Sony VAIO VGN-S360 13.3" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 735, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) | 
 enlarge | Brand: Sony
Category: Personal Computer
List Price: $1,799.99
Buy Used: $1,499.99
You Save: $300.00 (17%)
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 1536
Hardware Type: Notebook Computer
Platform: Windows Xp Home Edition
Media: Personal Computers
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
CPU Manufacturer: Intel
CPU Speed: 1.7
CPU Type: Intel Pentium M
Processors: 1
System Bus Speed: 400
System Memory: 512
Memory Type: DDR SDRAM
Secondary Cache Size: 2
Keyboard: QWERTY, 82 keys with 2mm stroke and 18.05mm pitch
Battery Type: Lithium Ion
Hard Drive Size: 80
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Graphics Card: ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Graphics RAM: 64
Native Resolution: 1280-by-800
Modem: 56 Kbps
Network Interface: Intel PRO/WIRELESS 2200BG Network ,10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet
Free Memory Slots: 1
Display Size: 13.3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.2
Dimensions (in): 12.3 x 8.9 x 1.4
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: VGN-S360
Model: VGN-S360
UPC: 027242668997
EAN: 0027242668997
ASIN: B00079F7J8
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Equipped with the productivity tools that keep you going, the S360 is the notebook for those who will not sacrifice function for performance or convenience.Integrated multimedia features, wireless capability and advanced technologies make the S360 notebook your ideal companion for enhanced productivity and entertainment at home, in the office or on the road. An upgraded hard drive and graphics card will improve your notebook experience whether you are using it for business or pleasure. The 13.3" widescreen display and generous keyboard won't cramp your style whether you're on a plane or at a hotspot. The integrated CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive gives you the power to view, play or store the information you need to disc. At 4.2 pounds, the S360 will be easy and convenient to bring with you wherever you go.
Amazon.com Product Description
Amazingly slim and light, superbly stylish, and packed full of powerful productivity features, the Sony Vaio VGN-S360 is a great traveling companion, weighing just over 4 pounds. It features integrated 54g wireless connectivity and a battery-sipping Intel Centrino processor for long life while on the road. It also offers such Sony technologies as the sharp XBRITE LCD and Smart Display Sensor, which instantly adjusts resolution when you connect to a display or a projector. It also features an 80 GB hard drive, 512 MB of installed RAM, an ATI Mobility Radeon video card with 64 MB of video RAM, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, and Windows XP Home Edition (Service Pack 2).
| The Basics - Hard Drive: The 80 GB Ultra ATA hard drive (4,200 RPM) is one of the larger sizes you'll find in a notebook, and it's a big benefit for such an entertainment-centric PC. It offers more than enough capacity for storing documents and productivity software for road warriors. You'll also be able to store a good-size digital audio library.
- Processor: The Intel Pentium M processor is designed specifically for mobile computing, offering a balanced level of mobile-optimized processor technology, good mobile performance, and exceptional value. It features a Deep Sleep state, which helps enable longer battery life by minimizing the power consumption of the processor during brief periods of inactivity. The 1.7 GHz speed is near the top of the speed spectrum for this processor (as of winter 2004), and is on par with a 2.5 GHz Pentium 4-M. It also offers a 400 MHz front-side bus (FSB) speed and a large 2 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data, and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance.)
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| | Sony Vaio VGN-S360
1.7 GHz Pentium M
512 MB RAM
80 GB HD
Windows XP Home | Sony Vaio VGN-S360P
1.7 GHz Pentium M
512 MB RAM
80 GB HD
Windows XP Professional | - Memory: The 512 MB of built-in memory (1 x 512 MB, DDR SDRAM) is a good start for power users, and it offers a faster-than-average RAM speed (333 MHz). It has two memory slots, with a maximum memory expansion of only 1 GB (2 x 512 MB), which is a smaller maximum than other entertainment-centric laptops.
- CD/DVD Drive: The combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive can read, write, and rewrite CDs at 24x speed. It can read DVDs at 8x speed.
- Keyboard and Mouse: This notebook has a standard 82-key keyboard and an electro-static two-button touchpad.
 | Screen, Graphics, and Sound
This ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 is a strong video/graphics card for a notebook PC, and it features 64 MB of DDR video RAM and longer battery life, thanks to ATI's Low-K Technology. It's suitable for the high frame rates of DVD movies and immersive 3D PC games and will drive an external monitor that works in tandem with the notebook's LCD. The 13.3-inch WXGA LCD has a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels. It also offers an integrated audio card with built-in speakers.
