I have had this Sony vaio notebook at a price 720pounds brand new for 6 months. It has had to go back to the manufacturer twice already once for a hard drive replacement and once for 'tweaks' because it keeps crashing, overheats and the battery life is very poor.
I have had to reload software on it that you cannot back up and you have to pay for each time. i have lost days of work.
Sony's policy is 'no refund no replacment' they have cost me nearly 1000 pounds already in lost time (if i dont work I dont get paid).
the people who have to help you are very nice but the customer service parameters are so small they really dont put the customer first.
I probably wouldn't be so irate if I didnt have a 3 year old HP which outclasses the Sony, its had multiple different software on it, one change of power lead and still functions solidly.

Sony the laptop and Sony the company with their rubbish customer service, charge you a hell of a lot for nothing. Dont buy this laptop unless you are just mucking about on the internet sometimes its truly rubbish!

My B1XP has done me proud for close to 6 years now. The screen is matte, so can be used outside and doesn't become unusable due to reflections like many newer laptops. It's been a reliable machine that has been extensively used and is still working perfectly well.

I've been aroun two of these Sony Vaios for about 4 years. No problems at all although short battery, not very powerfull features and output interfaces, defenitively a tool for the job. Not a powerfull gaming machine, obviously.