless answers ranging from "It's not needed anyway, ignore it" to "Re-install all the software" - which I did and which - a day's work later - made no difference at all. Nor can I get any sensible answer about whether the standard Windows Update will pick up any necessary hardware driver updates. It's very close to going back as not fit for purpose......

(Looking on the various Sony user forums, I discover I'm not alone. Beware)

Well built laptop.Excellent screen. I have traded up from a 2006 Sony Vaio Pentium M 1.73GB.
A completely enhanced experience for me...moving to an I5 with 4GB of RAM.
A true bargain considering I only paid 469.00.
The keyboard is excellent, although I am used to typing on a keyboard with no dedicated numeric keypad,so it is taking me a while to get accustomed to the key lay out.
All in all, well worth the money.