Preloaded System and Software
This system comes with the Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 operating system with Advanced Security Technologies, which helps to reduce unwanted downloads and pop-ups while surfing the Web. It also comes loaded with a bevy of Sony multimedia software: Vaio Zone with WinDVD (for watching DVD movies), PictureGear Studio (digital photo), SonicStage (digital music), Vaio Media (network file sharing), and DVgate Plus (digital video). Other preloaded software includes Quicken 2005 New User Edition, Microsoft Works 8.0 (with word processing, spreadsheet, and calendar), Norton Internet Security (with 90-day subscription), and SpySubtract.
| | Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The VGN-S360 has an integrated 54g wireless LAN that's compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks. You get a good offering of connectivity options, including both USB 2.0 and i.Link (Firewire): - 3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
- 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
- 1 VGA monitor port
- 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II, 32-bit)
- 1 headphone jack
- 1 microphone jack
- Memory Stick media slot, compatible with Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro
It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Gb Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems). Dimensions and Weight
One of the lightest notebooks around, the VGN-S360 weighs just 4.2 pounds. It measures a tiny 12.3 inches wide, 8.85 inches deep, and 1.39 inches high. | 
The S360 features a full suite of software applications, including SonicStage, which enables you to listen to, manage, and transfer your music library.
| Power
It's powered by a lithium-ion rechargeable battery (PCGA-BPS2), which can run between 2 and 6 hours. What's in the Box
This package contains the VGN-S360 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a 1-year limited hardware warranty.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Terrible Experience October 14, 2007
Have owned laptop a little over 2 years. It has been back to Sony twice and has finally crashed with its third bad motherboard. No help from Sony and Sony Customer Satisfaction has no interest in keeping me as a customer or resolving defective motheboard issue. I buy several computers each year for business and will no longer consider a Sony product. they are great when they operate properly, but i'm afraid that is a challenge for this product.
 Terrible experience w/ this laptop April 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this laptop a little over 2 years ago. One has to be skeptical in finding too much value in customer comments who have only owned this or other computers for just a few months. I was initially drawn to the crisp picture, sleek design, size/weight and power w/ this small laptop. It started shutting down after about 8 months, slowing down and just running very poorly. Sony took back the laptop and replaced the motherboard for free as it was under warranty. This happened again about a year later.
After discussions with my computer repairman I learned that the S model regularly has this problem, as it's a poor design. Other techy friends have confirmed this.
After owning this a little over 2 years, I have a laptop that often crashes, won't boot up properly, runs slowly and is just junk for the $1700 I spent on it.. I STRONGLY ADVISE NOT BUYING THIS COMPUTER. I explained my findings to Sony and pleaded for a replacement w/ another model. They alluded to knowing about problems with the S model, but wouldn't make the swap. I'm buying a mac power book shortly. Enough is enough.
 After 2.5 years, I write this January 31, 2007
I have owned a sony VGN-S360 for two and a half years, and it has never given me any worries during the hard and busy times I have owned it. From the sound quality to the portability to the fact that I can run today's games (which require better graphics cards to more than the listed 512mb of ram), this laptop has never ceases to amaze me. The fan is a little louder than other notebooks, but I can not think of anything else that could bother even the most particular person. Though I was planning on buying a new computer after 2 years of use, the S360 has never given me a reason to consider another computer. The battery life is stellar (a long 4-5-6 hours compared to the newer S460s with their power hungry processors) and the screen quality is excellent. When I bought this notebook, it cost over 1,500 dollars. At this price of $949, I am jealous towards those buyers who are considering laptop.
 About the fan and the software March 24, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just read other's reviews about the fan and I have to say I had the same problem... until I uninstalled the Sony energy saving software. Since I started to use Windows XP default energy manager fan works very little and only when I'm runing high demanding programs. So I really recomend you to do the same.
As I said, I bought a Win XP Pro and installed it over the clean, formatted HDD. After that I installed the drivers what I could find in the net (many forums deal with that topic, try google), and used Windows defaults for the rest... and the result is much better than the crappy Sony software!!!
Good but some significant flaws March 24, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought my Vaio nearly one year ago. Since then, I had not a single tecnical problem. It is small, lightweitght and cute. However, it comes with a hiden HDD partition that makes unavailable 5 valuable GB of your hard disk! I upgraded my computer to WinXP Pro and found that Drivers were not available, the only answer I got from thecnical assistance was that I had to buy them!! An the worse is that they don't shell you regular drivers, they shell you a pack which authomatically creates the danmn hidden partition again...
Another significant flawn is battery design, it moves inside its slot and a couple of times went out of its place while in use. To me it is amazing that such a nice notebook presents such odd flaws!
Overall I recommend it, but do not expect a good technical assistance from Sony.
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